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A random Twitter post from original Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi has stowed away on my brain for days now, and I'm writing this in an attempt to excise it. Sakaguchi appears to be playing through the Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree, and he's doing so with impeccable fashion.
On May 15, Sakaguchi shared two images of what seems to be his own custom character exploring Shadow of the Erdtree. (He regularly chronicles his travels in games, more recently including Ghost of Yotei.) A few things stand out. Firstly, Sakaguchi would pass the Fashion Souls examination. With Blaidd's wolf helmet and the Gravebird mantle, his Elden Ring character looks sharp. (I'm pretty sure he's also wearing Gaius's gauntlets, but I can't quite place the legs.)
ひたすら、美しくたのしい pic.twitter.com/rZ5L2NptHhMay 16, 2026
Secondly, Sakaguchi is a fan of the Visage Shield, one of the most interesting 'weapons' in Elden Ring. This hefty greatshield is one of the few shields with an innate special attack. It comes with a unique skill called Tongues of Fire, capable of emitting jets of flame from the mouth of the face on the front of the shield. The face is modeled after the Flame Chariot enemies which were responsible for many frustrating deaths, but, in Elden Ring Nightreign, got the punishment they deserved after FromSoftware let us all easily jump up and one-hit them with critical attacks.
The Visage Shield also has a storied history. Elden Ring challenge runners like Bushy and GinoMachino used this shield to defeat some of the strongest bosses in the game during shield-only playthroughs, all by holding a single button. Channeling the flame jets does a surprising amount of damage and automatically blocks attacks, which makes for a powerful two-in-one assault. I can't make out a weapon in Sakaguchi's screenshots, so I choose to believe he's bulldozing the game two-handing a shield. For some reason, this sends my mind to the Onion Knight job from Final Fantasy 3.
A DeepL translation of the caption on Sakaguchi's post reads: "Simply beautiful and fun." Which is pretty high praise for any game or DLC to receive. Just ask the makers of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
