Naoki Hamaguchi, head of development for the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy, predicts that as graphics in major RPGs become more realistic, many large studios will shift from traditional turn-based systems to real-time action combat in the medium to long term. This is his assessment of industry trends, not an announcement that any specific game will change its combat system.
In an interview with Alex Rebeck from Radio Times Gaming, Naoki Hamaguchi discussed how the more realistic the graphics of high-budget RPGs become, the more players expect quick, realistic feedback from their controls. To enhance this sense of immersion, developers tend to lean towards action-oriented combat design. During the discussion, he cited Light & Shadow: The 33rd Expeditionary Force as an example to compare the experiences offered by different combat systems.
Naoki Hamaguchi also emphasized that he does not believe action combat is conceptually superior to turn-based systems. In his view, traditional turn-based combat is closer to card battles or tactical puzzles, where players can pause to analyze the situation and choose their actions; however, there is a time delay between issuing commands and characters completing attacks. He believes this pacing is difficult to reconcile with the realistic graphics and continuous immersion pursued by modern AAA games.
The Final Fantasy VII Remake series combines both approaches: players can directly control characters, and also use tactical pause to select spells and special abilities.