Michael-Christopher Koji Fox, senior translator at Square Enix, who recently worked on Final Fantasy 14 and Final Fantasy 16, said in an interview with MinnMax that the director of both games, "Yoshida P" Naoki Yoshida, also seemed to want to take a break from the dark and heavy fantasy story.
Final Fantasy 14's storyline is full of sentimental moments and deep themes, but Final Fantasy 16 is more of a thoroughly "dark fantasy" story. Koji Fox says, "I've learned from a game as light-hearted as Final Fantasy 14, which has all sorts of craziness — like Hildy Brand's weirdness...... Then I came to Final Fantasy 16, a game about slavery, the end of the world, humanity's loss of free will, and it was too heavy. ”
He said it was difficult for him and the English localization team to transition between the main body: "Making this transition was like: I can't tell these funny jokes anymore because they don't fit the game, but I still want to add something." ”
That's not to say that Final Fantasy 14's story isn't serious, and it's also heavy at times, but overall it still has a hopeful tone. And the latest Golden Legacy expansion is actually a summer tropical getaway. Fox says Yoshida P is also eager for the subject: "At this point, if I look at Yoshida P, you can see that he also has feelings like, 'I'm fed up with dark fantasies, I want to do something lighter.'" ”
Fox also points out that getting back to lighthearted style of writing can also be challenging: "Whatever project I'm working on next, it's likely to inevitably lean in that direction, and I'm going to throw out the window all the darkness and impatience I've been used to for the last five years and look for something a little more relaxed." ”
Unfortunately, he won't be able to take some break from working on Legacy of Gold, which is coming in June, as someone else will be working on the expansion for localization. Fox said he was "looking forward to his next job," even though Yoshida "hasn't told me what it is."