
Volume 686 of Dengeki Playstation features an interview regarding Final Fantasy VII Remake with producer Kitase Yoshinori regarding development of the game.

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The interview begins with Kitase being asked how he feels now that Final Fantasy VII Remake is being released, and he says that he is excited at how they can finally bring the game to the fans.

When asked what lead to the development of an FFVII remake, Kitase says that up till now, if young gamers wanted to experience the origin story of Cloud and other FFVII characters, they would have to play the original FFVII with its Playstation age graphics. He says that by remaking the origin story with the latest modern technology, young gamers and old ones can enjoy FFVII with the greatest gaming experience.

Kitase is next asked how the staff on the original FFVII were involved with Remake. He says that Nomura and him decided on the overall direction the game would go in, such as with the game design and scenario. With the scenario, the two of them and Nojima (Kazushige) constantly made adjustments from the conception of the project up to the present. He says that this is similar to how they worked on FFVII 23 years ago.

Additionally, Uematsu (Nobuo) worked on VII Remake’s theme song, and because having this song with lyrics was an element not in the original, Kitase requested that Uematsu focus on it, and he did.

When asked what parts of the story he would call highlights, Kitase says that for new players, all of the game is highlights. For older fans, he says to look out for differences with the original, especially the episode with the Avalanche members.

The interviewer points out that there are parts of the original game that would be hard to replicate entirely in the present day, such as the Honeybee Inn, and asks what such difficulties they had with VII Remake. Kitase says that the Honeybee Inn gave them trouble, and they had to redo it several times in development. In the end they kept the “adult” feel from the original while turning it into a more refined form of entertainment.

Next, the interviewer says that many Japanese fans have an aversion to action games, and asks if they have any plans for people who feel uneasy about the game’s battle system. Kitase says that he believes that the players will grow as they play the game, and that as such they should enjoy the game fully on the default settings. For people who are still uncomfortable, however, he recommends classic mode, which allows players to enjoy ATB-centric battles like the original’s.

Kitase is asked if there were any specific system or balance-related elements where he gave direct orders, and he says that he did not, having left everything to the development team, who are of a generation closer to contemporary gamers.

The interviewer mentions the lack of save points and asks for confirmation that the player can save anywhere, and Kitase says that they can, and expresses how he is slightly disappointed that the original game’s “mysterious object” save point is not in VII Remake.

Finally, Kitase is asked if experiencing working on the original and the remake have led to him feeling anything in particular, and to this, Kitase says that while being the producer on VII Remake meant that he did not touch the content creation directly, he did participate as temporary help as a game designer, directly planning some parts such as Mako Reactor no. 5 and the higher floors of the Shinra building.

Kitase says that while progress in graphics and game design has resulted in development environments and workflows getting more complicated and having to think about more things, he felt that his core as a game designer, such as his power to come up with presentation and ideas has not changed.

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Final Fantasy VII Remake was released on the Playstation 4 worldwide on 10th April 2020













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