One Piece

Eiichiro Oda almost missed a One Piece deadline because of Final Fantasy

The Arlong Park arc was nearly derailed by a Square classic in 1999.

Update: Jan 20th, 2026 15:30 CET

In the world of Japanese entertainment, few names carry as much weight as One Piece and Final Fantasy. Both franchises have defined their respective mediums for decades, influencing millions of fans globally. However, back in 1999, these two titans almost collided in a way that could have changed manga history. As it turns out, creator Eiichiro Oda, once found himself so addicted to a Final Fantasy title that it nearly cost him a crucial deadline during the height of the iconic Arlong Park arc.

The story surfaced through a classic author comment in Weekly Shonen Jump. At the time, Oda admitted that a certain game was preventing him from working in peace. While he didn’t explicitly name the title in his initial comment, the timing points directly to Final Fantasy VIII, which had launched in Japan in February 1999 to massive fanfare.

In 1999, Oda joked about almost missing an Arlong Park deadline due to wanting to binge a Final Fantasy game, presumably Final Fantasy VIII which had just released #OnePiece pic.twitter.com/u8COh6wyC2
— Artur - Library of Ohara (@newworldartur) January 19, 2026

A Brilliant Strategy for a Desperate Gamer

Confronted with the risk of falling behind on his work, Oda didn’t choose to put the controller away. Instead, he devised what he called a “brilliant plan” to solve the problem: he decided to play the game non-stop until he reached the credits. By finishing the game as quickly as possible, he hoped to remove the distraction entirely so he could focus back on the emotional climax of Nami’s story in Arlong Park.

Final Fantasy VIII was a cultural phenomenon, racking up over 2.5 million sales in just its first four days. Like many of us at the time, Oda was caught in the “just one more hour” trap while trying to navigate the story of Squall Leonhart and Rinoa Heartilly.