There’s no denying it. Life was sweet for the SNES owner. Within the space of just five years, the system’s library was swollen with classics, and chief among them were masterpieces crafted by Square and Nintendo. The mere mention of the likes of Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger and Super Mario World are enough to send most gamers into paroxysms of nostalgia. It is said that all good things must come to an end, but even as the sun was setting on the SNES, behind closed doors the movers and shakers were planning something unprecedented – a collaboration between two of the biggest developers of the era.
The result of this partnership was Nintendo’s moustachioed mascot’s first foray in the role-playing genre. Square’s own Chihiro Fujioka recalls how it went down: “The original idea was decided in meetings at the highest level. When I was put in charge, it had already been set in stone, but I heard that the background to it was that due to the very close relationship between Nintendo and Square in those days, working together on a project meant they would combine their respective strong suits – the Mario character and RPG development.”
