Last month, a post caught some kind of virus and did the rounds, pondering why kids don’t care about Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest so much anymore, wondering what they do plan now, and anecdotally findering that most of them just play Pokemon. And I truly have to wonder if Final Fantasy 14 producer Naoki “Yoshi-P” Yoshida saw said post, given that in a recent bout of interviews with several key Final Fantasy figureheads in preparation for the next Dissidia game, he himself flat out acknowledged that the youths these days don’t care as much because of the series’ infrequent release schedule.
“I’m 53 now, and I’ve been playing since Final Fantasy 1 in real time,” Yoshida said in the interview, continuing on to say, “But for younger generations – people who grew up naturally accustomed to action-based combat and online competitive play – the recent entries in the series may have been harder to engage with. Part of that is simply because I’m sorry to say . . . the release intervals for new titles have gotten longer, so some players haven’t really had the chance to connect with the series the way older fans did.”
Watch on YouTube
Honestly, I’m a little baffled that Square Enix would willingly let such a point stay in what is a promotional video, though ultimately Yoshida’s point is that he hopes Dissidia Duellum “becomes a place where they can form a community, get excited together, and even discover the broader world of Final Fantasy.” In other words, spread brand awareness.
I do think Yoshida is somewhat right here. Final Fantasy 16 is already three years old this summer. But Final Fantasy 15 came out seven years before that, but if we ignore Final Fantasy 14 which is sort of its own Bahamut, the gap between it and the previous main entry Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13 was only three years. Going back even further, Final Fantasy 1 to 10 were released over the course of 14 years. So you can see where Yoshida is coming from.
On the other hand, I do also think the vibes of Final Fantasy just aren’t quite right for younger audiences. They’re used to that free-to-play, very fan servicey Genshin Impact life, which Dissidia Duellum clearly wants to tap into in its own way through letting you view group chats with beloved characters. Whether that works or not? Who cares! It’s not coming to PC, at least right now, in spite of Square Enix’s whole multiplatform push, so, let ’em do what they want.
