Final Fantasy Tactics Director Yasumi Matsuno Is "a Hardcore FF14 Player"

Fans of Final Fantasy Tactics know the name Yasumi Matsuno. He is well known for his work in the tactics strategy genre, serving as the director on Ogre Battle, Tactics Ogre, and Final Fantasy Tactics. Matsuno also directed and produced the lost classic Vagrant Story, and co-directed Final Fantasy 12 before leaving the project. Matsuno departed Square Enix in 2005 and since then his work has been sporadic.

That is, unless you've been playing Final Fantasy 14, Square Enix's popular MMO. For the Stormblood expansion, Matsuno contributed to the development of the Return to Ivalice raid, which heavily references Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy 12. And he returned to FF14 to craft the Save the Queen relic questline for the Shadowbringers expansion.

According to Final Fantasy 14 director Naoki Yoshida, Matsuno is a repeat collaborator because he's a hardcore FF14 player. "Mr. Matsuno is a game creator that I look up to, and he is also a hardcore FF14 player. We talk quite a bit about FF14 outside of work as well, so creating that kind of mutual excitement through those conversations may lead to me asking Mr. Matsuno, or even other creators to work on FF14 again," says Yoshida.

Hopefully, Yoshida and Matsuno are able to work together again in the future. Yoshida and the team at Square Enix' 3rd Development Division are currently working on a brand-new title for the next generation consoles. Some are hoping that game is Final Fantasy 16.

Considering the existing relationship, having Yasumi Matsuno working on the scenario would be amazing. Until then, players can tide themselves over with the apparently excellent Final Fantasy 7 Remake. If you want to know more about Final Fantasy 14 and its ongoing collaboration, you can check out our feature interview with director Naoki Yoshida and lead character designer Yusuke Mogi.