For a couple of years now, we’ve heard Final Fantasy XVI is impressed by HBO’s Game of Thrones, and through my cowl story journey to Tokyo, Japan, to talk with Creative Business Unit III, I realized extra about this. Specifically, and maybe critically, I realized that the crew was impressed by the primary 4 seasons of Game of Thrones. Or at the least, that’s the place it began.
“Right around the start of the game’s development back when we’re in that early period is right about when [Season 4 of Game of Thrones on HBO] was airing,” FFXVI producer Naoki Yoshida tells me. “We had seen it grow into this television show that was loved around the world, not just by older generations but younger generations as well. So we bought the Blu-Ray box of Seasons 1, 2, 3, and 4, and made everyone on the team watch it basically to get across to developers that this is what’s trending in the world – that this is the type of fantasy that people are enjoying.”
The Iron Kingdom
But Yoshida says the crew took nice warning to keep away from FFXVI feeling like a carbon copy of Game of Thrones. While its inspirations are clear, it looks like its personal factor after enjoying and watching the sport for roughly 5 hours. Plus, with all the things else occurring within the sport – particularly the Eikon vs. Eikon fight – the crew drew on different sources of inspiration like Attack on Titan, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Godzilla, Ultraman, and extra.
Not solely does Game of Thrones encourage the story and world really feel of Final Fantasy XVI, but it surely additionally conjures up loads of its visible fashion, in response to artwork director Hiroshi Minagawa.
Final Fantasy XVI Art Director Hiroshi Minagawa
“When I joined the team and spoke with Takai-san about the overall look of the game, we had that broad stroke that we wanted to have something that’s going to have that Game of Thrones feel, that kind of pure standard high fantasy that you’d see in that type of program and visual medium,” he tells me.
While individuals right now nonetheless argue the place Game of Thrones started to falter, you’d be hard-pressed to seek out somebody who thinks the reply is someplace in these first 4 seasons. Those episodes are incredible tv, and if FFXVI’s tackle fantasy comes near rivaling them, we could possibly be in for one thing particular. Fortunately, we don’t have too wait lengthy as a result of FFXVI hits PlayStation 5 on June 22.
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