Hironobu Sakaguchi helped create the Final Fantasy series, but hasn’t been involved in the creation of one of its core games since he left Square Enix in 2003. That doesn’t mean he’s entirely left the franchise behind though – he’s simply joined the ranks of Final Fantasy XIV players instead.
Sakaguchi has been sharing his love for the popular MMO on his Twitter account (as spotted by PC Gamer), detailing his observations on the game’s design and environments, as well as reflecting on the online game’s many references to classic Final Fantasy entries.
The renowned creator, who directed the original Final Fantasy for the NES way back in 1987, apparently began playing the MMO on September 27, and has been updating fans and followers with his progress in the game since. This is Sakaguchi’s character, a Lalafell:
キャラ作成〜 pic.twitter.com/jxc3pVXCT9
— 坂口博信 (@auuo) September 27, 2021
On October 11, Sakaguchi delighted in the Crystal Tower raid, saying that it reminded him of a similar moment in Final Fantasy III, and that a villain’s design evoked the memory of noted Final Fantasy illustrator Yoshitako Amano’s original artwork.
At time of writing, Sakaguchi’s most recent tweet regarding Final Fantasy XIV was praising the environmental detail of the world and saying it showed “good background design”.
このクリスタルのような岩にでている丸い虹にもやられた。よいですね〜背景デザイン。#FF14 #FFXIV pic.twitter.com/lcOhYViuzV
— 坂口博信 (@auuo) October 26, 2021
It also seems like Sakaguchi has fallen for the game pretty hard, with one reply saying he felt games like Final Fantasy XIV “are games you play without sleeping”. As a result, he’s already onto Shadowbringers, the most recent expansion for the base game, and seems on track to be all caught up in time for Endwalker.
The last Final Fantasy game that Sakaguchi was credited on was 2006’s Final Fantasy XII – a “special thanks”, with the game coming out three years after Sakaguchi left Square Enix to help found Mistwalker. His latest game, Fantasian, an Apple Arcade exclusive that mixes miniatures and models for its backgrounds with CGI characters, has gameplay reminiscent of the earliest Final Fantasy games.
In other news, N64 games have finally arrived on the Nintendo Switch, while Valve has announced dates for its upcoming Autumn and Winter Steam sales.
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