A recent mini-documentary aired in Japan covering the life and works of Final Fantasy series producer Naoki Yoshida (Yoshi-P). Since then, he has come out to discuss how he deals with criticism from the community.
Yoshi-P is responsible for resurrecting Final Fantasy XIV and making it one of the most competitive names in MMORPGs today. Furthermore, he also wrote and directed the story for Final Fantasy XVI, currently a PS5 exclusive, released to rave reviews.
While the documentary is still not available in all countries, some thoughts on behalf of the JRPG developer have been translated, thanks to Aitai Kimochi.
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.
Naoki Yoshida
Being famous, especially in the modern world of the Internet, comes with great personal risk. When you hold the reigns of the most treasured franchise in the history of JRPGs next to Pokémon, you have a lot to answer for.
Final Fantasy started with classic turn-based combat but has evolved over time to adopt a more action-oriented battle system that appeals to gamers worldwide. While this is a welcome change, particularly for newcomers, veterans of old who wish for things to remain as they once always crawl out to complain.
It’s important for people to be free to voice their opinions, but it’s equally important to remain conscious of creators and the fact they are human beings.