My stomach flips as I check the time – it's close to dinner on Friday, January 31. Final Fantasy 7's 28th anniversary.
The date warrants its own public celebration in Japan. In Manhattan, drunk finance guys stumble on the sidewalk, but they don't have Square Enix on the brain as I do. Neither are they worried about meeting legendary concept artist Yoshitaka Amano tonight. They burp out wet laughs as they trip into another bar, and I'm at least comforted by the fact that, even if I don't meet Amano on this rainy night, I'll at least get to see his art – its dark beauty is everything that draws me to the Final Fantasy series.
