Final Fantasy creator says returning to Square Enix after 20 years “was like returning to your home in the countryside, this old home that your parents always had”

Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi says returning to a Square Enix building after 20 years “was like returning to your home in the countryside, this old home that your parents always had.”

Sakaguchi is doing the media rounds to promote a port of his throwback JRPG Fantasian. The game initially launched on the Apple Arcade and is set to reach PCs and consoles this winter with new features in tow.

It’s the story of his reunion with Square Enix, though, that’s proving very wholesome. Naturally, Sakaguchi and the gang at his current studio, Mistwalker, needed some help with publishing to spring the JRPG gem out of Apple Arcade jail. This led them back to the developer and publisher Sakaguchi left 20 years before, thanks partly to the critically acclaimed MMO Final Fantasy 14.

With the deal sealed not long after, Sakaguchi would eventually face returning to the familiar surroundings of a Square Enix office, and the results are suitably heartwarming.

“Twenty years is a very, very long time,” Sakaguchi tells Inverse. “I recall the first time going back to the office, I got into the elevator, and all the other staff kind of froze, like, ‘Oh my god, is that him?’ I wasn’t sure how I’d be received. But lo and behold, everyone had a warm welcome for me.

“It’s been a long time since I was last in that building and since we’ve worked together, but it was like returning to your home in the countryside, this old home that your parents always had.”

It won’t be long until we see what Sakaguchi and Square Enix have been cooking up, either. Fantasian: Neo Dimension launches this Winter on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Steam, and Xbox Series X|S.

And soon after, onto our list of the best JRPGs you can play right now, perhaps?