Turns Out Square Enix Offered a Helping Hand
So there were some people who were getting fired up over Babylon’s Fall. And it wasn’t over excitement for the live RPG hack and slash action. Players believed while playing the closed beta of Babylon’s Fall, that Platinum Games, the developers behind NieR:Automata, had stolen or ripped off outfits from Final Fantasy 14.
Turns out, that is not true. Square Enix is publishing the game, for one. And it turns out that Square Enix offered Platinum Games a helping hand. Yosuke Saito, Babylon’s Fall’s producer, was quick to clear up the confusion in a blog post. “To get straight to the point: yes, Babylon’s Fall contains gear and emote data borrowed from Final Fantasy XIV.”
To hear such bluntness in the gaming industry is quite refreshing. He continues the explanation in the post with: “Final Fantasy XIV Producer and Director Naoki Yoshida was also in attendance and offered his help, to which I replied, ‘Yes, please!’ This is how the plan came to fruition. We then carefully implemented the data while closely coordinating with the Final Fantasy XIV team.”
But Saito was also quick to clear up that while they were able to get a greater range of emotes and gear thanks to the assistance, he was also quick to assure that most of the gear borrowed is for the introductory to the mid-level gaming experience, not for the higher levels. There, Babylon’s Fall will have gear unique to the game itself. Apparently, that’s why there’s so much gear similar to Final Fantasy XIV.
It helps that both Platinum Games and Square Enix are both known for their high-quality artwork. And too, Yoshida commented on the matter, telling players and fans alike that helping out was, in part, practical. Due to Babylon’s Fall being such a new title, Yoshida said “We can’t give it an unlimited budget. That’s the key point.” And with Final Fantasy XIV already having so many assets, sharing made sense.
And too, he’s a gaming fan as well as a developer. Yoshida wanted and still wants Babylon’s Fall to succeed. He did offer the quick assurance that the FFXIV team will be working on making the gear more unique in the future, fitting in more with the world setting. So, no more need to worry on that front. For those who want to play Babylon’s Fall, it’s currently not out yet. But it is possible to play the Closed Beta Test by following the instructions on the website.