Final Fantasy XV Story is Partly Inspired By The Last of Us, Hajime Tabata Says

The Final Fantasy games are famous for their epic stories, so it's no surprise that the plot for the upcoming latest installment, Final Fantasy XV, was partly inspired Naughty Dog's critically acclaimed post-apocalyptic action game The Last of Us.

Director Hajime Tabata spoke with Examiner, and said that one of the key threads in Final Fantasy XV's story is the evolution of the protagonist Noctis and how he changes from being a young prince to the king of the country. This plot, unsurprisingly, will be a "really big part" of the role-playing game.

Tabata went on to say that Noctis is "growing and developing as a person" throughout the game. The director also said that another aspect of the story is the bond between father and son, adding that the car Noctis and his friends drive in the game was originally his father's. According to Tabata, the vehicle is meant to be a metaphor for the human connections people have with each other.

Tabata added that Square Enix's goal for FFXV, broadly speaking, is for the story and narrative to be "really one in the same." He cited Naughty Dog's The Last of Us as inspiration for how he hopes the game will intertwine narrative and gameplay.

"It's important that the story progresses through the gameplay in a very unforced way, in a similar way that it was done with The Last of Us, for example," Tabata added.

From what I've seen in the trailers, I don't see much resemblance in their storylines other than the fatherly connection of the main characters. I'm glad that Tabata was inspired by its compelling story, and hopefully, Final Fantasy XV will deliver something as good.

Final Fantasy XV will be released this year. Check out the details about its release date announcement here.