Following the announcement of Final Fantasy XIV's next big expansion with "Dawntrail", various press and media outlets had the opportunity to sit down with producer and director Naoki Yoshida for a bit of a chat following the first day's events. Whilst the topics did cover a few notes on the expansion, the session was largely keyed in on the game's 10th anniversary and general FFXIV discussion. We at Nova Crystallis had a chance to be there and did have one of our questions pertaining to the 10th anniversary developments and retrospectives selected for an answer. The basis of the question we asked was largely centered on recent discussions with fan feedback. There had been a bit of a revelation that Yoshida often looks at fan comments on social media and the like and how that affects him. With that in mind, we crafted a broader question that looks more at what goes through his and the team's mind when they get so much of that feedback and requests, and how as a developer do they balance that out after ten years of doing just that while still keeping in mind their philosophies of what FFXIV should be. This sort of thing

On June 11, 2023, hundreds of Final Fantasy fans from around the world gathered on a small studio sound stage in Los Angeles to commemorate the coming release of Final Fantasy XVI on PlayStation 5. The event was filled with fun events including photo opportunities with a giant Ifrit sculpture, demo stations to try out the Eikonic Challenge, autograph sessions with the voice cast and developers, and live panels highlighting the music, story, and combat of the game.  In between all of the fun opportunities during the event, we were lucky enough to get the chance to interview Ben Starr and Ralph Ineson, the voices of Clive Rosfield and Cidolfus Telamon, and learn more about their experience while working on Final Fantasy XVI. When I asked Ben and Ralph what their inspirations were when they were performing their roles as Clive and Cid respectively, Ralph said it was the script and the character backgrounds that allowed him to find the voice for Cid. “The fact that Cid’s been a soldier all his life, he’s kind of a toughened man–that informs his humor.”  For Ben, he drew on the more personal tragedies that Clive experiences throughout the story of Final Fantasy XVI to breathe

Back in April 2023, Square Enix released a two-part conversation with Final Fantasy series creators Hironobu Sakaguchi, Kazuko Shibuya, and Yoshinori Kitase. Today, an English language version is available to watch, and we've transcribed the interview below. In this first part, (read/watch the second part here) we get a behind the scenes look at development on the first three Final Fantasy games as well as a peek at the different locations the Square office inhabited in the early days of the series. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgngEQOFcWs Everything started in 1987, when the first FINAL FANTASY was released. Over 35 years, FINAL FANTASY has grown into a world-renowned RPG series. The Creators talk about the history of FINAL FANTASY from the beginning up to FFVI, the pinnacle of the 2D era. They are: Hironobu Sakaguchithe father of FINAL FANTASY One of Japan's pixel game creators. Founded Mistwalker in 2004 and brought numerous RPGs to the world. In recent years he is also a well known as a player of FFXIV. Currently resides in Hawaii. Yoshinori KitaseFINAL FANTASY Brand Manager First worked on the FINAL FANTASY series as a planner on FINAL FANTASY Adventure (known as "Mystic Quest" in Europe) and went on to direct various titles starting with FFV. Kitase graduated

Romancing SaGa Re;univerSe is the latest entry in the storied SaGa series dating back to the GameBoy in 1990. Some will likely remember the first title as The Final Fantasy Legend, but it's spanned several generations of console and handheld devices before arriving on smartphones as a free-to-play game. Based on the Romancing SaGa series that released on the Super Famicom in the '90s (which were recently remade and localized on many platforms) Re;universe makes it's international debut after an initial release in Japan back in 2018. SaGa series producer Masanori Ichikawa was kind enough to take our questions below: We've seen several SaGa series games release overseas recently including Romancing SaGa Re;univerSe. What factors led to this? Thank you for interviewing me, Nova Crystallis. This is Masanori Ichikawa, the producer of the SaGa series. Three titles—Romancing SaGa 2, Romancing SaGa 3, and SaGa SCARLET GRACE: AMBITIONS—were recently released overseas were met with very enthusiastic responses from hardcore fans. In Japan, we are celebrating the Saga series’ 30th anniversary this year. I believe the SaGa brand awareness is still low outside of Japan, so we’ve decided to release this title with the hope that more people will play SaGa games.  What challenges were there in adapting SaGa

It's been more than six months since Final Fantasy XIV's second expansion "Stormblood" released, and now the game is deep within its so-called "patch series", where quarterly updates to the game introduce more content such as the continuation of the main scenario, new raids, new features, and so on. Recently we had the chance to chat with producer/director Naoki "Yoshi-P" Yoshida on the state of the game, the reception to Stormblood, and what it means for the future of the mainline MMORPG. —Stormblood came out in June and now we're on patch 4.1 and 4.18 - how do you feel about the response to the latest updates? Naoki Yoshida: First and foremost, it’s not just the development team, but the internal operations team, PR and marketing team . We’ve updated the record subscriber numbers and it's the biggest since the A Realm Reborn launch. This is something we didn’t really expect. It’s not just that we are so happy about these results, but it was also quite a big surprise. And it’s not just a success in the business side of things, but we also received a metascore of more than 90%, and this is quite rare for an MMORPG to get such

With Final Fantasy XIV's second major expansion on the horizon, it's natural we still have plenty of questions. After all, the undertaking is proving to be absolutely massive with each reveal - as to be expected with two new jobs, new locations, battle system updates and more. With Heavensward wrapped up it's time to look toward the game's future and all the improvements it's looking to bring along for the ride. We had the chance to catch up with Naoki Yoshida during a media round-table and presentation in Hamburg, Germany. What were the reasons behind the upcoming boost items? Will we ever see Final Fantasy XIV on Switch and will Yoshi-P be a boss enemy in the game one day? The producer/director tells all in our full interview. —Stormblood features the new job classes Red Mage and Samurai. Will we get more iconic job classes like Blue Mage or Illusionist in the future? Naoki Yoshida: We have yet to release the Stormblood expansion and for the last two years we have always asked what kind of jobs we should include in the next expansion. Finally we are able to tell you that it’s going to be Red Mage and Samurai and that you

Following up the first day of Final Fantasy XIV's final leg of Fan Festival activities in Frankfurt, producer/director Naoki Yoshida had a chance to sit down for a special Stormblood-themed round-table conference. Nova Crystallis along with select press from around the world were in attendance for a chat discussing different aspects of the upcoming expansion - including locations and the newly revealed Samurai job class. Yoshida: Thank you for staying so late for this. Last October we began our group of Fan Festivals in Las Vegas, and then Tokyo and now our final one here in Frankfurt. With each Fan Fest, we use it to reveal new information about Stormblood. While there are still new things to reveal, we feel like we’ve given you a good idea of what Stormblood will entail. I know you have a lot of questions, and there may be some things I can’t answer but I’ll try to answer as many as I can in the time we have. I’ve been standing all day in these so I’m going to sit down. —After this third event, what experience have you gotten from meeting fans from different places? Yoshida: Having these festivals is for the fans, but it's for the development

A Stage Reborn is a community-run theater troupe of Final Fantasy XIV players that’s taken to performing in-game events, including their most recent performance of “I Want to Be Your Canary”, a play that originally appeared in 2000’s Final Fantasy IX.   It’s been a big hit with the game’s community, and has garnered a following that’s offered to volunteer in the production and has invested in their future projects as well.   Steve Pederzani (in-game name Wanderer Sabaku of Diabolos), is founder and chair of A Stage Reborn’s board, and we had a chat regarding their recent show and how it all comes together.   Nova Crystallis: How did A Stage Reborn get started?   Pederzani: A Stage Reborn started after I attended a Free Company’s public event on my server in October 2015. It was a costume contest, and a lot of players were hyped over it and enjoyed the event. With how serious people sometimes treat endgame content and how boring waiting for the next patch could get, it was refreshing. I realized this level of player-created in-game entertainment was something the community could really benefit from, and would also be a great way to engage people in creativity. Nobody was doing events like this

Last year, Square Enix surprised the world with a special announcement at E3 - a little-known game called NieR would be getting a sequel. The original 2010 release failed to live up to critical and sales expectations alike, spelling doom for the now cult classic RPG. For as much love as it received in smaller circles, many fans believed a sequel nigh impossible. That is, until now. Square Enix revealed a surprise partnership with Platinum Games who are bringing their action game specialties to the plate. Married with Taro Yoko's world building and story-telling it's bound to be a treat. We recently had a chance to sit down with Yosuke Saito, NieR series producer as well as storied composer Keiichi Okabe, known for his work on the original NieR and Tekken franchise. During the interview we discuss the world of NieR: Automata, teaming up with Platinum Games and some of the concepts behind the unexpected sequel. Nova Crystallis: Can you tell us more about the central aspect of “agaki” (struggle against odds) and how it is reflected by the game’s story, setting and gameplay? Yosuke Saito: The way you would interpret the story may vary from person to person. It’s not an agaki per

Letztes Jahr überraschte Square Enix die Welt mit einer besondereren Ankündigung auf der E3: Das eher recht unbekannte Spiel NieR wird einen Nachfolger bekommen. Das Original erschien 2010 und blieb hinter den Erwartungen für die Verkaufszahlen und Kritiken zurück. Trotz einer eingeschworenen Fangemeinde schien ein Nachfolger bis dato noch unmöglich. In einer überraschenden Partnerschaft tut sich Square Enix mit Platinum Games zusammen, die ihre Erfahrungen mit Action-Games voll ausspielen können. Taro Yoko's Spielwelt und Geschichtenerzählung rundet das Paket ab. Wir hatten vor kurzem die Möglichkeit mit Yosuke Saito, Produzent der NieR-Serie und mit dem Komponisten Keiichi Okabe zu sprechen, der bereits für den Soundtrack zum letzten NieR oder Tekken bekannt ist. Nova Crystallis: Können Sie uns etwas über des "Agaki" (dem Kampf gegen große Widerstände) berichten, das angeblich ein großer Aspekt des Spiels sein soll. Wie wird dies durch die Spielwelt, Geschichte und das Gameplay deutlich? Yosuke Saito:  Die Art und Weise, wie man die Geschichte interpretieren würde, wäre wahrscheinlich für jeden Spieler unterschiedlich. Per se ist es eigentlich kein Agaki, sondern eher der Kampf zwischen den Menschen und den Außerirdischen. Beide Seiten, ebenso auch die mechanischen Lebewesen, haben ihre eigenen Motive, für die sie kämpfen. Nova Crystallis: Soweit wir wissen sind die Augen der Helden