Final Fantasy XIV’s Fan Festival in London: Hilarious Moments and Surprising Revelations

Final Fantasy XIV’s latest Fan Festival took place in London over the weekend, offering fans an exciting two days of panels and events with the game’s development team. The festival brought together the MMO’s director, Naoki ‘Yoshi-P’ Yoshida, and legendary series creator, Hironobu Sakaguchi, for some memorable moments and surprising announcements.

A Fun Stroll with Yoshi-P and Sakaguchi

The festival kicked off with ‘A Stroll with Yoshi-P’, a segment that promised to provide insights into the creation of Final Fantasy monsters while showcasing Yoshida and Sakaguchi’s skills in the game. However, things quickly took a hilarious turn as the developers were joined by a party of players to take on Golbez, the formidable antagonist from Final Fantasy IV.

Amidst the chaos of battle, Sakaguchi accidentally dropped a tankbuster on Yoshi-P, causing the first casualty of the run. As the fight continued, both developers faced defeat, with Yoshi-P meeting a rather unfortunate end after being thrown off the edge of the arena by a combination of his own ability and a healer’s rescue spell. The crowd erupted in cheers as the victory cutscene played, leaving Sakaguchi and Yoshi-P in stitches.

Protocarbuncle and the Influence of Dungeons & Dragons

The second fight against Proto-Carbuncle went smoother, with Sakaguchi jokingly pleading for cover from his fellow tank. Amidst the banter, Sakaguchi revealed that the iconic Final Fantasy summon Bahamut was influenced by tabletop RPG Dungeons & Dragons, while Yoshida shared his love for the summon in Final Fantasy VII.

A Hilarious Encounter with Exdeath

The festivities continued as Yoshida and Sakaguchi formed a new party to face Exdeath from Final Fantasy V. Much to Sakaguchi’s surprise, a topless character with a tonberry head joined the group. In a moment of pure hilarity, Sakaguchi playfully prodded the character in the arse with the /poke emote, leaving the audience in stitches.

The Challenge of Gilgamesh

The final boss on the gauntlet was none other than Gilgamesh, a beloved character from Final Fantasy V. The battle proved to be challenging, resulting in another party wipe and Sakaguchi falling victim to the boss’ powerful Sword Dance attack.

Insights and Anecdotes

Between the battles, Sakaguchi shared some intriguing insights and anecdotes. He revealed that Final Fantasy V’s Blue Magic was a concept created by the battle team to work around the limited processing power of the Super Famicom. Sakaguchi also explained that recurring characters like Cid, Biggs, and Wedge were originally introduced to surprise players with their appearances in different forms and situations across the series.

The Music of Final Fantasy

Sakaguchi and Yoshida offered insights from series composer Nobuo Uematsu and XIV’s sound director Masayoshi Soken. They revealed that some of the most popular and memorable songs in the games were the fastest to write, including Gilgamesh’s battle theme, ‘Battle on the Big Bridge.’ Interestingly, Sakaguchi mentioned that he had initially rejected all of Uematsu’s now-iconic songs for the first Final Fantasy.

A Memorable Ending

The final battle against Gilgamesh marked the end of the developers’ chaotic boss run at the Fan Festival in London. Sakaguchi playfully thanked Yoshida, teasing him with a reference to the “Shirk” tank ability. The crowd cheered and laughed, thoroughly entertained by the memorable moments and camaraderie between the beloved developers.

Re-live the Hilarity

If you missed the Fan Festival in London, fret not! You can watch the full panel on the Day 2 stream (around the one-hour mark) and enjoy the delightful antics of Yoshida and Sakaguchi as they have an absolute blast playing their own game.