By some miracle, I successfully went the entirety of Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail without wanting to bone the giant two-headed lizard man Bakool Ja Ja. A surprising feat considering just how many players seem to be down bad for him, somehow putting him on the same level as folk like moody bad boy Emet Selch and goofy gluttonous catboy G’raha Tia.
The last fortnight has seen an abundance of slightly unsettling artwork—from sexy maid Bakool Ja Ja to, uh, pregnant Bakool Ja Ja—and an unmatchable thirst unseen by any other community. It’s certainly something I didn’t predict would happen with this expansion—I mean, smart spectacled catboy Koana is literally right there, y’all—and I’m pretty sure director and producer Naoki Yoshida wasn’t prepared for the wave of Bakool Ja Ja love either.
As reported by GamesRadar, Yoshi-P appears to be just as perplexed by the whole thing as I am. Speaking during a Q&A at Japan Expo in Paris—with some handy-dandy translations courtesy of Aita Japan CEO and certified Final Fantasy 14 lover Audrey—Yoshi-P told the audience “I would never have guessed this. This entire dev team was like ‘huh?!'”
To be fair to Yoshida, it really is kind of a left-field thirst target for the community. Like I said before, we’ve had years of fawning over moody edgelords, adorable catboys, and tall goth women. Slimy amphibians, however? Not really on the list until now.
Bakool Ja Ja’s voice actor Javier Prusky even joined in on the discussion, replying to Audrey’s tweet to say “I mean, I’m not mad at it tho,” adding: “It is a pleasure voicing him, and a pleasure knowing others find pleasure interacting with him.”
Allow me a moment to delve into some spoilers for Dawntrail’s story, so read ahead at your own risk.
I don’t fully understand the horniness for Bakool Ja Ja just yet, but he does arguably have some of the best character development of this expansion. Introduced as a taco-smacking jerk, we end up finding out that Bakool Ja Ja is actually a big softie suffering from a bad case of survivor’s guilt. After spending the early half of the story in direct opposition with him, he ends up becoming a firm ally for the rest of the expansion, fighting alongside us when things go a bit south with considerably less sexy one-headed lizardman Zoraal Ja.
Then again, I guess there’s something to be said for a giant, muscular meathead with a sensitive side. While I won’t be swooning over him in a maid outfit anytime soon, I’m starting to see the appeal. Maybe I’ve been playing the game too much in the last few weeks, and it’s time to go touch some grass.