Final Fantasy XVI devs heap praise on Final Fantasy V

Final Fantasy XVI is the talk of the town right now, as it’s less than a week until launch and hype from the demo has been pretty spectacular. With the game mere days from launching, Square Enix is virtually trotting around the dev team to answer all sorts of questions, including ones pertaining to the franchise as a whole.

In an IGN interview, Final Fantasy XVI creative director Kazutoyo Maehiro, combat director Ryota Suzuki and director Hiroshi Takai were asked to share their top 3 Final Fantasy games. While the trio had mostly different answers, there was one Final Fantasy installment that made the cut for all three.

Each team member included Final Fantasy V in their rundown of top 3 Final Fantasy games. This was pretty surprising to Japanese fans, as Final Fantasy V isn’t all that lauded over there. Outside of Japan, plenty of people recognize Final Fantasy V as one of the most notable installments in the long-running franchise, and now you know the current Final Fantasy devs feel the same way!

In particular, Maehiro credited Final Fantasy V as the reason he started to make games, as the game’s closing moments left in indelible mark on him. Takai picked Final Fantasy V due to his involvement with the game’s creation, along with its battle system, which he is particularly fond of. Suzuki didn’t elaborate on why Final Fantasy V made the top 3 cut for him, but it’s obviously an installment that means a ton to him!