It is no secret that Square Enix's latest foray into the Final Fantasy franchise has taken a ridiculously long time to be released. Fans have been waiting for the game to come out since 2006, and after ten grueling years, Final Fantasy XV will finally be playable.
Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata discussed the difficulties his development team has encountered during those times, in a candid interview with Japanese site 4Gamer. Kotaku reported that the interview is several pages long, but the best part was when Tabatas was asked about the team's reorganization and if there was any backlash when he took over the project.
"Oh yeah, there was," Tabata said. "It wasn't only from inside the team, but outside as well. The reason was that if my way of doing it ended up working, there are those whose circumstances will worsen."
Tabata acknowledged that there has been negative feedback when Final Fantasy XV was announced. The director said that the Final Fantasy franchise is a series with "a lot of history," however, he felt that it was necessary to make changes. Tabata then coined the term 'Final Fantasy Disease'.
"It refers to people within the company who can't imagine anything other than their own view of Final Fantasy," Tabata answered when asked what exactly a Final Fantasy disease was. "Since the root is a strong self-affirmation, one's own view of Final Fantasy takes more priority than the team's success. If that view of Final Fantasy isn't fulfilled, then they're convinced that it's bad for Final Fantasy." he went on to say.
The FFXV director added, "Because of that, there was a time I told off the team, saying, 'We're not special. Wake Up.' Yet, I realized that when Final Fantasy XV news was made public, this wasn't only inside the company. Everyone has FF disease."
Tabata said that some people on his team, and some fans as well, are so stuck with the same old Final Fantasy formula that they were put off by the changes. Some FF fans have been put off by the radical change in the game when the first trailer came out, especially the completely different gameplay and battle system, and insists that the game does not have enough Final Fantasy feels to it.
Tabata, however, is confident that the changes they did to the game have made the Final Fantasy franchise stronger. "At this point, if the series didn't modernize, I think it could've been done for," the director declared.
Final Fantasy XV will be released worldwide on September 30.
Do you have the 'Final Fantasy disease'? This might just be the perfect cure for you. Check out the full recap of Square Enix's Final Fantasy XV Uncovered event below, which highlights all the announcements for the upcoming game.
