Even Final Fantasy legend Yoshi-P can't get enough of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Final Fantasy 14's Yoshi-P plays Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
(Image credit: Square Enix)

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is finally here, and the game industry has pretty much stopped cold in recognition of the long-anticipated release. Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida, legendary producer of Final Fantasy 14 (and the upcoming Final Fantasy 16) is no exception.

Yoshi-P leads regular live streams breaking down upcoming content for the beloved MMO, Final Fantasy 14. During the intro for the most recent stream, which breaks down the content of Patch 6.4, he made an unusual entrance, however. Instead of sitting down as normal and providing his usual greetings to fans, he dropped in while playing Tears of the Kingdom on the new, special edition Zelda-themed Switch.

According to the unofficial translations provided by fans in the FF14 Discord, Yoshida picked up the game and console while at Shinjuku, and got some "interesting comments" from the shopkeeper. If you zoom in real close on the console, you'll see that Yoshi-P is only in the very opening seconds of the game. He said he hasn't been able to make much progress because he "couldn't help but to look at this game from the perspective of a developer."

Still, longtime Final Fantasy 14 players are loving the reminder that Yoshi-P is an enthusiastic gamer excited about the latest big new release, too. The moment even got the phrase 'Yoshi-P Zelda' trending for a time in Japan.

Go away, just let the poor man play Zelda in peace! from r/ffxiv
So That's Why The Live Letter Was Late from r/ffxiv

Final Fantasy 14 Patch 6.4 is due out on May 23. Tears of the Kingdom is out right now.

Check out our Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom review if you're one of the few still on the fence about Nintendo's latest.

Dustin Bailey
Staff Writer

Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator.