Square Enix Says Female Characters Could Join Party As Guests In Final Fantasy XV

Now that the ever-passionate Final Fantasy fanbase has had some time to marinate on the recently-released Episode Duscae demo for Final Fantasy XV, there’s been a lot of feedback reciprocating back to Square Enix over the past few days. Chief among that feedback was a handful of concerns directed at the RPG’s all-male cast. Last week, the publisher revealed that it believed having this dynamic “feels almost more approachable for players.”

While there’s no doubting that such an approach would prove somewhat controversial, it should be noted that Square didn’t openly rule out the possibility of female characters joining the party throughout the adventure. In fact, in an interview with Famitsu (per Gematsu), FFXV Game Director Hajime Tabata revealed that there’s every chance a female persona such as Cid will join the crew for some monster-slaying action.

It’s possible we’ll have female characters join the party as guests. But since it’s an all-mate party, when you have a female character as a guest, their behavior might change because a woman is around.

What’s interesting here is how Tabata notes that the group is likely to behave differently when a heroine is part of the company. Those of you who have spent time with Episode Duscae will have got an early taste of the cast’s relationships, with Square pushing for a “boys will be boys” dynamic. Whether it’s during open-world exploration or in battle, quite often the four protagonists — namely Prince Noctis, Gladiolus, Ignis, and Prompto — would make humorous remarks about each other and the world around them.

Besides, given the long lineage of beloved female characters the series has produced, surely Square Enix’s decision to introduce Final Fantasy XV players to a variation of characters is a no-brainer.