{"id":62822,"date":"2026-03-12T20:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=62822"},"modified":"2026-03-13T10:27:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T01:27:22","slug":"final-fantasy-creative-director-tetsuya-nomura-keeps-getting-asked-to-design-a-character-like-sephiroth-when-working-on-other-games-and-projects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/final-fantasy-creative-director-tetsuya-nomura-keeps-getting-asked-to-design-a-character-like-sephiroth-when-working-on-other-games-and-projects\/","title":{"rendered":"Final Fantasy creative director Tetsuya Nomura keeps\u00a0getting asked to \u201cdesign\u00a0a character like Sephiroth\u201d when working on other games and projects\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Square Enix\u00a0and\u00a0Magic:\u00a0The Gathering<\/strong>\u00a0developer\u00a0Wizards of The Coast\u00a0recently published a\u00a0roundtable\u00a0discussion<\/a>\u00a0on how the card game\u2019s\u00a0Final Fantasy<\/strong>\u00a0expansion was designed.\u00a0The interview includes many insights from Final Fantasy series creative director and character designer Tetsuya Nomura, who\u00a0supervised\u00a0the\u00a0artwork for the\u00a0collaboration\u00a0and personally\u00a0illustrated a card\u00a0for the\u00a0project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For his own piece, Nomura chose to depict FFVII\u2019s Sephiroth (for the \u201cSephiroth, Fabled Soldier\/One-Winged Angel\u201d card). When asked about why he opted to revisit a character he designed 30 years ago, Nomura cited the currently ongoing Final Fantasy Remake project, but also touched on Sephiroth\u2019s enduring popularity as a character. He revealed that when working on games and other projects, he constantly gets asked \u201cHey, can you make me a character like Sephiroth?’\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It makes me think that everyone must really love him!\u201d Nomura says. \u201cIn that sense, he’s a character that is approachable to both old and new fans, and the fact that so many people keep coming to me asking for Sephiroth! Sephiroth!<\/em> must mean people love him.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Sephiroth<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Sephiroth<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In capturing the essence of Sephiroth in his new illustration, Nomura says his goal was to capitalize on the existing personal feelings and attachments people have to him, and make sure the artwork doesn\u2019t create a disconnect or betray fans\u2019 expectations. \u201cI used the fans’ existing understanding as a base and added other elements on top, layer by layer, to stir their imaginations.” He also applied this way of thinking when reviewing other artists\u2019 pieces for the project. \u201cFans already have a clear image of these characters, and the artists bring their own individuality to the work. The key is to balance both\u2014to preserve the artist’s uniqueness without straying from the fans’ image.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related: <\/strong>Is Sephiroth\u2019s super long sword in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth usable in real life? Japanese martial arts master demonstrates with effortless ease<\/strong><\/a><\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interview: FFVII Rebirth creators talk about games that inspire them and western fans\u2019 adoration for Sephiroth<\/strong><\/a><\/strong> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In an interview with Wizards of The Coast, Final Fantasy’s Tetsuya Nomura talked about the enduring popularity of FFVII’s Sephiroth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":41359,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[36,17],"class_list":["post-62822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-final-fantasy","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nFinal Fantasy creative director Tetsuya Nomura keeps\u00a0getting asked to \u201cdesign\u00a0a character like Sephiroth\u201d when working on other games and projects\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In an interview with Wizards of The Coast, Final Fantasy's Tetsuya Nomura talked about the enduring popularity of FFVII's Sephiroth.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/final-fantasy-creative-director-tetsuya-nomura-keeps-getting-asked-to-design-a-character-like-sephiroth-when-working-on-other-games-and-projects\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Final Fantasy creative director Tetsuya Nomura keeps\u00a0getting asked to \u201cdesign\u00a0a character like Sephiroth\u201d when working on other games and projects\u00a0 - 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