With Final Fantasy 13-2 now available for all to experience, not just Japanese gamers, Square Enix has begun talking about one of their forthcoming Final Fantasy related projects, and one of their former key creatives has made some comments that will shock any fan of the Final Fantasy series. Before gamers start getting too excited however, much of what Square has to say relates to Final Fantasy X, not the highly anticipated Versus 13 or Type 0, but it is some interesting, albeit convuluted, information none the less.

On the Final Fantasy X tick, Square Enix revealed that the game would be an HD remaster rather than an HD remake. We're not quite sure what implicit differences a remaster has over a remake, both seem to suggest giving a game an HD sheen while preserving the core gameplay, but Square Enix seems to the distinction is important.

Our best guess based on Square's claims that the game is being treated like a remaster, but is getting a visual upgrade, is that fans who might have hoped for improved combat, perhaps support for the new paradigm system, in FFX will find the game surprisingly familiar. That's not necessarily a bad thing, and is exactly what we expected when the Final Fantasy X remaster was announced: better visuals.

In keeping with the visuals theme, some comments were made by former Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi that were quite surprising considering his former property's proclivity for delivering top notch visuals. Speaking about his experience working on The Last Story, a Wii exclusive, Sakaguchi said that HD graphics are too over-the-top in video games these days.

So much emphasis is placed on delivering quality visuals that not enough focus is placed on the game world or the experience, or that's at least how Sakaguchi sees it. When developing The Last Story, a game that had no chance of hitting a high visual benchmark because of the Wii's shortcoming, Sakaguchi found he was able to do so much more and now clearly doesn't see the benefit of improved visuals.

It's interesting to hear that after working for a developer who prides themselves on some of the best visuals out there, Sakaguchi would be more inclined to diss HD visuals rather than applaud them. While Square Enix is continuing to stress the importance of HD graphics, even going back and giving their past projects an HD once over, former Square employees are focusing on the experience as the key to success.

Were you looking for more than upgraded visuals out of Final Fantasy X's HD remaster? Do you agree with Sakaguchi that HD graphics today have become over the top?

Source: Nintendo, VG 24/7