I'm going to give an overview on the people working on FFXVI, where they come from, their experience, and speculate on the people that might also be working on this game but have not been confirmed yet.
TL;DR: FF Tactics/FFXIV fans, you should be excited
FFXVI is being worked on by Creative Business Unit III, helmed by Naoki Yoshida. They are known for making Final Fantasy XIV. They are also very different people from the ones who worked on FF for the past decade. They come from a very different lineage in general.
This means that the game will very likely not see any involvement from Nomura, Kitase, Toriyama, and others who worked on and off from FFXIII to FFXV (FF14 excluded).
These people are already busy working on FF7 Remake Part 2 and other projects.
The figure head of this team is Naoki Yoshida, he is known for being instrumental in turning FFXIV from a disaster to the huge success we know now. The miracle he pulled off allowed him to be the head of his own unit, as well as belonging to the Final Fantasy committee.
Yoshida is a self-admitted fan of high fantasy, preferring it over the more futuristic FF. This is exactly what we are seeing now with FFXVI. He wants to go back to a time of sword and sorcery and summons the series used to be known for (Think FF3, 5, 6, 9, Tactics).
Yoshida's favorite game is Tactics Ogre, made by Matsuno. He also is a fan of FF Tactics, Vagrant Story and FFXII, also by him. Those games are known for their dark, political stories mostly focusing on a medieval setting.
The reason he even joined Square was to work with him.
These games have been highly influential for the making of the reboot of FFXIV, as many fans of the game know. It also has in common that many of the folks who worked on FFXII also worked on FFXIV, and this lineage is being carried through FFXVI too.
The director is Hiroshi Takai. He worked on the series since FFV, and was involved in the SaGa series. He also directed The Last Remnant, another a medieval-era game that focused on politics. He was also part of the task force that saved FFXIV. He carries that vision with talent.
The third known person but not outright confirmed is Ryota Suzuki, he is most assuredly the battle director of FFXVI. He worked on Capcom for 20 years, was a designer on Devil May Cry 5 and Dragon's Dogma.
His experience on character action games are shining in the battle sequences in the trailer. You can see air combos, special attacks, juggles, and more.
While we do not know much more about the people working on it. Hiroshi Takai's presence brings credibility to the speculation that the team who worked on the FFXIV Heavensward expansion and left shortly afterwards are working on FFXVI.
Keep in mind it isn't confirmed.
The first is Kazutoyo Maehiro. He worked alongside Matsuno since Final Fantasy Tactics, so his experience of medieval era FF games is peerless. He is known for being the lead writer of FFXIV, turning it into the story we all love. He penned it up to Heavensward, and then left.
While he was also a battle system engineer, his new role as a writer could be extremely beneficial to FFXVI. Heavensward is still seen as one of the highest point of FFXIV's story, and having him as a writer is knowing the story is in good hands.
Other names being thrown around are:
- Mitsutoshi Gondai, assistant director of FFXIV.
- Kazuya Takahashi, illustrator and concept artist.
- Tsubasa Masao, character designer and artist
But basically, those are the people behind the most well received FF of the last decade.
Masayoshi Soken, while not confirmed, might also be involved as a composer. He is still working on FFXIV though, which is a huge task, but the trailer music does sound like his work. I'd be pleasantly surprised if he can make it happen.
What about Yasumi Matsuno? No idea. While it looks like the kind of game Matsuno would make, there is no hint of his involvement in any way. However his legacy is being carried by the people who worked with him for most of their career and are now working on FFXVI.
It isn't a stretch to claim that Matsuno paved the way for the kind of story and universe FFXVI wants to tell. Tactics Ogre and FF Tactics was the precursor of a darker, more political side that Final Fantasy took afterwards.
It is even reflected in FFXIV!
We saw interesting similarities too. Joshua is the child of the Archduke in FFXVI. This is a role that is also similar to Vagrant Story's Joshua, who was also the son of a duke and played a pivotal role in the game. They also look similar!
This character is also quite similar to Inquisitor Heldricht from Vagrant Story. While I do not believe FFXVI is tied to Ivalice or Vagrant Story. These parallels are quite interesting in the context of the development team.
Anyway, I'm excited as hell. The people behind my favorite FF of the last decade and with one of the best FF stories ever written are behind this. This is a new era for the series that I look forward to, and they seem to have an all-stars team to carry them like they did FF14.
That's all I have but I would love to talk about the story and the gameplay tomorrow when I have the time. Hope it gives you some context to the names and reasons to look forward to. This is going to be a purely original and unique game made from a new team with a new vision!
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