Yasuyuki Honne

Video game artist

Yasuyuki Honne (本根 康之) is a video game artist, director and producer. He was employed by Square from 1993 to 1999 and is now working at Monolith Soft. He is known for his work on the Chrono series, Xeno games and Baten Kaitos series.

Yasuyuki Honne was born on March 5, 1971. When he was young, Honne enjoyed video games and playing fighting games in video arcades, but wanted to become a freelance illustrator. However, after graduating and moving to Tokyo, he saw a recruitment ad for Square in the magazine Gamest, with a picture of Final Fantasy VI. Since his design studies had made him interested in the relationship between a person's life and fantasy art, Honne decided to apply for a job at the company.

Honne joined Square as a graphic artist in 1993 and notably worked on Front Mission and Chrono Trigger under graphic director Tetsuya Takahashi. Honne became a board member of Monolith Soft, owning 20 shares out of the total 2,400, and the director of the company's graphics development division. After serving as the art director for Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht, Honne made his debut as a game director on Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean, the project that has left him with the fondest memories since the founding of Monolith Soft. When Takahashi was in the planning stages for the project that would become Xenoblade Chronicles, Honne produced a model of the two gods of the game's world in order to help explain the concept to the publisher Nintendo. Honne is currently working on an unannounced title.

Honne is married. He enjoys traveling, and his hobbies include practicing judo (he is black belt) and playing plucked string instruments.