Final Fantasy creator reveals his favorite game in the series

a special message from Hironobu Sakaguchi-san, the creator of Final Fantasy @auuo pic.twitter.com/yPyZ8ZOeer

— SungWon Cho (ProZD) (@prozdkp) July 4, 2017

Celebrating nearly three decades of existence is a milestone in itself, but Square Enix’s long running “Final Fantasy” franchise owes much of its popularity to legendary video game designer Hironobu Sakaguchi, who created the series back in 1987 with the first eponymous release in the original Nintendo Entertainment System.

Since then, Sakaguchi has moved on from his brainchild and heads his own gaming studio called “Mistwalker”, but the former vice-president of Square is still a celebrated icon whose contributions to the gaming industry are always celebrated.

In a recent feature by YouTube user ProZD, Sakaguchi was asked which  “Final Fantasy” entry he enjoyed the most, and the legendary developer and director easily answered “Final Fantasy IX” as his favorite. Originally released for the first Playstation in July 2000, FFIX was written, produced, and directed by Sakaguchi, and revolves around a war happening in the fictional world of Gaia.

Players take control of a party of adventurers lead by Zidane, who is originally hired to kidnap Garnet, the princess of Alexandria. Over the course of the story the two team up with other brave companions to take on those who started the war, only to later find out that there is another figure pulling the strings who has ties to Zidane and his past.

Celebrating 17 years since its release, Final Fantasy IX was developed to bring back a more traditional style of gameplay similar to past Final Fantasy games before the rise and popularity of Final Fantasy VII.

The game became commercially successful and went on to sell five million units worldwide upon its release. It’s no surprise that Sakaguchi likes this particular installment among all his works, as FFIX features the most allusions and throwbacks to past entries in the series.

It’s not the first time the director has praised the game, as an interview with IGN sees him saying the same good things about the last Playstation 1-era Final Fantasy game. — TJD, GMA News