At PAX East 2024, we spoke with Final Fantasy XVI: The Rising Tide director Takeo Kujiraoka and producer Naoki Yoshida (Yoshi-P). The duo explained how and why the new DLC should be viewed as more of an expansion akin to what is released for the beloved MMO Final Fantasy XIV. More importantly, though, our talk focused on the importance of the Final Fantasy player community and making the game for everyone. Sure, we talked about finding Leviathan and the process of creating The Rising Tide DLC, but the core of the conversation was all about community and leaving the gate open to the franchise for new players.
Get BWT in your inbox!
Get BWT in your inbox!
From Yoshida mentioning Attack on Titan and Evangelion to explain that everyone loves the concept of large battles to Kujiraoka explaining the importance of just making a good story, read below for our interview and learn why both developers want Final Fantasy XVI and the franchise to be for everyone.
BUT WHY THO: You all have been hinting at Leviathan. It has always been “Leviathan Lost” [with XVI] and now we’re going to see the origin and the Eikon. What was it like to reveal something that you chose to hide in the beginning?
NAOKI YOSHIDA: Early on in Final Fantasy XVI’s development we had this idea of what Eikons as summons are we going to put in the game. Leviathan was one of those first ones [we thought of], but then when assessing the development schedule and cost, we realized that one of [the Eikons] wasn’t probably going to get into the game. So we had to decide which one wasn’t going to get in the game. We decided that the one [excluded] would be Leviathan. But [Leviathan] was still a part of our original idea.
So we gave it that legend of being lost and kind of put little bits in the game. And then we had our idea: If the players want more and we make a DLC, then let’s have that DLC be about Leviathan Lost. But again, it was going to take waiting for that player reaction to see if the players wanted more. When we finally released the game, and the players did want more, it gave us the opportunity to finally tell that story that we wanted to tell but couldn’t and now we can. We’re really excited as well.
If the reaction to Final Fantasy XVI wasn’t good and players didn’t want to see anymore, then no one would have ever got to see this Leviathan story.
BUT WHY THO: How does it feel creatively to be able to finally tell that story that you wanted to tell, but there were development constrictions on?
TAKEO KUJIRAOKA: I mean, we have the story that we wanted to tell and I’m really, really happy that we get the opportunity to tell it. Leviathan is a legacy summon from from the series—everybody knows Leviathan. We’ve seen him from those earlier games, and to be able to have this opportunity to take that from the pixel RPG form and transform that into HD graphics, but also an action type of setting and have that kind of live up to player expectations is something that has been challenging but that I hope that we did well. I hope it’s something that players are going to enjoy.
BUT WHY THO: I really love the idea that you are taking something from the past and bringing it to a new generation of Final Fantasy players. For some people, Final Fantasy XVI may have been their first [game in the series], and for some people, they may just be picking it up because of this DLC. How do you feel knowing that your version of Leviathan could be somebody’s first interaction with the character?
YOSHIDA: So for me, having worked on both Final Fantasy XIV and Final Fantasy XVI, I wanted to recreate that feeling that I felt when first playing those original Final Fantasy [games] when I first encountered the Summons. I wanted to recreate the impact that had on me and realize that for a new generation in Final Fantasy XVI. Then when they play there, they can now go back and play the Pixel Remasters and say, “Oh, this is where Ifrit came from! This is where Leviathan came from!” and see how the two are connected.
KUJIRAOKA: As you know, Leviathan is a serpent type of [Eikon]. And taking this and translating this into an action [game] is something that was very, very difficult for us. One of our earlier ideas was just to have [Leviathan] in the ground and then maybe just have the head come up, and then you fight the head. But that is not how they find him in other [Final Fantasy games], and that’s not interesting—Leviathan is always kind of in the air.
We wanted to make something that was similar to that. Our original design concept was moving away from something that was maybe easier for us to do but making it more authentic to the original. And make [Leviathan] actually come out into the air and move in real-time so that it would feel more like the [character] that we know.
BUT WHY THO: By concluding Leviathan’s myth, what do you want players to take away from seeing this particular part of what you’ve created in XVI? How do you want them to feel or react? What is your hope for the community?
KUJIRAOKA: It is kind of difficult to describe. For us, having created Valesthea and the rule that there are eight elements in this world—but then in the main game, only introducing seven of the elements—we wanted to get that last one out. But again, that was going to be left up to the players. Now that the players have let us tell the story of this final one, it gives us that sense of completion, which is just really exciting for us.
YOSHIDA: But this story about Leviathan fits very well with the main story. So players who maybe haven’t played Final Fantasy XVI and are going to start with this will find it fits seamlessly into the story. It doesn’t feel like we’re just tacking on my thing; it feels like this is part of the actual story. There’s a reason why Leviathan was lost, and that reason will be explained. It fits in perfectly with the main scenario.
So it’s going to be exciting for players who are new to XVI, and it’s not going to feel out of place. But it’s also going to feel exciting for existing players because they’re going to get to learn all of these new aspects of the lore that are tied to the main scenario.
BUT WHY THO: One of the things that I’ve liked hearing you all talk about is how you look to make the community bigger and always bring in more players. Your language has been really thoughtful about somebody who’s stepping into any of the games, including, of course, [Final Fantasy XVI] for the first time.
What is it like when you’re directing or producing a game to keep this central? How do you balance appeasing somebody who’s played [the franchise] already and making sure there’s always a door open for somebody new to come in?
KUJIRAOKA: Well, actually, we didn’t really focus on anything. And his reasoning behind that is that it is because the Final Fantasy IP has existed for a long time, and there are so many games in it. You have players that maybe have started here, some players have started here, some players have started even later. If you try to make a Final Fantasy for one group of players, you will end up alienating the other groups of players. And so rather than trying to make it for one group of players, [we focused on] the fact that Final Fantasy has a Final Fantasy feel. Take that Final Fantasy feel, and then just add it to what you believe is a great game system, a great game, and make that a Final Fantasy.
I think that with Final Fantasy, having the game be different every time is now what Final Fantasy is [known for]. So rather than trying to focus on it too much, we leave it open while giving it that Final Fantasy feel, and that’s what Final Fantasy can be. [I] embrace the fact that all of them are different and so not kind of focusing on creating one thing, just kind of just creating what you think is Final Fantasy and have that be fun…
YOSHIDA: On the other hand, [I] pay close attention to what [I’m] doing when creating these types of things. [I] understand that the stories that we played and experienced when we were young are completely different from the stories that there are now. If you look at the movies and games that we grew up with compared to what’s going on with Netflix and Hollywood now, the speed and tempo of entertainment have increased. So creating something that’s going to fit that feel of now is very important.
With that said, that’s the story. When it comes to video games, one thing that becomes very important—because you’re not just watching the story you’re actually playing the story—is character development and exploring the characters. You’re getting that character’s experience through action playing, so you have to create a game that’s going to feel good in order to get across that character’s experiences. In that sense, it’s more about creating a game. It’s got to be interesting and be able to tell that story while also exploring that character and what makes them interesting.
The Final Fantasy XVI concept has always been about these large-scale Eikon versus Eikon battles. You have entertainment such as Attack on Titan and Evangelion where you have these large-scale battles, and it doesn’t matter if you’re old or young, that’s exciting. If we create [large-scale battles], then we’re going to cover everybody.
Then once you have those things down, story, character development, and something that’s going to excite everyone… it’s about taking the FF feel and putting that on top of it. Once you get that far, then you’re not thinking about anything. You’re just thinking about keeping that FF feel.
Ultimately, it comes down to whether we enjoy playing the game that we’ve created. It’s fine as long as we think it feels good and enjoy it, and we think it’s a [Final Fantasy] then it works.
BUT WHY THO: For context, I asked that because Final Fantasy has been one of the gaming franchises that has actually felt approachable to me. XIV was my first Final Fantasy. So I asked that because one of the things that is clear from how you’ve [both] talked about the game is how much you value community and the player and allowing new players to make a Final Fantasy memory.
YOSHIDA: I mean, I think with Final Fantasy, because there are numbers on it, people have a tendency to think, “I’m entering the series late.” But it’s not about entering the series early or late. It’s not about that. Don’t worry about the numbers because each game is independent. You can enter from anywhere.
We’ve been kind of looking at our patches on Final Fantasy XIV as each patch, we’re creating the newest Final Fantasy. In the end, it just comes down to, you know, whether the game is interesting or not. So yeah, we want to welcome everyone, and then you tell your users how interesting it is and how easy it is to come into the series. VII Rebirth is currently the newest, but once [The Rising Tide] is released, that will be the newest one. And then Dawntrail, you know?
This interview was conducted via translation provided by Localization Director Michael-Christopher Koji Fox and has been edited for length and clarity.
Final Fantasy XVI: The Rising Tide releases on PlayStation 5 on April 18, 2024.
