Final Fantasy 14 producer and director Naoki Yoshida is pandering to just about everyone when it comes to the MMO's next big crossover - if you have any affection for Final Fantasy 2, 7, 9, 11, 16, or Tactics there's a decent shot Yoshi-P has your back.
During today's FF14 Q&A panel at PAX East, a fan asked about what other Final Fantasy games might eventually show up in the MMO in some form or other. After some hemming and hawing, Yoshida said (via translator) "Well… Final Fantasy 16 is coming out soon. It would be nice to look into." Yoshi-P has previously joked that he'd have to talk to the producer of FF16 about a crossover - the gag being that he himself is the producer of both games.
Yoshida's willing to tease the old-school fans, too. "Final Fantasy 2 is a great game too, as is 9," Yoshida says, and given how much FF2 is maligned among series fans this is the point where I got convinced that he's not just pandering to the audience.
It seems even Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is on the table. "I know we are going to be releasing another installment in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake series, and I'm hoping that once they have been able to release all of what they need to do, and the team has had a chance to slow down and take it a little bit more easy, I would love the opportunity there, as well."
The fan who asked the question specifically wanted to know if FF14 might return to Ivalice, the setting of both 12 and Tactics, and an area the MMO has visited extensively. Yoshida says "as this person mentions, we have the Ivalice realm, but then also we have the Vana'diel realm…" Vana'diel is the setting of FF11, the original Final Fantasy MMO that now seems to be winding down, and that tease drew a particularly loud reaction from the crowd. But just as the oohs and aahs started reaching a peak, Yoshida trollishly shouted "Next!" to move the Q&A to another topic.
Previous Final Fantasy 14 crossovers have come in many forms, ranging from raid stories explicitly delving into the lore of Ivalice or Nier: Automata to more subtle winks and nods to series history in the MMO's main story.
Are any of the best Final Fantasy games somehow not part of this lineup?
