A post on the official Japanese Twitter/X account about the upcoming Dissidia Duellum Final Fantasy game received a response from none other than veteran developer Akitoshi Kawazu, who surprised users by revealing novel information about the inspiration behind the Final Fantasy II character.
Dissidia Duellum Final Fantasy is an upcoming free-to-play mobile game from Square Enix scheduled for release in 2026. Featuring cel-shaded graphics, Dissidia Duellum takes beloved Final Fantasy characters from throughout the history of the RPG series and transports them to modern-day Tokyo, where they battle monsters in 3v3 battles. Two teams Final Fantasy characters will race to blast their way through roaming monsters and defeat the boss faster than the opposing team. The game will also feature audio fragments of the story.
Not only will Dissidia Duellum let you put heroes like Cloud, Squall, and Lightning into your party, but there’s also a whole host of other characters that return, some in the form of special abilities. The official X account recently revealed that Minwu, a character from 1988’s Final Fantasy II, will be adding power to your team with his teleportation ability.
Min-woo is written in kanji as Wu Ming. The model is Wu Qi from the Warring States period. When it comes to Sun Wu’s military tactics, he is considered a military tactician on par with Mr. Sun.
— Akitoshi Kawazu (@SaGa30kawazu) October 19, 2025
Veteran creator Akitoshi Kawazu, the battle designer of Final Fantasy I and II as well as the lead creator of the SaGa series, responded to this post with some information about Minwu’s original inspiration. In his post, Kawazu revealed that Minwu was based on Wu Qi, a real-life military general and philosopher from China’s Warring States period. He explained that when Minwu’s name is written in kanji, it contains the same character for Wu as Wu Qi (translated as 呉 in Japanese and 吳 in customary Chinese). In the case of the Japanese release of Final Fantasy II, Minwu’s name was written phonetically in katakana (a script used to denote words borrowed from abroad), like the rest of the game’s characters, so the reference to Wu Qi was not obvious to players.
In Final Fantasy II, Minwu is a white wizard from Mysidia who temporarily joins your party. He serves the exiled Flynn royal family as an advisor when an attack by the Palemetic Empire forces them to flee. He plays a key role in organizing the rebel forces and the search for the Book of Ultima.
Another reason why Minwu’s inspiration is not immediately apparent is his physical appearance. With his turban and gloomy skin, he does not visually resemble Wu Qi. However, his strategic advisory role and his loyalty to the Flynn royal family and Princess Hilda bear some resemblance to Wu Qi’s appointment as head of state of Chu and his loyalty to King Dao. Unfortunately, both meetings end tragically.
Kawazu’s comment was met with many appreciative reactions from other users. “I’m extremely happy when I receive new information about FFII these days. Thank you,” one said commentator. Others wanted more information about the 37-year-old game: “I wonder if there are any behind-the-scenes revelations or inspirations for other Final Fantasy II characters?”
Dissidia Duellum is scheduled to launch on iOS and Android in 2026. People in Canada and the US can sign up for the program closed beta in November to take a look at the game.
Verity Townsend is a Japan-based freelance writer who was previously the editor, contributor and translator of the gaming news site Automaton West. She has also written about Japanese culture and films for various publications.
