Yasumi Matsuno
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| Yasumi Matsuno | |
| Born | 1965 |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Occupation | Former video game director |
Yasumi Matsuno (松野 泰己 Matsuno Yasumi?) (b. 1965) is a former video game director at Square Enix (previously called Square).
He has the honor of being one of two directors to have two games receive a perfect score by Famitsu magazine, which has to date only given perfect scores to eighth games in its twenty-year history. Matsuno's Vagrant Story and Final Fantasy XII were critically acclaimed by the magazine with a 40/40 score. Matsuno has been rated by the website Next Generation as the 13th most important and anticipated video game developer of 2007.[1] In March of 2006, the Japanese Famitsu magazine readers voted on their 100 all-time favorite games, and Matsuno's game Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together was named number seven.[2]
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[edit] Career
[edit] Early projects
Matsuno began his career at the Japanese video game developer Quest, where he created the Ogre Battle series of tactical role-playing games.
[edit] Square Co. and Square Enix
In 1995, Matsuno joined Square Co., Ltd. after quitting Quest. His colleagues at Square Enix usually called him by his nickname "YAZZ".
At Square, Matsuno oversaw the development of Final Fantasy Tactics for the PlayStation. Similar in design and gameplay to Tactics Ogre, it was lauded for its highly intricate and convoluted story.
After the release of Final Fantasy Tactics, Matsuno and his team began development on Vagrant Story. Smaller in scope than Final Fantasy Tactics, Vagrant Story was still highly regarded by critics and has gained somewhat of a cult following since its release.
Matsuno supervised Square's PlayOnline project prior to its first beta release in 2001.[3] He then produced Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, the Game Boy Advance sequel to Final Fantasy Tactics.
Final Fantasy XII was written and directed by Matsuno, though his official credits are listed as "Story and Concept". Although he had to bow out of the game's staff, ostensibly due to health issues, he is still credited for much of the work. According to e-mail responses from the Square Enix Information Center, Matsuno left Square Enix on August 31 2007, following his step-down from directing Final Fantasy XII but a developer implies he had no longer appeared in the front of the team by the end of 2004.[citation needed]
[edit] Current
It is unknown what current projects Matsuno has undertaken. However, he has most recently expressed interest in developing for the Wii console.[4]. Hitoshi Sakimoto has revealed that he is currently working on an undisclosed project with Matsuno[5].
[edit] Miscellanea
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- As a tribute to his legacy, the development team included an optional boss in the game called Yazmat (a play on his aforementioned nickname, Yazumi Matsuno). In-game information about Yazmat (localized as Yiazmat in the North American version) is accompanied by a subtitle which reads, "Farewell to a Legend." Montblanc, who assigns the player the task of slaying Yiazmat, tells a story of how he and his moogle friends once worked with a wise leader and mentor with whom they did many wonderful things. Montblanc explains that Yiazmat came along and killed that master, causing them all to break up.
- One of Matsuno's trademarks is to pay homage to the rock band Queen in his works. His first game was titled Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen. Both Ogre Battle and March of the Black Queen are song titles from the album Queen II. His next game was Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together, Let Us Cling Together being a song from the album A Day at the Races. His game Final Fantasy Tactics had a chapter called "Somebody to Love", also a song title from A Day At the Races. In the game Vagrant Story, the lead character begins the game with a sword called Fandango, which is a reference to a lyric in the song "Bohemian Rhapsody", from A Night at the Opera. In Final Fantasy XII, the earth elemental summon uses an attack called "Rock You", a nod to the song We Will Rock You from the album News of the World. "Rock You" has been changed to "Roxxor" in the localized English game, a likely play on internet slang.
[edit] Gameography
- Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen: Director, scenario and game design
- Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together: Director, scenario and game design
- Final Fantasy Tactics: Director, script and game design
- Vagrant Story: Producer, director and battle design
- Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber: Script, scenario design
- Final Fantasy Tactics Advance: Producer, original concept
- Final Fantasy XII: Original concept, scenario plotter, and supervisor
[edit] References
- ^ Next Generation staff (2007-03-03). The Hot 100 Game Developers of 2007. Next Generation p. 10. Future Publishing USA. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
- ^ Colin Campbell. "Japan Votes on All Time Top 100", Next Generation, 2006-03-03. Retrieved on 2005-12-05.
- ^ Yasumi Matsuno speaks about FF Tactics for the GBA. NintendoGameNet.com (2002). Retrieved on 2007-08-01.
- ^ Lee, Edwin So. (2006). Yasumi Matsuno to Develop for Wii. RPGamer.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-01.
- ^ Kennedy, Sam and Jeremy Parish (2007). Final Fantasy XII Composer Hitoshi Sakimoto Interview from 1UP.com. 1UP.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-10.
[edit] External links
- 1UP.Com feature on Yasumi Matsuno's career
- Yasumi Matsuno profile, interviews, and photo gallery at the Square Haven People Database
