Name Takashi Tokita | Role Video Game Designer | |
 | ||
Similar People Akihiko Matsui, Hiroyuki Ito, Kazuhiko Aoki, Masato Kato, Hironobu Sakaguchi | ||
[PART 2] Tokita Takashi at BINUS
Takashi Tokita (時田 貴司, Tokita Takashi) (born 24 January 1965) is a Japanese video game developer working for Square Enix. He has worked there since 1985, and has worked as the lead designer for Final Fantasy IV as well as the director of Parasite Eve and Chrono Trigger.
Contents
- PART 2 Tokita Takashi at BINUS
- Beginning at Square
- Chrono Trigger
- Parasite Eve
- Final Fantasy The 4 Heroes of Light
- Other games
- Industry perspective
- Gameography
- References
Beginning at Square
Tokita joined Square in 1985 as a part-time employee, not becoming full-time until the development of Final Fantasy IV. For the first three Final Fantasy games, he worked on graphic design, testing, and sound effects, respectively, before becoming lead designer of Final Fantasy IV in 1991.
Tokita wanted to make a career as a theater actor, but working on Final Fantasy IV made him decide to become a "great creator" of video games. He was one of only 14 people working on the game. Tokita feels that Final Fantasy IV is the first game in the series to really pick up on drama, and the first Japanese RPG to feature "such deep characters and plot". He also felt that Final Fantasy IV was so good because it was the culmination of the best parts of the first three games.
Following that title, he was also involved in the production of Final Fantasy VII.
Chrono Trigger
Chrono Trigger is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1995. Director credits were attributed to Akihiko Matsui, Yoshinori Kitase and Takashi Tokita. Tetsuya Takahashi had the role of graphic director. Additionally, Takashi Tokita, along with Yoshinori Kitase wrote the various subplots to the game.
Parasite Eve
He is well known for having directed Parasite Eve and written the game's story. He considers the later games in the series as having been "handed off" to others.
Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light
After the successful remakes of Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy IV, there was a desire by the team to make a new game in the same style.
Other games
He was the lead developer on Final Fantasy IV: The After Years.
Industry perspective
When Tokita began making games, he felt that game design was about "what can you create? What kind of software can you provide for a specific platform?" Now, however, he feels that game development is about "infrastructure and content". His greatest inspiration was Dragon Quest 2, since it emotionally engaged him like no game he had played before.
Between 2003 and 2007, Tokita was the head of Square's Product Development Division 7.