Sakaguchi, Toriyama Team-Up on Xbox 360

Two of the principles behind Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest working together on new RPG for Xbox 360.

Microsoft's campaign to cosy up to Japanese gamers took a confident step forward this week with the revelation that Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of the Final Fantasy series, will be working on an RPG for Xbox 360 with Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama.

Sakaguchi and Toriyama have melded their talents for the creation of a wholly new game titled Blue Dragon, GameSpot is reporting. Early information points to the game ticking the standard Japanese RPG check boxes; the game stars a plucky trio of anime-styled teenager, one of whom seems to be able to control the titular blue dragon.

While Toriyama is well known to westerners for his involvement with the loud pugilism cartoon Dragon Ball and its many spin-offs, his games exploits are better known in Japan where he is the character designer for the top-selling Dragon Quest (Dragon Warrior in the US) series. The two designers have worked together in the past, creating the fan-favourite and critically acclaimed RPG Chrono Trigger for the Super Nintendo.

"I've made many RPGs in my past, but I'm planning to make Blue Dragon the most satisfying in terms of volume," Sakaguchi told Japanese manga weekly Shonen Jump. "It will have many adventures and tricks that can only be featured in videogames."

It's no secret that Xbox has done terribly in Japan, selling less than 500,000 units since launch, and to avoid making the same mistake again, Microsoft has signed several of Japan's top game developers in an effort to bring in support for Xbox 360. Joining Sakaguchi in making games for Xbox 360 are Rez creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi and Yoshiki Okamoto, the main designer for the Street Fighter series.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games