RPG Dream Team
"Nakayama Takuya! I see now, you're here to torment me!" He grabbed his hair, looking like he was about to go crazy.
"My Final Fantasy IV bug list is thicker than my phone book, and you're showing me this? How am I supposed to go back to Final Fantasy? My mind is full of time travel and Trine attacks right now!"
These words made Rieko Kodama, who had been quietly listening, smile.
"That's why I said, you have to eat one bite at a time." Takuya finally revealed a sly smile, glancing at Sakaguchi Hironobu and then at Rieko Kodama.
"Sakaguchi-san, you should finish making Final Fantasy IV first. Kodama -san's Golden Sun 3 will also take a few more months to wrap up. In the meantime, let your two aces spar with each other from afar."
He paused, then dropped the final bombshell.
"I'm preparing an unprecedented masterpiece to mark the birth of the Sega-CD. A dream team created by the father of Final Fantasy and the mother of Golden Sun."
Sakaguchi Hironobu was completely stunned. He looked at Takuya, then at the quiet female producer beside him, and finally understood how ambitious Takuya was.
He exhaled a long breath, a breath that seemed to carry away all his entanglement and restlessness, leaving only a flame called "excitement" burning.
Sakaguchi Hironobu shook his head with a wry smile and accepted Takuya's invitation.
As the group emerged from the conference room, Sakaguchi Hironobu was still caught in a complex mix of excitement and turmoil, looking at Nakayama Takuya as if he were a demon in human skin.
"I see through you now, Mr. Nakayama. You're just here to annoy me. Now when I go back and close my eyes, I'm sure my mind won't be filled with Final Fantasy IV bugs anymore!"
As soon as the words were spoken, a male voice with an artistic flair, mixed with a hint of distress, came from the other end of the corridor.
"No, the tone is still wrong—it's too thin—"
A man with a distinctive mustache walked over, carrying several sheet music sheets. He was Nobuo Uematsu, Square's music director.
He came to the company today to transfer the theme song "Theme of Love" for Final Fantasy IV, which he had poured his heart and soul into creating, to the MD.
On the development machine, listen to the actual results.
As a result, the electronic sounds emitted by the barren PCM sound source were completely different from the magnificent symphonic version in his mind.
"Oh, Uematsu, you've come at the perfect time!" Sakaguchi Hironobu, as if he'd found someone to confide in, pulling him close. "Come see this devil! He's brought something that can drive every game developer crazy!"
Nobuo Uematsu was taken aback by Sakaguchi Hironobu's exaggerated behavior, then noticed Nakayama Takuya and nodded politely. "Executive Director Nakayama, hello."
"Mr. Uematsu, we meet again." Nakayama Takuya grinned like a fox who had just stolen a chicken. "I was just telling Mr. Sakaguchi how many nights you stayed up to fit music into the cassette tapes. You've really worked hard."
These words struck a nerve with Nobuo Uematsu, who sighed, "There's no way around it. When you're trying to do something within a limited space, you have to make choices. It's just a pity about those pieces—".
"What if the next dojo isn't a snail shell, but the Tokyo Dome?" Takuya casually posed a question.
Nobuo Uematsu didn't understand. "What do you mean?"
"What I mean is," Takuya's gaze fell on the sheet music in his hand, "That your next piece will no longer require 'selection.' Whatever you recorded with an orchestra in the recording studio will be exactly what the listeners hear at home. Every note, exactly as it was."
Nobuo Uematsu's eyes widened instantly. He glanced at Sakaguchi Hironobu instinctively and found the other looking at him with an expression that said, "You've finally fallen into the trap too."
"Sakaguchi, he meant---"
"It's true!" Sakaguchi Hironobu shoved the photocopy of <ChronoTrigger> into Nobuo Uematsu's hand, his tone laced with a triumphant "sharing the burden" attitude. "Look at this! It's the script that Executive Director Nakayama prepared for his new stage! Look at the monstrosity he's come up with!"
Nobuo Uematsu took the thick manuscript with suspicion, sat down on a chair in the corridor, and began to read it by himself.
The surrounding air seemed to freeze.
Only the sound of pages turning remained.
His brow furrowed, first in confusion, then relaxed, and finally tightened again.
His fingers tapped unconsciously on his knees, and he muttered to himself.
"Primitive Era"
"Medieval Knights and Princesses--"
"Future - Cold, Mechanical City" - Doomsday -?
He slammed the manuscript shut, looked up, and his eyes showed not excitement, but rather a burning anxiety born from an ignited creative desire.
"Sakaguchi! How do you even write the soundtrack for this?! The range of styles is just too wide! From the Stone Age to the end of the universe, this is not the amount of music you should have in a game!"
He looked at Nakayama Takuya, his tone tinged with accusation. "Executive Director Nakayama, are you sure you want to cram so much stuff into one game? This is torture for a composer!"
"I'm sure." Nakayama Takuya's smile remained unchanged. "Because I believe that only Nobuo Uematsu his 'complete form' can handle such an epic. I hope to hear in this work a version of you no longer bound by your physical limitations, a version where you can freely unleash your talent."
"Complete body-"
Nobuo Uematsu chewed on the word, the flames in his eyes burning ever brighter.
Suddenly, as if he had been Dengeki, he jumped to his feet.
"Ah! My ' Theme of Love ' is still waiting for me in the recording studio!"
He then remembered his important task for the day, looking extremely anxious. He shoved the manuscript back to Sakaguchi Hironobu and rushed towards the recording studio.
Halfway there, he suddenly stopped, turned around, pointed at Sakaguchi Hironobu, and shouted, "Sakaguchi! I have to handle the music for this project! Also, I need to figure out how to manage the music requirements with such a wide range of styles!"
After saying that, he disappeared at the end of the corridor without looking back.
Sakaguchi Hironobu watched Nobuo Uematsu's disappearing figure, then turned to Nakayama Takuya and gave him a smile that looked more like a grimace.
"Did you see that, Mr. Nakayama? Another one's gone mad. You've driven two of Square's pillars insane today."
"I prefer to call it a 'stroke of inspiration.'" Takuya patted Sakaguchi Hironobu on the shoulder, then solemnly extended his hand. "Well then, it's a pleasure working with you, Mr. Sakaguchi."
Sakaguchi Hironobu gripped his hand firmly. "Cooperation? Painful! I'm going back to grapple with that Yamaichi of bugs in Final Fantasy IV." He then turned to Rieko Kodama, who had been standing quietly to the side, his expression becoming much more serious. "Ms. Kodama, it seems our future days won't be boring. I look forward to cooperating with you."
"Likewise, Sakaguchi-san." Rieko Kodama gave a slight bow.