The long-running RPG series that is Final Fantasy may not be doing all that hot, as Final Fantasy XVI (FFXVI)‘s producer, Naoki Yoshida, shared his candid thoughts about how it hasn’t been very adaptable to sea changes in recent times.
“In terms of whether Final Fantasy is successfully adapting to industry trends, I believe the series is currently struggling,” Yoshida expressed in an interview with Inverse. “We’re now at a point where we receive a wide variety of requests regarding the direction of our game design.”
It’s something worth looking into, especially with the man himself having some experience in the area. Before the thriving MMORPG that it is today, Final Fantasy XIV was far from a success with generic, wonky gameplay, unhappy players, and demoralised developers. Yoshida, who is also known as Yoshi-P, later took over the reins and turned it into an acclaimed competitor to Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft. The overwhelming popularity even saw Square Enix halting sales of its latest expansion to manage player traffic. It’s also likely that the company’s management has some part to play in this issue.
The turnabout is certainly an impressive feat, and makes Yoshida one of the most qualified people to speak about the franchise’s need for innovation. His combined pool of expertise and personal belief has prompted him to take FFXVI in a darker direction than most Final Fantasy games — in fact, the upcoming title will be the first mainline entry to get an ‘M’ rating.
“To be honest, it’d be impossible to satisfy all those requests with a single title. My current impression is that all we can really do is create multiple games, and continue creating the best that we can at any given time,” explained the producer, likely in an attempt to set realistic expectations for the series.
FFXVI was initially scheduled for a big year-end announcement in 2021, but has now been delayed to a vague Summer 2023 launch. That doesn’t mean Yoshida will be leaving FFXVI in the dust, though, as he outlined his hopes for the game’s longevity as a live service title: “I want to keep making sure that Final Fantasy XIV will be fondly remembered by many as a fun game that gave them the best gaming experience. I also want to make sure that it will remain in operation for decades to come.”
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
