Final Fantasy Adventure – 1991 Developer Messages
This short message from the developers of the Seiken Densetsu (known as Final Fantasy Adventure overseas) appeared in the liner notes of the Seiken Densetsu OST. It’s rather slight in content, but I just finished playing through it and felt like sharing. I've also added a small interview with Koichi Ishii from 2005 celebrating the 15th anniversary of Seiken Densetsu.
Koichi Ishii – Director
Since I joined Square, making an action RPG had been a big dream of mine. I’m really happy I got that chance in the form of Seiken Densetsu. I gathered an extremely talented team together, and Square gave me the freedom to do as I wished with the game. I’m deeply thankful to all the staff members who allowed this dream to be realized. And of course, to everyone who played Seiken Densetsu, thank you.
Satoru Yoshieda – Programming
We devised a number of new gameplay systems for Seiken Densetsu. We tried a bunch of things to make it fun. Personally, I’m very fond of the magic sytem. I think the Fire spell, in terms of its visuals its effects, came out beautifully. As for my favorite music, that would be the main theme: Rising Sun!
Saito Masaaki – Programming
By now you’ve had a chance to play Seiken Densetsu, no doubt! And hopefully you found it to be an action RPG overlayed with the fun of traditional RPG elements, right?! We worked especially hard to get the difficulty and game balance correct. As for my favorite songs, I know it’s typical, but I think I like the Main Theme and Chocobo Theme best.
Kazuko Shibuya – Graphics
Which are my favorite visuals? Well… everything, of course! Much of the graphic work came out only after a lot of experimentation, but I can proudly declare that this turned out to be the best game I’ve worked on. I think the “Mana Tree” story was very well done. As for my favorite music… hmmm, probably the ending theme.
Goro Ohashi – Planning
As the subtitle “Final Fantasy Gaiden” suggests, we aimed for an action RPG with a Final Fantasy rhythm. So it can’t be helped if the story is little helter-skelter and all over the place! We put a lot of effort into it. I think we did a great job meshing the excitement of an action game with an FF story, if I do say so myself! And if I can boast once more, I have to single out the music for praise. They’re all great songs, so its hard to pick a favorite, but I especially recommend the song that plays in the Town of Jadd during the harp event.
Yoshinori Kitase – Planning
Our main concept for Seiken Densetsu was an action RPG–but an action RPG with a good story! When you think about it, there are a number of action RPGs out today. And we realized that although they have a backstory, they didn’t have much narrative drama. To fill this void we created Seiken Densetsu. As the words “action RPG” imply, movement and action are the main appeal of the game, and we’re confident that players will find the action fun. But I hope you also enjoy the characters, the colorful dialogue, and the narrative.
Kenji Ito – Music Composer
Seiken Densetsu was the first game at Square in which I was given total responsibility for the music and sound effects. Before that I had helped out on the music and fx for SaGa 2 (Final Fantasy Legend II), and I believe my experience in that game helped me compose here. I didn’t want to bring shame to the Final Fantasy name.
In total, I finished 27 songs. I have an attachment for each of them, and I gave every song my all, but the last battle theme Saigo no Kessen and the field theme Hateshinaki Senjou are especially memorable to me. I refined and refined my ideas until I got them right.
I’d like to express my gratitude to all the Seiken Densetsu staff who so generously gave me many ideas, and to director Ishii, who openly shared his opinions and thoughts with me. And to all the players, nothing could make me happier than your enjoyment of this CD.
Seiken Densetsu - 2005 Developer Interview
originally featured in Nintendo Dream magazine
—Next June the Seiken series will be celebrating its 15th anniversary.
Ishii: If I'm being honest, it feels like… damn, I've gotten old. (laughs) In the span of those years, there have been a lot of blank periods where we didn't release any Seiken games. For the first game, Square gathered all the new hires to make it, so it may feel like an incomplete game in some ways… we were still finding our way. The first Seiken owes a big debt to Zelda, which we were very impressed by. We respected Zelda, and it gave us confidence to make something where the world of the game is built as you play. In those days, what games called "stories" were mostly just setting notes and outlines, but we had an idea for a game where "setsunasa" (sadness / melancholy) was the theme. It was taboo then to have a game that concluded in something other than a typical happy end.
—Can you explain what you mean?
Ishii: In the first Seiken Densetsu, the first thing you do is enter a name for the heroine. I think most everyone is going to choose the name of a girl they like. Which is precisely what we were aiming for. (laughs) You spend the whole game defending this girl, but in the end, you have to part from her. It's painful, but if you think about her feelings, seeing her off is the only choice. I don't think kids encounter scenes like that very often in their lives… these are difficult emotions. But as you get older one has a lot of those experiences.
—And you wanted to use that to express the theme of sadness, as you said?
Ishii: Yeah. I was very happy when, several years ago, I got a letter from a fan who told me they played Seiken Densetsu as a kid, and now that they're an adult they understand the protagonist's feelings very well. We took a chance and put those elements into Seiken Densetsu: emotions you might only understand and be able to relate to later, when you're adult. Considering it was the first game in the series, it was a big risk to take.
—But the challenge was worth it.
Ishii: The truth is, I struggled at the time over whether we should have a happy end after all. Akitoshi Kawazu, who had been making Sa.Ga, he played it and said "What a horrible ending!" (laughs) But that sadness was the most important thing that I wanted to convey in Seiken Densetsu, and I knew if I changed it, it would undermine my conviction about everything else, and make the game meaningless for me. So I defended that ending all through the development.
—What do you think it is about the Seiken Densetsu series that has earned the love of the fans over so many years?
Ishii: I've had people around me ask that question a lot, but I don't actually have a clear answer. The way I personally see the fantasy world of Seiken, it's wide open fields and blue skies, huge trees, everything living and breathing, and you're lying there, arms spread wide on the ground, taking it all in and listening to the heartbeat of nature. I think Seiken is kind of like a filter, through which the players sift their own memories and impressions from their childhood, and perhaps that's what's made it so beloved.
—Another unique thing about the Seiken series is that the fanbase for each game is a little different.
Ishii: Yeah. (laughs) The theme is different for every game. I think that variety, though, where each person can find something that appeals just to them, is one of its strengths. Because we all have something within us that we cherish. So I hope the Seiken Project will furnish another chance to add more fans—even if its just one person—who will find something to love in a new Seiken game.
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