Final Fantasy XV To Add Moogles, With A Catch
Moogles, chocobo, Cid; those are the three constants throughout most of the Final Fantasy series. Moogles, to be specific, are just as varied in their roles as Cid. They can act as a playable character or safety net like in Final Fantasy VI, a type of weapon for a mage character in Final Fantasy X, common members of advanced society in Final Fantasy XII or just as part of a shop name in Final Fantasy XIII. Their importance is seemingly dwindling within Square Enix, who confirmed they will only add Moogles to Final Fantasy XV after the results of a Twitter poll.
While the request by the fans for Moogles in Final Fantasy XV from the Final Fantasy XV English Twitter account seems like a given, it’s clear that director Hajime Tabata hasn’t put any thought into implementing them into the game until just fairly recently.
Hi Tabata here. Congrats Moogle! I’d like to thank everyone that voted. I will think of a fun little way to feature Moogles in #FFXV (1/3)
— FINAL FANTASY XV (@FFXVEN) November 9, 2015
Importantly, at this stage of development I will not be making a trade off with the other work remaining in order to fit them in. (2/3)
— FINAL FANTASY XV (@FFXVEN) November 9, 2015
So it won’t be a very chatty Moogle, but will be done with a suitably light level of development work as a fun little #FFXV extra. (3/3)
— FINAL FANTASY XV (@FFXVEN) November 9, 2015
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So, there you go. Moogles will be in Final Fantasy XV, but with little effort or care in mind for this relatively unimportant aspect of gameplay development. Keep in mind that Final Fantasy XV has been in development for longer than some consoles’ life cycles have lasted, so whatever will be thrown into the final product will likely come from a low-level designer right before the bug squashing portion of development.
What is more concerning is just how any part of development for Final Fantasy XV is being focus tested by the fans. Final Fantasy XIII was such a disappointment, and asking about whether fans will be okay with such a low-importance feature being added to the game shows a toothless Square Enix. They really want to make sure to get things right to secure the future of the series, but a public sign of uncertainty does no favors to public perception. It also suggests development against the wishes or cares of the dev team, which could create further problems.
Crowdsourcing or not, Final Fantasy XV will be released for the PS4 and Xbox One next year. We’ll get a definitive release date (or release window) early next year.