By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
Hironobu Sakaguchi is a Japanese role-playing game (RPG) developer extraordinaire well known for creating the international hit ``Final Fantasy’’ series. But it’s more than just graphics and sound that keep gamers coming back for more _ it’s Sakaguchi’s relentless determination to give gamers a unique gaming experience.
``A game could be merely a game, but I hope gamers can find something deep and meaningful in my games, which can touch them so that they can’t easily turn it off even after they reach the end. It’s like a game that lingers a while in their heart,’’ Sakaguchi said yesterday during a news conference at the Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul.
He arrived in Seoul on Tuesday to promote the official release of his latest RPG, ``Blue Dragon.’’
The original was released here last year, but it has been fully localized with the game’s characters dubbed over by Korean voice actors as well as with instructions translated in Korean. The localized version will hit the market here on May 24. It took six months and some 40 professional voice actors to localize the game.’’
``Blue Dragon’’ is Sakaguchi’s first work after he resigned from the Japanese game developing company Square, where he developed ``Final Fantasy.’’ The game has produced 12 sequels since debuting in 1987, and except for the latest version, Sakaguchi participated in all the series as a creator and developer. Sakaguchi’s hit games have sold over 6.8 million copies all over the world.
His new RPG on video game console Xbox 360 was developed based on the hit Japanese comic book series, ``Dragon Ball,’’ by Akira Toriyama. Sakaguchi said that the game is a story of a courageous boy who never gives up despite all his hardships and challenges.
``The main focus is speedy gameplay in a virtual world rendered brilliantly in graphics on a high-definition format. I try to be faithful in creating the world of Toriyama,’’ he said.
One of the interesting features in the game is that the shadow of a character is turned into a dragon when a gamer has to fight off enemies. Rivers, mountains and other backdrops are superbly rendered. The only obstacle for beginners is the complex controllability, which can be overcome through a few hours of practice.
``RPG is a complicated genre. So my concern was, to let gamers try it without much difficulty in the beginning, then let them become more involved and get used to the game’s complications,’’ he said.
``Blue Dragon’’ is also the first work by Mistwalker, the game company Sakaguchi founded with the financial backing of Microsoft Game Studios. He has recently been a key figure in Microsoft's efforts to gain ground in Japan and in other Asian countries to compete with Japanese mainstays Sony and Nintendo. With the massive support from Microsoft, the game will be released in 22 countries in eight different languages.
``Blue Dragon’’ has sold about 150,000 copies in Japan, which is the highest selling Xbox 360 title in the country. The development of the game is also part of a ``Blue Dragon’’ project, which includes a television animation series and the manufacture of toys. The TV animations started airing in Japan last week.
The master game creator also said that his new games will have online features, but will be totally different from current massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG).
``Now it’s important that a game offers an online platform. I see a high potential in online games. But it should be unique and different from MMORPGs. Gamers now definitely want something new,’’ he said.
Sakaguchi is currently developing his next RPG, ``Lost Odyssey.’’
e3dward@koreatimes.co.kr