Highlights
- Final Fantasy 16 introduced new gameplay and a darker story, drawing praise from many fans but also backlash from some long-time fans who felt betrayed by the changes.
- Producer Naoki Yoshida (Yoshi-P) expressed frustration with the hate and criticism they have received for the game, describing it as tiresome.
- Despite the negative reception from some fans, Final Fantasy 16 has been successful in terms of sales, selling over three million units in a week.
Final Fantasy 16 producer Naoki Yoshida (known as Yoshi-P) is tired of receiving so much hate from toxic fans. Final Fantasy 16 brought character action gameplay and a darker story to the series, a move that was praised by many people, but rejected by some long-time fans of the franchise.
Final Fantasy 16 was one of the most eagerly awaited games of 2023 for RPG fans and PS5 owners. The new title surprised fans with a story inspired by shows such as Game of Thrones, more mature content, and gameplay that focused more on action and did not resemble previous games in the franchise. Despite these changes, Final Fantasy 16 still received glowing reviews, and it’s currently sitting at 87 on Metacritic, which is nothing to scoff at. However, the release was not a unanimous success.
Yoshi-P has recently revealed that he’s tired of receiving so much hate due to the launch of Final Fantasy 16. According to Audrey Lamsam, who translated some of his interviews from a Japanese mini-documentary, Yoshi-P is calling out abusive fans. He said that some people just yell at him, and are full of negativity and bad intentions in their criticism of the studio’s latest game, which is tiresome.
Overall, the core of the hate stems from how much the game stands out from other titles in the franchise, as some fans feel betrayed by the changes and believe that FF16 is not a “true” game of the series. Final Fantasy 16 was review bombed after its release for this same reason. Overall, this is a very polarizing moment for the IP, as some of the fans feel left behind, while the greater part of the audience has actually liked the game.
Despite some issues with these loud, toxic parts of the fanbase, Final Fantasy 16 is actually doing quite well. A few days ago, Square Enix revealed that it was pleased with FF16 sales, as the game sold over three million units in a single week. While it did not sell as fast as Final Fantasy 15, for example, it’s still enough to say that it was a pretty big success, and that may even mean that the title will get a DLC in the near future, something that the team has already considered before in case of success.
Final Fantasy 16 is available now, exclusively for PS5.
Source: Games Radar
