Remake Interviews: Catch-all Thread

[Makoeyes987]

To clarify, time travel was just a comparable example.

Even the act of time travel doesn't exist beyond the framework or manifestation of FFVII's fantasy/spirit energy setting. The nature of memories and spirit energy is that they are interconnected, even within the boundaries of time and space itself. Every life born into the world is connected, one to other. And if you trace the root of life and memory, you can reach it's source. Because memories are not isolated within individuals, and all lifeforms hold memory and intelligence beyond their experience. This is why in FFIX the world of Memoria is able to send the heroes all the way back to the beginning of creation and reach the Crystal of existence. The connection of all memories form a tunnel that reached all the way back through time itself.

Given how spirit energy, memories and Lifestream are one and the same, it gives a reasoning as to how entities known as the 'Arbiters of Fate' are able to seemingly travel back and manifest in the past. It's because the events are ultimately connected to their future and the planet.

As for Minerva, I thought it was apparent with the email description in CC that she gave off "an incredibly strong summon signal" and the Crisis Core Complete Guide interview, that she is in essence an uber-summon. She's not just any old summon from materia, she's a sort of manifestation conjured from the Lifestream itself. One thing that's been extremely consistent in FFVII, is that all it's concepts of Lifestream, Planet life and spirit energy have been in line with FFX and FFIX. These fantasy concepts have all overlapped and remained consistent with one another. Their only difference being the nature of how these fantasy concepts play out.

Even the nature of summons in FFVII-R match the relationship of Eidolons and Aeons to spirit energy. They're all manifestations of memories, thoughts and beliefs composed of spirit energy. So if anything, FFVII has remained quite true to it's lore foundations. They've just done it in their own unique way.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

I really don't see what's so strange or universe shattering regarding the information on Eligor... What's the big deal again?

What Toriyama is describing Eligor as, is essentially a malevolent psychopomp. A death omen. In folklore, there exists beings who, upon sensing upcoming great loss of life, come to witness it and serve as heralds of death. Psychopomps are beings drawn to death and mass losses of life, who then lead those souls to the next world, like in essence, the Grim Reaper. Or the Mothman. Or any other death omen creature. Time travel doesn't have to factor in with the sensing of impending death, it's something those connected with death and upcoming tragedy can sort of just "sense." Like a feeling in the air, or an observation of circumstances around the area.

Eligor is a "A ghastly fiend that haunts the train graveyard and feeds on human fear to grow stronger. It is a manifestation of the memories and sorrows that linger in the train graveyard." And I think it's a fair assumption that the mass loss of life and destruction that would result in the Sector 7 plate collapse would give it a feast that it would not want interrupted. It would easily sense the life-threatening terror, potential for more carnage and then wish for that to happen without interruption. Like a twisted Bodach Glas ensuring death comes for those it targets.

I think that's an incredibly cool detail of lore for it. I sorta got the feeling the ghosts and Eligor were somehow mocking/taunting Cloud and the others with the upcoming plate collapse, with the train radio suddenly being able to magically pick up the radio chatter of the Turks just when they confirm they are actually going to drop the plate.

And then right after, more ghosts and monsters attack, as if trying to obstruct your progress. Then of course Eligor himself stopping you at the exit. I didn't think it was that explicit but it certainly was a feeling that was conveyed by the events... That the malevolent ghosts and Eligor wanted the deaths to happen. So this confirmation is certainly pretty awesome and interesting.

I think people are finding it weird because a) the game doesn't really allude to that explanation, and b) what it does seem to allude to* already worked pretty well on its own.

*This being: Eligor is a nasty ghoul who feeds on fear and sorrow, and so children make for especially attractive prey for it to terrorize, then confine to the graveyard as ghosts. Eligor seemed to find Aerith's memories of her own childhood loneliness an attractive morsel, so it went after her as she was passing through. Meanwhile, the children who had previously been trapped there could sense Eligor's intent, and while they wanted Aerith to play with them, they also didn't want her to suffer the fate they had.

This, I think, is how most folks read this scenario.

 

[Makoeyes987]

I think people are finding it weird because a) the game doesn't really allude to that explanation, and b) what it does seem to allude to* already worked pretty well on its own.

*This being: Eligor is a nasty ghoul who feeds on fear and sorrow, and so children make for especially attractive prey for it to terrorize, then confine to the graveyard as ghosts. Eligor seemed to find Aerith's memories of her own childhood loneliness an attractive morsel, so it went after her as she was passing through. Meanwhile, the children who had previously been trapped there could sense Eligor's intent, and while they wanted Aerith to play with them, they also didn't want her to suffer the fate they had.

This, I think, is how most folks read this scenario.

Oh, I definitely read it that way too, I think I even said something similar about it before in another thread. The explanation Toriyama gives doesn't invalidate that interpretation at all, it simply adds to it. Not only does Eligor do all of that but it also explains why Cloud and the others were seemingly facing active resistance in trying to leave the Train Graveyard at all.

 

[cold_spirit]

Toriyama: Yes, Aerith created the mysterious art when she was a child and her abilities as an Ancient were beginning to manifest. Scenario writer Kazushige Nojima provides more information about the painting in FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE World Preview, coming this September. Not to give away too much, but the novella tells of the sadness that comes with being an Ancient, so be sure to pick up the book if you’re curious.

Happy to receive confirmation that the English FF7R World Preview book will include the novella on Aerith's childhood. The product pages I found all fail to mention it, which I feel is ridiculous because it's kind of a big selling point?

https://store.na.square-enix-games....inal-fantasy-vii-remake-world-preview-artbook
https://squareenixmangaandbooks.square-enix-games.com/en-us/product/9781646090846

Toriyama: Incidentally, during the project planning phase we commissioned this art with the idea that Aerith drew it with her birth mother, Ifalna, while she learned the history of the Ancients.

I remember somebody pointing out that the mixture of childish and detailed drawings could mean that Aerith and Ifalna drew the mural together. Shout out to this observant internet poster!

 

[cold_spirit]

Another interview.

The Architects of Midgar: how we rebuilt FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE’s City of Mako
https://square-enix-games.com/en_GB...idgar?utm_campaign=ff7rhwrm_photo__SQEXSOCIAL

Interesting that Square Enix's office building was used as a stand-in for the Shinra Building in order to get Midgar's proportions right.

Gotta say, it's great all the research they put into building Midgar, but I'm still peeved about Remake's skybox inconsistencies. I have a theory on why Sector 5 & 6 share a skybox despite the existence of a loading tunnel between them: lighting. I think they wanted Aerith's house specifically to be in direct sunlight. We can see in the TGS 2019 trailer that the Sector 5 slums once had a skybox that properly featured the Sector 5 plate overhead. However, maybe the lighting they had rendered on Aerith's house/garden didn't mesh well with it? The sunlight didn't have a proper source. So maybe they reused Sector 6's skybox with the incomplete plate overhead to act as a natural source for the sunlight.

I don't know, it just bothers me. I really hope it gets corrected in FF7R's inevitable multi-platform/next-gen release.

 

[FFShinra]

Yeah thats the conclusion I came away with as well. I'd rather it was such that her house was at the edge of the plate so it got the light from in between (or from neighboring Sector 6), but....

And given what they show in the ending skybox-wise, it just adds to confusion.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Pretty great interview with Britt Baron:

https://comicbook.com/gaming/amp/news/final-fantasy-7-remake-britt-baron-tifa-lockhart-interview/

 

[Torrie]

A new interview with Cody Christian for Comicbook:

Cody Christian Talks Putting His Own Spin on an Iconic Character

 

[cold_spirit]

From the interview with Cody Christian:

"In preparing for the audition, the first piece of reference material I used was the depiction of Cloud in Advent Children," Christian said.

Interesting to me that Advent Children is again described as a reference point. I also remember reading that the developers used AC as a visual benchmark for Remake. Guess it's not that surprising, though I do feel AC stands out among the other Compilation titles.

Maybe this has been pointed out before, but the full title for AC is always written as Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, where Advent Children is the subtitle. The other Compilation titles are written like Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, and Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, so Final Fantasy VII becomes the subtitle. That's always signaled to me that AC is the honest-to-goodness next FF7 experience, the flagship title of the Compilation, whereas the others are spin-offs. And that's without mentioning that AC also has the most returning core developers from the OG.

Guess all I'm trying to say is that if I had to describe Remake, I'd say it's what you get if you mashed the OG and AC together, then lightly sprinkled the other Compilation titles on top.

 

[Shademp]

Guess all I'm trying to say is that if I had to describe Remake, I'd say it's what you get if you mashed the OG and AC together, then lightly sprinkled the other Compilation titles on top.

That's a great, fitting description.

 

[rkss]

I like that he admitted he's never played OG and just youtubed it
Cody is new to the industry, he wants to have his own experience instead of trying to fake it and ride the hype.

 

[FFShinra]

He's done a wonderful job, and respects the character. It's all I ask and its what I got. He's young enough not to have played the game and thats okay.

 

[Theozilla]

I mean I doubt Steve Burton played the original game either, at least at the time of when he got cast for Advent Children. Actors not playing the media they voice in is relatively common.

 

[looneymoon]

Before we left we had to ask Christian to design his own Limit Break, and he already had the idea locked and loaded. "Hahaha! Crazy how I’ve already thought of this," Christian said. "My Limit Break would be called 'Now You See Me' and would involve Cloud dealing quick devastating blows in rapid succession, so fast it appears like he’s teleporting until he suddenly disappears. After a brief moment, he comes flying out of the sky for a final downward attack."

this is the most impressive part of the interview for me because this idea is pretty sick ngl

 

[leowhy77]

Doesn’t the description feels a lot like the omnislash?

 

[looneymoon]

no because hide n seek gimmick

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Sounds kind of like Omnislash Ver. 5/6 from AC/C.

 

[looneymoon]

Cody Christian is fucking on it with the omnislash meta

which tbh I'm surprised doesn't have a thread of its own if it doesn't

 

[leowhy77]

Cody Christian is fucking on it with the omnislash meta

which tbh I'm surprised doesn't have a thread of its own if it doesn't

Is there a thread here that focus more on the combat moves and abilities (specifically FF7R)? Maybe I missed it...

 

[cold_spirit]

Pretty great interview with Britt Baron:

https://comicbook.com/gaming/amp/news/final-fantasy-7-remake-britt-baron-tifa-lockhart-interview/

Super late, but I keep thinking about this part of Britt Baron's interview:

Now I have to ask, were you aware of the love triangle stuff before you took the part?

Oh, no. No, no, no. Not at all actually. I don't even think I was really aware of it till recently just through social media? But when we were recording it, I just started getting a little confused about what the relationship is. And so, I asked and... I mean, I think it makes me a little sad that we live in a society where women just always are... It seems to be pinned against each other. And I think what I was really excited about when I talked to the creative team is that that's really not... I mean, for me and from my perspective, Tifa and Aerith are on the same side. They are friends, they are both fighters. Neither of them are damsel in distresses. And I love that. They're both really strong women that work together to fight the same cause.

My reaction upon reading "I mean, I think it makes me a little sad that we live in a society where women just always are... It seems to be pinned against each other":



Despite being a huge Aerith fan, I don't participate at all in the LTD. I've never really considered why this is, but Britt Baron has helped me articulate my thoughts on it. I feel like it does all characters a disservice. I love that Remake sheds light on the isolation Aerith felt as a child, her role in the Sector 5 slums community, and Tifa's internal struggle with Avalanche's methods. But these developments are waaay overshadowed by the LTD. Remake itself doesn't help the situation and at one point literally forces the player to choose between one or the other lol. Sad because I doubt future parts are going to lessen the LTD, which means Britt Baron may be in the unfortunate position of having to voice act scenes that fuel what she feels strongly against.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Interview with Erica Lindbeck, the voice of Jessie:

https://kotaku.com/how-erica-lindbeck-voice-of-final-fantasy-vii-remakes-1845002570/amp

 

[Tetsujin]

Interview with the localization team, part 1

 

[Prism]

When you put into context just how much work localization takes in a game like Remake, it's amazing to hear from some of the people responsible. This is especially true when considering that the success of the original FFVII had a lot of impact in how localization was handled in the industry. (If I remember, the localization team used the game's global impact to convince Square Enix into expanding localization resources tremendously)

Things I didn't even realize matter tremendously - simultaneously having a line sound natural, having stresses line up with the characters' body language, all while fitting it into the structure of the original Japanese cutscenes...really impressive stuff. Huge props to the voice actors for being able to adjust to that. It makes me respect them even more.

 

[Eerie]

Yeah, mad props to the FR team, I never had the impression that the characters were not speaking french - especially telling since there's no lip-syncing for French! I guess they are used to it though since everything is dubbed here.

 

[KindOfBlue]

I usually prefer Japanese over English because of the dialogue tends to sound pretty unnatural when translated, but I was genuinely surprised by how well the dubbing was handled. I thought the voice actors really sold their lines and I think taking some liberty with the translation really helped make the dialogue feel more authentic. Couldn’t help but notice a few who were displeased with some of the more romantic lines apparently being downplayed, and I’m still relatively new to this fanbase so I didn’t realize how much the translations play into the usual shipping arguments. Either way, I thought the characterization was conveyed really well especially in how the characters interacted with one another. I just can’t get enough of these cute little knuckleheads.