Dream Team Assembles
Just as Sony and Nintendo were engaged in a power struggle, Nakayama Takuya arrived at Square.
Having just left Yu Suzuki's development team, which reeked of solder and burnt coffee, stepping into Square's office area felt like stepping from a hardcore industrial workshop into an artist's attic. The air was filled with a unique aroma, a blend of paper, ink, and boundless imagination.
Today marks the day that Square and Sega's Rieko Kodama team officially finalized the game setting and overall framework for Journey Through Time.
Sakaguchi Hironobu was waiting for him at the door. As soon as they met, he gave him a look that said, "You've finally arrived." His face was full of eagerness, as if he had a lot of brilliant ideas to show off to him.
"I thought you weren't planning on coming at all," Sakaguchi Hironobu said in his usual style.
"There's no way around it, we have to look after our own kids." Takuya chuckled and patted his shoulder. "So they don't get outdone by other people's geniuses, right, Sakaguchi-san?"
Sakaguchi Hironobu snorted, but couldn't suppress the smirk on his face, and led him toward the conference room.
Square's not-so-large conference room was now packed with people.
Sakaguchi Hironobu's top developers and Rieko Kodama's core team members sat on opposite sides of the long table, clearly separated yet closely connected by the mountain of documents piled up in the middle.
Among those materials were hand-drawn monster design sketches, flowcharts with the words "combo attacks" scrawled on them, and a large stack of printed photos—these were "local specialties" that Rieko Kodama's team had brought back from all over the world.
On the other end of the table were several original concept drafts that Akira Toriyama had just faxed over; his signature art style instantly brought the "Mew" feel of the entire project to life.
"----So, when Crono and Marle first passed through the time portal, they saw not just another era, but the very moment that constituted the cause of their world! The player's choices will produce their first consequences here!"
Sakaguchi Hironobu stood in front of the whiteboard, explaining the core mechanics of the game with great enthusiasm.
Takuya found a corner seat and sat down, gesturing for them to continue.
The atmosphere in the meeting room instantly became focused.
"First, the battle system!" Sakaguchi Hironobu stood up, looking more like a fervent believer preaching than in a meeting. He pointed to a whiteboard with several small figures drawn on it, "We're going to break away from the turn-based, stationary mode! Enemies will be visible, allowing for seamless entry into battle, and attack range and effects will be completely different depending on the character's and enemy's positions!"
He became more and more excited as he spoke, picking up a pen to draw arcs and fan shapes on the whiteboard to represent the attack range.
"And this, the combined attack!" He emphasized, "Two, even three people, their friendship, their bond, will be fully displayed through a magnificent combined attack! For example, the knight's thrust combined with the princess's ice magic, that's a Frozen Sword strike!"
Takuya watched Sakaguchi Hironobu gesticulate wildly, then glanced at Square's almost burning eyes, and chuckled inwardly.
This guy is truly a genius at demagoguery.
After finishing his story, Sakaguchi Hironobu sat down, still seemingly wanting to continue, and turned his gaze to Rieko Kodama across from him.
Rieko Kodama nodded quietly. She didn't have the flamboyant aura of Sakaguchi Hironobu, but when she spoke, everyone's attention was drawn to her.
"The story begins with a chance encounter at Millennial Fair." Her voice was calm and clear, as if recounting an ancient legend, "A boy, a girl, and an inventor driven mad by passion—an accident pulls them into a vortex of time and space."
Unlike Sakaguchi Hironobu, she doesn't need a whiteboard; her narration itself is the picture.
She picked up a photograph from the table; it showed the ruins of the Colosseum, Italy.
"This is the Middle Ages," a time of knights and demons, glory and betrayal.
She then picked up an aerial photograph of Vatnajökull Glacier in Iceland.
"This is the 'Ice Age,' a time when humanity struggles to survive in the harshness of nature."
Finally, she picked up a photograph of the solitary domed building in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Japan.
"And—the future after the destruction of the world."
The conference room was silent.
Sakaguchi Hironobu, who had been basking in pride over his battle system, was now lost in thought, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table.
Suddenly, he slammed his hand on the table. "I understand! Kodama, that devastating future you mentioned—we can create a plot there where the protagonists see the apocalypse but are powerless to change it for the time being. This sense of powerlessness will become their most powerful motivation to travel through all of time and space!"
Rieko Kodama's eyes lit up. "That's right! Moreover, when they change an event in the Middle Ages, such as saving a bloodline that was supposed to be extinct, they'll find that the entire history of the town has been altered when they return to the modern era! That's time-space interference!"
"Yes! Yes! This spacetime interference can be turned into countless side quests! That's awesome!"
Watching the two of them talk back and forth, their initial explanations turned into a heated exchange of ideas, the team members from both sides around them also joined in the discussion, and the entire conference room seemed to become a high-speed creative engine.
Takuya leaned back in his chair, watching these top minds in the Japan game industry ignite a wildfire because of his small spark, and an indescribable sense of satisfaction welled up within him.
This is a completely different sense of accomplishment compared to creating a hit game on your own.
After the presentation, there was a moment of silence in the conference room, followed by enthusiastic applause.
President Miyamoto Masashi looked at Nakayama Takuya, his eyes filled with undisguised satisfaction. Takuya nodded with a smile and simply said, "Let's proceed as planned."
With the decision finalized, the next step was to assign tasks.
"Then, for the most important part—the music," Sakaguchi Hironobu clapped his hands and looked at his friend beside him, "We'll naturally have to ask our ace, Uematsu- kun, for that!"
All eyes were drawn to the man with the signature mustache.
However, Nobuo Uematsu shook his head.
"This time, I will not be a key member of the creative team."
The meeting room fell silent instantly, and even Sakaguchi Hironobu's smile froze.
"Uematsu, are you kidding me? This is—"
Nobuo Uematsu ignored Sakaguchi's astonishment, instead turning to the side and pushing a young man out from behind him.
The young man looked like he had just graduated. Facing the gazes of a room full of industry bigwigs, he was so nervous that he didn't even know where to put his hands.
"Mitsuda- kun's talent is more suited to this world that needs to transcend countless eras and styles than mine," Nobuo Uematsu said with unwavering conviction. "His musical style is versatile and unrestrained. I'll be the producer, to support him."