Final Fantasy 16 Voices are in English, Translated into Japanese

Final Fantasy is one of the biggest and most well known RPGs to ever come out of Japan. But only now, for the first time, are they putting Japanese second. The upcoming Final Fantasy 16 will be recorded in English first.

In a recent interview with Japanese internet show Washanga, producer Naoki Yoshida revealed that the game will be filmed in British English accents first. This breaks away from the games before it, which would be made in Japanese and then dubbed into other languages.

According to Yoshida, developer Square Enix intentionally chose voice actors with English accents to play their characters roles. And that following this, Japanese film production will start soon. (meaning it hasnt yet)



In a way, this makes sense. Final Fantasy 16 is breaking away from recent trends of modern magi-tech in favor of the traditional high fantasy, swords and shields, kind of setting. In the reveal trailer, everyone spoke with British accents, fitting for the setting.

Yoshida also elaborated on the voice syncing. This time around, they're using facial motion capture to record speaking animations. In past games, they used AI-generated animations and lip-syncing. This decision means that the English-speaking voice actors will have motion captured facial movements to match their voices.

A bit out of their usual, it makes plenty of sense to take this direction now with Final Fantasy 16. Returning to classic fantasy gives them an opportunity to do all sorts of things different from before. Dont expect to hear the full breath of these differents quickly, though. Yoshida warned that the team doesnt want to slowly feed info about the game over time, and would rather show their hands close to the game's official launch.

While Final Fantasy 16 does not have an official release date yet, it will be a timed PS5 exclusive, later releasing on PC. Sorry, Xbox.