Story-driven role-playing game (RPG) Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is receiving plenty of positive critical attention thanks to its impressive depth and scope. However, it appears that the development process behind the hit title was a particularly intimidating one, at least according to a new interview with key developers.
Speaking on the Square Enix websitecombat director Teruki Endo spoke candidly about the intimidating prospect of developing for Rebirth. “I honestly wasn’t sure we could get everything done in time,” Endo began.
“From the vast array of character abilities, to the summons and the systems you can fight alongside them, to the rich variety of enemy types that keep the game feeling fresh (…) to the boss battles we’ve created to have their own signature feeling (…) each of these elements (featured) its own rich variety of gameplay and visual elements.”
Echoing these sentiments, environmental director Takako Miyake also spoke out. “The development of this title was very tough, but even during development, the staff unanimously agreed that the experience was worth the effort we put into it.”
Miyake continued: “We worked hard to ensure that each field environment would offer something new and surprising to both players of the original. Final fantasy 7 And (Final Fantasy 7) Remake and for new players, and that they would give players the same sense of adventure as the gameplay and character encounters.”
Animation director Yoshiyuki Soma was keen to emphasize the hard work that went into it Rebirth, at. “Every member (of the team) has poured their heart and soul into the animations so that the unique charms of each character are fully expressed.”
But like his colleagues, Soma also found the busy development process full of hard work and trials: “From the development side, time flew by so quickly that I barely have any memory outside of working on the game, especially for the year and a half during the second half of development.”
In our review we gave Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth four and a half stars, praising the slick combat and exceptional storytelling.
Looking for more titles like Rebirth? Check out our lists of the best RPGs and the best story games.