Vagrant Story designer departs Level-5

Final Fantasy and Vagrant Story veteran Yasumi Matsuno has bid farewell to Professor Layton and Guild01 developer Level-5.

Matsuno, who took a position at Level-5 in June 2011, announced the news on Twitter, as translated by Gematsu.

"I’m sorry to report, but due to personal reasons, next month I’ll be retiring from Level-5," he said.

There has been much speculation as to the reason for Matsuno's departure after such a short amount of time, especially as ill health is what motivated him to leave Square Enix in 2005, dropping out of the role of director of Final Fantasy XII, which he provided overarching conceptual design for.

Matsuno said that it's a good time for him to step down, as his latest game - Crimson Shroud - has released worldwide as 3DSware.

“Even though it was for a short period of time, I was able to work hard without any gross mistakes. I am extremely grateful for the gift of genial teaching I received from everyone. Over and over again, thank you so much. I plan on taking a break for a while. I’m very thankful to have your support from now on," he concluded.

Matsuno was a key creative behind several very highly-respected Square titles – Final Fantasy Tactics, Vagrant Story and Tactics Ogre, for example.