The Final Fantasy Movie Previewed

Last night, on October 26, the Angel Orensanz Gallery in New York City hosted a lavish exhibition profiling Final Fantasy designer, Yoshitaka Amano's newest body of artwork, which included the artist's stunning contributions to the Final Fantasy world and others. Attending luminaries included Squaresoft kingpin Hironobu Sakaguchi and president of Square Electronic Arts Jun Iwasaki. Profiled along with Amano-san's work were sneak previews of the Final Fantasy Movie, PlayStation2 titles such as the Bouncer, the PS2 Final Fantasy VIII demo in which Squall and Rinoa dance around the ballroom, and the old-man facial demo. While the PS2 demos were nothing new, the two full-minute preview of the FF Movie was absolutely stunning. It was obvious these were CG-rendered graphics, but they were like nothing ever seen before. By the end of the trailer, where the Ving Rhames character turns to the audience and asks, "Are you alright?" the audience members were on their feet, cheering. Granted, at this point, it's really hard to see where the Final Fantasy connection lies (there weren't any Leviathan summonings, let's put it that way), but the footage was beyond anything you have ever seen before. It was better than Toy Story, A Bug's Life, the CG footage in FFVIII, and any of the Namco movies in Tekken 3, etc. The Final Fantasy Movie is going to be incredible. Right now, it looks like some sort of space opera of an extremely epic nature. So rush to the theaters when it comes out.

To reward those who filled the gallery, signed copies of Final Fantasy VIII and Anthology were given out to 20 lucky attendees, who feverishly claimed their prizes. Fortunately for your stalwart crew of gaming journalists (John Ricciardi, Chris Johnston and James Mielke) we got to sit down with Mr. Amano for a lengthy interview, which will be posted here later this week. Following the interview was an extremely generous autograph session in which Amano-san dressed up his offerings to us with signatures and drawings. Here's a list of the booty collected. John Ricciardi: Final Fantasy Collection (import) embellished with a flock of Moogles by Amano-san. Chris Johnston: Think Like Amano book (from previous exhibition) and exhibition Hero poster signed and drawn on by Amano-san. Intrepid reporter James Mielke brazenly asked Amano-san if he'd have any problem signing the mass collection of stuff that he had brought with him. Yoshitaka generously replied that that would be fine. The list: Final Fantasy Japan book (collection of all of Amano's pre-FFVII work), Think Like Amano book, Biten Catalog (new Amano collection), Front Mission game (Super Famicom), Front Mission Gun Hazard (Super Famicom), Final Fantasy Collection (import), and Final Fantasy Anthology.

The most awesome part of the evening was when the Milkman meekly asked Amano's translator what it would take to commission a tattoo designed by Amano-san. Amano asked if the Milkman wanted it right then, to which the Milkman replied "sure." The man responsible for the majority of the Final Fantasy universe proceeded to draw, not one but two, complete black-and-white designs for the Milkman. Amano even stated that he was extremely nervous, since this would be such a permanent piece of his art, and even requested to see it once it was done. These drawings have been included here for all the world to see.

The evening was a grand spectacle, with impressive guests, yet there was nothing more impressive than Mr. Amano's work itself. However, for a brief moment, three reporters had an opportunity to get close to a gentleman revered around the world for his amazing contributions to gaming history. For an in-depth look at the future of Final Fantasy, Amano-san's artwork, his history, and other surprising things, stay tuned for the extensive interview, which will be posted shortly. For the time being, take a peek at the drawings, and dream of the Final Fantasy Movie. The three of us who were present would like to thank Mr. Amano for his generosity and kindness. We humbly appreciate it.