‘We really want players to enjoy the story’
Final Fantasy XIV is a fantastic and accessible game, but MMOs aren’t exactly known for being accessible.
The genre is a heck of a lot of fun, especially if you can dive into a game and have a veteran or friend show you the ropes, but the new player experience can be rough if you’re going at it alone. There’s a lot to memorize beyond your normal rotation, like item synergy, leveling paths, navigation skills; the list goes on. FFXIV producer Naoki “Yoshi P” Yoshida is aiming to make a lot of that easier in his next project: Final Fantasy XVI.
Speaking to Game Hack during a radio show in Japan, Yoshida confirmed that the team was working on a “mode for players who want to focus on story” in XVI. A story mode, if you will. Yoshida goes on to say: “We really want players to enjoy the story, so we’re preparing a mode for players who want to focus on story. Since we have quite the substantial support actions, we’re of course preparing something easy to operate and smooth to play. Don’t worry too much…players who aren’t good at action games.”
Yoshida also has a lot to say about the series as a whole, stating: “I’m from the generation that has been playing the Final Fantasy series from the first game in real-time—I’m almost in my 50s. I think the Warriors of Light have grown up in their own worlds, so I want to create a world of Final Fantasy that those who know the good and bad of reality can also be passionate about.” In a very personal statement, he explains “I believe there are certain hardships that are experienced when becoming an adult, so I want to make the main theme of this game something that those who grew up playing Final Fantasy and understand reality can still enjoy, get something out of, and think about.”
This is something I feel like the series has always been on point with to an extent, so I’m glad to see Yoshi P is still at the helm.
Final Fantasy XVI [Games Talk via Gematsu]
