Fans Disappointed as Sakaguchi Rules Out New Ports for Cult Classics

When news broke that Hironobu Sakaguchi would be collaborating with Square Enix on the console port of Fantasian, fans and critics alike were excited about the possibilities. Sakaguchi’s return to Square Enix in any capacity is newsworthy. Alongside this announcement, rumors circulated that old Mistwalker titles like Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon might receive new ports. Fans of these cult classics eagerly anticipated the potential updates.

However, Sakaguchi put an end to those rumors in a recent interview with Jason Schreier for Bloomberg. He stated he has no interest in returning to the Final Fantasy franchise:

“Sakaguchi said that despite the newfound partnership, he has no interest in revisiting Final Fantasy or any of his old franchises — in part because he’s “switched to a consumer rather than a creator” and doesn’t want a glimpse at how the sausage is made. “If I take on the Final Fantasy brand again, I don’t know if I’ll be able to genuinely enjoy Final Fantasy XIV as much,” he said.”

Sakaguchi also said he has no interest in bringing older games such as Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon to modern platforms, despite recent rumors suggesting otherwise. He does want to find a way to revive the strategy game Terra Battle, which was released for phones in 2014 but is no longer playable.

Bloomberg

This isn’t the news many were hoping for. Fans were thrilled at the renewed partnership between Sakaguchi and Square Enix, but it seems he prefers to enjoy Final Fantasy as a gamer rather than a designer. Moreover, the lack of new ports for Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey is disappointing. Currently, the only way to play these games on modern hardware is on an Xbox One or Xbox Series console, as both are backward compatible.

Interestingly, Sakaguchi mentioned Terra Battle, a game previously locked to mobile. Could a console release be on the horizon? Only time will tell.

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