“Final Fantasy VII has a universal quality, whatever the era or continent” – Libération

2024-02-25 11:11:17

Interview

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What to keep from the original, what to completely reinvent? Naoki Hamaguchi and Yoshinori Kitase, the directors of the two versions of the game, the historical and the new, discuss for “Libé” their respective approaches and the choices that had to be made.

In the back room of a Parisian hotel battered by the November rain, two generations of Japanese developers await us. In a blazer and striped shirt, producer Yoshinori Kitase, who is approaching sixty. Calm and collected, he became one of the legends of Square Enix by achieving one of the firm’s most resounding successes at the end of the 90s, when he took his first solo steps as director on Final Fantasy VII. It was he who entrusted one of the most anticipated video game remakes to the talkative forty-something who stood at his side. In sneakers and a bright sweatshirt, Naoki Hamaguchi does not seem distressed by the fate of the several hundred million dollar liner he is in charge of. Very well received, the first part confirms the duo in their choices. When the young person pleads for tradition, the other encourages revolution.

Can you summarize Final Fantasy VII in one word, an image embodying what should be kept from the original when approaching this remake?

Naoki Hamaguchi: To the teams, I described FFVII as a bento box. What sets it apart is its variety of characters, minigames, quests, this multitude of layers and little stories that make it look like a packed lunch made up of different flavors. I was a schoolboy when the orig

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