We spoke with the producer of Final Fantasy XVI, Naoki Yoshida. Find out what he has to say about the latest instalment in the series here
There are only a few days left until the release of Final Fantasy XVI and the latest part of the legendary series is eagerly awaited. We had the chance to talk to producer Naoki Yoshida about the game.
New, darker beginning for the series
Final Fantasy XVI is on the horizon, bringing a breath of fresh air to the game’s already 35-year history.
The sixteenth part introduces us to the world of Valisthea, which is a good portion darker and more adult than the predecessors. So already the demo, which let us play the first two hours of FF16, is filled to the lid with tragedies and drama of a merciless world.
This new direction was already the goal of the developers from the beginning as producer Naoki Yoshida tells us:
In our opinion, for really touching moments of light and hope, you need the dark and gloomy moments
The plot of the game is ultimately set in a time of war and the developers wanted to depict the brutality with all its effects on soldiers and other people involved.
The focus on story was a pillar of Final Fantasy XVI’s development early on, and then helped lead to the decision to implement an action combat system to better portray the drama of the story.
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“We wanted to focus on a story that touches everyone “
The pivotal point of the new Final Fantasy is, as usual, the story. And according to Yoshida, it was a matter of the developers’ hearts to create a story that touches everyone this time.
In order to make the series even bigger, it was important to bring along not only the fans of the last Final Fantasy games or the older gamers, but also newcomers who have not yet played a Final Fantasy.
Accordingly, Square Enix conducted research with Final Fantasy gamers, older fans and finally gamers who have never played Final Fantasy before before before starting development. Since the answers from the surveys strongly overlapped with the concepts and story of Final Fantasy XVI, they were very confident about the basic idea.
In particular, a return to a “high fantasy” world with less science fiction as in the recent more modern single player parts 13 and 15 was important to the fans and reflected in the developers’ desire to go into such a setting.
Inspiration from West and East
The story and gameplay of FF16 have many sources of inspiration from Western pop culture. In various interviews, for example, Yoshida has repeatedly mentioned titles such as The Witcher or even Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings as shaping the game.
But in the case of the flagship of cinematic battles between espers, many Japanese works again flowed into the development.
Espers (or summons) run like a thread through the Final Fantasy series. As often as they appeared, players had never been able to control them directly until now. In Final Fantasy XVI, fans can finally directly control the mighty powers of Ramuh, Ifrit and other familiar names.
To make these battles feel appropriately powerful and overwhelming, the developers have drawn on their youth with series like Kamen Rider, Ultraman, Evangelion, Attack on Titan, Gundam, Godzilla and more.
How much “Final Fantasy” is in Final Fantasy XVI?
Dark setting, Action combat system with no playable party members and more – with all the innovations Part 16 brings to the series, many older fans are wondering if FF 16 is still Final Fantasy at all. A question that Yoshida also takes seriously, of course.
As the developers themselves are also big fans of the series, there are many allusions to older parts in Final Fantasy XVI, such as the moment when the “Final Fantasy XVI” title screen appears. This is meant as a homage to the very first Final Fantasy from 1987.
For those sceptical of the new battle system, Yoshida also told us that for Final Fantasy XVI, a turn-based system just didn’t fit:
“First of all, I want to make it clear that we are not explicitly against turn-based games. We are fans of them too. But for the story we want to tell, the look and feel of dynamic, non-ending action that best fits the story and what feelings we want to evoke in players, a turn-based system or a hybrid system didn’t feel right. It interrupted the flow of the game. “
Nevertheless, the developers have made the effort to ensure that beginners in the action genre can enjoy the game. With special items and a game mode that reduce the difficulty, the game experience can be individually adjusted to the desired level.
Always trying to create the best game
For those critics who say Final Fantasy XVI has strayed too far from the series’ roots, Yoshida counters with his own perspective:
“What makes Final Fantasy so special is that every single game (in the series) has been developed to realise the vision of the best game of the respective directors and developers“
A philosophy that Final Fantasy veterans and creators Hironobu Sakaguchi and Yoshinori Kitase have already embodied and brought to the games. While there are many unifying elements within the series, the developers are also each free enough to create their vision of the best game and story.
Each Final Fantasy is unique and stands on its own. This also allows gamers to play the series in any order, as they would always represent a new world, new characters, and a new promise of a good game.
Further, Yoshida states that the decisions regarding the battle system and story in FF16 are also not necessarily crucial for the future of the series. After all, that is the task of the team for the next Final Fantasy, what the “best game” should look like.
