“Alphinaud would absolutely be a Redditor” – 'FF14: Endwalker' interview with Naoki Yoshida

When Naoki Yoshida took over as Final Fantasy XIV’s director and producer in 2010 shortly after launch, the MMORPG was in a disastrous state. Most PCs couldn’t handle its absurdly detailed environments, a bizarre adherence to old-school role-playing mechanics made combat joyless, and even simple movements like jumping were bafflingly absent. Yoshida knew that virtually everything had to be rebuilt from the ground up.

Final Fantasy XIV’s world and characters, however, remained as a narrative foundation. With each minor update or massive patch that fixed the game’s technical issues, its storyline would also slowly build into what many consider the best in Final Fantasy’s history. Especially once the wildly popular and critically acclaimed Shadowbringers expansion came out in 2019.

Endwalker will be Final Fantasy XIV’s biggest expansion to date, and the development team is looking to one-up Shadowbringers — including its story. 

“Endwalker’s storyline is going to be immense,” Yoshida says. “It’s going to have lots of interesting quests with fully-voiced cutscenes. And of course, tons of new battles that we hope players enjoy.” 

The mere notion of outdoing Shadowbringers is like saying your Star Wars movie will top The Empire Strikes Back. It’s one thing to say it, but another to do it — a sentiment that’s all too prevalent among Final Fantasy XIV players. Heck, most of them don’t even believe Fandaniel, one of Endwalker’s new villains, will hold a candle next to Shadowbringer’s big-bad, Emet-Selch. Yoshida is all-too-familiar with folks brushing off the fresh, nefarious face in town, though.

“I feel that fans had a similar reaction to Emet-Selch as they do now with Fandaniel,” Yoshida explains. “When Emet-Selch first appeared as Emperor Solus zos Galvus in patch 4.4 or 4.5, I remember everyone going ‘Ugh, not another ascian’ claiming he was overdramatic and overblown.” 

Then, of course, Emet-Selch went on to be arguably Final Fantasy’s greatest villain. Fans just had to, you know, actually give him a chance. However, Yoshida wants everyone to know that directly comparing Fandaniel to Emet-Selch is a fruitless endeavor, as they serve different purposes in their respective stories. 

“Emet-Selch was the primary antagonist of Shadowbringers,” Yoshida states. “He was the flipside to the player’s coin, your opposite in many ways. You were trying to prevent another umbral calamity while Emet-Selch was trying to incite one. That’s not what Fandaniel’s role in Endwalker is, as he’s not even the last boss of this expansion. That’s all I’ll say for now.”

The more Yoshida goes into Final Fantasy XIV’s story, the more apparent it is that he’s every bit invested in its characters as fans are, which comes as no surprise. After all, he’s worked hand-in-hand with the game’s scenario writers for over a decade. Endwalker will serve as a finale for several members of Final Fantasy XIV’s cast of characters, including its central heroes: the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. For most, it’s hard to choose a favorite, but not for Yoshida.

“That would be Alphinaud,” Yoshida says, barely needing a moment to answer. “I don’t have any siblings, so Alphinaud is like a younger brother to me. He’s studious, great at his studies, but he’s also passionate about bringing peace to the world.” 

Yoshida believes that Alphinaud’s propensity to talk, usually before thinking things through, is part of the character’s charm. 

“Alphinaud talks so much,” Yoshida says. ”He’d be like that kid that posts on Reddit about his ideals. But when he faces reality and his failures, Alphinaud learns how to become more humble and to accept those people reaching out to help him. I feel that he’s a protagonist amongst the NPCs that appear, so I would encourage players to pay close attention to how he grows in Endwalker. But yeah, he’s my favorite Scion. I think he’s cute as a button. But because I think he’s my adorable little brother, I’m harsh on him, too.”

There’s no question about that. After all, accusing a loved one of being a Redditor isn’t exactly flattering. 

“He would absolutely be a Redditor,” Yoshida laughs. “He’d be on [Reddit] shouting about how the world should be. Once he made it to Ishgard, however, he moved on from being a Redditor. Though I think he still lurks to see what everyone else is saying.”

Be it Final Fantasy VII’s magical materia or entire raids devoted to Final Fantasy XII’s world of Ivalice, Final Fantasy XIV has a long history of referencing earlier entries. Endwalker appears to tip its hat generously in Final Fantasy IV’s direction, particularly with all of the interstellar iconography. It’s a curious decision considering many tropes associated with the series began there. However, Yoshida insists that the parallels between the two games are more straightforward than most fan speculation would lead you to believe.

“Whenever we discussed going to the moon, the development team and I naturally thought about Final Fantasy IV,” Yoshida explains. “I’m sure all long-time players feel similarly. Of course, Endwalker is going to be completely its own story. But we did want to have that aroma of Final Fantasy IV lingering in the background.”

That nostalgic scent encompasses much of Endwalker, not just for previous entries but for everyone that’s stood in Hydaelyn’s radiant light. From players eager to witness how this chapter in Eorzea’s history concludes to a development team that’s poured every fiber of their being into Final Fantasy XIV over the past decade — on November 23, 2021, they’ll all get to march toward an undiscovered country. Yoshida only hopes the journey is worth it.

“We would love for players to enjoy the main scenario quest for sure,” he says. “Even if we haven’t quite finished making it yet.”

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.