Final Fantasy XVI developers were “required” to watch Game of Thrones

Next month, Square Enix will release the latest entry in the long-running Final Fantasy series; the first Final Fantasy game came out for the Nintendo Entertainment System way back in 1987. The new one, Final Fantasy XVI, will release on the PlayStation 5.

Every Final Fantasy game introduces us to a new setting, story and cast of characters, although there are things the games have in common; they’re all RPGs of some sort, they feature familiar creatures like Moogles and Chocobos, etc.

That said, the settings have varied widely. Sometimes we’re in a sci-fi extravaganza, other times in a medieval fantasy. The newest game is embracing the medieval look, inspired by series like Game of Thrones.

How the newest Final Fantasy game was inspired by Game of Thrones

And that’s not me speculating. Speaking to Eurogamer, producer Naoki Yoshida said outright that the development had to watch Game of Thrones for homework. “As I’ve grown older, I’ve found that I like my fantasy based more in reality,” he said. “We wanted to create something that really resonated with a lot of people. And when we saw how Game of Thrones, and before that the Song of Ice and Fire series, has really resonated with players, we knew that this was something that we wanted to do as well. When we first started creating the game, we had our core team of about 30 members very early on buy the blu-ray boxset of Game of Thrones and required everyone to watch it, because we wanted this type of feel.”

The story, incidentally, is about a pair of warring kingdoms. The main character, Clive Rosfield, is the firstborn son of a powerful family who is passed over as successor in favor of his younger brother Joshua. Sure, there are giant god-like monsters called Eikons involved, but tell me that doesn’t sound like a plot straight from the brain of George R.R. Martin.

Eurogamer points out other similarities; Clive has a dog named Torgal who resembles Ghost, and apparently there’s a character similar to Hodor players can find in a place called Cid’s Hideaway. Just looking at the game you get Game of Thrones vibes, as art director Hiroshi Minagawa acknowledged. “If we want to create something that has that kind of western feel, we have to look to the west for that kind of inspiration. And so things like Game of Thrones are things that we look to, because that type of stuff does not exist where we live in Japan,” he said.

Final Fantasy XVI comes out on June 22.

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels