Nearly 40 years on from the very first Final Fantasy game, and four years after his supposedly retiring, the series creator is on the cusp of making a comeback to make one more game - a spiritual successor to Final Fantasy 6.
In an interview with The Verge, Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi discussed his previous game, 2021's Fantasian, which had a PC and console release last month, and how he had initially planned to step back from work for good following its release. However, while he "intended Fantasian to be my final project before I retired," he now plans to finish his career with a game he views as "a successor to Final Fantasy 6."
Fantasian is a game that has drawn comparisons with Final Fantasy 6, the last game in the series to use the original 2D-pixel art style that characterised the series in its early years, though Sakaguchi views things differently. "My approach to creating Fantasian was different from my previous works. For this project, I aimed to tap into my inner creativity to earnestly craft an RPG once more, so because of this, drawing comparisons with existing games felt pointless to me," he explains, before describing Fantasian as "somewhat of a farewell note from me."
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However, Sakaguchi found the process of developing Fantasian so enjoyable, that he decided to stick around to develop one more game with the team. "The fantastic team that was assembled to complete [Fantasian] was so enjoyable to work with that I found it hard to part ways," he begins, "I'm currently working on a new project with the same team that worked on Fantasian."
While he wants to explore the idea of a successor to Final Fantasy 6, Sakaguchi is clear that it won't just be a rehashing of old ideas. "Our goal is to create something old but new at the same time," he says. "It'll be part two of my farewell note."
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