Although Yasumi Matsuno, revered visionary responsible for such exceptional works of art as Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story, remains listed as the man credited for "original concept/scenario/supervision" on Final Fantasy XII, he has apparently been very ill for a long time, which would explain 1up's earlier comments about him not being at work for a month. In a message on the official website, Matsuno mentions his regret for being uninvolved for so long but that the project is in good hands now: indeed, Hiroyuki Ito (director of Final Fantasy IX) and Hiroshi Minagawa (Matsuno's Quest buddy) have taken over directing, and the rest of the staff hasn't really changed much. He also states that he's well again and that the project will meet its targeted release date of March 16, 2006 in Japan. Akitoshi Kawazu replaces Hironobu Sakaguchi as the series' executive producer.
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