Final Fantasy XVI Has “Expansive” Skill Tree, Says Producer

Tokyo Game Show 2021 concluded over the weekend, and we’re still learning great nuggets of information from the various streams and interviews during the event. Famitsu’s interview with Naoki Yamada and Hironobu Saguchi, who are the two Final Fantasy developers, was one of the highlights. Yoshida, who is responsible for Final Fantasy XVI’s development, has also been the driving force behind Final Fantasy XIV Online’s resurrection since A Realm Reborn. Sakaguchi was the creator and most recently, released the mobile RPG Fantasian.

There was some news about Final Fantasy XVI, but the conversation shifted to the reason Sakaguchi & Yoshida became interested in the RPG genre. Yoshida asks what Final Fantasy XVI should be called, since many RPG games include them. He reveals that Final Fantasy XVI has an “expansive” skill tree. Yoshida mentions Fantasian’s skill tree, which gives the feeling that the game opens up to character growth.

Yoshida confirmed that the scenario for FFXVI was completed and the team continues to work on side quests as well as the 3D model. He brings up the team’s small size during scenario planning and the ramp-up in staff needed when building the rest of the game. Sakaguchi gently presses Yoshida for an estimate of the release date, but unfortunately Yoshida is reluctant to give that information. Sakaguchi, thank you for taking on the role of journalist for a moment. Thank you for your efforts.

Check out the rest of the interview in the video above to watch an interesting conversation between two game dev luminaries who happen to sit on opposite ends of one of gaming’s biggest franchises.