A lot of interviews about Final Fantasy XVI have come to light in recent days. In them, Naoki Yoshida and the rest of the Square Enix team have offered a great deal of information about the title, be it its length, combat, or development status. However, there is a question and an answer that have raised more than one eyebrow.
Yoshida has been questioned in IGN about the diversity of the world of Valisthea and whether we can expect to see black or other ethnic characters in Final Fantasy XVI. The director’s response was as follows:
“It’s a tough question, but not an unexpected one, as diversity in entertainment media has become a much-discussed topic lately. The answer I have, however, may end up being disappointing to some, depending on individual expectations.
Our design concept, from the earliest stages of development, has always had medieval Europe as its protagonist, incorporating the historical, cultural, political and anthropological standards that prevailed at the time. When deciding on the scenario that best suited the story we wanted to tell (the story of a beleaguered earth) we thought that instead of creating something on a global scale, it was necessary to limit its scope to a single landmass, isolated geographically. and culturally from the rest of the world in a time without airplanes, television or telephones.
Due to the underlying geographic, technological, and geopolitical constraints of this setting, Valisthea was never going to be as diverse as, say, modern-day Earth…or even Final Fantasy XIV, which features an entire planet (and a moon) of nations, races and cultures at your disposal. However, the isolated nature of this realm ends up playing an important role in the story and is one of the reasons Valisthea’s fate is tied to the rest of the world.
Ultimately, we felt that while the incorporation of ethnic diversity in Valisthea was important, too much incorporation in this one corner of a much larger world could end up violating the narrative boundaries that we originally set for ourselves. The story we are telling is fantasy, yes, but it is also rooted in reality.
On the contrary, the Final Fantasy game series has always been inherently about conflict and strife, especially between those with power and those who are used and/or exploited by those privileged few, a prominent trend in human history. In a game that, by design, allows players to experience that conflict and struggle firsthand through dynamic and realistic battles, it can be challenging to assign distinctive ethnicities to the antagonist or protagonist without triggering audience preconceptions. inviting unwarranted speculation and ultimately fanning the flames of controversy. The great thing about drawing directly from history, however, is that it allows us to review and re-examine our own past, while also allowing us to create something new.
In the end, we simply want to focus less on the outward appearance of our characters and more on who they are as people: people who are complex and diverse in nature, backgrounds, beliefs, personalities, and motivations. People with whose stories we can identify. There is diversity in Valisthea. A diversity that, while not all-encompassing, is synergistic with the environment we have created and is true to the inspirations on which we draw.”
Community reactions
The question has also been put on the table of the community along with the response of the Japanese creative, which has provoked all kinds of responses. For example in Reddit we can find a user who thinks that “for a game inspired by works like Game of Thrones and Final Fantasy XII, this is a missed opportunity to truly create a world rich in different cultures and people ethnically diverse within the lands of Valisthea”. In turn, there are those who think that “I hate it when they use the phrase ‘rooted in reality’ as a response, they could have said it wasn’t on their mind or they just didn’t feel like doing it.
On the other hand, we can also run into those who say that “as a black person I say… Is it really important right now? Do we really need to have representation in all games?”. On Twitter the subject has been the subject of debate, offering us a range of thoughts on the matter.
I’m firmly in the “if you don’t like a game’s setting or deem it not representative enough, it’s OK to just play something else” camp. A story only has to star the characters it needs, and to accuse the authors of excluding races for the sake of it is childish#FinalFantasyXVI pic.twitter.com/IHJ8XdzKb4
– Marco Tinè (@StriderCT) November 5, 2022
I’m firmly in the “if you don’t like the setting of a game or find it unrepresentative, it’s okay to play something else.” A story only has to be carried out by the characters it needs, and accuse the authors of excluding races because it is childish
Yoshi-P….you’re telling me based on your medieval Europe design concept. Dragons, goblins, Ifrit and magic can all be in Final Fantasy. Even deities and demons. But black people are the unrealistic element to the narrative boundaries because the game is rooted in reality? 🙃 pic.twitter.com/Y5FuqjNN9R
— DataDaveTV (@DataDaveTV) November 4, 2022
Yoshi-P… you’re telling me that you draw on your design concept from medieval Europe. Dragons, goblins, Ifrit and magic can be in Final Fantasy. Even deities and demons. But are blacks the unrealistic element for narrative boundaries because the game is rooted in reality?
All this circus that has been put together around Yoshi-P seems very stupid to me
That they call him racist when in Final Fantasy XIV he has put an infinity of characters of different races and ethnicities, it makes me very bad
When what you want is to be faithful to the setting of the XVI https://t.co/bFrw20RBhH pic.twitter.com/XMFvxdkZU8— John (@jhon_lawrence1) November 5, 2022
Nobody wants to discuss the REAL reason Final Fantasy XVI isn’t diverse, and it’s this:
In Japan, putting other ethnicities in your game often leads to tonnes of backlash. It’s that simple.
Cowardly? Sure. It’s also why seeking validation through fictional media is pointless. pic.twitter.com/JFIIkiALEI
— Words | Persona 5 (@TNEQL) November 6, 2022
No one wants to discuss the REAL reason Final Fantasy XVI isn’t diverse, and it’s this: In Japan, putting other ethnicities in your game often leads to tons of backlash. It’s that easy. Cowardice? Of course. This is also why seeking validation through fictitious means is pointless.
