Ryota Aomi, longtime producer of theDragon Questfranchise at Square Enix, has left the company.Dragon Questhas always been a successful JRPG franchise, going back to Enix’s first releases in the 80s. Just in the past decade, however,Dragon Questhas continued to grow. There’s a successfulDragon QuestMMO, a growing number of spin-offs, anime, and more surrounding the series. Aomi’s contributions are unquantifiable, but hisDragon Questlegacy is undeniable.
Even before joining Square Enix in 2013, Aomi was working on theDragon Questfranchise. Working at Genius Sonority, he was involved in the development ofDragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors. He took that opportunity and joined Square Enix, where he’d been working since. His main projects includeDragon Quest Heroesand its sequel, but he’s credited as part of team forDragon Quest 9and11, theDragon Quest 2,3, and4re-releases for iOS and Android, and bothDragon Quest Buildersgames.
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Confirmation of Aomi’s departure was delivered via the formerSquare Enix producer’s popular Instagram account. In the message, Aomi apologized for the sudden announcement while stating he had officially resigned from Square Enix. He said that working onDragon Quest, every day was “truly like a story.” He’d go on to thank everyone at Square Enix, as well as all ofDragon Quest’s fans for everything they’ve done.
Aomi isn’t retiring from game development entirely, however. The producer has confirmed that he has already started a “new adventure” at another company. He isn’t able to say what he’s working on just yet, but tells his fans that he will update them on his recent and future activities if they’ll wait “a little longer.” No other information has been made available regarding where Aomi is now working.
While a producer isn’t always a public-facing role, Aomi embraced his position within Square Enix and frequently communicated withDragon Questfans. His Instagram is littered with years of posts featuringplushDragon Questtoysand other merchandise. These posts would always be accompanied by a kind message from Aomi.
In the end, Aomi helped a lot ofDragon Questfanscelebrate the franchise online in a way they may otherwise have not had the opportunity for. His work obviously helped manyDragon Questprojects come to fruition, as well, but fans will likely recall him for his Instagram posts and messages. Hopefully, wherever Aomi ends up, he carries on that positivity.
