As a fun winter gift for fans of the Magic: The Gathering®—FINAL FANTASY™, the following is a development interview with FINAL FANTASY Creative Director Tetsuya Nomura discussing his collaboration with Wizards of the Coast and his role in the development of this set.

Please enjoy this behind-the-scenes look at the development of Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY. You can view all of the cards from the set in the Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY Card Image Gallery and learn more about where to find these cards in this article.

Original Interview Date: May 2025

Interview Participants

  • Tetsuya Nomura – Creative Director (SQUARE ENIX)
  • Soichi Ichikawa – Producer (SQUARE ENIX)
  • Zakeel Gordon – Executive Producer (Wizards of the Coast)
  • Dillon Deveney – Principal Narrative Designer (Wizards of the Coast)
  • Joseph Leis – Program Manager (Wizards of the Coast)

Zakeel: "As someone who is highly involved in the development of this project, how would you compare creating a card game to your vast experience developing video games? Were there any differences that stood out?"

Nomura: "Artwork for video games is designed and built with movement and animation in mind, whereas with a card game you can convey everything through a single piece of artwork, that's a big difference I noticed. I've been watching a lot of YouTube videos as I work on this project, but I was impressed by how much information players take from a single piece of art and expand on it with their imaginations. In video games, concept artwork is merely a blueprint for how something is supposed to look in its complete form, so I really notice how different the role of artwork is."

Dillon: "When you create a single piece, a single illustration, what are you thinking about when you try to capture the very wide and deep emotional storytelling that exists in FINAL FANTASY? When I see this Sephiroth piece, I am overcome with so many different thoughts and feelings, so what were you thinking about? What were you feeling when you were trying to capture the essence of a character like Sephiroth?"

Nomura: "In game development, I draw artwork so that the entire team can imagine how the characters move in-game and what their backstories are from the art piece. With cards, people already know the characters to some extent, and they have personal feelings and attachments from playing the games, so you have to make sure there's no disconnect between the pieces and people's expectations. So, for this piece, I drew with that awareness. I used the fans' existing understanding as a base and added other elements on top, layer by layer, to stir their imaginations."

Zakeel: "Over the course of the last three to four years, you've reviewed several hundred pieces of art. When you think of translating 37 years of history, what were you looking for? As the reviewer of FINAL FANTASY VI, FINAL FANTASY VII, FINAL FANTASY VIII, FINAL FANTASY X, FINAL FANTASY XIII, and FINAL FANTASY XV, what were you looking for when adapting those games into Magic?"

Nomura: "Similar to my previous answer, fans already have a clear image of these characters, and the artists bring their own individuality to the work. The key is to balance both—to preserve the artist's uniqueness without straying from the fans' image. That balance was what I paid the most attention to."

Dillon: "I'm thinking about all of the art that we created for this project. Among the hundreds of art pieces you reviewed, were there any artists or art pieces that particularly impressed you or left a lasting impression?"

Nomura: "Here are several pieces that I remember very fondly. These were ones that I approved instantly, no feedback or revisions at all." Nomura-san looks at the pieces below:

0382a_MTGFIN_BoldPose: Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER 0553_MTGFIN_StrtFace: Sephiroth, Planet's Heir

"I don't usually pay as much attention to backgrounds, but overseas artists tend to express the worldbuilding deeply through the background and landscape. Fans who love the characters also love these immersive depictions, and since this is a collaboration with Magic, I was really excited to see such rich, fully realized backgrounds.

0234_MTGFIN_Main: Locke Cole

"For example, this card here is based off a classic pixel-art game, and it's probably the first time in history where that pixel art has been reimagined as 3D fantasy art, so the card plays to people's nostalgia and their imaginations. It gets them thinking 'Ah, this must be that dungeon in the game …' It's simply wonderful."

Dillon: "I am particularly happy to see Locke here. We spent so much time trying to figure out how to translate and express pixel art. FINAL FANTASY VI specifically paved the way for us to understand how to adapt those classic titles. This is one of my favorite pieces, too. I am happy to see it here."

Nomura: "There was a time when overseas art felt 'too intense' from a Japanese perspective. But working together with Wizards this time, I thought, 'Wow, this is amazing. I think Japanese fans will really embrace this, too.'"

Zakeel: "You chose to illustrate Sephiroth for your own piece for this project. Why did you pick that character, and how did you feel to revisit a character you created almost 30 years ago?"

0317a_MTGFIN_CABdless: Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER

Nomura: "We're still in the middle of developing the FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE series, so there is a brand-new FINAL FANTASY VII actively in progress. But if I wasn't working on that, it would've been a 'long time no see, Sephiroth' type of feeling. There are new fans who have just recently experienced FINAL FANTASY VII for the first time, but I think it's a game that will be loved by both long-time and brand-new fans alike. I work on so many projects and games, and everyone comes to me asking 'Hey, can you make me a character like Sephiroth?'

"It makes me think that everyone must really love him! In that sense, he's a character that is approachable to both old and new fans, and the fact that so many people keep coming to me asking for 'Sephiroth! Sephiroth!' must mean people love him."

Dillon: "We revealed about 20 new pieces of art at PAX East. Every time a new card would come up, the audience would cheer and shout, but I don't think anything was louder than their reaction to this card. That's when we all felt, 'Ah, I'm so glad I worked on this project.' I heard you were also watching the live stream, but what did you think about the fan reaction at PAX or all the online players' and fans' reactions afterward?"

Nomura: "It reinforced how much I love overseas events. Fans wear their hearts on their sleeves. Perhaps another reason that we're seeing such an amazing reaction from fans is that there's a significant generational overlap between those who played FINAL FANTASY and those who played Magic. Maybe fans may have initially thought that this would be a smaller collaboration? But then they saw everything at PAX and realized, 'Oh crap, this is the real thing.' I can't wait for the set to be released and to see everyone opening packs."

Zakeel: "Many Magic players are excited for release, but is there a chance that you'll build a deck and try it out? You'll be able to beat Ichikawa-san—he's not that good." Zakeel laughs.

Nomura: "Really? I thought Ichikawa was supposed to be pretty good?" Nomura-san laughs. "I distinctly remember him telling me, 'I'm the strongest Magic player at SQUARE ENIX!'"

Ichikawa: "No, don't listen to Zakeel, I just crushed him in a game yesterday!" Ichikawa-san laughs.

Dillon: "We have one last question. Earlier this year we came to Japan and showed some of the first print samples, which included your art of Cloud and Lightning, as well as the neon ink colorful chocobos and more. Do you remember how you felt when you saw your older artwork and the chocobos become cards?"

Nomura: "Hmm … To be honest, it was a bit embarrassing looking at my own art! These are art pieces from 20 or 30 years ago, so to me it feels like someone in their 30s looking at sketches you drew when you were a toddler." Nomura-san laughs.

"Seeing them lined up alongside all these beautiful, modern artworks by all the other artists felt a bit awkward," Nomura-san laughs. "Back then, those concept arts were meant to be blueprints for the dev teams, not finished pieces. So being placed next to brand-new artwork created specifically for Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY made me feel a bit inadequate and embarrassed, so I just kept thinking, 'At least make my cards powerful!'"

0049_MTGFIN_CptBonus: Atraxa, Grand Unifier 0054_MTGFIN_CptBonus: Isshin, Two Heavens as One 0042_MTGFIN_CptBonus: Najeela, the Blade-Blossom

Dillon: "Well, I mean, spoken like a true artist! One of the things that is so powerful about your previous work, even if you have your own opinion on it because it's been so long, is like what Zakeel was saying before. There are so many people whose first eye-opening moment was seeing your work and your concept art. So, seeing it again is inspiring so many people to get back into art, get back into creation, get back into Magic or FINAL FANTASY. Even if you might be looking at your old art and comparing it to the new art, it's serving a very, very powerful purpose—create joy for fans around the world. So, thank you for allowing us to do that."

Nomura: "Yes, I understand that very well. If this was just something private, I'd honestly say, 'Don't include it!'" Nomura-san laughs. "But I know how meaningful those memories are for fans, so I figured, 'I may be red from embarrassment, but here you go, you can use it!'

"We do a lot of licensing deals and collaborations where we lend people my art, but I've never worked on a collaborative project like this where we go so deep. It was so much fun, and I can't express how excited I am for this to be released. Given the scale at which we are capturing the history of FINAL FANTASY, it really felt like we were building something special together, so I'm very excited."

Dillon: "We're very happy and honored to hear that. We feel the same way. Thank you."

Nomura: "There were so many art pieces, though! Every week, Ichikawa would show up with a stack of artwork, and every time I was like, 'You've got to be kidding, I reviewed so many pieces last week, but there's more?'"

Zakeel: "I know!"

Dillon: "Yeah, that was my fault. That was my team. You can blame us." Dillon laughs.

Ichikawa: "I'd look at the pile of how many were remaining and ask, 'How does it keep getting bigger?' Ichikawa-san laughs. "One day, I told him we were finished with our current batch so I wouldn't see him for a couple weeks, but then I was back a few days later with a stack of a hundred more pieces!"

Zakeel: On behalf of Wizards of the Coast and both Magic and FINAL FANTASY fans around the world, I want to thank you for your time and cooperation over the last several years during the development of this project. Without you, we wouldn't have been able to make this set come to life. This project is one that Dillon, myself, and many fans around the world have dreamed about for a long time. So again, thank you for your help in making this happen."

The interview concluded with one last surprise for our guests. The Wizards of the Coast team gave Tetsuya Nomura the opportunity to be the first person at SQUARE ENIX to open a Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY Play Booster and Collector Booster.

Zakeel: "We have a surprise for you! We didn't tell Ichikawa-san this, but you will be the first person within SQUARE ENIX to open packs from this set. Here, we have a Play Booster and Collector Booster. Please open them."

Nomura: "No way!"

Nomura: "What are these? So, both these types of packs are going to be sold?"

Ichikawa: "This is a normal pack called a Play Booster, and this one is a special pack called a Collector Booster."

Nomura-san opens the Play Booster, revealing an art card.

Nomura: "It's just a blank, white card?" Nomura-san laughs.

Ichikawa: "That's an art card, and if you flip it over, you can see card art on it."

Nomura: "Oh, very nice! And here is a Mountain."

Nomura-san continues to look through the Play Booster and opens a copy of Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER. He reveals the card, and everyone celebrates.

0115a_MTGFIN_Main: Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER

Nomura: "Wait, what? It just doesn't get any better than this. Are you serious? At first, I thought all of you were going crazy about this foil Ice Flan card." Nomura-san laughs.

Zakeel: "No way man, I cannot believe that just happened!"

Nomura: "Is it that rare? How rare is it?"

Ichikawa: "Opening a mythic rare in one of these Play Boosters is very unlikely. And Sephiroth is a mythic rare, the highest rarity card! It's crazy."

Zakeel: "And this pack over here is a Collector Booster. These have lots of foil cards in them."

Nomura-san opens the Collector Booster pack, revealing several foil cards. Toward the end of the Collector Booster, Nomura-san opens a copy of Vivi Ornitier.

0248_MTGFIN_Main: Vivi Ornitier

Ichikawa: "I've never seen such great pulls. I'd be smiling from ear to ear all day long if it were me. There really are no words to describe how crazy this is."

Wizards: "Well, that was one of the most insane pack openings I have ever seen. To wrap up this interview, we'd like to take a picture with you where you're holding up the Sephiroth card. Is that okay?"

Nomura: "Of course!"

To the millions of Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY fans around the world, we hope you enjoyed playing this release as much as we enjoyed making it.

FIN

© SQUARE ENIX