A new Final Fantasy VII Remake mod gives party member Barret Wallace an updated aesthetic closer to the pre-development concept art by famous illustrator Yoshitaka Amano.
Though Amano’s paintings are known for bringing an air of ethereal elegance to the iconic RPG series, his remarkable artwork is rarely reflected in the final fantasy Play it yourself. That’s not to say the franchise doesn’t feature pretty visuals, but it hardly looks like Amano’s unique illustrations.
“I feel like I’m adding to the franchise that my approach is different than a game developer’s approach,” Amano said igamesnews during a look back at 2017 on the original Final Fantasy VII. “And I think that gives the art more scope — it’s not limited to something that would fit in a game.”
That’s probably why I’m so impressed with it Final Fantasy VII Remake Mod. Not only is it inspired by Amano’s largely unrealized concept art, but it also focuses on Barret sporting the sort of larger frame that doesn’t find much room in the artist’s portfolio given his focus on more abandoned character designs.
More specifically, while poring over Amano’s early work Final Fantasy VII Concepts, I could only find one showing Cloud’s armed allies, which of course made developing the mod a tricky exercise.
“[T]There isn’t much art here for reference, so I’ve kept all visible parts: ponytail, fur trim, earrings, and face piercings,” wrote mod creator Amiibolad in their Nexus Mods description. “The rest is my interpretation of Amano’s free forms and patterns, and of course: BEADS!”
Amibolad, the my box previously highlighted for her work on one ambitious breath of the wild Projectincluded a handful of variations with the Barret mod giving players different color palettes for the new outfit.
With this release, Amiibolad’s mod work now includes Amano-inspired outfits for everyone playable party Member in Final Fantasy VII Remake, all released within the last month. animated!