"Please Stop," SaGa Dev Tells FF Creator Over AI Video

"What is this?! That's amazing!" Those are the translated words of Hironobu Sakaguchi, the man who created Final Fantasy, reacting to what he apparently thought was an impressive fan-made remake concept of Final Fantasy 6. The problem: it was AI-generated slop, and a fellow Square veteran wasted no time letting him know.

The AI-generated video, posted on May 16 by X user desusanJP, imagines FF6 in the style of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy. It features over-the-shoulder shots of Terra wandering through towns, Sabin suplexing the Phantom Train, and glimpses of the Opera House sequence. Set to Terra's original theme, it racked up over 600,000 views. Sakaguchi posted on X sharing the clip with enthusiasm, seemingly unaware of its origins. Whether he couldn't tell or simply didn't care is unclear, but the reaction was immediate.

The most interesting reply came from Akitoshi Kawazu, creator of the SaGa series and a designer on the original Final Fantasy and its sequel. "No, Sakaguchi-san, please stop after the first line," Kawazu wrote, essentially telling his old colleague to quit while he was ahead. There's something deeply funny about one legendary developer publicly correcting another like a friend pulling your phone away before you post something embarrassing. Kawazu did agree on one thing, though: Final Fantasy 6 deserves a proper 3D remake. He recounted chatting with an American tourist at a sushi restaurant who told him FF6 was his favourite, adding, "I do think 6 is definitely suited for a 3D remake."

Fans on X and ResetEra were split between dunking on the video's telltale AI jank and agreeing that FF6 is long overdue for the remake treatment. One fan on X praised the concept while others pointed out the lifeless faces and unnatural movement. I'd side with Kawazu here. FF6 absolutely deserves a remake, but the fact that its own creator couldn't distinguish AI-generated footage from real work is less a compliment to the AI and more a reminder of how easy it is to get fooled by surface-level spectacle. Square Enix producer Yoshinori Kitase has previously suggested a FF6 remake could take 20 years to ship, so don't expect this viral moment to change anything on that front.