After capturing a sizeable chunk of the globe's RPG-loving population, Square Enix's brave dally into the world of MMORPG culminated with the inception of the ambitious Final Fantasy XI in Japan in 2002.

Already a success in both Asia and North America, Ubisoft is counting the days down to its UK debut, with the online RPG set to be unveiled on September 17, complete with the Rise of The Zilart and brand new Chains of Promathia expansion packs (the latter is enjoying a simultaneous worldwide launch and is very good, judging by our brief hands-on).

After learning of his presence at last week's EGN event at London, we caught up with the legendary Square Enix veteran and Final Fantasy XI producer Hirochimi Tanaka to talk about his online masterpiece.