JRPG icon Hironobu Sakaguchi reckons Final Fantasy 6 is the "most complete" game in the series, "especially because it was the last Final Fantasy to use pixel art"

Final Fantasy 6
(Image credit: Square Enix)

Final Fantasy's co-creator has picked a favorite from the series' sprawling lineup of epic fantasy adventures, and he made the objectively correct decision, according to Gamesradar's (my) professional evaluation. 

Hironobu Sakaguchi is often cited as the JRPG series' creator, or grandaddy to some, having directed the first five Final Fantasies, produced the first ten, and pulled publisher Square out of a tricky financial situation in the late 1980s. Final Fantasy has since become the company's bedrock and a genre behemoth that's endured for over 30 years.

Despite so many trend-setting classics existing under the series' umbrella, Sakaguchi didn't hesitate to pick a favorite grandchild in an interview with Inverse. "In terms of the Final Fantasy that I think is the 'most complete'; I believe Final Fantasy 6 comes close, and does stand out above the other Final Fantasies, especially because it was the last Final Fantasy to use pixel art in all of its visual expression."

That puts Sakaguchi at odds with fellow Square Enix veteran Tetsuya Nomura, who previously thought he "could have done a better job" with the sixth mainline entry - "I don't really feel that way about many other games," he said earlier this year. For a game with over 14 playable party members, a war tale spanning an entire continent, and an iconic villainous clown that threatens to derail the whole vibe but instead makes it all the more memorable - Final Fantasy 6 is almost unbelievably coherent, so I'm leaning more toward Sakaguchi's corner. 

The only game that Sakaguchi holds in the same regard is the first Final Fantasy, because "the moment we completed it and released it to the market, provided myself with a huge sense of accomplishment and achievement." Sakaguchi explains that the team "didn't know what we were doing, and how the market would react at the time," but that just made its smashing success more satisfying.

Sakaguchi might reminisce on the series from time to time - and sink into Final Fantasy 14 all the time - but after departing the company years ago, he's reunited with Square Enix to bring his modern successor Fantasian to consoles and PC later this year.

See our best Final Fantasy games list for more opinions you might get angry at.

Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.

Read more
Final Fantasy 6
Final Fantasy creator plans to make another game before he retires, and this one is inspired by Final Fantasy 6
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
The Final Fantasy 7 remake series is "perhaps one of the best interpretations" of an RPG remake, but Hironobu Sakaguchi wants to "continue giving birth to something new"
Final Fantasy 14 producer Yoshi-P interview's the series' founding father Hironobu Sakaguchi
After 3 years of playing Final Fantasy 14 "almost every single day," series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi reckons the MMO "might be the game that I've played the most in my life"
Final Fantasy 7
During the original Final Fantasy 7's development, the devs considered Tetsuya Nomura "the Demon King of retakes" - "He was always making the designers re-do things"
Final Fantasy 9
Final Fantasy 14's Yoshi-P was unsure about referencing Final Fantasy 9 so heavily because it's a "masterpiece, and everyone has a strong emotional attachment to it"
Black Myth: Wukong
After Black Myth: Wukong's "social phenomenon," Final Fantasy creator says new tech like the RTX 5090 can power diverse RPGs, but the "old style" still has a place
Latest in Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
28 years after Final Fantasy 7 introduced a generation to the concept of waifus, Tetsuya Nomura says Tifa's popularity is "not just about appearance"
Final Fantasy 9
Final Fantasy 14's Yoshi-P was unsure about referencing Final Fantasy 9 so heavily because it's a "masterpiece, and everyone has a strong emotional attachment to it"
A Final Fantasy 14 character points to something off the screen as two others in the background watch on
Final Fantasy 14's 7.2 patch launches in under 2 weeks, kicking off a run of MMO content that the community has been waiting for since Dawntrail launched last year
Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster
The Final Fantasy series has sold a whopping 200 million copies, while the Pixel Remaster reportedly outsells FF16 with 5 million copies
Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail screenshot showing the Warrior of Light, a man with lengthy swept-back brown hair, blue eyes, and facial hair stubble, smiling slightly
As Final Fantasy 14 fans gear up for patch 7.2, Yoshi-P teases that the update will be the MMO's largest ever
Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail Futures Unwritten Ultimate raid
As Final Fantasy 14 raiders tear through the MMO's hardest duty with no healers and then no tanks, the community can only see this going one way: "Now it's time to clear without DPS"
Latest in News
Adam Scott as Mark S and Britt Lower as Helly R in Severance season 2
There might have been another reason for Mark's decision in the Severance season 2 finale
Silent Hill f art showing a person covered in plants
Silent Hill f has been pre-emptively banned in Australia, with no reason given for the 'refused classification' rating
Assassin's Creed Shadows review gameplay showing Yasuke overlooking the sea and lush green scenery
Assassin's Creed Shadows has already "surpassed the launches of AC Origins and Odyssey" with 2 million players and counting
Helldivers 2 screenshot showing someone using a big gun
Helldivers 2 boss says "death and rebirth" is a natural part of the games industry, but it's "unnecessarily brutal" right now "because we don't diversify enough"
A Dragon Age character stares out against a blue background.
BioWare makes a return to Dragon Age: The Veilguard with a surprise PC update, months after layoffs and a seemingly final patch
God of War 3
God of War PSP's seamless loading was only possible because a Jak & Daxter game was also running in the background