Final Fantasy VII Remastered is a unique beast. This is a video game that requires attention that is not common in other games in development. Its pioneering nature as an early 3D era, and its unique status means that any remake of it will be a difficult task.
Producer Yoshinori Kitase and co-director Naoki Hamaguchi are two of them. Kitase, of course, is allied with Final Fantasy 7-and is the producer of Final Fantasy 10 and 13, and the director of FF 6 and 8, he directed and co-authored the original FF7, and served as the producer of FF7. Derivatives throughout the 2000s constitute the "Compilation of Final Fantasy 7." Hamaguchi is an experienced veteran, but he is new to FF7 and has previously worked on FF12 and 13. Although Tetsuya Nomura is responsible for the development of the game, he has several co-directors fighting alongside him, with Hamaguchi handling combat and instant gameplay, and FF13's Motomu Toriyama co-directing the story.
After playing the new version of FF7 Remake for a few hours, we had the opportunity to sit down with them and talk about their method of making a sequel. We discussed the splitting of original game content into multiple full-size games for refurbishment, the act of ensuring an easily changing feel and style in a huge cyberpunk city, and the process of developing a combat system that respects at the same time and makes FF7's classic Combat modernization. This is our complete chat history.
VG247: I want to ask you about diversity first, because in Final Fantasy, people usually look forward to a magnificent journey that will take you to many different places. You can think of the original FF7, where the climate is cold, turf, deserts, cities and towns … but this game is obviously only played in a huge city. So how do you work to meet the expectations of fans to see all kinds of things in this environment?
Naoki Hamaguchi: I'm glad you took over, because we did everything we could. First of all, to provide you with the answer … you really don't think this is a closed place, or exactly the same and boring. I can assure you, because we do take the creation of such different sensory locations very seriously, even in the city of Midgar. You have all the different places in the city, just like the plate city is at the top, all the way to the slums, the tunnels … for example, the circular tunnel, the central tunnel-not so much in the original work, it is all around the central pillar.
We are truly committed to providing everyone with their own small community and their own culture. Again, maybe they are not 100% different and visually completely different, but they are indeed very different. Each of them has their own personality and culture, so you will indeed experience many different locations, and there will be many changes even within Midgar.
Like I said, each site is actually built according to the culture of the people there. You can also really know who lives there from the visual effects.
VG247: Can you talk about the process of determining the content of the game? You have what people expect in Final Fantasy games, right? So you might look at it and say … we wouldn't be able to launch this game without summoning the monster Ifrit. However, in the original game, you won't get any subpoenas until long after the part of the game story is involved. Everett, can you get him on a cargo ship? In any case, the point is … how do you decide what to bring into this game and what to leave for the future to make your future games easier?
Naoki Hamaguchi: First, the knowledge about the original game is very rich. (Laughs) But no, I can't tell you explicitly, for example, "We have decided to keep it for future use", and what we include in the game and what's not done-obviously this is something I cannot reach. But … according to our observation, the first task in deciding what to add is that it must be a complete indie game, a truly satisfying game experience. After you finish the game, you must think yes, it is a great game in itself. That's the filter we use to evaluate the content in the game.
So, in fact, the way we look at it is itself a satisfying gaming experience. If you thought about … well, the summons come from Midgar, so we can't include them, but can't we really have only one summon in this game? Fans want to see the call in this game! They do have to join the game, even if it appeared after Midgar of the original story, we think that if you want to make the game truly outstanding, you have to join the game. This is what we think. There, including things like Shiva and Ifrit you mentioned.
VG247: So I'm pretty sure that after Sephiroth appeared, when you walked the streets of Midgar, it was the music track of Advent Children. (We later verified this; the music track is a new arrangement of "The Promised Land" in the 2005 FF7 sequel, "Advent Children.") To my surprise. I realize (Tetsuya) Nomura-san has said before that the remake and FF7 project are different from the past, but I am curious how much compilation ideas you want to bring into the game. It's amazing to hear music from a compilation that never appeared in the original FF7.
Yoshimori Kise I ca n’t provide complete details, exact number of times, citation locations, or similar information, but what I want to tell you is all the knowledge of works created after the original game, Final Fantasy 7 has become a classic in the remake, and in the future It will be the same.
VG247: Playing as many games as I have today, it feels like the line from the FF13 trilogy to the true continuation of this game-of course, you both work on the FF13 trilogy. The obvious example is the return of the Stagger technician, but the same is true in other ways. Do you think there are some lessons learned from this project?
Naoki Hamaguchi: I mean, I did develop the FF13 combat system, so … again, maybe just my efforts might have an impact on it, but I didn't really mean it as a successor. At the time of development, I didn't think of the FF13 system, so of course I was not based on this system at all.
The idea of making a combat system for FF7 Remake actually started with … "How do we represent and how do we reimagine the core ATB combat system for the modern audience from the original game?" As a result, it became a bit more action-oriented, But in fact I don't want people to forget that the core of it is still the ATB system. It involves charging the ATB measuring tool and using it to harness the power in your or similar items. Indeed, the action is above it.
If you are proficient in using action mechanics to play, you can greatly improve the charging efficiency of ATB meters, and then you can also use it to make the enemy take more damage by staggering the enemy and similar things. But in essence, it is still an ATB system, so the relationship between the action mechanism and what we are trying to achieve by keeping the FF7 core in it.
I am very confident in the new combat system proposed here. I think the fact that the classic mode is completely achievable really shows how each part of the action element and the ATB element can play its own unique function in the entire combat system.
By turning on classic mode, you can automate all of these motion functions and then just select the command to focus on playing it in exactly the same way as the original function, so I think it does show all the functions well. The combat systems work together.
VG247: You have obviously talked about the four existing party members, but I would like to know if you can tell people what we expect from Red XIII. Obviously, he came late when he entered the game story. So, will he be as fulfilled as other actors? Or could he be a guest? Can you talk
Naoki Hamaguchi: You already have some very good points here! (Laughs) You're right. We think it ’s too late for Red XIII to join the party of the story, so we think it ’s okay. If we want to make him a full character and try to make the player appreciate the arc and growth of his character through this character, there is not enough time To do it.
Therefore, we think the best way to involve him is as a guest role. Normally, throughout the game, you will play as a party of three, but you will invite him as a guest character to fight alongside you in the final part of the story. He will use all his old nostalgic moves, as you will see. We think this is the best way to show off his role and who he is. Therefore, we believe that this is the best way to accept him.
