Hiroshi Minagawa
Hiroshi Minagawa | |
|---|---|
皆川 裕史 | |
 Minagawa attending the European launch of Final Fantasy XII. | |
| Born | August 11, 1970 |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Other names | Nigoro |
| Occupation(s) | Video game artist, designer and director |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Employer | Square Enix (1995–present) |
Hiroshi Minagawa (皆川 裕史, Minagawa Hiroshi, born 1970), also known by the nickname Nigoro, is a Japanese video game artist, designer and director.[1]
Career
Minagawa had worked at Quest Corporation alongside his colleagues Yasumi Matsuno and Akihiko Yoshida before they all decided to switch to Square in 1995. He continued collaborating with his co-workers as the art director of Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story.[1][2] For the Final Fantasy XII project, he was originally the graphics and real-time visual director.[3] However, when the original director Matsuno left the company due to an illness, Minagawa was put in charge of directing the game in collaboration with Hiroyuki Ito.[4] He felt that the pressure of working on a Final Fantasy installment helped him and influenced his decisions. Minagawa most enjoyed the period in which the team continued to come up with new ideas, but he ultimately had to decide to abandon many features in order to finish the game.[5]
Following the positive reception of Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions, a decision was made to remake Quest's Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together. Minagawa directed the game and took on the laborious task of assembling the original 1995 staff members—including Matsuno—who were now working at different companies.[6] Upon finishing his work on the project, Minagawa was asked to join the Final Fantasy XIV team as the lead user interface and web designer. This was part of a plan to salvage the game after its initial negative reception by critics and players. Director Naoki Yoshida considered the fact that one of the Final Fantasy XII directors was now solely responsible for one aspect of Final Fantasy XIV an indication of how serious Square Enix was about improving the game.[7][8] A relaunch for the game, called Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, was released to critical acclaim in August 2013. Minagawa served as art director for Final Fantasy XVI, which released on June 22, 2023.[9] After game director Hiroshi Takai described a visual style with a similar feel to Game of Thrones, Minagawa sought to blend character designer Kazuya Takahashi's light art style with the dark tone of the setting, which he described as his biggest challenge during development.[10]
Works
| Year | Title | Credit(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Magical Chase | Director, game design, art direction, CG design[1] |
| 1993 | Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen | Art direction, main graphics design, image effects[1] |
| 1995 | Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together | Art direction, system CG design[1] |
| 1997 | Final Fantasy Tactics | Art direction, event direction[1] |
| 2000 | Vagrant Story | Art direction, character model supervisor, artistic supervisor of menu and layout |
| Final Fantasy IX | Special thanks | |
| 2003 | Final Fantasy Tactics Advance | Artistic supervisor |
| 2006 | Final Fantasy XII | Director, visual design, character texture supervisor |
| 2007 | Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions | Original staff: Art director, event director |
| Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System | Director, visual design, character texture supervisor | |
| 2007 | Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift | Visual design supervisor |
| 2009 | Gyromancer | Special thanks |
| Final Fantasy XIII | Crystal Tools development staff | |
| 2010 | Final Fantasy XIV | Special thanks: Crystal Tools |
| Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together (2010) | Director | |
| 2013 | Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn | Lead UI designer, lead web designer[8] |
| 2015 | Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward | Lead UI designer |
| 2016 | Dragon Quest Builders | Supervisor |
| 2017 | Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood | Art director |
| Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age | Supervisor[11] | |
| 2018 | Dragon Quest Builders 2 | Special thanks |
| 2019 | Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers | Art director |
| 2021 | Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker | Special thanks |
| 2023 | Final Fantasy XVI | Art director |
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Vagrant Story: from the Development Team". Square. 2000. Archived from the original on 2002-08-08.
- ^ "Square Completes Acquisition of Quest". IGN. 2002-06-19. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
- ^ Nickel, Thomas (2006-11-05). "Interview with Hiroshi Minagawa". G wie Gorilla. Archived from the original on 2007-10-05. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
- ^ Niizumi, Hirohiko (2005-08-01). "FFXII producer steps down". GameSpot. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
- ^ "Final Fantasy XII Director Interviews". Square Enix. 2006-10-31. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
- ^ Richards, Kim (2011-01-18). "Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together Hands On". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
- ^ Nobu (2010-12-28). "プレイヤーとの約束は必ず守ります。新体制への刷新が行われた「FINAL FANTASY XIV」緊急インタビュー。FFXIVを託された吉田氏はどんな人物なのか". 4Gamer.net. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
- ^ a b Wada, Yoichi; Yoshida, Naoki; Tanaka, Hiromichi. "An Important Announcement for Final Fantasy XIV Fans". Square-Enix. Archived from the original on 2010-12-12. Retrieved 2013-05-22.
- ^ Yoshida, Naoki (June 2, 2022). "New Final Fantasy XVI trailer revealed, launches on PS5 Summer 2023". PlayStation Blog. Archived from the original on 2022-12-05. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- ^ LeBlanc, Wesley (2023-06-06). "Creating The Look Of Final Fantasy 16". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 2023-06-12. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
- ^ "The "FFXII" turned into HD "FFXII the Zodiac Age" will be released in 2017 in the PS4". Famitsu. 2016. Retrieved 2016-06-06.