Final Fantasy VI is one of the best games ever made. Fans have been coasting off that high for decades, even as modern homages seek to recreate the magic of the original. The lead creative behind the beloved RPG series, Hironobu Sakaguchi, now says making a proper successor to the 1994 SNES classic will be his final mission.
Sakaguchi left Final Fantasy publisher Square Enix in 2004 and founded the smaller studio Mistwalker. He’s ben making RPGs there ever since, from cult-classics like Xbox 360 exclusive Lost Odyssey to smaller mobile games like Terra Battle. Most recently his team shipped Fantasian: Neo Dimension, an excellent old-school RPG that began life as an Apple Arcade release in 2021, before recently getting remastered for consoles and PC.
Fantasian definitely felt heavily inspired by Final Fantasy VI. It starred an amnesiac fighter trying to save a world on the brink of chaos, aided by an eclectic group of noble misfits. The details were different but the overall mood and focus on narrative drama felt reminiscent of SNES-era Final Fantasy games. Sakaguchi reportedly replayed Final Fantasy VI, which he helped write and produce, before making Fantasian and considered both games kindred spirits through their mutual focus on family.
But his next project will apparently feel even more closely inspired by one of his old franchise’s peak games. “It’s generally going to follow a similar style to my previous works, and it’ll be something that can be a successor to Final Fantasy VI in a good way—our goal is to create something old but new at the same time,” the veteran creator recently told The Verge. “It’ll be part two of my farewell note.”
Sakaguchi said he had intended for Fantasian to be his final game, but had too much fun working with the team behind it to actually retire when it was done. “Humans are greedy creatures, aren’t we?” he told The Verge. “For that reason, I’m currently working on a new project with the same team that worked on Fantasian Neo Dimension.”
We don’t yet know what being a successor to Final Fantasy VI will mean for Mistalker’s next game. Retro HD-2D graphics? A sprawling cast of disparate characters brought together through shared tragedy and common purpose? A show-stopping opera scene foiled by a giant octopus? Or maybe Sakaguchi intends the connection to be more subtle and philosophical than that.
Fans will always pine for the direct sequel to Final Fantasy VI they’ve dreamed of but never got. The legendary RPG maker, on the other hand, has much grander ambitions. He said, “In the distant future, or maybe after I have already left this world, I imagine this game will find its meaning if someone chooses to look into the legacy of either myself or Final Fantasy.”
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