When Japanese fans were outraged, Baba made multiple contradictory statements trying to explain why it made sense, some of which were perceived as blaming the fans themselves for not understanding the game.
Infamously, the character of Alisha Diphda had been very prominently featured in pre-release marketing as the game's Deuteragonist and female lead, but ended up only being a Guest-Star Party Member who left early in the game. Hideo Baba was the brand manager and series producer of the Tales Series from Tales of Innocence (2007) to Tales of Zestiria (2015), but he's most well-known among franchise fans for mishandling Zestiria and eventually quitting Bandai Namco Entertainment a year after the game's release.
