Final Fantasy 16's Yoshi-P calls out 'tiresome' trolls
Final Fantasy 16's producer has spoken out about the large amount of negativity surrounding the release of the franchise's latest title.
Naoki Yoshida, nicknamed Yoshi-P, recently appeared in a Japanese documentary about his life and career in game development, with a focus on Final Fantasy 16. The mini-documentary was translated on Twitter by streamer and CEO of Aitai Japan, Audrey Lamsam, who is known as aitaikimochi on the platform.
Naoki Yoshida reacts to negative comments
Alongside a picture of Naoki Yoshida pinching his chin while looking at a computer screen, Lamsam shared a translated section of the Final Fantasy 16 producers' speech, in which he expressed his disappointment at the backlash received from some Japanese commenters.
He said: "There's a lot of people who just yell at you, people I've never seen, met, or talked to before. It's weird. What did we do to them? Perhaps they just write it from a place of negativity and malice. It's tiresome."
The documentary made clear how much Yoshi-P cares about fan reception to the games he is involved in as he checks social media for fan feedback during his breaks at events. He also reportedly watched YouTube videos months before Final Fantasy 16 was released to get an idea of what fans liked and disliked about the game.
Final Fantasy 16 has been divisive amongst fans of the franchise
Click to enlargeWhile it received positive review scores from Metacritic and Open Critic, Final Fantasy 16 has been one of the more divisive games in the franchise. Therefore, while we do not know exactly what Naoki Yoshida is reacting to with his statement, it is not hard to conclude that it is likely a result of the backlash that the game has received.
Since its PS5 launch on 22 June, complaints regarding the game's ‘easy’ combat, lack of RPG elements, and limited grinding have been prevalent in forums and on social media platforms. One Final Fantasy 16 reviewer said: “If this game was a new IP and not carrying the final fantasy name it would be absolutely slated as generic and soulless”.
Despite this, Square Enix recently told IGN it is pleased with Final Fantasy 16’s sales figures which were described as “extremely strong”. This comes as the RPG sold over 3 million units worldwide, despite sales dropping in Japan in its second week.
