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Final Fantasy 14’s Naoki Yoshida, also known as Yoshi-P is often credited for saving the MMORPG’s life. As someone who has played the game since its earliest days, I’ve seen the highs, the lows, and everything in between. MMOs have been a huge part of my career, and my personal life, so it’s been a pleasure to watch the revival of FF14 when A Realm Reborn launched. Recently, I had a chat with the game’s producer/director, to talk about the game’s 10th anniversary.
The current story ended with the Main Story Quest of Final Fantasy 14’s Endwalker expansion, and a new saga awaits us in Dawntrail. FF14 means a great deal to MMO players around the world, so it was a pleasure to speak with Yoshi-P about the game’s earliest days, his fondest memories of the game, and much more.
The MMORPG’s director has a great deal on his plate, also releasing Final Fantasy 16 this year, but he shows no signs of slowing down on Square Enix’s hit MMO. As a lifelong fan of FF14, it was a pleasure to finally speak with Naoki Yoshida about the game millions around the world enjoy. Among the things we discussed, Naoki Yoshida mentioned what led to the unique raid design for FF14. He said:
“With that in mind, naturally, I carefully studied the world’s greatest MMORPG, World of Warcraft, then proceeded with designing a raid from a holistic perspective.”
Yoshi-P discusses 10 years of Final Fantasy 14
Q. Final Fantasy 14 has come a long way since the earliest days of 1.0. From the visuals and storytelling, A Realm Reborn alone was a massive step forward for the game. Was there a particular defining or breaking moment that made you realize the game absolutely had to change?
Yoshi-P: Thank you for your praise regarding the story. The restoration of FFXIV and its reconstruction into A Realm Reborn actually wasn’t directly related to any issues with the story. That isn’t to say the original FFXIV’s story didn’t have any issues; players were more bystanders than protagonists, and their ability to see the past was not utilized very well.
But these problems could’ve been reworked without rebuilding the base systems of the game and its servers. After I took over FFXIV and earnestly investigated its issues for about two months, that was when I realized the game needed a “rebirth.”
I created a game design draft for an ideal mainline entry in the FINAL FANTASY series that would also be an MMORPG, compared that with the existing original FFXIV, and investigated what adjustments would be necessary to approach that ideal.
The biggest issue was the various server structures—Duty Finder and matchmaking, a large-scale in-game market, the concept of clustering across the Worlds—all of these and more were impossible with the original FFXIV’s design. And that was why I approached upper management with the proposal that everything needed to be rebuilt from scratch.
Q. One of the things that’s made Final Fantasy 14 such an enjoyable MMO as an adult who doesn’t have a lot of spare time, is that the content itself - in particular, the raids often doesn’t require intense time sinks unless you’re grinding the hard modes. What was the discussion that led to a switch from more traditional raid content in other MMOs?
Yoshi-P: First of all, I thought about the everyday lifestyle of a gamer around the time of A Realm Reborn and figured most players wouldn’t have enough time to enjoy a grind-heavy game like first-generation MMORPGs, even if we made something that was clearly enjoyable.
Everyone always had a smart device on hand, which meant that social media and other factors left many people with far less “disposable time” compared to previous years; in other words, they had less time to spend playing games.
With that in mind, naturally, I carefully studied the world’s greatest MMORPG, World of Warcraft, and then proceeded to design a raid from a holistic perspective. This approach to game design might be unique to MMORPGs; they are games, but also a type of customer service that offers a place for people to play.
Q. Final Fantasy 14 has also had more references and tributes to earlier franchises than I can conveniently count. The Endwalker expansion may as well have been FF4 the MMO - which I’m very grateful for, as it's my favorite expansion pack in the series. Was there ever any worry that these references to earlier games would not have been valued by the playerbase or were you happy to include them as nods to the history of the franchise regardless of their reception?
Yoshi-P: One of the points of feedback regarding the original FFXIV was how the game didn’t feel like part of the FINAL FANTASY series. I felt the same way when I tried it, so emphasizing the FINAL FANTASY flavor became a major theme for A Realm Reborn. Additionally, I believed an ideal MMORPG would be like a park, where our Development and Operations teams would provide various playground equipment for people of all sorts to enjoy or invent their own ways to play.
At the same time, as a fan of the FINAL FANTASY series, I felt the franchise was lacking an entertainment hub for fans and decided that the goal of A Realm Reborn was to be a “theme park” for the series. A FINAL FANTASY theme park where fans of various ages and nationalities would overcome gender and language barriers to play together.
That’s what FFXIV is about. So while I obviously take note of the feedback we receive, regardless of whether the references are well-received or not, that’s the concept I have in place and will continue to pursue with utmost care.
Q. While Final Fantasy 14 is easily one of the best MMOs on the market today, there are some things that slow down newcomers. Each expansion in the game is great in its own way, but the length and pace of the ARR content have frustrated new players. Has there been any thought into letting players pick an expansion to start in, or do you think that would take away too much from the purpose of the storytelling?
Yoshi-P: Earlier, you mentioned Endwalker is your favorite expansion, which I’m grateful to hear. At the same time, perhaps you’ve come to appreciate Endwalker because you experienced the story that began in A Realm Reborn and continued to follow its course.
From a technical perspective, we already have a system in place that allows players to skip an expansion’s story, namely the “Tales of Adventure” items, albeit they are an optional purchase.
Furthermore, we’ve been making preparations for those who want to skip the story between 2.0 and 6.0—collectively referred to as the “Hydaelyn & Zodiark Saga”—and instead begin from the “Newfound Adventure Saga” in 6.1 with a summary of the story and lore, as well as features to introduce key characters.
That said, I’m still torn on whether or not we should implement a skip. FFXIV is a story-driven MMORPG, which is one of its largest appeals. Even if the introduction to the story may come off as too thorough and dull, is it truly the right choice to skip it? That’s where I’m undecided.
If that is indeed the case, then perhaps revamping A Realm Reborn is the correct choice. But I can’t solve the issue of development resources, so I’m still pondering it even now. (laughs)
Q. The theme of Final Fantasy 14’s 10th anniversary appears to be “Rebirth”, with the Phoenix Riser, and Phoenix mounts. What does the concept of Final Fantasy 14’s rebirth mean to you - going from a game that was doomed, to being revived as one of the greatest MMOs?
Yoshi-P: Well… quite frankly, our theme isn’t meant to be that grandiose. (laughs) Of course, 10 years since A Realm Reborn is a milestone for us, but over the past decade, FFXIV has always strived to deliver new and surprising sensations for our players to experience, and that hasn’t changed one bit.
That said, we needed a conclusion in Endwalker so we could start a new saga rather than awkwardly drag out the story. So it’s a little different from “rebirth,” but perhaps it came off that way since our Development and Operations teams have been extra eager to convey that the interesting, fun, and new things will keep on coming as they always have.
Q. I know it’s hard to pick individual moments from the series as favorites, but as a player - not as a producer/director - what are some of the moments in Final Fantasy 14 that have meant the most to you? What stands out as particularly comical, tragic, or heartwarming?
Yoshi-P: This is a part of my daily life, and perhaps some of you may feel the same way, but my favorite moments are walking my character over to the Aetheryte in the three city-states—Gridania, Ul’dah, and Limsa Lominsa—to watch the hustle and bustle.
I see the crowds of people rushing to new content or destinations during patch releases, plenty of newcomers who still have their sprout icon, friends chatting away amongst each other, and even theatrical plays or musical performances in the plaza.
I love MMORPGs, so those are the kind of moments I enjoy the most. I have many memories as just another player, but whenever I enter Savage with various people in Party Finder and manage a clear, it’s always an amazing feeling. My saddest memory might be in the Second Coil of Bahamut – Turn 2; I was pulling Renaud as a black mage when I was told, “Could you play summoner instead?” (laughs)
Yoshi-P continues to work on Final Fantasy 14's updates as the Producer and Director of the MMORPG. He also actively plays the game, alongside over 27 million other total registered players. We've also interviewed another fan of the game earlier this year, mangaka Mieri Hiranishi.
