Quote Originally Posted by Lunaxia View Post
I'm not defending Yoshida here, especially after the past two years, but I do wonder how far his influence goes in scenarios like these. I remember him saying he was surprised by Y'shtola's "froth and foam" bit back then and actually mentioned he felt like it might have been a step too far for her character, or words to that effect (Google is failing me.) Other comments by him also seem to indicate that while he has a general say in what goes and offers some input along the way, it's pretty much left to the writers until the later stages, and even then, there are some battles he loses if there's any disagreement. Ishikawa literally had the power to do a near rewrite of EW's plot at almost the last minute when she found it underwhelming, so I think it's a mistake to assume his word is law or he unequivocally approves of every writing decision the team makes.

I think the issue is whatever's driving this bizarre new direction they've taken with the game's tone that's been brewing for a while, and the fact they've largely handed things over to new writers this time around.
It might be other members of the board(and/or other leadership) trying to do the classic tone deaf mass appeal pivot with Yoshida tasked with playing the role of salesman.