Remake Interviews: Catch-all Thread

[Roundhouse]

https://www.gameinformer.com/afterw...ors-answer-our-questions-about-summons-combat

'The final chapter implies [cut this bit due to potential spoiler] Without spoiling too much about the ending, is that an accurate interpretation of those events?

Kitase: My providing any sort of answer here will take away the fun from what is going to come, so I will have to refrain from saying anything.

Right now, fans around the world are thinking about various theories. That is exactly what I was hoping people would do. I would encourage everyone to stretch their imagination as you wait, until we are able to bring you the next installment.'

 

[Wol]

https://www.gameinformer.com/afterw...ors-answer-our-questions-about-summons-combat

'The final chapter implies [cut this bit due to potential spoiler] Without spoiling too much about the ending, is that an accurate interpretation of those events?

Kitase: My providing any sort of answer here will take away the fun from what is going to come, so I will have to refrain from saying anything.

Right now, fans around the world are thinking about various theories. That is exactly what I was hoping people would do. I would encourage everyone to stretch their imagination as you wait, until we are able to bring you the next installment.'

So I'll keep having nightmares about

Spoiler: (speculative ending spoilers)

alternate dimensions and scarydogs

until the next installment huh?

 

[Roundhouse]

And then the real nightmare begins when you see what is in the game.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

This was posted in the LTD section, and I figured it could do with posting here as well:

http://www.pushsquare.com/news/2020...opment_launch_and_being_grateful_for_the_fans

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Reposting from another thread:

I found this interview in Japanese. DeepL has helped me through though! It's long and interesting.

Whoever bet on Zack and Cloud was right lol. At least for the music!

――テーマソングはどの様な内容で発注されたのですか？

北瀬　ディレクターの野村哲也が主題歌のイメージを持っていました。ミッドガルを脱出してエンディングを迎える事は決まっていて、ミッドガルの端の荒野に立った時に雨が降って来て、その時クラウドがどういう心情なのか、とだけをお伝えして野島さんと植松さんにそれぞれ作詞と作曲をお願いしました。3人ですよね。同時に。

DeepL translation:

--What was the content of the theme song you ordered?

Kitase Tetsuya Nomura, the director, had an image of the theme song. It was decided that the ending would come after we had escaped from Midgall, and when we stood in the wilderness at the edge of Midgall, the rain came, and I asked Nojima-san and Uematsu-san to write the lyrics and compose the music, respectively. At the same time.

――北瀬さんにお伺いしたいのですが、レコーディングの段階では既にエンディングの映像は出来上がっていて、そこに音を乗せる形で収録していたのですか？

北瀬　映像はまだ出来ていなかったですね。すごく粗い状態の物はあったかもしれないですけども、まだカチッとした最終イメージは出来ていませんでした。

エンディングのスタッフロールで流したい、と言う事は決まっていたんですけど、主題歌が入るタイミングってすごく気を遣う所なんですよね。その入るタイミングまでは決まっていませんでした。曲が完成して、映像も完成して、野村哲也が最終編集する時に曲が入るタイミングも決まるし、日本語歌詞を字幕で載せようって言うのも決まりましたね。

--I'd like to ask you, Kitase, did you already have the ending in place at the recording stage, and did you just add the sound to it?

Kitase The video hadn't been made yet. Some of them may have been in a very rough state, but I didn't have a solid final image of them yet.

We had already decided that we wanted to play it in the ending staff roll, but we had to be very careful about the timing of the theme song. It wasn't until the timing of its entry that it was decided. The song was completed, the video was completed, and when Tetsuya Nomura made the final edits, the timing of the song's entry was also decided, and it was decided to put Japanese lyrics with subtitles.

There's also a lot of technical explanations really cool from Uematsu that make me like this song more (which is good because for some reason it's stuck in my head right now ).

Yeah, I agree with you. The lyrics aren't suppose to be taken 100% literally. The sountrack came out and they literally spell out what Hollow is about

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1265501339590811653

 

[Chaoticgumbo]

So the song “Hollow” seems to reference Cloud and Zack. Makes sense. It was the song played up right at the end during “that” cutscene.

 

[Makoeyes987]

That's a pretty deep clarification of the song's meaning and offers a... Very different perspective of the paradoxical ending of the Remake there.

"A window into Cloud's mind."

"The storm clears to reveal a boundless horizon where a new journey awaits."

"The struggle of a man trying to escape a destiny he ultimately cannot - a man standing outside himself, ultimately looking in."

Yeeeeah... That's a pretty interesting context to place the song and it's ending.

 

[Kain424]

I love it.

 

[Claymore]

“Capturing new players is key. I will refrain from going into the details, but we have plans for initiatives to capture players throughout the year, so please keep an eye on our progress. I also note that we will not engage in any marketing strategy that relies solely on pricing.”

- Square Enix CEO Yusuke Matsuda

https://twistedvoxel.com/square-enix-pleased-final-fantasy-vii-remake-sales/

 

[Lulcielid]

How Square Enix created the Summons in Final Fantasy VII Remake. (Feat. Naoki Hamaguchi)

At one point they wanted to inclue Ramuh but dropped in favor of Leviathan & Bahamut. Hamaguchi says Ramuh "will definetely be in the running" next time the team makes a desicion on what summon to use.

 

[cold_spirit]

How Square Enix created the Summons in Final Fantasy VII Remake. (Feat. Naoki Hamaguchi)

At one point they wanted to inclue Ramuh but dropped in favor of Leviathan & Bahamut. Hamaguchi says Ramuh "will definetely be in the running" next time the team makes a desicion on what summon to use.

Furthermore, Hamaguchi goes on to explain why Leviathan was chosen over Ramuh:

"Unfortunately, we had to give up on the idea for two reasons. Firstly, we thought there would be fans who would like to use Leviathan in Mako Reactor 1 like you could in the demo for the original game."

What an incredibly obscure justification to include Leviathan. I love it. Yet another reminder how thoroughly the developers contemplated every aspect of the OG.

 

[Erotic Materia]

we thought there would be fans who would like to use Leviathan in Mako Reactor 1 like you could in the demo for the original game.

Wait, you could summon Leviathan in the demo for the OG?

 

[Jairus]

https://www.usgamer.net/articles/er...rry-voice-in-final-fantasy-7-remake-interview

 

[Yumelinh]

How Square Enix leveraged Unreal Engine to modernize FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE

 

[Cannon_Fodder]

I don't understand half of what Hamaguchi is talking about there, but it was still pretty interesting!

 

[X-SOLDIER]

Did the development team have any favorite Unreal Engine tools or features?

Hamaguchi: This isn’t a tool or feature per se, but incorporating Unreal Engine enabled us to experience points that differed from what we’ve done thus far.

When developing AAA FINAL FANTASY titles, it had been the norm to use development engines produced internally, so it was necessary for us to keep in mind the learning period whenever new staff members joined the team. However, using Unreal Engine, which generally can be utilized by many people all over, meant that there were many staff members who already had experience working with it. This led to shorter learning periods, which was a huge plus for development efficiency.

Has the team seen the Unreal Engine 5 demo? What excited your team most about next-gen?

Hamaguchi: Yes, of course, we have seen it. The graphical quality was something we hadn’t been able to achieve on current-generation consumer consoles, and when I saw it, I could feel the new sparks of creativity being stirred within me as a creator. It was a feeling that filled me with excitement and anticipation.

Additionally, we had the opportunity to work closely and develop relationships with Mr. Takayuki Kawasaki from Epic Japan and many of the other Epic staff members, which was also a very valuable experience for our development team. I believe that moving forward, powerful gaming engines like Unreal Engine 5 will continue to shine at the center of game development.

Both of those things are excellent to hear, and that last one in particular makes me think that Hamaguchi's who we'll be hearing some more things from around PS5 and UE5 in the future.



X

 

[Wol]

https://www.theguardian.com/games/2...n-updating-one-of-the-worlds-most-loved-games

 

[Jairus]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/h...r&utm_medium=social&__twitter_impression=true

Jessie has become a fan favorite. Did you know that players would connect so strongly with a character who was such a minor presence in the original game?

Kitase: I did imagine this would happen to a certain extent. After the original game released, she was also a favorite character of ours, so it was director Nomura’s desire from the early stages to want to depict [the three Avalanche members: Jessie, Biggs and Wedge] in depth. As a result of Mr. Nojima’s distinctive dialogue, the voice cast's performance, and the cutscene team’s wonderful direction, we were able to successfully depict her as a captivating character.

Hamaguchi: For those who felt disappointed about Red XIII not being playable in this installment, it would make me happy if you look forward to the next game.

 

[Yumelinh]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1282298916394930185

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1282298916394930185

IGN: Why was the decision made to replace the English voice cast?

Kitase:

The original game obviously never had a voice cast. We began using actors for the characters starting with the second work in the compilation, the sequel movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. For the film, the characters were already older than in the original game and 15 years have passed since then, we’ve continued to work with the same voice actors over numerous projects. However, since this title is set in an era that precedes Advent Children, with a younger cast, we wanted to discover a new generation of voice actors that would be suitable for expressing younger versions of the characters. While expressing our utmost respect to the Advent Children cast, I look forward to the future success of the new cast.

Doesn't really seem to hold up as an explanation since they kept the Japanese voice cast. =/

But at least the question has finally gotten an acknowledgement.

IGN: Cloud in the remake seems like a much deeper character and his arc is more motivated and interesting here than in the original. How did the team decide where and how to add new dimensions and layers to these characters? Were there characters that were harder to re-write than others?

Kazushige Nojima, Scenario Writer, Final Fantasy VII Remake:

...

Aerith was a challenging character. I get the impression that she’s highly revered based on her story in the original, so I wanted to convey a more down-to-earth side of her in this game that I don’t feel was shown before.

This was achieved in spectacular fashion. They really, really made me love her in FFVIIR.

 

[Odysseus]

I get the feeling the real reason they were recast was union contract disputes or something, that's why other game characters tend to get recast. Can't just say that in an interview though.

 

[Stiggie]

Doesn't really seem to hold up as an explanation since they kept the Japanese voice cast. =/

But at least the question has finally gotten an acknowledgement.



This was achieved in spectacular fashion. They really, really made me love her in FFVIIR.

I kinda disagree, I thought she was down to earth in the original, but in the remake I never got rid of the notion that she was the savior, knowing everything, doling out information as required, making magical portals and talking in cryptic language. I never felt like she was just a girl, so I kind of feel like they failed in that regard, she did feel like that in CC.

 

[Jairus]

IGN: The world fell in love with Jessie, were you expecting her to be such a breakout character with fans?

Hamaguchi:

This isn’t specific to Jessie, but by shining a spotlight on the Avalanche members that have been beloved by fans since the original game, we were conscious about adding depth to the story by depicting aspects that were not illustrated in the source material. Particularly, the fight that unfolds in the Sector 7 Slums from Chapter 12 is one of the peaks in the Avalanche story; it showcases the Avalanche members’ determination and adds more tension to the story.

Actually, many development staff had a good impression of Jessie from the time we were developing the game, and we are extremely happy to see her popularity skyrocket far more than we had expected.

Nice to hear that, and it'll be interesting to see if and how they plan to capitalize on her newfound popularity, especially if she returns - which I think things like this make more and more likely.

 

[FFShinra]

I always thought the reason the Japanese cast wasn't redone is because they hold on to their jobs for life short of some scandal that forces a recast. The English cast was just easier to change for their vision.

 

[Yumelinh]

More info from this Famitsu interview that will be out today:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1285451366526152704

@Jairus you'll like to see it

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1285448312913453061

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1285465058160504833

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1285532974226608130