Next Generation interviews Sakaguchi

    In a recent interview with Next Generation Magazine, Hironobu Sakaguchi divulged much information about Final Fantasy VIII, the Final Fantasy Movie, and the Final Fantasy Series in general. We'll give you a rundown of some of the interesting things he said.

    Sakaguchi worked on a few games before the intial "Final Fantasy," including Rad Racer and 3D World Runner, which basically inspired the name "Final Fantasy." Sakaguchi wasn't pleased with these games and others he had made, so this RPG was his last shot, it was his "final fantasy."

    Final Fantasy has changed a lot since then. The original concept was how the earth came into being, using different elements to represent the make-up of earth. Back then he started the game creation with the story and an "overall world view of the game" followed by drawings done. Today, Final Fantasies are built off of the story, whereas the story is written first and then all work is done based on it.

    An interesing tidbit was that Sakaguchi draws inspiration for making games from James Cameron films, such as the Terminator movies. He enjoys the storylines and usage of camera angles and cuts. Let's just hope Leonardo DiCaprio doesn't make a cameo appearance in Final Fantasy VIII.

    Regarding Final Fantasy VIII, Sakaguchi commented that it would cost less to make than Final Fantasy VII did, but there will be more cutscenes in Final Fantasy VIII than Final Fantasy VII's 60 minutes worth.

    Also, Sakaguchi didn't want to divulge much information about the Final Fantasy Movie to Next Generation, but he did say that the storyline will be focused more on realism than fantasy.

   The interview can be found in the February 1999 issue of Next Generation.