Industry legend Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of Final Fantasy, revealed in an interview with Inverse that he viewed Final Fantasy VI as the “most complete” of the Final Fantasy games, especially as it was the last mainline entry to use pixel art.
This pits him against Final Fantasy producer and character designer Tetsuya Nomura, who said earlier this year that he personally “could’ve done a better job” on it, while also noting that he felt that FFVI was as far as the pixel art Final Fantasy games could go.
It would seem that both agree that Final Fantasy Vi’s pixel art plays into its legacy, but Nomura hlds onto some regret, while Sakaguchi looks back on the game with pride.
As his interview with Inverse continued, Sakaguchi also shared what he felt was the “DNA” of the Final Fantasy series:
“If I had to give some kind of core ingredient, I would say it’s the story and world. These two are a must for any Final Fantasy and the common denominator across all of them. The world setting needs to contain some kind of thematic element that is loosely tied to current events. I think the world itself needs to have some kind of thematic backbone or message that gives a different perspective, or a thought-provoking prompt for players.”
After hearing that, fans of the series will naturally draw parallels to Final Fantasy VII’s commentary on global warming, among other examples from throughout the JPRG juggernaut’s storied history.
As for what Sakaguchi has planned next, he left it up to his future self and the future of his company, Mistwalker, noting:
“I’m so closely tied to Mistwalker that if and when I do decide to retire, I would say Mistwalker will probably be mostly inactive. [But] I’m a very whimsical person so after Mistwalker enters that state for two years I might say, ‘You know what, I want to do something again.’”
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