After a 24-year stint with Square Enix, Yusuke Naora, Final Fantasy XV's art director, announced that he is leaving the company, having officially resigned on Sept. 30.
Naora disclosed his departure via Twitter, saying, "As of 30th September, I resigned [from] Square Enix, the company I worked for 24 years."
Naora's reason behind the departure is that he wishes to spend more time with his family in Izumo, his hometown, where he will be returning to shortly after his resignation.
Naora's farewell message, however bittersweet for fans of the popular video game franchise, included a small tease for those who are waiting for the release of Final Fantasy XV. Naora stated that Hajime Tabata, head of Square Enix's business division 2 and FFXV's director, showed him the ending of the game. To his delight, he remarked that his last work became "the greatest ending."
However, the departure does not signal a total farewell for Naora's relationship with Square Enix, as he mentioned that he will still be involved with design and illustration work for the Final Fantasy series in the future.
In addition to Final Fantasy XV, Naora worked as the art director consecutively for Final Fantasy VII, VIII and X, while also supervising the HD remasters of Final Fantasy X and X-2. He has also worked on the first and original Chrono Trigger for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System back in 1995.
His resume accounts to some of the finest games Square Enix has ever produced in its lifespan, working on games vaunted as "classics," and in the spectrum of video game accolades, being a classic foretells a huge deal for Naora should he ever continue pursuing his video game career in the future.
Naora's latest masterstroke is his art direction for the forthcoming Final Fantasy XV, and with his departure, loyal fans of the franchise can set aside their frustration over XV's delays and commemorate Naora's body of work.
Final Fantasy XV went through a lengthy development cycle. It was first released back in 2006 during E3, as a spinoff called Final Fantasy Versus XIII exclusively for the PS3. The history of the game has been cluttered, and at one point, because of deficient information surrounding the game, it was even called vaporware, or a game that is in premature development and yet highly advertised.
FFXV was supposed to be released on Sept. 30 but suffered setbacks during development. The developers withdrew the promised Sept. 30 release, pushing it back to Nov. 29.
The official Final Fantasy XV YouTube account released 53 minutes worth of gameplay back in August, showing stunning combat and exploration mechanics, a temporary reprieve for fans who have been eagerly waiting for the game's release. FFXV is also expected to integrate with the PlayStation VR, so good news for those of you who plan on purchasing one.
