Home Gaming

Final Fantasy VII Director Tetsuya Nomura Was Surprised To Learn He’s In Charge Of Remake

It's fair to say that the vast majority of the gaming community were surprised to learn that finally - finally - Square Enix would revisit its treasured Final Fantasy VII and release a bona fide remake. In truth, it was an announcement long in the making, but it was also one that surprised the game's director and long-time Square developer, Tetsuya Nomura.

ff-7-7

Recommended Videos

It’s fair to say that the vast majority of the gaming community were surprised to learn that finally – finally – Square Enix would revisit its treasured Final Fantasy VII and release a bona fide remake. In truth, it was an announcement long in the making, but it was also one that surprised the game’s director and long-time Square developer, Tetsuya Nomura.

Speaking in an interview with Famitsu – translated by Kotaku – the esteemed creator revealed that he wasn’t aware of the extent of his own involvement until an internal demonstration. Up until that point, Nomura, who is also overseeing the long-awaited Kingdom Hearts III, had assumed that Yoshinori Kitase – Game Director on the original 1997 classic – would take point on the remake.

“Mr. Hashimoto was involved with the advertising and marketing of the original, so like [Mr. Kitase and myself], VII has a strong place in his heart,” Nomura explained. “As preproduction went along and I offered my opinions on what I thought should be done, Mr. [Yoshinori Kitase, director of the original] would ask me how the individual elements should be adjusted in fine detail. It was very perplexing.”

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past week or so, the CG reveal trailer showcased a completely revamped version of Midgar replete with a foreboding voiceover. The money shot, however, was when the camera pans down to reveal Barret and Cloud trudging through the slums, with the narrator indicating that a “promise has been made.”

While the excitement coming out of the reveal was fever-pitch, it’s unclear just how far along in development the Final Fantasy VII Remake really is. During Sony’s conference, there was nary a mention of a release date, and when you couple this with Nomura’s surprise to learn he was directing the project, it’s safe to say that the high-res version of Midgar isn’t likely to make its debut on PlayStation 4 until 2017.