It’s no secret that Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi loves a bit of the critically acclaimed MMO Final Fantasy 14. After around three years of grinding “almost every single day,” Sakaguchi now reckons the game “might be the game that I’ve played the most in my life.”
Speaking to Anime News Network, Sakaguchi charts the road back to Square Enix that recently led to his lovely wee JRPG Fantasian springing free from Apple Arcade jail to PC and consoles. Replaying Final Fantasy 6 influenced him to make Fantasian in the first place, though it was how Final Fantasy 14 honored its series’ legacy that helped set things in motion for a post-release port.
“I’ve been playing Final Fantasy 14 for a little over three years now, and I log in almost every single day. It might be the game that I’ve played the most in my life,” he says. “Because of that, I can’t pinpoint the specific factors that influenced me. I believe I have been significantly influenced by it in ways that aren’t overt.
“My experience revisiting Final Fantasy 6 influenced Fantasian’s production. But witnessing how Final Fantasy 14 honors the legacy of earlier Final Fantasy games while also enhancing them impressed me and allowed me to approach the direction I had for Fantasian without wavering.”
Sakaguchi goes on to say that playing Final Fantasy 14 also brought him into contact with the MMO’s producer and director Naoki Yoshida, who played a large role in making Fantasian’s Neo Dimension glow-up a reality.
“I felt that Yoshida-san was a diligent and sincere person through my experience with Final Fantasy 14, and that impression was reinforced through working with him on Fantasian Neo Dimension,” Sakaguchi says. “Needless to say, if the opportunity arises, I strongly wish to work together with him again and create something new.”
Fantasian: New Dimension is out now.
Final Fantasy creator says his Final Fantasy 14 habit got so bad “on rare occasion” that some of his employees would hop on the MMO to DM him about missed meetings.
