Square Pres Talks Final Fantasy

Recently in New York City, the Angel Orensanz Foundation held an exhibit for Yoshitaka Amano. Mr. Amano displayed his most recent works (including Final Fantasy pieces, his new Hero project, and his Sandman collaboration with Neil Gaiman). While we were absorbing the sights and sounds at this star-studded event, we had a chance to tackle attending Squaresoft head honcho, Hironobu Sakaguchi, with a pile of hard-hitting, thought-provoking questions. We're so sassy!

What follows is a complete expose of some of the biggest rumors and news surrounding Squaresoft and its most recently announced projects. We went straight to the source, and we have the answers for you right here.

GameSpot News: Have you made any decisions regarding development for the Dolphin/Nintendo platform?Hironobu Sakaguchi: We have no plans at this time.

GSN: What involvement does Amano-san have with Final Fantasy IX?HS: We have asked Mr. Amano to do the image illustrations/designs. His work is an integral part, and we are asking him for a lot of involvement.

GSN: Does he have any involvement with Final Fantasy for the PlayStation2?HS: As long as FF continues, I would like to ask Mr. Amano to participate.

GSN: Why was Amano-san replaced by Tetsuya Nomura as the main character designer for Final Fantasy VII and VIII? Will Amano-san ever resume the role of "main character designer" for Final Fantasy IX or beyond?HS: It was necessary to shift our character designs, which were suited for low polygons. In the future, if the hardware allows limitless ability for expression, there is a possibility I will ask Mr. Amano for character designs.

GSN: Who will be composing the soundtrack for the FF Movie?HS: It is undecided at this time.

GSN: Will there be a Final Fantasy game based on the FF Movie?HS: The FF movie was started purely as a movie business. I will use many aspects (technical, staging, etc.) that we learned from making the film. But we have no plans to make the FF movie into a game at this time.

GSN: It has been stated that a famous Squaresoft series will come to an end next year. Any comment?HS: What!? Which series!? It's the first I've heard of it.

GSN: Do you see any other companies approaching the same level of innovation in the RPG genre? Enix? Sega's Shen Mue?HS: In terms of networking games, I believe entities creating Ultima Online and Everquest are advanced at this time. But Square has already started research on a server-type online game. Within six months, I believe we will be able to have the same level of technology.

GSN: Has there been talk of a Xenogears sequel, despite the creative figureheads having moved on to Monolith and Namco?HS: The reason is not because of the staff's move to other companies, it is that we do not have any plans for a sequel at this time.

GSN: Has there been thought of further collaborations with Namco and/or Ehrgeiz?HS: We have no plans at this time.