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In a significant departure Final Fantasy 16 will be M-rated in many territories, the first mainline entry in the venerable series to have this more mature certification. In an interview producer Naoki Yoshida revealed more about why the series is going in this direction.
Spin-off Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origins was also M-rated, while the first to be rated 'Mature' was 2011's Final Fantasy Type-0. That title was an action RPG for the PSP that was initially available only in Japan. But for a numbered entry in the mainline Final Fantasy series to have an 'M' rating instead of the usual 'E' or 'T' rating is a pretty big deal.
Referencing implied nudity in the recent trailer, Yoshida was asked by Gamespot if 16 is a more adult Final Fantasy. Yoshida said that in general, compared to the past, video game ratings have become increasingly restrictive in relation to what can and cannot be shown, in preface to his fuller reply.
"But on the other hand, when trying to tell a story with difficult adult themes, these ratings can end up becoming somewhat of a hindrance," he then said. "And you find yourself changing things that you wanted to do in the game based on that rating. You wanted to show something, but because you have this certain rating that you need to go to, you need to move the camera away. And that ends up making the entire experience feel a little bit cheaper."
Yoshida continued by saying that in order to tell the story he and his team wanted to tell, and in the way they wanted to, they had to abandon pretensions for a lower rating.
"We decided to pursue a mature rating in most of the regions that will be releasing the game. But again, this is not because we simply wanted to make the game more violent or the game more explicit, this is because we felt it was necessary to allow us to explore those more mature themes that the game tackles," he said.
In other news, Yoshida also confirmed that Final Fantasy 16 won't be open world like its predecessor but instead will focus on area-based design. We are sure to have more on this ambitious triple-A title so stay tuned to TheGamer's news section.