Final Fantasy XIV and FF16 Producer Naoki Yoshida says the series has struggle to adapt to modern trends, and how he wants to address that.
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Maybe Final Fantasy needs to just be Final Fantasy and stop trying to be like everybody else. I'm tired of samey games all trying to emulate one another, and I want games series to keep their own identity. We saw this with FF7R becoming a Kingdom Hearts clone, it's like seriously? We're doing this now? Not everything has to be all action RPG, I mean, look at DQ11 and Persona 5. They're turn-based, just like FF once was, and they're doing fine. They're loved by the fans of those franchises despite how they haven't changed a whole lot. Heck, DQ11 on Steam has somewhat recently received the ability to turn off the fancy 3D stuff and display the game as a 2D environment and people talk like that's the best way to play it, even! And then you have indie games like OMORI that are fully turn-based and it has an Overwhelmingly Positive rating at 98%+ on Steam, despite the fact it's made in RPGMaker.
TL;DR: You don't need to "modernize", and you don't need to chase trends. Figure out what you want FF to be, and keep FF, FF. That's what the other successful series did. Tales is doing well, Persona is doing well, and Dragonquest is doing well and they stuck to their guns for the most part. It's just FF needs to stop throwing noodles at the wall to see what sticks, the reason FF struggles is because they can't just stick to one thing and keep it there.
Yeah, I knew Yoshi-P was an idiot. Final Fantasy doesn't need to adapt. It needs to strongly be what it was always supposed to be and stay relevant by actually releasing games.
He's right and SE knows this, otherwise they wouldn't be relying on CBU3 to shoulder the majority of the weight of their flagship franchise. Genuinely think Square Enix would be next to nothing without Yoshi-P, they should count themselves lucky that he's gone on record saying XIV is his life's work. He's worked hard to turn XIV over from one of the biggest disasters in the industry to something that now triumphs over inarguably one of the most influential games of all time (WoW) by doing exactly what he thinks FF isn't doing. He's both adapted that game to fit what it needs to be while also firmly planting his foot down on sticking to a direction with it. He's one of few directors in games that I would trust with literally any project.
I think a lot of Western-influenced companies are having that same issue, following trends rather than sticking to their core design philosophy (not all, of course – just look at Supergiant Games). Long-historied series always face this issue, especially as technology advances and culture shifts (it probably also doesn't help that videogames came out during a timeframe in which the more advanced countries were in the middle of said shift), but the most successful games remained successful because, as you said, they stuck to their core game design while finding ways to innovate on them, but because of various shifts in Square after the acquisition of Enix and the burgeoning mainstream acceptance of videogames in the West as a legitimate form of entertainment caused Square to become pulled in too many directions – hence the myriad disparities between Final Fantasies 10 through 13 and onward (need I also mention the disaster that was the development hell of Versus XIII, KH3, and FFXV?)…
Great video. Great points. FF has been struggling to establish an identity since the beginning of the PS3 era.
Maybe something that is timeless doesnt need to adapt. And perhaps better to pursue mastery over a craft, instead of constantly struggling to meet something that is constantly changing. Like Bruce Lee said, i fear not the one who did 10,000 kicks once, but the one who practiced one kick 10,000 times.
So at 1:15 NSP are you telling us Square Enix finds this type of game impossible to develop? Sakaguchi was able to make Lost Odyssey in a cave! With a box of scraps!
The most important thing is that they choose a style and stick to it, what defined FF for moe from 1 to 10 is that it was a turn based RPG with a big world and great stories. I feel like FF7R was on the right track I was hoping FF16 was going to adapt that combat style but with some changes and they could improve on the system as they go it could be their identity a semi turn based/action based combat that allows for party members to be present duringthe combat with full control in the hands of the player, but then again FF16 is now a DMC like game which I don't mind but I think that's the main reason the series is struggling they lost their identity and simply can't find it again. And just try to hop on which ever popular and try to emulate that.
They really should have built upon X-2's combat system. Not the dress-sphere system but the combat system itself.
Right! I been saying this for years… not a knock to the new ones but after Sakaguchi stepped down it become about more about sequels and for me less about the "fantasy" aspect and some of the core things that were in 1-10… Also I miss airships… I really hope Rebirth can have a way where we can control and board the Highwind.
What's your thoughts on soul hacker 2 and it's plethora of questionable day 1 DLC
FF14 has even gotten boring
I love that se is going to action based! I love the Nomura battle system in Kingdom hearts and the flexibility 7 remake gives. The ability to go full action or turn based is really amazing.
With Origins though…. it was so close to being amazing! The thing that bugged me most was that parrying attacks and block weren’t the same button.
Side note: 15 has the most epic soundtrack and is under loved.
I feel like the gaming industry as a whole has been struggling to adapt to these new times. And the major reason for this is that the industry itself became way more competitive. Making games is no longer about making a fun game, sharing your vision as a designer & team or having a passion. It's about profit, beating the other games in the genre, being better then the other developers.
In the past, companies would congratulate each other with successful launches because they were all in it together, now we see a successful game like Elden Ring being bashed by other studio's.
This all creates a environment where they have to get a whole new trend chasing game out every year that makes the most profit possible, instead of truly showing us a vision like art should do. I guess it's the same difference between fine art like Van Gogh and a cheaply mass produced poster line in your local 1 dollar store.
Also, FF used to be setting industry standards, now it is chasing them.
"There's no game series I can think of that throws off the core game mechanics" Let's talk about Sonic The Hedgehog…
"Final Fantasy" died a long time ago. What we have now is a company that makes a bunch of various RPGs and slaps the Final Fantasy name on whichever one it thinks it can get away with it on. Remember, Xenogears was supposed to be called Final Fantasy 7. The only reason it wasn't was that it was thought to have too dark a story. Final Fantasy 7 Remake isn't even Final Fantasy. The gameplay is completely changed. If the gameplay is changed…it's a different game you are playing. If you made a first person shooter or Real Time Strategy game and slap the Final Fantasy 7 story on it that does not make it Final Fantasy IMO.
ATB. Just have ATB.
All they have to do is 1, keep the main two things about Final Fantasy, which are deep long story-telling and fun game-play. 2, just adapt to the graphics.
FF has had problems since 10.
1-6 were consistent.
7-9 were consistent.
Ever since 10 they’ve tried random formulas to see what’s stuck.
10 3rd person story game
11 mmorpg
12 single player mmo…?
13 completely linear sci-fi-ish
14 mmorpg again?
14 re-release better mmorpg
15 story…again?
7 r ….story…remake
16 …game of …thrones..? What?
So FF16 is going to have a hang glider. Confirmed.
What made FF7 skyrocket into the mainstream was a deep effort on story. Everything else seems great if it supports a great story. Gameplay and levels are easy. Story is hard. Look at what drives the film industry and how hard it is to get a good story right. Games need to be the new film.
Hopping on the hamsterwheel of following trends will just inevitably lead to failure if they don't pick a concise idea, stick to it and make the best possible game they can.
Fromsoftware has gone against the trends for more than a decade and now they are the trend settlers and that was by sticking to their guns and making a product they belive in.
SE's real issue is thei board members
they want profit so much they ready to sacrifice anything
does Final fantasy needs to change its heart in every game?
look at tales game, tales of arise in essence is still tales, yes maybe it's not as well knows as big selling as FF
but the heart is there, but FF, FF15 was honestly a turn off for me in overall FF serie
now FF16 , hoping it will get that FF heart again
Sometimes change is not always better. Look at Dragon Age, started very turn based with the first one, went action based the second one, went to a action/turnbase the third one. That whole time they kept the dialogue system, world creatures. Most think DA1 was the best. Mass Effect, first was a simple shooter with rpg elements and sandbox exploration, second was more tuned better writing, third leaned more into action and tunnels and multiplayer, it had a similar dialogue feature. I would say most gamers think 2 was the best. Andromeda tried to change alot and got mixed reception.
FF is a trend setter. Look at Xenoblade 3. Its like XIV and FFXII had a baby, and it got outstanding reviews.
I feel like YoshiP is the one struggling to adapt. I love old school FF, I don't want to play his version of WoW and DmC.