Takashi Tokita

Born January 24, 1965, Takashi Tokita is a game developer for Square Enix and currently the head of its development divisions. He joined the company in 1985 and, just like his fellow staff member Kazuhiko Aoki, he played several roles in the development of Final Fantasy series, ranging from Director to Supervisor. 
==Biography==
Tokita got into the video game industry when he originally went to Tokyo to become an actor at the age of eighteen, but saw an advertisement looking for a graphics designer at an old software house.
He was initially a part-time employee doing graphic design work and sound. After that, He switched to full-time when he became the lead designer of Final Fantasy IV in 1991. Tokita feels that Final Fantasy IV is the first game in the series to really pick up on drama and the first Japanese RPG to feature "such deep characters and plot".
Other than his work on the Final Fantasy series, Tokita has a few other projects at Square Enix to his name. He has directed Parasite Eve - Chrono Trigger and produced the Hanjuku Hero series and Nanashi no Game for the Nintendo DS. These projects were slated for English localizations, but were cancelled by focus groups. Tokita has expressed an interest in creating games with quirky characters.
His other notable work was Live A Live, a choose-your-own adventure RPG for the Super Famicom that never left Japan until the 2022 Nintendo Switch remake. Live A Live's episodic nature would later serve as the basis for later titles directed by Tokita, including Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, Final Fantasy Dimensions, and Final Fantasy Dimensions II.
==Game design==
Tokita felt that game design was about "what can you create? What kind of software can you provide for a specific platform?" However, he also feels that game development is about "infrastructure and content".
==Works in the series==
Game 	Tokita's Credit(s)
Final Fantasy 	Graphics Director
The Final Fantasy Legend 	Character Designer, Scenario Writer, Sound Effects Editor
Final Fantasy III 	Sound Effects Editor
Final Fantasy IV 	Game Designer, Scenario Writer
Final Fantasy VII 	Special thanks
Chocobo Racing 	Director, Scenario Writer
Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls 	Game design, Producer
Final Fantasy IV Advance 	Supervisor
Final Fantasy IV DS 	Director, Executive Producer
Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light 	Director
Final Fantasy IV: The After Years 	Producer
Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy 	Special Thanks
Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection 	Supervisor
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy 	Special Thanks
Final Fantasy Dimensions 	Producer
Guardian Cross 	Executive Producer
Final Fantasy Dimensions II(Free-to-play version)	Director, Scenario Writer, Game Designer, Additional Illustrator, Lyricist for "Timeless Tomorrow" (with Naoshi Mizuta)
Final Fantasy Dimensions II 	General Director
War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius 	Special Thanks
==Trivia==
*Takashi Tokita appears in various Developer's Offices throughout the series:
** He appears as a Black Mage in the original Final Fantasy IV Developer's Office, where he offers to join the player's party after calling Rosa and Rydia "cute", but is left behind.
**He is encountered as a Soul in the Developer's Office of Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, and later contemplates a day and age when people can play games on cell phones (original version), or "make games in such high resolution" (Complete Collection version).
**He is encountered as a Zombie in the Developer's Office of Final Fantasy IV -Interlude-, and keeps repeating "IT WILL NEVER END...". After taking a lot of damage, he eventually says he wants to go home and starts to panic about programming bugs.
*A debug item in The After Years named the "Tokita Sword" was named in his honor. It gives any character equipped with it maximum stats and can break the damage limit of 9,999.
*Coincidentally, the word "Toki" (時) from his surname means "time" in Japanese, as he is best known for directing the time travel game Chrono Trigger and now directing another game with similar concept, Final Fantasy Dimensions II.
*Players who preregistered for Final Fantasy Legends: Toki no Suisho before the game's launch received a special White Chocobo summon designed by Tokita himself.
==External links==
*Takashi Tokita's Official Twitter Page
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*Tokita's Profile on IMDb
pl:Takashi Tokita
Category:Personnel
Category:Writers