Today on Twitter, voice actor Tatsuhisa Suzuki recalled his time working on Final Fantasy Versus XIII and the game it eventually became, Final Fantasy XV.
Suzuki asked his followers if they wanted to hear some FFXV anecdotes, writing that the game’s script was actually three times as long, but it had to be trimmed down. But not all that material was lost to time, as Suzuki explained some of it was reworked and became Kingslaive Final Fantasy XV.
According to Suzuki, Final Fantasy Versus XIII was going nowhere. “At the time it [Final Fantasy Versus XIII] became XV, the project was on the verge of vanishing,” Suzuki wrote, adding that it was miraculous that the game got a numbered release.
Once the game became FFXV, Suzuki writes that development was only around three and a half years. Suzuki points out that changing the game engine was one reason why it took so long to release the game, as Square Enix shifted Versus from its in-house Crystal Tools engine to the Luminous Engine. “Things had to be redone,” explained Suzuki.
While it was a long road to get the game out, Suzuki seems very proud of the game and had a memorable experience working on it. “Even now to this day, the development staff calls me, ‘Prince,” he wrote. Even out of work-related spots, they will still refer to him by that moniker. It’s the point where people around Suzuki go, ‘Huh? A prince?’” Well, for as long as he was involved in that project, he’s definitely earned that royal nickname.