Final Fantasy XIV director Naoki “Yoshi-P” Yoshida has revealed that he used World Of Warcraft as a reference for the 2013 reboot of the MMORPG.
In a new interview with PCGamesN, Yoshida spoke on the different aspects of WoW which were brought over to FFXIV: A New Realm. The director also talked about the Blizzard Entertainment game’s continued influence, as well as the need to keep up with newer MMOs.
“If there was no World Of Warcraft – which is a game we look to as a great ‘mentor’ of sorts, and respect deeply – FFXIV’s strong recovery wouldn’t have been possible,” Yoshida said. “When taking the lead to relaunch a failed project, I don’t think you can afford to have the type of game you’d like to create in mind as your motivation. But I was playing WoW, and used that as a form of study.”
Despite taking cues from the long-running WoW, Yoshi-P also noted that there was a “strong influence from FFXI” as well, in order for it to be a game with a “strong story”. However, the director also said that the decision “wasn’t due to my personal taste, but because of the title’s standing in the Final Fantasy series”.
Even though Final Fantasy XIV: A New Realm turns eight this year, Yoshida said that the game continues to be shaped by Blizzard games. But more than that, the director also stays abreast of the MMO scene in general, saying that he “check[s] the basic systems of MMORPGs launching around the world”.
“However, FFXIV has always carved its own path. We sometimes worry about what direction to take in a few years’ time. We have plans, but it goes without saying that the details of what we’re considering are all top secret,” he continued.
Square Enix is set to launch Endwalker later this year, the fourth major expansion pack to FFXIV. The game will be released on November 23, but players who pre-order the game digitally will be able to access the expansion on November 19.
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