Summary
- A heartwarming surprise visit from Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of Final Fantasy, to a 69-year-old raider during their livestream showcases the supportive community of Final Fantasy 14 and proves that raiding is for players of all ages.
- The surprise visit from Sakaguchi inspired both the raider and the creator, as they both face the same challenging raid phase in Final Fantasy 14.
- The video of Sakaguchi's visit has become one of the most popular VODs for the raider, with over 32,000 views and counting, touching the hearts of Final Fantasy 14 fans worldwide.
A 69-year-old Final Fantasy 14 raider just had a surprise visit from Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of the franchise, during one of their streams. This wholesome interaction showed the best parts of the Final Fantasy 14 community, and proved that raiding is for players of all ages.
Pokochii_bigmum is a 69-year-old Japanese gamer who began their streaming career two years ago when they started Final Fantasy 14. Though they occasionally branch out into other games, most of their near-500 livestreams have been chronicling their adventures in Eorzea and beyond.
Their journeys have taken them through all of Final Fantasy 14’s expansions, where they found themselves tackling Pandaemonium Anabaseios (Savage), the hardest raid in Endwalker besides the Ultimate challenges. Well into the final battle of the raid tier, Pokochii and their raid group hit a wall in one of the more difficult phases. While taking a break between pulls during a recent stream, Final Fantasy series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi entered their chat room. The audio from the livestream is in Japanese, but Sakaguchi appears around the 2:31:00 mark, where he introduces himself and encourages Pokochii to keep trying their hardest.
Sakaguchi himself is an avid Final Fantasy 14 player. The 60-year-old father of Final Fantasy began playing the critically-acclaimed MMORPG before Endwalker launched, where he plowed through the story at breakneck speed to catch up for the expansion. He has also challenged some of the most difficult raids in the game, and his group is actually stuck on the same phase of Anabaseios as Pokochii was. In a post on his personal Twitter he made after the stream, Sakaguchi stated the wholesome visit inspired him to do his best the next time he tries the battle.
Needless to say, Final Fantasy 14 fans across the globe were touched by this surprise visit from Sakaguchi. With over 240,000 subscribers, Pokochii has a sizable following, and tons of fans watching their livestream were delighted by Sakaguchi’s appearance as well. The video has over 32,000 views and counting, meaning it is on track to break the Final Fatnasy 14 streamer's record as their most popular VOD yet.
Pokochii, Sakaguchi, and every other Final Fantasy 14 fan is anxiously awaiting the upcoming Fan Festival. The exciting event kicks off with the Las Vegas show on July 28 and 29 at 10 AM PST. Considering Final Fantasy 14 will be revealing its next expansion pack, and giving players the first look at Patch 6.5, players who aren’t at the convention will not want to miss the livestream if they can help it.
Final Fantasy 14 is available now for PC, PS4, and PS5.