A Dark Day for Final Fantasy Fans

You may have heard of Hironobu Sakaguchi. He has a long history in video game development stretching all the way back from 1984 with The Death Trap for the PC-88. While I’m sure that’s what everybody knows him for, he’s actually, most notably, the creator of the Final Fantasy series.

Sakaguchi has had a long history working on video games, and it all started as a part-time job so he could afford software for his knock-off Apple II computer. It’s always amazing to see what passion and diligence can lead to when you look at how he’s arguably responsible for over 100 million units sold worldwide.

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You might be wondering now, Andrew, what does any of this have to do with Final Fantasy fans and a “Dark Day”? Well, it’s simple. After his next project, he might hang his hat on video game development.

Yes, you heard me right. The man behind one of the most beloved franchises of all time might never have a hand in Final Fantasy again.

When talking to VGC about Fantasian, he had this to say, “I think it is certainly possible that this could be my last project, and that was kind of in the back of my mind as we were developing it.”

It’s always sad to see one of the greats get ready to retire from development, but it also lets young blood rush in to fill the spots and see if they have what it takes to not only fill empty shoes, but to make their own to be filled some day.

I personally never played Final Fantasy growing up, but I’ve always been a big fan of Chrono Trigger. So while I don’t personally feel the full magnitude of this, I can still feel the ripples that the communities surrounding his works must be feeling.

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What better way to celebrate his career than to learn more about the original Final Fantasy, or the title during development, Fighting Fantasy. Yeah, we were really close to having that be the title of one of the biggest series of all time.

Final Fantasy was first released for the NES, but has been remade a lot of times for different consoles commonly paired with the second game, Final Fantasy II. To put it simply, Final Fantasy is basically a role-playing game about a group who has to fight another group who is bringing a literal dark force to the world.

While critically acclaimed, some people hated the game’s experience farming from random encounters most notably found in Pokemon games. Most people enjoyed the random encounters and turn-based elements that the game put a sizeable focus on.

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With 1.3 million units sold for the NES, and how well known the franchise is, it’s safe to say that they had struck gold. Hopefully Hironobu Sakaguchi realizes the impact he’s had on millions of people, and the gaming industry as a whole. Here’s to hoping we have a few more greats coming in to make names for themselves in his stead.