Developer One-On-One: Final Fantasy XVI & Hi-Fi Rush - MinnMax Interview

In this MinnMax Interview, Ben Hanson brings together the director and writer for Hi-Fi Rush John Johanas and the localization director for Final Fantasy XVI Michael-Christopher Koji Fox to talk about creating a game for a western audience inside a Japanese studio, the unseen challenges of localization, and whether Clive is dumber than Chai as a protagonist. This discussion contains spoilers for Final Fantasy XVI’s main game (not the DLC) but we’ve marked them in the timecodes so you can skip them at your convenience. Support these one-on-one developer discussions directly by subscribing to MinnMax’s YouTube channel or unlocking the podcast version at the $5 tier on Patreon. To jump to a particular discussion, check out the timestamps below... 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:59 - Michael-Christopher Koji Fox Meets John Johanas 00:02:39 - What fascinated John about Final Fantasy XVI 00:05:25 - Creating Western-focused games in Japan 00:23:47 - Spoilers for Final Fantasy XVI 00:26:12 - Boiling down the lore of Final Fantasy XVI 00:32:26 - The ripple effects of localization and small changes 00:35:10 - How to lip sync with multiple languages 00:40:29 - Hi-Fi Rush’s lore bible 00:49:00 - How playtest impacts game dialogue 00:55:22 - Is Clive smarter than Chai? 00:58:38 - Spoiling one of the last lines in Final Fantasy XVI 01:00:43 - Breaking the fourth wall/comedic relief 01:03:05 - Animating Hi-Fi Rush 01:06:38 - Square-Enix’s work from home policy 01:09:30 - Tango’s work from home policy 01:11:42 - The relief of working on a game with a different tone 01:15:48 - Why Yoshi P and the team might want to work on a lighter game next 01:16:39 - Spoilers for Final Fantasy XVI 01:17:12 - In conclusion Follow us on Twitch - Please support us on Patreon - Our solo stream channel - @minnmaxstreamarchives Buy MinnMax merch here - Follow us on Twitter - Go behind the scenes on Instagram - Become a Game Champion by supporting MinnMax at the $50 tier on Patreon and lock in the game of your choice! Ghost of Tsushima - ProcyonNumber6 One Piece Pirate Warriors Four - Joshua Ayers Berserk Boy - Malcolm Holliday War of the Monsters - Michael Berry Scarlet Hollow - ManifestEcho Unreal Tournament: Game of the Year Edition - Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Kyle Silva