Final Fantasy 14 producer and director Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida says watching a new Gundam anime has left him inspired to return to the MMO and nail one of his oldest goals for the series.
Yoshida is currently doing the media rounds following Anime Expo, where he has been given the chance to take a step back and discuss his older work, inspirations, and what he's watching these days. Of course, with some Final Fantasy 14 reflections sprinkled in for good measure.
Speaking to Famitsu, Yoshida says one of his recent obsessions is Bandai Namco and Studio Khara's Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX. Industry veterans like FLCL director Kazuya Tsurumaki, Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno, and Revolutionary Girl Utena writer Yoji Enokido being on board is rad. However, the real standout is how the show takes the source material of the 1979 original anime and adds some twists.
It's a bold move considering how it risks angering veteran fans, and Yoshida is impressed.
"However, the story does not stop there," he says (thanks, Automaton). "Younger generations who have never been exposed to the Gundam series got curious to see what all the hype was about and started entering the Gundam rabbit hole one by one – I've seen this happen all across Japan. As a result, the older and younger generations came together to discuss [and share their love for] Gundam."
It's that very ability to appeal to fans old and new that left Yoshida reflecting on an age-old goal to turn Final Fantasy 14 into a 'theme park' for the iconic JRPG series.
"I wanted to create a place where different generations of FF fans could come together, regardless of their age, nationality, or gender," he says. "That is why, for more than 10 years so far, we've been struggling to find a balance between referencing past Final Fantasy games and introducing new content for FF14."
Of course, that's not to say Final Fantasy 14 is going to follow Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX's steps too closely, though the anime's "breakthrough" has made Yoshida realize there's always a different approach you can take to pushing the limits when marrying the old and the new. More mechs, anyone?
Final Fantasy 14 director Yoshi-P admits recent raid was "a misstep in development" that "wasn't meant to be hardcore," says Square is "trying to satisfy both" casual and hardcore MMO players.
