You've never done the art direction on a mainstream Final Fantasy title before. How did you best use the opportunity you were presented with?
Many know me for my work on Final Fantasy XII, but I actually created the characters for Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and Vagrant Story. I focused on creating characters that were unique and new for Final Fantasy XII.
How is following both Yoshitaka Amano (FF I-VI) and Tetsuya Nomura (FF VII, VIII, X, Kingdom Hearts) as character designer on the Final Fantasy series?
I didn't really have that in mind. I wasn't really caught up in the previous Final Fantasy series designs and I focused on creating new characters that I too have never created before.
Was it difficult to create the visuals and feel you wanted within the constraint of the main Final Fantasy series?
I didn't think it was difficult to create because it was the Final Fantasy series. No matter what title it is, I always have a hard time creating characters. A lot of the staff members worked really hard with me in creating the actual models from my rough designs and as a result, I think we were able to create a lot of wonderful characters.
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