“I would like to continue giving birth to something new before I perish.”
The release of Fantasian Neo Dimension was something of a full circle moment for Hironobu Sakaguchi.
The Neo Dimension re-release even added a new easier difficulty, though it remains a steep challenge.
Sakaguchi refers to his “dabbling in programming” in the past as reason for the game’s toughness.
But over 40 years ago, I myself was also dabbling in programming as a game creator.
“It really pulls you into a different feeling or different emotion.
Making Fantasian, then, was this “very honest feeling that simply translated into something tangible”.
Again, the visuals blur the line between an older aesthetic and a new technique.
For the turn-based battles, though, this was something Sakaguchi decided upon early in development.
There’s almost a sense of melancholy, which perhaps could be unique to JRPGs as a genre.
The stories that Japanese developers create, perhaps, will always have something unique in that essence.”
These ideas ring true for Fantasian too, to a degree.
Again, he mentions the latest technology.
He continues: “Fantasian, on the other hand, is much more of an old style experience.
And it still, I think, stands for one interpretation of what an RPG can be.
However, Sakaguchi himself is looking forwards rather than to remakes of the past.
What, then, about the future?
How does Sakaguchi see the industry growing in 2025?
He speculates about the assistance of AI, though is careful to specify its precise use.
Fantasian was meant to be Sakaguchi’s final fantasy, but it seems he can’t sit still.
Will this game also blend past and future into a new present?
We’ll have to wait and see.
