Soraya Saga
Encyclopedia
, also known by her pen name, , is a Japan
ese illustrator
, designer
, and video game story writer.
She adopted as her pen name for several years before changing it to "Soraya Saga" circa 2001 (though she is also sometimes credited under her birth name). She worked for Square
for many years, serving as a map designer on Final Fantasy V
and Final Fantasy VI
. She also created the Final Fantasy VI characters Edgar Roni Figaro and Mash Rene Figaro (renamed Sabin Rene Figaro in the English version of the game), and wrote their backstories and dialogue. Along with Tetsuya Takahashi
, she is a co-creator of Xenogears
. She, along with several other employees, left Square in 1999 to help Monolith Soft
begin the Xenosaga
series, writing a large portion of the story and creating several of the characters. Saga was never an official Monolith Soft employee, and her contributions were made on a freelance basis. At some point during the production of Xenosaga Episode II, Saga was informed that her services would no longer be needed in the production of the remaining installments of the series.
She is married to Tetsuya Takahashi
, and has two children; she lives in Tokyo
.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
, designer
Designer
A designer is a person who designs. More formally, a designer is an agent that "specifies the structural properties of a design object". In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, such as consumer products, processes, laws, games and graphics, is referred to as a...
, and video game story writer.
She adopted as her pen name for several years before changing it to "Soraya Saga" circa 2001 (though she is also sometimes credited under her birth name). She worked for Square
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
for many years, serving as a map designer on Final Fantasy V
Final Fantasy V
is a medieval-fantasy role-playing video game developed and published by Square in 1992 as a part of the Final Fantasy series. The game first appeared only in Japan on Nintendo's Super Famicom . It has been ported with minor differences to Sony's PlayStation and Nintendo's Game Boy Advance...
and Final Fantasy VI
Final Fantasy VI
is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square , released in 1994 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as a part of the Final Fantasy series. Set in a fantasy world with a technology level equivalent to that of the Second Industrial Revolution, the game's story focuses on a...
. She also created the Final Fantasy VI characters Edgar Roni Figaro and Mash Rene Figaro (renamed Sabin Rene Figaro in the English version of the game), and wrote their backstories and dialogue. Along with Tetsuya Takahashi
Tetsuya Takahashi
Tetsuya Takahashi is currently the head of game software company Monolith Soft, Inc. In the past, Takahashi has worked at Square and on such games as Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger...
, she is a co-creator of Xenogears
Xenogears
is a science-fiction console role-playing game developed and published by Square for Sony's PlayStation. It was released on February 11, 1998 in Japan and on October 20, 1998 in North America. The game was never released in PAL territories...
. She, along with several other employees, left Square in 1999 to help Monolith Soft
Monolith Soft
is a Japanese entertainment company that has created video games for the PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, Wii, Nintendo DS, and cell phones. The company was founded in 1999 by producer Hirohide Sugiura after he left Square Co. and accepted an investment from Namco...
begin the Xenosaga
Xenosaga
is a series of science fiction video games developed by Monolith Soft and published by Namco Bandai. Xenosaga's main story is in the form of a trilogy of PlayStation 2 video games. There have been three spin-off games and an anime adaptation. The Xenosaga series serves as a spiritual successor to...
series, writing a large portion of the story and creating several of the characters. Saga was never an official Monolith Soft employee, and her contributions were made on a freelance basis. At some point during the production of Xenosaga Episode II, Saga was informed that her services would no longer be needed in the production of the remaining installments of the series.
She is married to Tetsuya Takahashi
Tetsuya Takahashi
Tetsuya Takahashi is currently the head of game software company Monolith Soft, Inc. In the past, Takahashi has worked at Square and on such games as Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger...
, and has two children; she lives in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
.
Game credits
- Final Fantasy VFinal Fantasy Vis a medieval-fantasy role-playing video game developed and published by Square in 1992 as a part of the Final Fantasy series. The game first appeared only in Japan on Nintendo's Super Famicom . It has been ported with minor differences to Sony's PlayStation and Nintendo's Game Boy Advance...
(1992): map design - Final Fantasy VIFinal Fantasy VIis a role-playing video game developed and published by Square , released in 1994 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as a part of the Final Fantasy series. Set in a fantasy world with a technology level equivalent to that of the Second Industrial Revolution, the game's story focuses on a...
(1994): field graphic designer, script - Romancing SaGa 3Romancing SaGa 3is the sixth title in the SaGa role-playing video game series developed and published by Square and released exclusively for the Super Famicom system in Japan. It was also the third and final SaGa title to be released for the Super Famicom...
(1995): graphic designer - XenogearsXenogearsis a science-fiction console role-playing game developed and published by Square for Sony's PlayStation. It was released on February 11, 1998 in Japan and on October 20, 1998 in North America. The game was never released in PAL territories...
(1998): conceptual designer, scenario - Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur MachtXenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Machtis a console role-playing game for the PlayStation 2 and the first title in the Xenosaga series. Der Wille zur Macht, "The Will to Power", is a reference to Friedrich Nietzsche's posthumous collection of notes and unused aphorisms, which was intended to become his magnum opus...
(2002): event scenario writer - Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und BöseXenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böseis an RPG for the PlayStation 2 and the second title in the Xenosaga series. Jenseits von Gut und Böse, literally "Beyond Good and Evil", is taken from a philosophical work by Friedrich Nietzsche of the same name...
(2004): assistant author - Xenosaga: Pied Piper (2004): script co-author
- Soma BringerSoma Bringeris a video game developed by Monolith Soft and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It was released in Japan on February 28, 2008, and while it has not been announced for any other region, there is a fan-translation into English that is complete with the exception of the in-game...
(2008): scenario - Unannounced RPG