The realm of gaming has many stories that tie themselves to franchises that are legendary now, but they didn’t start out that way. For example, legendary developer Hironobu Sakaguchi was once on the verge of leaving the gaming industry entirely. He wasn’t finding success in the games he had been making previously, so he attempted “one last shot” to make something special. That title turned into Final Fantasy. Get the joke? Since that iconic entry, the franchise has become the definitive RPG series in many respects and has created some of the most iconic characters in gaming history. A legacy its creator is proud of.
However, in a chat with Inverse, Hironobu Sakaguchi revealed a surprising tidbit about how he viewed the series. He was specifically asked what entry is the “most complete” of the bunch, and he said it was the original title he created all those years ago:
“Final Fantasy I, the moment we completed it and released it to the market, provided myself with a huge sense of accomplishment and achievement. Simply because it was the first game that we didn’t know what we were doing, and how the market would react at the time. That’s the so-called ‘most complete’ Final Fantasy, or closest in its final form based on what we set out to achieve. Final Fantasy VI comes close, and does stand out above the other Final Fantasies, especially because it was the last Final Fantasy to use pixel art in all of its visual expression.”
One has to be impressed with his picks, especially since many would say that the 7th entry, especially in its remake form, has been the best of the lot. However, that wasn’t the question asked of him. His question was about which game felt the “most complete,” so you can see why he picked the first entry. After all, that was his “last shot” at making a good video game, so the team did everything they could to make the title exciting so that gamers would love it and the game would be successful. When you fast forward to the 6th entry, they had created something special and simply wanted to make something that could encapsulate all that they had learned up to that point.
Many do point to the 6th entry as one of the best entries in the series, especially when you look at the story and characters.
While Sakaguchi has moved on from the franchise and is now creating new games, it’s nice to know he still reveres what he built.
