Yoshinori Kitase

is a Japanese company director, video game producer and former game director working for Square Enix. He is known for directing Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy X, and producing Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy XIII and the Final Fantasy VII Remake series.

Kitase currently serves as a member of the board of directors at both Square Enix Co, Ltd and Square Enix Holdings as well as the executive officer of Square Enix's Creative Studios 1 and 2 as well as the studio head for the latter.

He has also served as the Final Fantasy series brand manager since 2021.

He was the head of Square Enix's Creative Business Unit 1 as well as Business Division 1 during their entire respective existences as well as a Corporate Executive. He is also part of the Final Fantasy Committee that is tasked with keeping the franchise's releases and content consistent.

Biography In July 1978, at the age of 11, Kitase watched the movie Star Wars for the first time and was deeply impressed with it. He later examined the making-of video to it and became interested in the creative process of the film industry. Kitase decided to attend the Nihon University College of Art and studied screenwriting and filmmaking. Although he enjoyed filming, he showed a much greater passion for post-production editing as he felt it allowed him to give the footage a completely new meaning and to appeal to the viewers' feelings. In his first year after the graduation, Kitase worked at a small animation studio that produced animated television programs and commercials. When he played Final Fantasy for the first time, he considered a switch to the game industry as he felt that it had potential when it came to animation and storytelling. Despite having no software development knowledge, he applied at the game development company Square and was hired in March 1990. In the ten years to follow, he gathered experience as an "event scripter", directing the characters' movements and facial expressions on the game screen as well as setting the timings and music transitions. He has compared this work to directing film actors. Kitase continued directing cutscenes in spite of filling other roles in later projects; for example, he directed part of the event scenes in Final Fantasy VIII and was event planner for the Nibelheim section of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. Kitase referred to Final Fantasy VII and its protagonist Cloud Strife as his favorite game and character, respectively. In an interview, he said that he loves first-person shooters. Kitase supervised the Final Fantasy VII: Technical Demo for PS3. Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi feels that he "handed the torch to" Kitase as far as heading the series is concerned.

Works Video games

Other media

Additional credits Year Title Credit(s) 1998 Xenogears (Japanese version) Cooperation 1998 Ehrgeiz FF VII staff 1999 Chrono Cross (Japanese version) Development cooperation 2002 Unlimited Saga Special thanks 2003 Hanjuku Hero Tai 3D Development cooperation 2004 Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Special Final Fantasy part cooperation 2005 Romancing SaGa Special thanks 2006 Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Portable Final Fantasy part cooperation Dawn of Mana Special thanks 2007 Heroes of Mana 2009 Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light 2010 Final Fantasy XIV Crystal tools 2011 Dissidia 012: Final Fantasy Special thanks 2012 Theatrhythm Final Fantasy 2013 Final Fantasy: All The Bravest 2014 Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call 2015 Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster for PlayStation 4 Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius Dissidia Final Fantasy (2015 video game) Arcade 2016 Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster for Microsoft Windows 2017 Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward (Patch 3.56) Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood Pictologica Final Fantasy Itadaki Street: Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy 30th Anniversary Final Fantasy Dimensions II 2018 Dissidia Final Fantasy NT Chrono Trigger Upgrade Version Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Original game supervisor 2019 Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers Special thanks Romancing SaGa 3 remaster Executive officer SaGa: Scarlet Grace Ambitions English Version War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius Special thanks Star Ocean: First Departure R Vice president 2020 Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition Collection of SaGa Executive officer Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory Vice president Romancing SaGa Re;univerSe Executive officer 2021 SaGa Frontier Remastered Neo: The World Ends with You Vice president Dungeon Encounters Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker Special thanks 2022 Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Vice president Chrono Cross The Radical Dreamers Edition Star Ocean: The Divine Force Tactics Ogre: Reborn Romancing SaGa Minstrel Song Remastered Executive officer 2023 Theatrhythm Final Bar Line Vice president Final Fantasy XVI Special thanks Star Ocean: The Second Story R Vice president 2024 Foamstars Square Enix special tester SaGa Emerald Beyond Vice president Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail Special thanks Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven Head of studio 2025 SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered