“Final fantasy” ŠVII has a universal quality, no matter the era or continent” – liberation

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

In the back room of a Parisian hotel battered by November rain, two generations of Japanese developers await us. In a blazer and striped shirt, producer Yoshinori Kitase, who is nearing sixty. Calm and collected when he was making his directorial debut on Final Fantasy VII in the late 90s, he became one of the legends of Square Enix, achieving one of the firm’s most dazzling successes. He was the one who handed the remake of the most anticipated video game to the forty-something standing next to him. In bright sneakers and a sweatshirt, Naoki Hamaguchi doesn’t seem troubled by the fate of the several hundred million dollar liner he’s in charge of. Very well received, the first part confirms both in their choice. While the young plead for tradition, others promote revolution.

Can you summarize Final Fantasy VII In a word, does this embody what was meant to be preserved from the original when approaching the remake?

Naoki Hamaguchi: For the teams, I described FFVII Like a bento box. What sets it apart is its variety of characters, minigames, quests, this number of levels and small stories that make it like a lunch basket made of different flavors. Originally when I was a college student