‘It’s the right moment’: Final Fantasy 9 character designer, Toshiyuki Itahana, quits Square Enix
Itahana said he decided to leave last year after the FFIX 25th anniversary
Final Fantasy 9 character designer, Toshiyuki Itahana, has announced he’s left Square Enix, after more than 30 years at the company.
In addition to Final Fantasy 9, Itahana was the character designer for the Crystal Chronicles and Chocobo series.
In a message to fans, the artist and game designer said he’d made the decision to leave late last year, following the 25th anniversary of the game he’s best known for.
“As I began thinking seriously about preparing myself to continue drawing for many years to come, I decided to leave Square Enix at the end of last year,” he wrote.
“Last year marked a major milestone with the 25th anniversary of Final Fantasy IX, a truly significant event, and I was deeply grateful to see so many people celebrating FFIX.
“To everyone who celebrated with us, and to those who visited the exhibitions, shops, and cafés—thank you so very much! (The Osaka collaboration café is still ongoing!)
“With the illustration work and supervision related to the 25th anniversary now complete, I feel a strong sense of accomplishment in having fulfilled the role entrusted to me. At the same time, I felt this was the right moment to draw a line under this chapter and take on new challenges.”
Itahana said he will now work as a freelance illustrator and character designer, and hopes to “draw upon my experience and continue creating a wide variety of new artwork”.
“At the moment, I’m still finding my way—listening to advice and learning from senior freelance illustrators—but if you happen to come across my work somewhere, I would be truly happy if you could support me,” he wrote.
“To everyone who played the games I worked on at Square Enix, and to all those I had the pleasure of working with over the years, thank you very much. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude, and I sincerely hope for your continued support in the future.”
Final Fantasy 9 was originally released in 2000 for PlayStation. The game was re-released in 2010 as a PS1 Classic for PS3 and PSP, with Vita support arriving in 2012.
Production of a Final Fantasy 9 remake has been on and off for several years, according to those with knowledge of Square Enix’s plans.
In 2021, a Final Fantasy 9 remake was one of many unannounced titles listed in a GeForce Now database leak. These included several Square Enix games that would later be officially confirmed, such as the PC version of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, a Chrono Cross remaster, and Kingdom Hearts 4.
