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CVG posted up today their interview with notable video game icon and the father of Final Fantasy, Hironobu Sakaguchi. The interview talks about Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, and whether or not Sakaguchi’s new IPs can rival Square-Enix’s Final Fantasy empire. Most of the questions asked to Sakaguchi are some of the basics (like the Western differences in Blue Dragon that weren’t featured in the Eastern version; whether or not Mistwalker can actually succeed in achieveing worldwide simultaneous release of Lost Odyssey; the voice acting involved in Lost Odyssey; the nature of turn-based versus real time battle systems; etc…etc…etc…). To me, though, the most interesting and perhaps thought provoking part of the entire interview is the following:
What do you think the biggest differences are between Japanese RPGs and Western RPGs?
Sakaguchi: I’m not too familiar with Western RPGs! I’m a big fan of Gears of War and also EverQuest the online game, so Final Fantasy XI is an online game.
I really want to stick to what I want to create and what I envision, not depending on the trends that have been happening in the industry. I love trying to create a game that has he warming effect after you finish it. I want to kind of make the gamers warm-hearted, that’s what I’m trying to create.
Gears of War is great but after you finish playing there’s a great deal of exhilaration, but there’s no warm-heartedness there. So that’s what I’m trying to create.
The fact that the man wants his games to evoke this warmhearted feeling within gamers is a testament to his brilliance. I guess that’s why I hold Final Fantasy VI to be the best Final Fantasy thus far; and if you’ve played it, there’s no denying the many instances in the game where you’ve felt this warmheartedness. What do you think?
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4 Responses to “CVG Interview With Hironobu Sakaguchi”
March 26th, 2007 at 8:51 pm
Sakaguchi hasn’t lost his magic (barring FF spirits w/in movie..), he still knows how to make intersting games. Almost all Jpn gamers who bought a 360 to play Blue Dragon agree that it’s been a long time since they’ve thoroughly enjoyed a traditional RPG. I guess you could say his game has hearts, hence the addictive quality. After Blue Dragon, I have faith in Lost Odyssey (even though it’s much more violent), I hope the man would keep bringing us good games.
March 27th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
I think one thing that helps separate RPGs from other genres of gaming in a positive way is the emotional tide it can have on us gamers. Depending on how well the story is written, by the end of the game you can truly walk away with a warm-hearted feeling of accomplishment. There’s no better example than FFVI in this category, when you can accomplish the goal of getting us to actually care about the plotline and what happens to these characters as they grow while the events unfold, that is when an RPG succeeds.
April 7th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
No this guy sucks I’m glad he left square, the hasbeen. Now Kitase and Nomura can feed us the same story and flavor that is popular wiht us anime and J-pop lovers that we have been getting 7. I know FF13 will be as typical as fomula does two haved cooked up. Man I love crappy spin-offs and sequals. I can wait Fabula Nova Cystallis sagas. What to do you think. Onnesan
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March 26th, 2007 at 8:38 pm
It’s true the warm-hearted stories are what make the early Final Fantasies memorable. Blue Dragon looks like it has it and hopefully he will stick to the same kind of story telling in Lost Odyssey and ASH. I’m surprised to see he’s a fan of Gears of War though. Even luminaries love chopping up the locust horde with a chainsaw!