I’ve always said that Iwata Asks is one of the best insider sources on the web, and Iwata’s latest interview with Hironnobu Sakaguchi, creator of Final Fantasy, reinforces that fact. After discussing development of his latest title ‘The Last Story’, Sakaguchi claimed that working with the limited technology of the Wii has actually been a liberating experience.
“Even if you compare the visuals to other hardware,” he claims, “there’s no disadvantage what-so-ever.”
Sakaguchi also mentioned that working with HD visuals can actually end up detracting from the overall quality of the game.
“To be honest,” starts Sakaguchi, “I personally feel that the HD visuals that are now the trend are still too much for a game world. You end up putting all your effort into preserving the quality of the visuals.”
Apparently working on the Wii has allowed Sakaguchi to work on prototyping fresh gameplay ideas more efficiently, which has resulted in a better gameplay experience.
We’re sceptical – Sakaguchi is clearly not going to discuss the limitations of Nintendo’s tech in front of the President of the company. But that being said, there is validity in the statement. You could argue that Final Fantasy XIII is the perfect example of a game that sacrifices gameplay mechanics for visual fidelity.
But can’t we have both?
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