Final Fantasy 14 Mobile’s Leaked UI Can’t Be Restricted to One Platform

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As a seasoned gamer with over three decades of experience under my belt, I’ve seen the evolution of gaming from pixelated 8-bit beginnings to the immersive, high-definition experiences we have today. And let me tell you, the mobile adaptation of Final Fantasy 14 has caught my eye like a rare Moogle in the wild!

As its title implies, Final Fantasy 14 Mobile is a mobile version of the popular MMO Final Fantasy 14 Online. This is an unusual move for Square Enix, as they typically don’t release modern AAA console games on iOS or Android. While there have been mainline Final Fantasy games on mobile phones in the past, most of them are ports of older games like the FF Pixel Remasters. In contrast, Final Fantasy 14 Mobile is more akin to Final Fantasy 15: Pocket Edition, meaning it’s a new, standalone game based on the console title of the same name, rather than a direct port.

In November 2024, Square Enix and LightSpeed Studios officially announced the mobile version of Final Fantasy 14, yet no gameplay footage was unveiled. Instead, a four-minute teaser trailer showcasing in-game cinematics and developer commentaries was shared. Recently, screenshots from the closed beta tests of FF14 Mobile emerged online, offering an unsanctioned glimpse into the game’s dynamics. Notably, the gameplay of FF14 Mobile appears to resemble that of FF14 Online, but it seems to incorporate unique UI elements that distinguish it.

On December 9, Square Enix officially unveiled a gameplay trailer for the mobile version of Final Fantasy 14, verifying the authenticity of the previous leak reports.

Final Fantasy 14 Online Should Take a UI Element from Final Fantasy 14 Mobile

Final Fantasy 14 Mobile Uses Ability Wheels Instead of Cross Hotbars

The leaked images of Final Fantasy 14 Mobile don’t reveal much about combat or character interactions, but they do give us a detailed glimpse into the game’s menus. The user interface (UI) appears to draw heavily from the original FF14, featuring a minimap in the upper right corner and HP/MP bars at the very bottom. However, the layout of the hotbars is noticeably different. Instead of the cross hotbars found in Final Fantasy 14 Online, there seems to be an ability wheel located in the lower right corner of the screen, which players can use to select skills and perform attacks. This new UI element appears to have replaced the traditional hotbars in FF14 Mobile.

In simpler terms, Cross Hotbars in Final Fantasy 14 Online serve as user-friendly interface tools, particularly beneficial for console gamers. These hotbars function like advanced shortcut keys, similar to the ability wheels in FF14 Mobile. Each hotbar offers 16 skill slots, and there are a total of 8 hotbars available in the game. This means players can potentially manage up to 128 skills at any given moment.

Ability Wheels Would Be Easier to Use on a Controller Compared to Cross Hotbars

While cross hotbars effectively adapt the MMO keyboard-and-mouse interface to controllers, they can be somewhat tricky to handle. To choose a skill from these hotbars, players must simultaneously press either LT or RT (equivalent to L1 or R1 on PlayStation) and then tap a face or D-pad button. The combination of buttons provides more complex control options, but it makes the Final Fantasy 14 Online gaming experience slightly less intuitive on consoles.

It appears that the skill wheels of Final Fantasy 14 Mobile might function more intuitively on consoles compared to cross hotbars. If players could select a skill by holding down a button and rotating a joystick, playing Final Fantasy 14 Online on a controller would likely be much less complicated. Consequently, Square Enix might want to think about incorporating the new control layout from Final Fantasy 14 Mobile into the original FF14, at least for current-gen consoles, in the near future.

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2024-12-26 21:03