Summary
The creator ofFinal Fantasy, Hironobu Sakaguchi, has revealed in a recent interview that he has no interest in returning to the series as a creator, as he’s now happily switched to being a consumer.
Last month’s Nintendo Direct held a lot of surprises for gamers, but one of the biggest was the reveal that Fantasian, a beloved RPG from Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi,is leaving its Apple Arcade exclusivity behind and coming to all consoles later this year. Not only is Fantasian getting a second chance with a bigger audience, but it’s also kicking off a bit of a reunion tour.
Shortly afterFantasian: Neo Dimensionwas revealed at the Nintendo Direct, it was confirmed that the publisher of the re-release isSquare Enix, who Sakaguchi of course worked with during his time with the Final Fantasy series. Sakaguchi and Square didn’t exactly part on the best terms, so it was a shock to see them working together again after two decades.
Don’t Expect Sakaguchi To Return To Final Fantasy
Sakaguchireflected on the strange circumstances of Fantasian: Neo Dimension’s release during an interview with Bloomberg, where he compared it to a high-school reunion. Although some long-term Final Fantasy fans might be hoping that this is a hint that Sakaguchi could return to the series, he confirmed that’s not something he’s interested in.
Towards the end of the interview, Sakaguchi is asked about what he’s going to get up to next, revealing that he’s not interested in revisiting Final Fantasy or any of the other franchises that he worked on. Sakaguchi says this is mostly because he’s now “switched to a consumer rather than a creator”, but also notes that he wouldn’t be able to enjoy Final Fantasy 14, a game he frequents, as much if he was working on the series.
“If I take on the Final Fantasy brand again, I don’t know if I’ll be able to genuinely enjoy Final Fantasy XIV as much".
Bloomberg’s interview with Sakaguchi also confirms that he doesn’t have any interest in porting or remastering some of the other big-name RPGs that he’s worked on in his career, such as Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon. There have been some rumours about Blue Dragon making a return at some point (mostly spurred by character designer Akira Toriyama’s death), but it seems if it does it’ll be without Sakaguchi.
