"FF14" Naoki Yoshida talks about his roots in the work. In Los Angeles, he spoke passionately about the lessons he learned from the tragedy of his father's misspelling of the "Gouf" in Gunpla and his origins as a creator

 

Anime Expo 2025, the largest anime event in North America, was held in Los Angeles on July 3~6, 2025 local time. On July 4, Naoki Yoshida of Square Enix, known worldwide as the producer and director of "Final Fantasy XIV" (FF14), took the stage.

Mr. Yoshida, who was greeted by loud cheers as he took the stage, proudly declared, "Today is the Anime Expo, so we won't talk too much about games!"

Mr. Yoshida explained the purpose of this event by saying that he is a creator who has been influenced by many manga, anime, and games since he was a child, and then said, "I would like to introduce wonderful works that you may not know about yet, what kind of works have influenced me and led to my current creation." After politely thanking the IP (intellectual property) holders and the staff who cooperated in the production, the presentation proceeded in chronological order of Mr. Yoshida's career and the works that influenced him.

Mr. Yoshida joined Hudson in 1993 and began his career as a game creator. The first time he was involved in full-scale production, "Tengai Makai III" was unfortunate to be canceled, and in his directorial debut "Bakugou Bomberman 2" (1999 / Nintendo 64), all events, all stages, He went through a grueling development experience that included working on all scenarios, and showed a spectacular episode in which he gained 18 kg.

What changed his life drastically was his encounter with online games. He was so engrossed in Diablo that he spent his "days working or playing Diablo," and the following year, he fell in love with Ultima Online.

There is no doubt that the experience of these two games became an important foundation for the rebirth of the world-class MMORPG that would later be "Final Fantasy XIV".

But what kind of subculture did Mr. Yoshida take before he started his career as a creator? In order to get people interested in the latest title of the development team he leads, "Final Fantasy Tactics - Ivalice Chronicles," the otaku talk will accelerate from here.

Creator Naoki Yoshida's boyhood and the origin of creation

When he was a child, Yoshida's dream was to become a robot pilot. The starting point for this was the gold standard of combined robot animation, "Super Electromagnetic Robot Con Battler V". He revealed that he was fascinated by the coolness of not only punching, but also performing special moves such as "super electromagnetic yo-yo" and "super electromagnetic tatsumaki".

After that, I was impressed by "too beautiful" characters such as Starsha from "Space Battleship Yamato" and Mater from "Galactic Train 999", and I began to feel that "adventure is wonderful!" On the other hand, he was also influenced by live-action tokusatsu works, and he talked about his childhood when his dreams changed one after another, saying, "I should become a hero after all."

Life Lessons from the Gundam Tragedy

As an important episode that formed Yoshida's philosophy as a creator, he revealed his memories of "GUNPLA" when he was in elementary school.

At the time, a plastic model of the anime "Mobile Suit Gundam" was a big boom all over Japan. Among them, Yoshida, a boy who was desperate for the Zeon Army's mobile suit "Gouf", eagerly asked his father to "get a Gouf".

The image on the right is "Gouf". Along with the character "Ramba Lal", he made a shocking appearance as a new enemy.

However, his father bought him an amphibious mobile suit called "Zok" from the same Zeon army. "The colors don't match, and I don't know why!" exclaimed Mr. Yoshida, drawing laughter from the audience.

On the left of the image, the green mobile suit is "Zock". In the film, he was questioned by Char Aznable of his own army, and sure enough, he was killed.

Through this event, he said that he learned a big lesson that "what you really want and like will not be conveyed to others unless you present it in your own words." This learning is said to be the basis of communication with team members even in the current development site of "Final Fantasy XIV".

When asked by Mr. Uchi, "Why Gufu and not Gundam?", Mr. Yoshida replied emphatically, "Gouf is number one."

This year, almost 40 years later, the moment came when Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX paid off. Yoshida, who met director Tsurumaki at the "Zee Axe" special event held at Anime Expo 2025, expressed his deep gratitude. For more information on the event, please see .com related article on Famitsu.

A tribute to FF14 created by respect for the work

Yoshida's Final Fantasy XIV is filled with deep respect and homage to the works that influenced him.

The symbolic standing figure of the "Warrior of Light" standing on the moon depicted in the trailer of "Dawn Moon Finale" is Paying homage to the striking standing figure in Mobile Suit Gundam, commonly known as "gawara standing" (derived from Kunio Okawara's design), Yoshida said of Gundam's standing posture, "This pose is all about it," showing how his creative activities were influenced by past masterpieces.

In particular, he paid the utmost praise to Berserk, a landmark dark fantasy manga by the late Kentaro Miura, calling it "the best work for me," and revealed that FF14's "Dark Knight" was heavily inspired by the main character Guts.

When creating the expansion package "Villains of the Dark", he was so deeply devoted to the visual expression that he referred to the composition drawn by the late Kentaro Miura and instructed the staff to re-read the entire volume of "Berserk".

He also mentioned that his close friend, manga artist Koji Mori, took over Berserk after Miura's passing, and expressed his deep respect and love for the work and its creator as a fan, wanting to see the work move toward completion.


Yoshitaka Amano's illustrations, especially those for the novel "Vampire Hunter "D," had a brain-burning impact on him, and he said that he is still conscious of the ratio of cloth to armor when ordering art.

Is it normal to memorize all the lines? The ultimate in "Castle in the Sky Laputa"

Among the many masterpieces that have influenced him, Yoshida gave the greatest compliment to Studio Ghibli's animated film "Castle in the Sky Laputa," which he said was "packed with all the ultimate in filmmaking." He praised the high level of perfection of the game as an adventure drama for boys and girls, and revealed that it was a big goal for him as a creator, saying, "I've always dreamed that if I could make a game like Laputa someday, it would be a really great game."

The depth of his love is extraordinary, and he confesses that he has memorized all the lines of all the characters. When watching the show at home, he showed a surprising episode in which he said, "I watch it while playing all the roles by myself," which impressed the fans at the venue. For Mr. Yoshida, "Castle in the Sky Laputa" is a special work that goes beyond the framework of a mere masterpiece film and shows the ideal form of creation.

The "constellation" problem faced by Japanese schools at the time in "Saint Seiya"

He says that his childhood experiences were both pleasant and bitter. In the manga Saint Seiya, which was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump at the time, the strength of the "Golden Saints" who protected their own constellations was directly linked to the hierarchy within the school.

Mr. Yoshida explains the hierarchical structure with gestures.

Mr. Yoshida's (Taurus) representative, "Aldebaran of Taurus", was a so-called "bite character" who was not well regarded at the time because he was easily given way to Seiya by breaking the horn of his head when he stood in the way to measure the ability of the main character, "Seiya of the Heavenly Horse Constellation (Seiya of Pegasus)". Mr. Yoshida said, "It was a day of joy and anxiety depending on whether my zodiac sign was a hit or a miss," and touched on the emotional wounds suffered by Cancer people in particular, which excited the audience.

At 3 a.m., in front of my house in Sapporo in a snowstorm. "The Cruel Angel's Thesis" rings out in the car

Mr. Yoshida is also a self-admitted "Neon Genesis Evangelion" geek. The Japanese ruby of the English word "Otaku" in PowerPoint was also properly "Gachi Otaku". Mr. Yoshida's first encounter with "Evangelion" -- the first impact -- remains as a strong memory.

Mr. Yoshida, who was a young player in the game industry when Eva began broadcasting, finished work at 3 a.m., and while it was snowing, his seniors drove him home. However, as soon as he got in the car, the theme song "Cruel Angel's Thesis" was played on repeat with an explosive sound, and even though Mr. Yoshida had not yet seen the work, his seniors began to speak passionately. The senior in the driver's seat asked me questions such as, "Well, 'Eva' is the best" and "Who do you like Yoshida-kun?" (with Mr. Yoshida's mysterious imitation), and even when I parked the car in front of my house, I couldn't stop talking. Mr. Yoshida shouted in his heart, "I haven't seen it yet!" and said that he had learned a lesson from this traumatic experience: "When recommending something to others, it is important to be considerate of the other person," and the audience erupted in laughter.

Although it is hidden by an intense episode, Mr. Yoshida also gently inserts his own work, saying, "At that time, I finished work at 3 a.m., but even now, not much has changed." I really want you to take care of yourself.

Respect for 80s Hollywood Movies and Nolan

Mr. Yoshida says that he has been greatly influenced not only by anime and manga, but also by movies. In particular, he seems to have a special fondness for the Hollywood movies of the 80s that colored his childhood.

『E.T.』 Citing Steven Spielberg's works such as "The Goonies" and "The Goonies," he reaffirmed the excitement that can be said to be the starting point of his career as a game creator, saying, "It's an adventure after all." In addition, he spoke fondly of his enthusiasm for the "Rocky" and "Rambo" series, and his memories of playing dubbing with his friends. He also raved about "Back to the Future" as "the perfect trilogy" and expressed his earnest wish as a fan, "Please don't reboot it."

Contemporary directors are enthusiastic about Christopher Nolan's work.

Citing representative works such as the "Dark Knight" trilogy, "Inception," and "Tenet," he said, "Its complex and intelligent plot, its visual expression that blows the audience's mind, and its ability to skillfully manipulate the concept of time give me new discoveries and inspiration every time I watch it." He revealed that he was greatly inspired by his creativity and expressed his deep respect for him as a creator.

Love and anticipation for a story that continues into the future

In a story that continues to this day, Yoshida spoke of his deep love for the manga One Piece. He was also looking forward to the release of his new book, declaring that he was "living to see this work through," and sent a heartfelt message to the author, Eiichiro Oda, as a fan, saying, "Please take care of your body and take your time to complete it."

The day before this panel, the Los Angeles Dodgers, a professional baseball team in Los Angeles, collaborated with "ONE PIECE" to distribute a limited edition trading card and collaboration straw hats, and Mr. Yoshida, who was very disappointed that he could not participate, was presented with straw hats by kind-hearted people after the panel.

At the end of the panel, Yoshida concluded, "My body is made up of anime, manga, games, and movies," exuding a love for creations that have been passed down through generations and a sense of pride as a creator who is a part of that history.

Following his journey into his 30s, he talked about the future after his 40s, saying, "Nothing has changed as a game creator, and I think I'll still be making games 20 years from now," and closed the panel by projecting "Final Fantasy Tactics - Ivalice Chronicles" on the screen.