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With "next-gen" officially upon us now, following the launches of the PS3 and Wii consoles, the news no doubt on everyone's mind is: what about the RPGs? So far, all appearances have indicated that, contra last gen, RPG development this time around will be much more equalized across the board between the three home consoles, with no one system dominating the field the way the PS2 did. And while it's impossible to fully and most accurately predict exactly how current gen RPG development will shake out, we can at least take a look at a number of high profile, influential game designers (almost at celebrity caliber) and examine the allegiances they've been staking out and the projects they've been working on. As it happens, each system seems to have some pretty big names on board. If you're interested in what the creator of your favorite RPG might be doing next, read on.
Hironobu Sakaguchi, Mistwalker
Credits: Creator, Final Fantasy series; director (Final Fantasy I - V)
After he handed control of the Final Fantasy series over to proteges Yoshinori Kitase and Hiroyuki Itou, Hironobu Sakaguchi largely stepped out of the spotlight until his much publicized failure at the box office. But now the famed creator is back in the gaming limelight once more, courtesy of Microsoft's bankrolling of his independent development studio. With his return to development work, Sakaguchi is following a model adhered to much more closely by his counterpart on the Dragon Quest series, Yuji Horii. Rather than handling the nitty and gritty work of overseeing every aspect of a game's creation and direction, Sakaguchi is coming up with the game design for his latest projects and writing the overall scenario.
Sakaguchi has firmly aligned himself with Microsoft and its Xbox 360 console with big budget new RPGs under development with the company's funding, Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey. He also has a third game being published by newly-formed AQ Interactive. Furthermore, he's expressed a strong interest in seeing Blue Dragon become not just a stand-alone game, but an entire new franchise. Its early success makes this hope a likelihood, so 360 owners will get to look forward to, perhaps, a Blue Dragon trilogy. Though his emphasis is heavily on his 360 development, Sakaguchi does seem to be supporting Nintendo as well in a limited capacity, with Archaic Sealed Heat for the DS and one other confirmed game for either the Wii or DS.
Yuji Horii, Armor Project / Square Enix
Credits: Creator, Dragon Quest series; game design & scenario (Dragon Quest I - VIII), scenario/supervisor (Chrono Trigger)
Horii, the head of Armor Project, has complete contractual control over the Dragon Quest franchise, which he created twenty years ago with two companions -- Akira Toriyama and Koichi Sugiyama. Since then, all three men have been dedicated to continuing its broad appeal as the second most popular RPG franchise in Japan (and the most popular third party RPG franchise). He has created the scenario & game design for all eight current chapters in the series.
Heading into the new generation, Horii has clearly aligned himself with Nintendo, echoing many of the company's public relations talking points. He's expressed a desire to see the advanced tech race slow down, stressed the accessibility and interaction of the DS and Wii, commiserated over the size and cost of game development now compared to before, and stated quite simply that his franchise does not require high-end graphics or processing power. He currently has one confirmed game in development for the Wii with what seems to be a sizable budget behind it. Expect more Dragon Quest spinoffs and remakes in the future (the PS2 had around four), and potentially Dragon Quest X.
Akitoshi Kawazu, Square Enix
Credits: Creator, SaGa series; director (Final Fantasy Legend I - III, Romancing SaGa I - III, SaGa Frontier, Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song); producer (Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles); executive producer (Final Fantasy XII)
As the only game creator sitting on Square Enix's Board of Directors, senior vice president & executive producer Akitoshi Kawazu (head of the company's Product Development Division 2) has a tremendous degree of influence within the company. While he continues his hands' on involvement in the series he created, SaGa, he also maintains an extensive managerial role. It is in this capacity that he has overseen the development of FFXII, FFXII: Revenant Wings, Code Age Commanders, the Final Fantasy Advance ports, and the various Chocobo games.
Kawazu's sympathies to Nintendo are fairly widely accepted. It was Kawazu that brokered the deal with Nintendo that allowed Square Enix to begin GBA development (which led to the company's strong DS support), Kawazu that picked a Nintendo system for a FFXII sequel, and it was Kawazu that was majority shareholder of The Game Designers Studio, the front company created by Square Enix to develop Nintendo-console games. He's currently at work on Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers for the Wii. Given all this, it can be fairly surmised that the director will make a strong attempt to continue to steer additional Square Enix support to Nintendo, perhaps including his own SaGa series.
Yoshinori Kitase, Square Enix
Credits: director (Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI - VIII), producer (Final Fantasy X, X-2, XIII)
Kitase is the head of Square Enix's Product Development Division 1, the largest and most well-funded team within the company (and the one typically responsible for the production of its massive budget blockbuster Final Fantasy titles). Though he seldom directs games himself anymore, he still has an incredibly strong influence on the games produced within his division and is heavily involved in the design process. Prior to stepping into that producer and executive producer role, though, he was noted for the success of the games he personally made, as well as for his status as Hironobu Sakaguchi's hand-picked protege.
Kitase's team is currently working on two confirmed PS3 RPGs: Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII. The producer has long illustrated a design philosophy geared towards pushing hardware as much as is feasible, and then pushing it a bit further, so the enormous power of the PlayStation 3 is a perfect match for him. And as large and well-funded as Kitase's team is, this can only lead to good things for PS3 fans, as the bulk of Square Enix's PS2 support came from his division.
Tetsuya Nomura, Square Enix
Credits: Creator, Kingdom Hearts series; director (Kingdom Hearts I, II, Chain of Memories; Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children)
Unlike many of the individuals listed here, Tetsuya Nomura didn't start out his career in hard development work. He didn't begin as an event planner or director, or a battle designer, or a programmer. He actually started out as a character designer and graphic artist, one who gained increasing prominence within the video game development community following his noted work on games such as Final Fantasy VII and VIII. Somewhere along the way, however, he segued this artistic talent into the role of game creation, and thus was Kingdom Hearts born.
Despite his role in the establishment of one of Square Enix's three largest franchises, Nomura doesn't have complete creative freedom -- he works beneath producer Yoshinori Kitase, who ultimately makes the calls. However, Nomura has accumulated a fair degree of prestige, and even ignoring that, he and Kitase seem largely aligned in terms of their development philosophies. Nomura has had high praise for the PS3 and what it offers games and developers, and he's backing this up with a concrete project in directing Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Accounting for his current work on the system, his and Kitase's development ideals, and the established fanbase, the PS3 is the most logical home for the next entries in Nomura's Kingdom Hearts franchise.
Koichi Ishii, Square Enix
Credits: Creator, Mana series; director (Final Fantasy Adventure, Secret of Mana, Seiken Densetsu III, Dawn of Mana, Final Fantasy XI)
Ishii, like Kawazu, is one of the few remaining "old guard" directors and producers within Square Enix. He's long had a big role within the company, as one of the core designers on the earlier Final Fantasy games (again, alongside individuals such as Kawazu and Hiromichi Tanaka). Tanaka and Ishii went on to collaborate again in the creation of Square Enix's first successful online effort, FFXI, but it's for his own Mana / Seiken Densetsu series that Ishii is most well known and most fondly thought of.
Currently wrapping up the late-generation release of Dawn of Mana (Seiken Densetsu IV), Ishii hasn't talked too much about next (now current)-gen development yet so it's a bit more difficult to peg his future than it is some of the other developers in this list. Ishii has spoken positively on multiple occasions about the possibility of putting a Mana game on the Wii, stating that he's intrigued by the console and how he could adapt Mana to fit it. Given that he has exclusive control over the franchise, it's fair to think this wish will come true at some point. Additionally, Square Enix has announced a MMORPG project for the PS3 and the 360, and it's rumored to be a successor of sorts to FFXI. It's certainly possible, if not downright likely, that Ishii and Tanaka will once again be heading up this effort.
Yasumi Matsuno
Credits: Creator, Ogre Battle series; writer/director/producer (Final Fantasy Tactics, Vagrant Story, Final Fantasy XII)
The story is almost legendary, at this point -- the tale of how detail-oriented, perfectionist Matsuno, the former head of Square Enix's Product Development Division 4, fell from grace at the company and left in a manner of disgrace highly reminiscent of the exile of Hironobu Sakaguchi years earlier. Nevertheless, before the difficulties encountered during Final Fantasy XII's four year-long production, Matsuno had a sterling reputation: he had produced, directed, and written some of the most critically acclaimed RPGs in Ogre Battle, Tactics Ogre, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Vagrant Story. Always with a core team of creative confidants at his side, including art director Hiroshi Minagawa, character designer Akihiko Yoshida, and music composer Hitoshi Sakimoto, Matsuno and has team had proven a force to be reckoned with.
Now, however, he's left Square Enix, and it's a bit obscured what the future holds for the visionary designer. His first public appearance since he stepped down from the Final Fantasy XII team was at a Nintendo-sponsored unveiling of its Wii console. During the event, the hardware manufacturer aired a video sequence featuring a promenade of noted game designers discussing the console. Matsuno was featured in the montage offering particularly praise-filled words for the system and its controller and noting his interest in designing for it. Following this appearance, 1Up reported that the director would in fact be bringing his talents to the Wii. Hopefully more information will become available soon about the developer's future plans.
Rieko Kodama, Sega
Credits: Co-Creator, Phantasy Star series; executive designer (Phantasy Star I - II); director (Phantasy Star IV, Magic Knight Rayearth); producer (Skies of Arcadia)
Notice anything in particular about this list? That's right -- it's almost entirely dominated by men. But in all of RPGdom, there is one woman that consistently stands out as amongst the most talented and prominent designers: Sega's Rieko Kodama. She was one of the co-creators of the epic Phantasy Star series and contributed to designating a fully-developed woman character as the lead hero... back when Final Fantasy had heroes like "Black Mage" and "Thief." Her consistent advocacy of women in strong, leading roles in RPGs continued as she served as the director of Phantasy Star IV and Magic Knight Rayearth and the producer of Skies of Arcadia. It didn't hurt that all of her games were also exceptionally good.
Unfortunately, Rieko's been a bit quiet for a while now. Fans of her work needn't necessarily despair, though, as she's often expressed a desire to return to both of the series that so defined her career. Kodama has said on several occasions that she would enjoy the chance to develop a Phantasy Star 5 or a Skies of Arcadia 2. Of course, whether such games ever materialize is another matter entirely, and there's no indication as to which platform they'd be developed on in any case.
Kouji "Cozy" Okada, Gaia
Credits: Creator, Shin Megami Tensei series
It's impossible for any fan of Atlus games to deny the role the sunglass-wearing Cozy Okada has played in the studio's growth. He is, after all, the creator of the company's defining franchise, Shin Megami Tensei, which has spawned a multitude of sequels and spinoff series, from Persona to Avatar Tuner (Digital Devil Saga) to a bunch that we've never even seen in America. But while the Megaten franchise will continue (to the adulation of all Atlus fans), it's without its founder -- Okada's moved on to other things, namely the establishment of his own personal independent development studio, Gaia. So far, he's made one game under his new studio's label, Monster: Kingdom: Jewel Summoner for the PSP.
Monster Kingdom was published by Sony, and as visualized by Okada, planned as a new series. That's coming to fruition, with a new game, Unknown Realm, in development for the PS3. Though Gaia isn't directly handling the development of the title (leaving that task to Game Republic), the early word on it was that Okada would be collaborating in a creative oversight role. Regardless, with the relationship he's established with Sony, there's good reason to hope for future titles and support from him and his company on the PS3.
Eiji Aonuma, Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development
Credits: Director (Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess); assistant director (Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time)
Since legendary designer Shigeru Miyamoto's shift to management instead of direct game development, the reins of the Zelda series have been handed over to Aonuma, a man who's shown a much stronger inclination towards epic narrative and artistic design than his more functionally-oriented predecessor typically did. He's strived to tie in each game of the series to a stronger overall continuity while still seeking to improve and refine the traditional game design it's become known for. And since he works directly for Nintendo itself, it's a given that his efforts this generation will continue to focus on pushing forward the franchise to which he's been assigned.
His projects, as one of the company's flagship series, tend to be rather large-scale, so it may be a long time before Aonuma's next game materializes. However, Game Informer magazine recently floated a rumor that the next Legend of Zelda game, built specifically for the Wii console, may have been in development for a good while now already. Only time will tell.
Yukio Futatsugi, Microsoft Game Studios
Credits: Creator, Panzer Dragoon series / Panzer Dragoon Saga
Futatsugi, one of the visionary creators of Panzer Dragoon Saga, was considered one of Sega's top designers. He and his team segued smoothly from the rail shooting Panzer Dragoons to their epic RPG masterpiece. Despite the critical success they achieved, the games were never stellar sellers, and he's since left his position at Sega. Futatsugi now works at Microsoft Game Studios' Japanese division.
Given his employment, we can expect to see more of Futatsugi's magic on the Xbox 360. And it's not all lost for RPG fans, either, as he contributed to the development of Blue Dragon and can perhaps be expected to contribute to future MGS RPGs on the 360 as well, such as Lost Odyssey.
Yoshiharu Gotanda, tri-Ace
Credits: scenario writer/main programmer (Tales of Phantasia, Star Ocean, Star ocean 3), main programmer (Radiata Stories, Star Ocean 2), director (Star Ocean 3, Valkyrie Profile)
It's impossible to deny the enormous touch Gotanda has had on almost every game developed by tri-Ace, of which he is the company president. From writing the games' traditional stories, to programming them (and the amazing environments, character models, and hectic battle systems they often sport), to directing as well, he is an inseparable part of what makes tri-Ace games what they are.
While tri-Ace's traditional publisher has been Square Enix, it seems like the company has been severing its ties with the publishing giant -- much of Valkyrie Profile 2's development was handled by internal Square teams, while tri-Ace's next game, Infinite Undiscovery, is being published by Microsoft Game Studios. It's unclear whether there has been some kind of definitive falling out between Square Enix and tri-Ace or, if there has been, to what extent said falling out will define the company's future development. Nevertheless, their next game will be on the 360 and there are good odds tri-Ace's games beyond that will be as well. Given how productive the team was on the PS2 (creating three games and a director's cut), it's a definite boon for the 360 to have them on board.
Akihiro Hino, Level 5
Credits: Creator, Dark Cloud series; game design & scenario (Dark Cloud, Dark Cloud 2), director (Dragon Quest VIII)
Akihiro Hino is, rather undeniably, a rather creative man. While many seek to sequelize and franchisize their games, creating thirteen installments, creating dozens of spinoffs... Hino has gone an entirely opposite route, consistently driving to create new brands and implement new ideas in his game design. Following the success of Dark Cloud 2, he moved on to an original game -- Rogue Galaxy. And he and his team are currently at work on an original SRPG for the PSP (Jeanne d'Arc) and an original adventure for the NDS (Prof. Layton and the Mysterious Village).
He's doing the same on the PS3 in the form of Level 5's next-gen epic, White Knight Story, widely praised for its spectacular graphical detail and animation. Hino's goal, in a paraphrasing of his own words, is to create something so real that it has the power to emotionally move the player, to create a living fantasy for them. With those goals in mind, and Sony's eager willingness to continue publishing Hino's successful games, he'll no doubt be bringing life to many, many more new fantasies for eager gamers to explore on the PS3.
Tetsuya Takahashi, Monolith Software
Credits: Creator, Xeno- series; graphic director (Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger), director/scenario writer (Xenogears, Xenosaga Episode I), writer (Xenosaga I & II, Xenosaga Episode III)
Tetsuya Takahashi followed the same path to game designer-stardom as another Tetsuya on this list -- he began his career as a graphic artist before graduating to senior development work, writing stories and directing games. It's not for his artistry that he's remembered, but for his creation of the sprawling, religious/philosophical epic space operas of Xenogears and, following his exit from Square Enix and establishment of Namco Bandai subsidiary Monolith Software, Xenosaga.
Though Takahashi is no longer in control of the company, and though it's unlikely he'll be placed in a directorial or producer's role again, he's still in the employ of Monolith Software and continues to write scenarios for the team responsible for the Xenosaga series. He's not given any indication as to what his next projects may be, now that Episode III is concluded, though it is worth noting that so far, Monolith Soft President Hirohide Sugiura has only confirmed development of two new games, both of which are planned for the Wii (one is the announced Disaster: Day of Crisis, while the other, an RPG, remains unnamed). It's unclear if Takahashi will be working on either of these -- or if he'll be contributing to other, as yet to be announced, RPG projects in development by the company for other platforms.
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