Akitoshi Kawazu
The "SaGa" series was created by game designer Akitoshi Kawazu, whose contributions prior to the franchise's introduction include "Final Fantasy" and "Final Fantasy II". At a time when Nintendo's Game Boy was becoming popular worldwide due to the puzzle game "Tetris", then-Square president Masashi Miyamoto requested that a development team create a game for the handheld console. Kawazu and fellow designer Koichi Ishii suggested that the company develop a role-playing video game, thus making "Makai Toushi Sa·Ga", later released in North America as "The Final Fantasy Legend", the company's first handheld title. The gameplay was designed to be difficult, described by Kawazu as the main difference between the "SaGa" and "Final Fantasy" series. The character illustrations in all the games in the "SaGa" series were done by Tomomi Kobayashi, who has also done the illustrations for the MMORPG "Granado Espada". Although it has been a long-running series, as of 2008, none of the ten production teams at Square Enix is assigned to the franchise. Akitoshi Kawazu and Production Team 2 are devoted to the "Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles" series.