Difference between revisions of "Akitoshi Kawazu"

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 Makai Toshi SaGa would see two more sequels on the Gameboy, with Kawazu serving as director and scenario writer with the first and as a general supervisor on the second. With development of the third game wrapping up in 1991, Nintendo's Super Nintendo Entertainment System had an entire year to establish itself as the premier hardware in the Japanese market. Feeling he had accomplished all he could with the Gameboy's capabilities thrice over, Kawazu proposed to the chairmen of Squaresoft for a full-color SaGa game, and was given the green light to begin production on a new title.
-Returning to fantasy roots with no science fiction elements present, the project was titled [[Romancing SaGa]] to reflect this purity. The elements originally found in Final Fantasy II were taken to the next level on the leagues-more powerful hardware, allowing for a plot that was almost entirely controlled by the player's actions. Players took control of one of eight characters to lead the journey, whether with the remaining seven at their side or by themselves. A major addition to the series was the ability for characters to be struck with sudden inspiration and learn new skills in the midst of battle. This created a higher intensity for battle and encouraged players to continue even in the face of insurmountable odds.
+The resulting game, [[Romancing SaGa]], would sell 1.3 million units in Japan and begin it's own trilogy of titles on the 16-bit hardware, establishing Kawazu as a certified hit-maker for Squaresoft. Though niether of these three games would see releases overseas unlike [[Secret of Mana]] and [[Final Fantasy IV]], this would change with the [[SaGa Frontier]] duo for Sony's Playstation console. Released in the light of [[Final Fantasy VII]] then-realistic graphics, the chibi sprites of the two games were met with askance in America but exposed Kawazu's work to a new audience and earned the man a greater international appreciation.
-Romancing SaGa proved to be another feather in Kawazu's cap, selling 1.3 million copies and being voted by Japanese players as the 53rd video game of all time in Famitsu's top 100 list in 2006. Though no English release was planned for the SNES version, Western players would be able to experience the game through a 2005 Playstation 2 remake dubbed ''Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song''. This version included fully three dimensional environments to explore, and voice acting for every single line of dialogue.
+The SaGa series would continue on the Playstation 2 console with [[Unlimited Saga]], a highly unorthodox game that challenged the genre rules of RPGs, and [[Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song]]--the 3D remake of the original Romancing Saga game and the first of the trilogy to be released overseas. Th series would enter a hibernation in 2005, reviving in 2016 with therelease of [[SaGa: Scarlet Grace]] for the Playstation Vita and the multiplatform release of an updated Romancing SaGa 2.
+===The crystal chronicles===
+During the financial disaster of the [[Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within]] film, Sony purchased a 19% stake in Squaresoft that resulted in an exclusivity contract for mainline, numbered titles of the Final Fantasy series for Sony hardware. With Squaresoft's finances still precarious even after the financial aid from Sony, the decision to broaden the company's console representation was implemented and a shell corporation known as [[The Game Designers Studio]] was set up in 2002 as a way to traipse around this contract stipulation via legal loopholes. This was possible with Squaresoft holding only 49% of the rights to the studio while Kawazu held the remaining 51%, and the fact that Kawazu was an employee of Squaresoft being written off as pure coincidence.
+Being intrigued by the the connectivity of the Gameboy Advance and the Gamecube by the link cable technology, Kawazu petitioned that the studio's premier project would be a title that capitalizes on the unique playstyle presented by the connectivity. A brainstorming session with the assembled team was held, and a cooperative multiplayer action RPG was decided upon. Player freedom was considered a core aspect of the game, and thus character creation was chosen over pre-written characters.
+The game would be titled [[Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles]] and would be released on August 8th, 2003 in Japan and early Spring in the rest of the world. Though the reliance on each player owning a Gameboy Advance in order to participate was harshly criticized, the game proved to be financially successful and shipped 1.3 million copies worldwide. This surprise hit would lead to the establishment of the Crystal Chronicles as a sub-series of Final Fantasy, with Kawazu serving as the executive producer for each title.
-Romancing SaGa would be followed up with two SNES sequels, neither of which would revive international releases until the 2016 and 2019 remasters, respectively. Once the hardware generation moved on to Sony's Playstation, the Saga series followed suit with the [[SaGa Frontier]] duo.
-===The crystal chronicles===
-TBA
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