Remember Chort? He’s a sub-boss in one of Final Fantasy 14’s newest dungeons—a magnificent large-and-in-charge lad who rolls up into a ball and charges around the arena like a giant, fleshy Sonic the Hedgehog.
I couldn’t stop laughing the first time I fought him, and I wasn’t the only person to immediately fall in love with how ridiculous he was. He quickly became memed to hell and back—from his goofy name, to the real “Mom, I frew up” stance he’s rocking as he patiently waits for you to enter the boss room and beat him up.
His immense reception came as quite the surprise to director and producer Naoki Yoshida. “I’m really glad to hear that Chort was so well received, but honestly I couldn’t really understand the appeal of Chort,” he said during a press Q&A at the game’s Berlin Fan Festival.
“Of course, we do understand that he’s very popular and there’s been many memes. But really, I just couldn’t understand like… why.” Yoshida then said he’d love to hear what exactly it is about Chort that people find so appealing, before continuing: “I can understand maybe a little. I mean, this is some huge bulky guy, and then suddenly he’s standing there and then he rolls. So from that perspective, I can kind of understand.”