Don't get him started on the Zelda timeline

Hironobu Sakaguchi is the man who made Square Enix's Final Fantasy series, arguably one of the most popular video game franchises of all time. Under his guidance, the series experienced many best-selling instalments across the NES, SNES and PlayStation, but never a direct sequel - all of the adventures were brand new, with entirely fresh settings and characters.

Speaking to IGN, the legendary game creator - who was in San Francisco this week to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 15th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards - explained his dislike for spin-offs and direct sequels:

I don't like sequels. I hate them. That's why every single Final Fantasy had a new cast of characters, a brand new story, [and] a different system. Our promise to ourselves is that for every single game that we make, we are going to give it our all, and then we finish it, we'll end it in such a way that there is no to be continued checklist.

Since Sakaguchi left Square Enix in 2000, things have changed - there have been several direct sequels to core Final Fantasy instalments, including Final Fantasy X-2, Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings and - most recently - Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.

[source uk.ign.com]