Final Fantasy’s co-creator has picked a favorite from the series’ sprawling lineup of epic fantasy adventures, and he made the objectively correct decision, according to Gamesradar’s (my) professional evaluation.
Hironobu Sakaguchi is often cited as the JRPG series’ creator, or grandaddy to some, having directed the first five Final Fantasies, produced the first ten, and pulled publisher Square out of a tricky financial situation in the late 1980s. Final Fantasy has since become the company’s bedrock and a genre behemoth that’s endured for over 30 years.
Despite so many trend-setting classics existing under the series’ umbrella, Sakaguchi didn’t hesitate to pick a favorite grandchild in an interview with Inverse. “In terms of the Final Fantasy that I think is the ‘most complete’; I believe Final Fantasy 6 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.”
That puts Sakaguchi at odds with fellow Square Enix veteran Tetsuya Nomura, who previously thought he “could have done a better job” with the sixth mainline entry – “I don’t really feel that way about many other games,” he said earlier this year. For a game with over 14 playable party members, a war tale spanning an entire continent, and an iconic villainous clown that threatens to derail the whole vibe but instead makes it all the more memorable – Final Fantasy 6 is almost unbelievably coherent, so I’m leaning more toward Sakaguchi’s corner.
The only game that Sakaguchi holds in the same regard is the first Final Fantasy, because “the moment we completed it and released it to the market, provided myself with a huge sense of accomplishment and achievement.” Sakaguchi explains that the team “didn’t know what we were doing, and how the market would react at the time,” but that just made its smashing success more satisfying.
Sakaguchi might reminisce on the series from time to time – and sink into Final Fantasy 14 all the time – but after departing the company years ago, he’s reunited with Square Enix to bring his modern successor Fantasian to consoles and PC later this year.
See our best Final Fantasy games list for more opinions you might get angry at.
