Square Enix and PlayStation are seemingly promoting Final Fantasy XVI by dressing up some cats. Specifically, the latter has released a teaser showing cats dressed up as the Eikons Ifrit and Phoenix—the two featured in the game’s demo.
In the tweet from the official PlayStation Japan account, two cats can be seen dressed up as the Eikons and trying to recreate the battle as seen in the demo. (Read: Final Fantasy XVI has a demo, and it’s out now on PlayStation 5)
＼#ゲーム猫 があらわれた！／
『FINAL FANTASY XVI』に登場する「ロザリア公国」が、猫さんたちに侵略されたようです。
召喚獣ならぬ召喚“猫”も、あの月を見るニャ🌙#FFXVI はいよいよ明日6月22日（木）発売です！#FF16 pic.twitter.com/OaAo47oksx
— プレイステーション公式 (@PlayStation_jp) June 21, 2023
The keyword is “try,” as both cats don’t seem to be interested in doing anything, at least until toys are waved at them to finally catch their attention.
As for why the Final Fantasy XVI marketing team chose cats—especially when the game itself features a dog, or more specifically a wolf, as an ally—is unknown. (Read: Final Fantasy XVI’s Game of Thrones influence belies the series’ history with gritty political fantasy)
That said, this isn’t the first time that Square Enix has used pets to promote Final Fantasy XVI. The company had previously used a dog-focused event, called “Paws of Valisthea” to promote the game in Australia. Here, fans were encouraged to dress up their furry friends in Eikon costumes. This event tracks better with the game’s use of a friendly wolf—the protagonist Clive’s pet wolf Torgal—as an in-game helper during combat.
Final Fantasy XVI out now on PlayStation 5, with a planned PC release sometime in the future.
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