Final Fantasy Tactics director wants you to play Unicorn Overlord
Final Fantasy Tactics director Yasumi Matsuno recently took to X to encourage people to play Vanillaware’s tactical RPG Unicorn Overlord. He also outlined the difficulties facing developers who want to make a game in the niche sub-genre these days.
Unicorn Overlord is an extremely ambitious title that was released on March 8. It has been widely reported that the tactical RPG title with its 10-year development period went over budget, likely due to its impressive scale encompassing over 60 companion characters and unit classes. Players are already being bowled over by the game’s impressive attention to detail and surprisingly sexy 2D animations (Related Article).
It seems the new title has also caught the attention of Yasumi Matsuno, who is best known for his work on cult classic PS1 RPGs Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story, as well as Final Fantasy XII on the PS2. Final fantasy Tactic’s strategic, isometric grid-based battles were a departure from the standard Final Fantasy turn-based active time battle systems of the time. Coming out in 1997 in Japan and releasing in the US a year later (with no European version), the game was stuck in the shadow of 1997’s top-selling Final Fantasy VII. However, over the years, the game has attained a cult following, in part due to its rich and detailed story set in the world of Ivalice (which would make a return in Final Fantasy XII).
Upon the release of Unicorn Overlord (which Matsuno did not have a role in developing), the Final Fantasy Tactics director took to X to share a photo of a Nintendo Switch copy of the game.
In response, he received many comments from users stating that they want to play a new game made by him instead. Matsuno thanked the fans in English and encouraged them to play Unicorn Overlord, adding that he prays “sales of this new simulation RPG will exceed one million copies”. He went on to explain how difficult it is to make a tactical RPG these days (the sub-genre is also sometimes referred to as “simulation RPG”).
Once global sales of 2 million to 3 million units become commonplace, then it will become easier to make various types of game.
Of course, this is the creators’ problem.
If Unicorn Overlord sells well, this might make it easier for other developers to get funding for tactical RPGs, a genre currently considered niche. As for Matsuno, he encourages fans who want remakes of his old Square games to send their requests to Square Enix.
Unicorn Overlord is available for the PS4/PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch.
Verity Townsend
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