Responding to legendary Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii's comments that Final Fantasy's protagonists "speak a lot", series writer Kazushige Nojima says that the advent of character animations opened his eyes to the possibility of chatty characters.
In an interview with Game Informer, Horii says, "There's one key difference that I really saw back then: the protagonists in the Final Fantasy titles, they speak a lot. Whereas for Dragon Quest, the key objective for [the games], or the experience it offers for the player, is that the player becomes the protagonist themselves."
Nojima, who worked as the scenario writer on Final Fantasy 7, 8, and 10, responded to these comments on Twitter. As translated by GamesRadar+, he describes how, while he "grew up playing Dragon Quest", the increasing amount of character animation in games led him to reconsider his viewpoint on the JRPG standard silent protagonist.
個人的に。7、8、10の設定とかシナリオとかやらせてもらったんだけど根がドラクエ育ちなもので主人公は喋らない、プレイヤーの器であるべきみたいな刷り込みがあった。でもキャラクターのモーションが欠かせない時代になっていた。プレイヤーの操作によらないアクションもキャラクターの個性、主張と考… https://t.co/XQYkkZiN0GNovember 28, 2025
"I was given the opportunity to write the setting and scenario for [Final Fantasy] 7, 8, and 10, but because I grew up playing Dragon Quest, I felt the expectation that a protagonist should be silent, a self-insert for the player," Nojima writes. "However, we were entering an era where character animations became essential. Characters' actions were no longer solely dictated by the player, but also by their personalities. Considering this, I thought that it's okay for a protagonist to talk, and that I shouldn't be so set on the idea that a silent protagonist is the only way."
You can see the evolution of how Nojima wrote Final Fantasy's protagonists as you play through his entries in the series, from the stoic Cloud to the comedic Tidus. "However, my mindset didn't change overnight," Nojima explains. "Some characters are quiet and well-spoken, but you never know if what they say is true, some are quiet but have a lot going on in their head, and some characters ended up talking sincerely. Because of this, I'm pleased."
As some of the most popular entries in the series, it's safe to say we're pleased too.
