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Final Fantasy 35th Anniversary Special Interview (Part 2 of 2 Transcription)

Hironobu, Sakaguchi,, Shibuya, Kazuko, Kitase, Yoshinori, and Nova Crystallis. 2023. “Final Fantasy 35th Anniversary Special Interview (Part 2 of 2 Transcription).” Nova Crystallis; a transcription of Square Enix's video interview released in 2023. Nova Crystallis.

Cite as
Nova Crystallis, FF 35th anniversary interview, part 2
Original
https://novacrystallis.com/2023/07/final-fantasy-35th-anniversary-special-interview-part-2-of-2-transcription/
sha256
4a67cf0eb68fd8474547e5979d56c609e6954bb3390f447663664561701141ba
Archived
https://web.archive.org/web/20261023110020id_/https://novacrystallis.com/2023/07/final-fantasy-35th-anniversary-special-interview-part-2-of-2-transcription/
Accessed
2026-10-23
Licence
© Square Enix (interview); transcription © Nova Crystallis
Credit
Hironobu Sakaguchi, Kazuko Shibuya, and Yoshinori Kitase in Square Enix's Final Fantasy 35th anniversary video interview; English transcription by Nova Crystallis.
Notes
The second half of the anniversary interview, on Final Fantasy IV to VI. A fan site's transcription of the video's English version, not Square Enix's own text; quote it as the transcription. Sakaguchi names Hiroyuki Ito as the one who came up with Active Time Battle for Final Fantasy IV and Kiyoshi Yoshii as its programmer.

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Claims (3)

Hironobu Sakaguchi, in Square Enix's 2023 anniversary interview as transcribed by Nova Crystallis, said he thought it was Hiroyuki Ito who came up with Active Time Battle, because the move to the Super Famicom called for something special. The prototype wasn't fun, he said, and the programmer Kiyoshi Yoshii refined the system until it was in good shape.section "The secrets behind the creation of 'Active Time Battle'", Sakaguchi's answersame section, Sakaguchisame section, Sakaguchi's last answerInterview
Hironobu Sakaguchi said he was responsible for the story and events of the series up to Final Fantasy VI. Of Final Fantasy IV he said the team wanted a weightier story, beginning with a dark knight, and that Tokita did the staging, which involved writing the script.section "Things from FFIV that left an impression", SakaguchiInterview
Yoshinori Kitase, then on Final Fantasy Adventure, recalled that the Final Fantasy IV team working beside his had 40 people to his team's 7.development of FFIV, Kitase's answerInterview