The condition “ living fable ” gets thrown around generally in the fine art world , but Hironobu Sakaguchi has earned that eminence . The 61 - year - old game intriguer is the founder of Final Fantasy , one of the most crucial franchises in gambling next to Mario . While Sakaguchi did n’t inventthe RPG musical genre , he release it into a fundament that developer still work up on ten after . Rather than taking that fabled success and call it a Clarence Day , Sakaguchi is n’t done innovating .

In 2021 , Sakaguchi go development onFantasian , an Apple Arcade single RPG created by his studio apartment , Mistwalker . It was ab initio heralded as his swan song in the lead of retirement . Three long time later , he ’s still hard at oeuvre . Sakaguchi is currently polish off up a console table and PC larboard ofFantasiandubbedNeo Dimension . The new version brings the fad hit to a wider audience along with some difficulty adjustments , voice act , and 4 K visuals that show off its unique panorama fine art style . consider how belovedFantasianis with its circumscribed Apple fanbase , the full universe is about to bring in that Sakaguchi is still innovate the RPG genre just as much today as he was in the 1980s

forward of its outlet , I sat down with Hironobu Sakaguchi to discuss the origination ofFantasianand the changes add up toNeo Dimension . It ’s well-to-do to sympathize why Sakaguchi saw it as his send - off ; everything from its Apple exclusivity to its connection toFinal Fantasy 6led to the sodding full - circle here and now for a legend on the brink of retirement . He just did n’t await such a clear goodbye to reignite his love of games in the process .

That outlook changed in 2017 thanks to one ( tiny ) objet d’art of ironware : theSuper NES Classic Edition .

“ One of the grounds I wanted to makeFantasianis related toFinal Fantasy 6 in some way , ” Sakaguchi tell Digital Trends . “ There was a period where a lot of hardware shaper were make miniature versions of their consoles . On the Japanese SNES , which came with about 20 games , Final Fantasy 6was one of them . A Nipponese publisher at the clock time had the approximation to pull together some of the original developers and beat the biz on a alive stream , to which I was invited . Having playedFinal Fantasy 6there really reminded me of my origins as a game Divine . ”

I went into the task believe that perhaps it could be my last game .

Sakaguchi and a small core team at Mistwalker would get to work on an ode to definitive RPGs that call back to the God Almighty ’s early body of work . “ It would be impossible to unclothe that aside from the turn - based mechanics and what that represents for an RPG , ” Sakaguchi says , cementing the squad ’s decisiveness to make a traditional bend - based RPG . Sakaguchi has never been one to dally the hits , though . Rather than making something strictly retro , he sought to build on the tried - and - true armed combat fashion with feature like the Dimengeon , which lets players rely up multiple random encounter into one gauntlet conflict , and spells that could be shaped with an iOS equipment ’s touchscreen to polish off multiple enemies at once .

Fantasian ’s most ambitious swing , though , come from its graphics trend . The RPG ’s place setting are built out of real dioramas that were scanned into the game . Sakaguchi says that the idea ab initio run into problems due to underwhelming 3-D scanning proficiency that were n’t capturing the nuance of Mistwalker ’s model . The squad would figure out that problem by turning to photogrammetry , an advanced proficiency that ’s often used to produce 3D simulation of city .

That alone artwork vogue was n’t a random originative conclusion ; it was another point that intersected with his long career . Sakaguchi notes that he always have it away the fine art of shaping model qualification and want to bring that idea to a game . That sake just so happened to intersect with another game from his past , Chrono Trigger , as well as the legendary creative person Akira Toriyama , who passed away sooner this year .

“ Akira Toriyama , who worked onChrono Trigger , was a huge fan of credit card example , ” Sakaguchi says . “ There ’s one story where there ’s this Brobdingnagian toy manufacturer in Japan called Tamiya , and they would have contest for people who modify their plastic model and make these dioramas . Akira Toriyama had submit one under an false name and he won that competition ! I really loved the model that Toriyama - sensei created , but there ’s also this three - dimensionality to a lot of his artwork . Even though it might be monotone , he in his thinker knows just what it look like on the backside of that grapheme even if it ’s not necessary . ”

As we tattle aboutFantasian , I take note that fans of the RPG have often compare it toChrono Trigger . There are a lot of obvious similarities , primarily in its eclectic cast of characters that include gruff airship captains and loveable robot . When Sakaguchi and I discussChrono Triggerand its relationship toFantasian , he gives credit to Toriyama ’s art for both influence his own way of thinking and cementingChrono Triggeras an unshakable classic .

“ Perhaps one of the reasons thatChrono Triggerstood the examination of metre is because [ Toriyama ] has that in his head despite players only being able to see a few angles of it , ” Sakaguchi says . “ I call back in some ways that relates toFantasianas well because the 3D dioramas had to be created from all Angle and take television camera shots . I do n’t acknowledge if I say I thought aboutChrono Triggerwhen makingFantasian , but perhaps there are some parallels that can be drawn . ”

A new dimension

Despite being a cock-a-hoop undertaking for Sakaguchi , Fantasianwould launch to a limited audience in 2021 after Mistwalker was near by Apple to create a game for itsApple Arcadesubscription service . It might seem unusual that someone as significant as Sakaguchi would want his final game to be lock to a specific audience , but that decision was another one that would splice his foresightful chronicle together in a bow .

“ My original exposure to video games — and you could fence it ’s what brought me to the game industriousness all — was theApple 2 computer , ” Sakaguchi says . “ On the Apple 2 computer , I played game likeWizardryandUltima 2 , which was a huge civilisation electrical shock to me . When approachingFantasian , I went into the project think that perhaps it could be my last game . I remember it was kind of poetical in the sense that the Apple computer bring me into the gaming industriousness . If I made my last game on the Apple platform , there ’s a closing of the loop so to talk . ”

That decisiveness would makeFantasianone of gaming ’s well - keep on secrets over the past three years . Those who have play it will likely talk your ear off about its gorgeous art , creative combat , and intriguing engagement . It ’ll outgrow its “ hidden muffin ” status with the going ofFantasian : Neo Dimension , which bring a tune up - up version of it to PS4 , PS5 , Xbox Series X / S , Nintendo Switch , and PC . That platform move sacrifice Sakaguchi and Mistwalker a second chance to chastise some flaws in the original . main among those is a new Normal trouble option that retunes some notoriously difficult moments .

“ In the originalFantasianon Apple Arcade , the mechanics and balance was primarily done by two of the programmers and myself , ” Sakaguchi say . “ As a result , it ’s almost a very peaky biz , with peaks and valleys . In hindsight , it was n’t our intention to be mean to our players or anything ; we were just seek to make what we intend was the funnest version of the game at the time . But I think the team that was in charge of it might have been slightly biased ! ”

That is n’t the only change . Neo Dimensionwill also sport full voice over , quality of life pinch like increased character movement hurrying , and 4 K visuals that well show off its dioramas . The team even tweaked things like line to make those standout visuals babble on larger cover . What once was a quiet send - off for Sakaguchi is now poised to become his next great masterpiece three years afterwards .

Officially unretired

Fantasian Neo Dimensionis set in motion at a polar moment for a writing style that Sakaguchi avail put on the mathematical function . In recent years , the RPG landscape painting has exclusively shift . Franchises like Final Fantasyhave traded in number - based scrap for veridical - time legal action , a trend that ’s even bleed intoseries like Dragon Quest . Fantasianat clip feel like the last masterpiece in a slowly break down breed , but Sakaguchi does n’t see that as a negative . He ’s been around long enough to know that modification is a requirement .

“ Games is a spiritualist that always has to germinate in some manner to stay relevant , so the transition to genuine - time fundamental interaction seems quite consistent given the change in hardware , ” Sakaguchi pronounce . “ At the same time , the HD-2D character of expression is very imaginative and not something that I could have come up with . I think what people have done to push the boundaries of what pixel art is adequate to of is amazing , so I ’m impressed and like where the literary genre is go as a whole . ”

We ’re quietly in pre - yield on something else with that squad .

That , of course , begs the head of where Sakaguchi himself fits into those shifting sand . WhileFantasianwas once positioned as hisfinal plot before retirement , he ’s singing a different tune now . He ’s once again partnering with Square Enix after their split over 20 years ago , and he already has his next labor in the works . Fantasianbackfired as a sayonara ; his experience on it only revitalize him . When asked about whether he ’d make another biz with diorama art again , he lease his future plans slip .

“ Since we ’ve gone through the difficulty of creating this pipeline and technology , if the opportunity presents itself to habituate it again in the future tense , I ’d get laid to take that chance , ” Sakaguchi sound out . “ That all being tell — of course of action I ca n’t go into too much item — we had an amazing squad withFantasianthat I ’d love to work on something with that team together again . So we ’re quiet in pre - output on something else with that team . Hopefully inside information will be let out at a next date ! ”

Sakaguchi know that energy ca n’t last always . He ’s now in his early LX working in a taxing industry . There will soon hail a day where he formally hangs up his boot , but he ’s rediscovered that magic that helped him make Final Fantasy with theFantasianteam for now .

“ take in one plot take off to finish takes about three old age , which translate to a lot of vim and stamen and different challenges that come with what you ’re essay to do and innovate with the game , ” Sakaguchi says . “ Being able to continue working with this team is perhaps a big incentive for me , but how many more time I can do this still remains to be seen . ”

Fantasian Neo Dimensionlaunches this winter on PS4 , PS5 , Xbox Series X / S , Nintendo Switch , and PC .