Hironobu Sakaguchi is considered the “father of Final Fantasy.” Although he has left Square Enix, he can’t let go of Final Fantasy 14. At the London Fan Fest, he spoke about his relationship with the MMORPG.
In London, the Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival took place from October 21 to 22, 2023. There, a lot was revealed about the upcoming expansion Dawntrail. For example, the new job Viper was introduced, which aims to impress with lightning-fast attacks and massive damage.
On-site, there was also a discussion between Naoki Yoshida, the director of Final Fantasy 14, and Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of the series and an enthusiastic player of the MMORPG.
“As soon as I am in a raid, I cannot attend any meetings”
What did the “father of Final Fantasy” have to say? Sakaguchi, who has been playing the MMORPG since 2021, admitted that it had been a real time sink, especially in the first few months. “I think I was in it for 12 hours every day,” he explained through a translator.
The legendary developer added that Final Fantasy 14 had filled “about 80%” of his waking hours – 100% if he did not count the time for eating.
Sakaguchi documents his experiences in the MMORPG on X, formerly Twitter. Not only fans follow the adventures of the 60-year-old there, but also the development team of Final Fantasy 14, as Yoshida reported.
Although the expectations of the “father of Final Fantasy” were probably rather low at the beginning, he can hardly get away from the MMORPG 2 years later: “Now I can’t leave it. Final Fantasy 14 has become a part of my life.”
If Sakaguchi is not currently exploring Eorzea, he is also working as the founder and head of his own game development company, Mistwalker. However, he seems to squeeze in time for gaming in between. He joked, “As soon as I am in a raid, I cannot attend any meetings. “
It seems to have paid off because Sakaguchi had a surprise for Yoshida: proof of his first successful Ultimate Raid. These raids are considered the hardest content in the game, and the race for the “World First” is usually a big spectacle.
The creator of Final Fantasy wanted to master an Ultimate Raid before participating in the Fan Festival, and he achieved his goal 10 days before the event. He had a lot of fun, as he told Yoshida, and he wants to try further Ultimate Raids in the future.
