#M. Nojima

[frogshunnedshadows]

Full-page ad for SF3D / MaK models by Nitto.

[silver-wield]

Wait, wasn't Nomura in charge of Versus at the beginning, and then Tabata took over with a new development team? for the transition versus to XV? so it was nojima story....well then it was for the best that the M version went to xvi it suits better in that space, like it makes sense. I really liked Noctis, though, but the supporting characters needed more depth, and the story too (I hated the end).

I think so. Nojima definitely wrote the original outline for the story before Tabata changed it.

Since the fixed it ending is only in a JP side story I only know what's in the game itself, even with all the dlcs, but yeah I hated the ending. Nobody would be satisfied seeing a barren world after Noctis sacrifices himself. What did they even save?

[arafolet]

De vuelta al Idol Hell...

Siempre me ha gustado mucho la música, y por esa época dónde comenzaban a resaltar los animes de Idols me enganché bastante a un par de franquicias: Tsukiuta, Shounen Hollywood, ARP backstage pass, Ensemble Stars, B-Project, Idolmaster Side-M, Marginal#4. Donde solo las primeras 4 marcaron realmente un hito en mi vida. Aunque si hablamos de Anime serían solamente las 3 primeras, ya que el anime de Ensemble Stars no lo vi... ¡Me niego a aceptar a Maeno como Hokuto! Nada contra Maeno, amo su trabajo, pero Hosoya era perfecto como Hokuto, por él tomé interés en la franquicia (y con él se fue) ywy </3

Of horse(?) franquicias con grupos masculinos, porque los de niñas no me llaman la atención.

De uta-pri, vi algo pero nunca fui fan, era spam frecuente en mi inicio porque a una amiga le fascinan(hasta el día de hoy). Idolish...¿qué? De las canciones que escuché ninguna me gustó, y por mucho que ame a Kensho el prota se me hace insoportable... Dream Festival es puro cringe xDDD

Non, non, non~

.

Menciones honoríficas a Starmyu y A3, que si bien se centran mucho en la música, la historia está enfocada a obras "musicales", ya que en ambos casos los personajes son actores. El único problema con Starmyu es que te saltan con números musicales de la nada, bueno, con el tiempo uno se acostumbra... creo.

.

Mención necesaria a ShowByRock!! (SB69), que no es de idols sino de bandas. Gracias por darme a ShinganCrimsonz, Dokonjofinger, Arcareafact y Yokasehoryson

Sí, SON FURROS y LOS AMO <3 (te-he~ xDDD)

De no ser por este grupo de idiotas no sobrevivo a la banda protagonista. Aunque Plasmagica es MUCHO más pasable que Mashumairesh... (como las odio...)

Además~ Rom cumple años el mismo día que yo ywy <3

.

Sí, solo quería divagar un poco con eso, porque explicar en detalle cada una tomaría al menos dos o tres días..

.

Pero volviendo al tema principal. Sí, este era el tema xDD

Comenzaron a aparecer en yt recomendaciones sobre esta serie, y lo primero que pensé fue: "Wow, amo el diseño de personajes~" y con ese impulso me dispuse a ver el trailer.

4 segundos me robaron la libertad xDD

4 segundos de un diálogo de Nojima fueron suficientes para venderle mi alma a esta historia...

De momento el anime tiene 2 capítulos y, honestamente... las canciones y los bailes de los modelos no terminan de gustarme, PERO NOJIMA OTL

Ok, ahora siendo serios. Si bien el "fuerte" principal de la serie(las canciones y los bailes) no me llama, la historia tiene cierto encanto. Es que... el mundo siendo devastado por el calentamiento global y una potencial revolución de los robots en contra de lo que queda de la raza humana es... yo lo veo completamente posible .w.

Pero a eso debemos sumarle que en lugar de buscar una solución al problema es MUCHO más esencial mantener entretenida a la población humana restante x'DDD También lo veo posible...

Me ha gustado mucho que el personaje por el que le vendí mi alma a esta franquicia tenga esa aura misteriosa, solo falta que al final sea el villano de todas formas y lo siga amando igualmente equis de (?)

Soy tan débil a Nojima ;////; <3 <3 <3

Además de Nojima, sí, la historia está bastante decente, aunque algunos personajes caen en trasfondos super predecibles...

.

(acabo de notar que nunca publiqué esto, pero aprovecho para agregar el otro anime que me llamó la atención)

Ayer comencé a ver UniteUp!, que es netamente una serie de idols, su enfoque es completamente dirigido a ello. Del cómo surgen, sus motivaciones, metas, preocupaciones, etc...

El protagonista, Akira, es un chico promedio, que en primera instancia no tiene mayor interés en el mundo de los idols, pero le gusta cantar. Como un chico cualquiera aspiraba a ser jugador de beisbol en el futuro, pero la trama dijo otra cosa.

Allí es donde entra Kacchan (sí, Kacchan...) su amigo de la infancia, quien al verlo deprimido por no poder perseguir su sueño, lo graba cantando cuando van al karaoke y luego sube videos a internet sin que Akira lo sepa. El mejor amigo del mundo, oh sí...

Kacchan es contactado por una agencia para firmar un contrato como uno de sus futuros talentos~ Sí, Akira se entera en ese momento.

Me gusta mucho la relación que tienen estos dos, es todo lo que debería ser la amistad en realidad. Aunque Kacchan hizo mal en ocultar sus acciones, que nunca fueron para aprovecharse del talento del otro, cuando le explica a Akira este comprende sus razones e incluso se conmueve por ello. Que si bien, el mundo de los idols no era algo que Akira deseara conocer le abre un camino de posibilidades que poco a poco comienzan a parecerle atractivas.

Luego están sus compañeros. Que adoro con todo mi ser (aunque solo he visto hasta el capítulo 2 xD)

Banri, el rubio, es el excéntrico con... trastornos raros de autoestima, pero es bastante adorable y muy honesto cuando habla. Un pequeño rayo de sol~

Chihiro me sorprendió mucho, al principio parece ser el típico chico estoico que prefiere hacer las cosas por su cuenta y no pretende congeniar con otros más de lo necesario, pero resulta que es un chico muy sensato y comprensivo. Aunque sus problemas familiares se notan a leguas... Estoy esperando su historia, donde posiblemente nos hable de un hermano mayor extremadamente exitoso que hace de su existencia un simple grano de polvo en el universo. No importa, yo lo amo <3

[xiuhunsoo]

songs i had stuck in my head within the last week on rotation or just once for a few hours:

can't help falling in love by elvis presley

ifuudoudou by nojima kenji (genshin voice actor)

sway by michael bublé (or actually also the version by saweetie and galraxa)

jolie libellule by mickael miro

odo by ado

nalina by block b

i was made for lovin' you by kiss

rasputin by boney m

jury's still out on what the next one is gonna be and if it will describe my music taste further

[polhtones]

Jenga dares

Jenga dares series#

Jenga dares free#

Yes, all the punishments are that intense, we only bring it out on "special occasions". One of my favorite dares is "friend the first 10 people on Facebook suggested friends" or suffer the consequences of 2 shots. Set up Jenga blocks: After all your Jenga pieces have a different rule on them, set your blocks up just like regular Jenga. The first one I made was a raunchy gift for a girlfriend with handwritten dares. Drunk Jenga Drinking Game Setup: Write rules on the Jenga blocks: Drunk Jenga is mostly like regular Jenga but with a twist To start, take your Jenga pieces and write a different rule, dare, game etc. This isn't my first handmade Jenga game, I must admit. It only cost me a total of $60 because I owned some of the supplies already, which is almost half the cost of the Sunnylife version! This project took me an hour and I will treasure it for a lifetime. However, I quickly snapped out of it and started cooking up my tutorial and gathering my supplies. My dream took a turn when I went to check out and noted the price, $110 buckaroonies!įor a brief second I almost forgot that I am a hand made queen and started thinking of my life without a rainbow Jenga game, it was very dreary indeed. I found myself on Anthropologie with this Sunnylife Giant Rainbow Jenga in my cart, daydreaming about how my family would deem me the MVP of the Summer for purchasing. I got inspired to create this when I, much like many of you, went searching online for fun games to play at home.

Jenga dares free#

4.5 out of 5 stars (32) 19.99 FREE shipping Add to Favorites Drunk tower - Drunk Tipsy tower - adult drinking game Ad by PRIKRDOLaserDesigns Ad from shop. So until next time, ありがとうございました to my A&M people.I don't know about you but I have been spending a lot of time outside this Summer and we all could use a rainbow after the storm we have been through cue my rainbow Jenga tutorial! Date Night Truth or Dare Jenga Ad by DateBoxClub Ad from shop DateBoxClub DateBoxClub From shop DateBoxClub. But I just want to thank Cruchyroll and Amazon for publishing this greatness that is Grand Blue. Along with the hope for Cakey to reveal true feeling for Iori or a someone else! (Naw its Iori). But, as we return to the arc next chapter with Iori’s revenge. It’s like a get away from the more serious plot that is happening right now. It’s always fun to get another half chapter. Along with how would Chisa feel about that. I wonder what would have happen if he had to do that dare tough. But, he still has to do the penalty at the end which is just the normal beat up and humiliation. It might just be me but Kohei this year especially has been my favorite of the series.Īs the chapter ends Iori doesn’t have to do the dare due to Kohei saving him. He just comes in the clutch very often its unreal.

Jenga dares series#

By saying that this year Kohei has become my favorite in the series right now. With them saying that he can take the penalty. But, he forgot how much of an asshole and very prospective his friends are. He really though that he could just slam his head against the table and take the penalty without anybody seeing his block. Kinda also revealing the cover page for this chapter being a spoiler you wouldn’t even realize without reading. But, you know karma is a bitch and as he picks up a white block(good one) it send him straight to the black one(really bad one). But, he was gonna be another dick and wait until after the game. As he finds out he was prepare to expose Nojima. That being the intensity of the dares being determined by the color. Iori finally finds out the secret of the game. Iori Finds Out the TwistĪfter a long game. Just an overall enjoyable roasting of one another. The part where they told Kenta to take a picture with a funny face and took multiple with his original was also funny. The typical virgin thing is just gonna live forever for Yamamoto and now for Nojima also after revelations. We get some other truths and dares in the game. So I will just reiterate that life ain’t easy for my boy Yuu. Cause he has two choices in life either end up dead at the bottom of the river or be in a very abusive and life threatening marriage with Rie. Cause she was not taking just kidding for an answer again. Well it looks like my boy is getting hitched for real this time.

[kumapillow]

Oh right 😂 this happened 😂 in the Mandatory Happiness web radio 😂

It was a live episode and the VAs were trying the Hug Therapy sent by a listener, where one person sits down and another hugs them, cradling the other’s head onto their chest to make them hear their heartbeat.

Seki and Nojiken (Kou’s and Gino’s VAs) ad-libbed a sort-of Kougino moment when it was Nojiken’s turn to hug Seki 😊😆😂

Seki: (in Kougami’s voice) So this is how it feels to be hugged by you, Gino…

Nojima: (in Ginoza’s voice) K-Kougami…

Ohmygod 😂 (it’s here btw:)

There’s also a later segment where they try one of the game’s features where the player could get a call from one of the characters, and the call they get is from Gino. Nojiken can’t help but praise his own character (What a nice voice…) lol 😆😂 Miki-san (Tsurugi’s VA) has to be told by Seki that it’s Nojiken’s voice (Miki: I didn’t recognize it!) 😆

The web radios are a treat 😊

[aitaikimochi]

Final Fantasy 7 Remake Ultimania Book and Other Translations Master List

Here is my master list of translations I’ve done for the Final Fantasy 7 Remake Ultimania Book as well as translations of other things regarding the Compilation of FFVII. This thread will be updated accordingly when new information is posted on my Twitter! All links in this master list will most likely go to my Twitter as that is where I usually post my translations. Hope this helps those who are looking for a comprehensive post of all information regarding the series! UPDATED: 7/13/2020

FF7R Ultimania Book Character Profiles 1) Cloud Strife 2) Barret Wallace 3) Aerith Gainsborough 4) Tifa Lockhart 5) Sephiroth 6) Red XIII 7) Reno 8) Rude 9) Rufus 10) Tseng 11) Reeve 12) Scarlet 13) Zack Fair 14) Betty & Marlene 15) Johnny 16) Roche 17) Chadley 18) Biggs, Wedge, Jessie 19) Cait Sith 20) Leslie 21) Kyrie 22) Ifalna, Brian Lockhart, and Claudia Strife 23) President Shinra, Hojo, and Heidegger Ages 24) Andrea Rhodea and Jules 25) Elmyra Gainsborough 26) Mayor Domino and Deputy Mayor Hart 27) Jessie’s Parents FF7R Ultimania Book Character “Impressive Words” Quotes 1) Cloud Strife 2) Sephiroth 3) Aerith Gainsborough 4) Tifa Lockhart 5) Barret Wallace 6) Red XIII FF7R Ultimania Book “Original FFVII Playback” Section 1) Rufus, Tseng, Reno, Rude 2) Aerith Gainsborough 3) Tifa Lockhart 4) Sephiroth 5) Barret Wallace 6) Red XIII FF7R Ultimania Developer Interviews 1) Nomura, Kitase, and Nojima Full Interview 2) Toriyama, Hamaguchi, and Endo (Part 1, 2, 5, 8) 3) Ryota Iwagami Battle Designer about Red XIII’s Collar 4) Nomura on Cloud’s initial Remake Design FF7R Ultimania Secrets Revealed 1) What does Aerith know? 2) The Different Forms of Sephiroth in the Remake 3) What is the meaning of Zack’s Victory? 4) Who are Whisper Rubrum, Whisper Viridi, and Whisper Croceo? 5) Deepground 6) Who can see the Arbiters of Fate? FF7R Ultimania Battle and Gameplay Info 1) Reno & Rude Combination Moves 2) How to get Tifa, Aerith, and Barret’s Resolution Scenes in Chapter 14 3) Criteria to get different dresses in Wall Market 4) How to get Chocobo Sam or Madame M’s Extra Side Quests 5) How to get Andrea Rhodea’s Earrings 6) Shinra Building Stair Climbing Sequence Bonus Scenes (Japanese version) 7) Character Order of Appearance in Sephiroth Fight FF7R Ultimania Trivia 1) The Turks’ Suits 2) Honeybee Inn Dancer 3) Rude’s Victory Fanfare Ringtone 4) Professor Gast Faremis’ Book 5) FF7 Locations outside of Midgar 6) S & G Class SOLDIER References 7) Maximum amount of items and gil allowed in game 8) Shinra Company Hierarchy Chart 9) AVALANCHE Hierarchy Chart 10) Rufus’ Two Sided Coin 11) FF7R Ultimania Book Front Page 12) Jenova 13) The Ancients

Dengeki Playstation Vol. 686 Interviews 1) Nomura talking about Roche 2) Nomura on the Honey Bee Inn Scene 3) Nomura on the Remake’s Ending Inside Games Japan Article 1) Reno & Rude’s relationship and trust with each other Famitsu Interview in April and May 2020 about the FF7R OST 1) The song “Hollow” reflects Cloud’s inner thoughts 2) Toriyama’s Comment about the Honey Bee Inn Dance Battle FF7R Original Soundtrack Pamphlet Quotes (official translations) 1) Tetsuya Nomura 2) Yoshinori Kitase 3) Nobuo Uematsu FF7 Old Ultimania Book 1) Canon info that Reno dyes his hair red

[stygiansis]

Hey, i think i saw you post on twitter a screenshot where the writers of dismantled said they weren't involved with the devs or something like that? or did i imagine it lol?

Hi! I know there is a JP Wiki source that mentions the Benny M's studio said his works are his own interpretations and not canon. Without a second source or more info, I'm hesitant to use it as proof, however. But I will say the future writings since then via the compilation and the books clearly show that not only are Dismantled and Maiden inconsistent with the story, but has flat out debunked things in it. The fact that Aerith is walking off into the afterlife with Zack at the end of ACC as an example whereas she rejects him in Benny's works. The game and the Ultimanias show that Aerith was not involved at all in the Lifestream sequence, says Cloud hear her crying out and pulled her into his subconscious. Outside of Benny's works, no other source gives any credence to that version of the story.

Calling her eyes beautiful, in fact now we see Remake specifically contradict that by having him call Tifa's eyes beautiful as canon. Nojima's writings have been debunking that interpretation left and right.

His work was never said to be canon, never marketed as canon, and honestly I don't know why they fight so hard for it. The truth is the works still show Aerith being jealous that Tifa is the only one that can reach Cloud's heart; so ultimately even they are Cloti.

[silver-wield]

PS3 was SE's dark era with numerous bad decisions from everywhere. They promised so much, but SE didn't deliver. I remember being super excited for xiii and xv. And I agree that xiii is a rip-off of vii and, to some degree, also xv. hope they will reboot those games, even though it may be delulu thinking

Xv is a mess because they wanted to go super dark with the storyline and have stuff like kids going nuts and killing themselves, but the higher ups were all "nope" so they dumbed it down and rewrote it until it became something totally different and just a fun boys day out type thing.

Nojima's original outline would've made xv the first M rated mainline FF game, but instead they gave that to XVI, which is fine cause XVI is really good. I still wanna see the storyline we didn't get for xv though.

Xiii is just Toriyama's wet dream fanfic. I've played xiii maybe three times. I played xiii-2 twice and lightning returns once.

I had zero motivation to play them. The stories sucked. The gaming mechanics sucked. The lack of party members in the sequels sucked. The weird time limit sucked. It's just a series full of bad ideas and the few good ones don't cover that up.

I don't think they'll reboot either of them. They might eventually put xiii on the ps store. Tbh idky they haven't. It's not like it never released on PS3. Xv isn't old enough for a fix. The graphics are fine, the voice acting is good, the gameplay is lame but had potential. The story is okay. It's just an okay game and it's on PS4 so isn't old enough imo.

[daily-shimonohiro]

°•Seiyuus featured in the blog with Shimono °.•*

「A」

Akesaka Satomi

Amamiya Sora

Amasaki Kohei

Aoi Shouta

Aoi Yuki

Asakura Momo

Asanuma Shintaro

「B」

Ban Taito

「C」

Chiwa Saito

「E」

Eguchi Takuya

「F」

Fukuen Misato

Fukuyama Jun

「H」

Hama Kento

Hanae Natsuki

Hanazawa Kana

Harada Hitomi

Haruno Anzu

Hatanaka Tasuku

Hayami Saori

Hayami Show

Hidaka Rina

Hikasa Yoko

Hino Satoshi

Honda Yoko

Horie Shun

Horikawa Ryō

Horiuchi Kenyuu

「I」

Inada Tetsu

Inoue Marina

Ishii Kazutaka

Ishikawa Kaito

Ishikawa Yui

「K」

Kaji Yuki

Kakihara Tetsuya

Kamiya Hiroshi

Kaneda Tomoko

Kanemoto Hisako

Kato Emiri

Kawanishi Kengo

Kawasumi Ayako

Kayano Ai

Kimura Ryohei

Kito Akari

Komatsu Mikako

Komoto Keisuke

Kondo Takashi

Konishi Katsuyuki

Kugimiya Rei

「M」

Maeno Tomoaki

Mariya Ise

Masuda Toshiki

Matsuoka Yoshitsugu

Midorikawa Hikaru

Misaki Kuno

Miyamoto Katsuya

Miyano Mamoru

Miyata Kouki

Mizuhashi Kaori

Morikubo Showtaro

Murase Ayumu

「N」

Nagatsuka Takuma

Nakahara Mai

Nakamura Shugo

Nakamura Yūichi

Namikawa Daisuke

Nishiyama Koutaro

Nojima Kenji

「O」

Ōgame Asuka

Ohashi Ayaka

Okamoto Nobuhiko

Ono Daisuke

Ono Kensho

Otsuka Akio

Ozawa Ari

「S」

Saitō Momoko

Saitō Sōma

Sakakihara Yuki

Sakura Ayane

Sakurai Takahiro

Sato Gen

Satō Takuya

Seki Tomokazu

Shimazaki Nobunaga

Sugita Tomokazu

Suzaki Aya

Suzuki Chihiro

Suzuki Momori

Suzuki Tatsuhisa

「T」

Taketatsu Ayana

Taneda Risa

Takahashi Hidenori

Taniyama Kishou

Tatsumi Yuiko

Terashima Junta

Terashima Takuma

Toki Shunichi

Tokui Sora

Tomatsu Haruka

Toriumi Kōsuke

Toyonaga Toshiyuki

Tsuda Kenjiro

Tsujitani Kōji

「U」

Uchida Maaya

Uchida Yuuma

Uchiyama Kouki

Uesaka Sumire

「Y」

Yamaguchi Kappei

Yamamoto Kazutomi

Yamamoto Maria

Yamashita Daiki

Yasumoto Hiroki

Yonoga Tsubasa

Yusa Kōji

[rosaguard]

    after watching anime for hours with bunny, the chances of me writing any today is slim. however, i do want to address something that was gonna to be written in a headcanon even before the remake dropped but i’m lazy so here it is: aeris is poor. her and elmyra would be the equivalent of a lower class family. yes, her home is a lot nicer than everyone else’s and i’m sure being under shinra’s eye has granted her privileges - regardless of whether she wanted them or not - but at the end of the day, she’s just like everyone else in the slums. aeris is a woman just trying to get by while also helping others around her if she can. in the short story nojima wrote for her in the ffviir world preview book, it says that she started selling flowers to help out her mom ( thanks for throwing that bit of CC out ). that establishes that while yes, she does like gardening, it’s not entirely fun. she does it to help her and her mother survive. 

    if you listen to npc dialogue in the sector seven slums, you can hear them talk about how ‘topsiders’ will come down to try to ‘rough it out’ for a bit before going back above the plate. the people in the slums don’t have that luxury. they don’t have that privilege. what i’m saying here is that due to the changes the plot takes ( chasing sephiroth, stopping meteor, etc. ) people tend to forget that this story starts with poor people fighting against a corporation that seeks to oppress them. there’s also things like wallmarket. what andrea, madam m, and chocobo sam are doing for don corneo is...shady as hell if you really read between the lines but it’s very easy to forget that because crossdressing and dancing!! the world these characters live in is harsh ( and i feel like SE themselves have kind of erased that via the compilation but i digress ) but they have to make do.

   the point of all of this is to say this: i will not ignore any of this when writing aeris. i refuse to. spending the first years of her life trapped in a lab and the rest being surrounded by poverty would shape how aeris views the world and the people around her - both positively and negatively. obviously, this might not jive with some people so...if it doesn’t then i’m not the aeris / aerith blog for you.

[ayuvogue]

More details about M-Ai subeki hito ga ite

As we approach the premiere date, we’re learning more details about the upcoming drama based on Ayu’s rise to fame starring Kalen Anzai as Ayu and Shohei Miura as “Masa,” producer Max Matsuura. 

EXILE’s Alan Shirahama joins the cast as Masa’s “right-hand man” at A VICTORY, Sho Nagarukawa.

Katsunori Takahashi is playing a character named Nakatani, who is described as the president of a company Ayu works for. Will this address her Nippon Columbia days?

Masanobu Takashima will play Ohama, the president of A VICTORY. Fans of actual Avex may recall that Ayu and Max essentially staged a coup that forced founder and then-president Tatsumi Yoda to resign in 2004, and one has to wonder if any bad blood will surface here.

However, the most important addition is surely as Minami Tanaka as Reika Himeno: Masa’s secretary with a “mysterious eyepatch.” Why is it so mysterious?

The rest of the supporting cast includes:

Sayu Kubota plays Risa Tamki, another singer and Ayu’s first friend in Tokyo.

Mayuko Kawakita plays Mika Nojima, Ayu’s manager.

Michiko Tanaka as Asuka Yoshida, Ohama’s Secretary--no word on whether or not she will have an eyepatch (preferably also mysterious and over the other eye).

Shinya Niiro as Kiraku Tenmei, a producer at A VICTORY.

Yoshie Ichige as Sachiko, Ayu’s grandmother (Ayu’s grandmother helped raise her and passed away the day she recorded her debut single, “poker face”)

Ayaka Den--Avex Artist Academy alum and member of OnePixcel- as Mari Nishitani, Ayu’s rival.

Natsuhi Ueno as Satomi Shiina, one of Ayu’s relatives in Tokyo.

Kena Mizue as Naoki Sayama, owner of the bar Masa goes to (perhaps a stand-in for the Velfarre nightclub?)

While Kalen--herself a young artist signed with Avex--will be promoting a new single at the beginning of April, the theme song for the show will actually be the original “M” that inspired the book. 

The show begins airing April 18.

[demifiendrsa]

Blade Runner: Black Lotus | Official Trailer 2

Japanese with English subtitles

Blade Runner: Black Lotus will premiere on Adult Swim’s Toonami with the English Dub and Crunchyroll in Japanese with English subtitles on November 13, 2021.

Key visual

English and Japanese cast:

Elle: Jessica Henwick / Arisa Shida  - A female replicant created for a secret and unknown purpose.

Joseph: Will Yun Lee / Shinshu Fuji - A mysterious figure who owns a spare parts junkyard in Los Angeles.

Alani Davis: Samira Wiley / Takako Honda - A fresh LAPD recruit.

Niander Wallace Sr: Brian Cox /  Takaya Hashi - Founder and CEO of the Wallace Corporation.

Niander Wallace Jr: Wes Bentley / Takehito Koyasu - Brilliant scientist working for his father.

Marlowe: Josh Duhamel / Taiten Kusunoki - a deadly Blade Runner.

Josephine Grant: Peyton List / Yoshiko Sakakibara - The wife of the police chief.  

Earl Grant: Stephen Root / Hochu Otsuka - Police Chief of the LAPD.

Doc Badger: Barkhad Abdi /Takayuki Kinba - A black market dealer.

Senator Bannister: Gregg Henry / Masane Tsukayama - A politician with strong feelings on replicant production.

Doctor M: Henry Czerny / Akio Nojima - A brilliant doctor and professor of medicine.

Hooper: Jason Spisak / Kazuki Yao - A journalist in the pocket of the Wallace Corporation.

Staff

Director: Kenji Kamiyama, Shinji Aramaki

Creative Producer: Shinichiro Watanabe

Production Adviser: Mitsuhisa Ishikawa

Executive producer: Al-Francis Cuenca, Andrew Kosove, Broderick Johnson, Joseph Chou

Co-executive producer: Ben Roberts

Voice Direction: Wes Gleason

Animation Production: Sola Digital Arts

[harvard-art-museums-prints]

Sunset Glow at Nojima (Nojima yūshō), from the series Eight Views of Kanazawa (Kanazawa hakkei), Utagawa Hiroshige, 20th century, Harvard Art Museums: Prints

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of the Friends of Arthur B. Duel Medium: Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

https://www.harvardartmuseums.org/collections/object/147226

[aitaikimochi]

Here is the full translation of Nomura, Kitase, and Toriyama, and Hamaguchi’s interview from the FF7R Famitsu feature! Nomura talks about Jessie's popularity, the decision to include the Masssage Parlour scene, comments about the next installment's release, and more!  Kitase discusses how it’s like working with a new generation of game developers, explains a bit more about the scene with Sephiroth and Cloud at the Edge of Creation, and refers to the Remake as the “New FFVII Story.” Toriyama mentions that the staff who worked on the original game wanted to create a completely new game while younger staff wanted to stay true to the original. Hamaguchi explains more about the development process as well as how they came up with the battle system, what type of system they have planned for Part 2, and more!

DIRECTOR TETSUYA NOMURA INTERVIEW —Now that the game has been released, how are you feeling?

Nomura: Well first off, I feel very relieved. Although there’s still a long way to go on the road to completing the entire story, we are now able to see exactly which direction we will be heading.

—From the game’s battle system to its story to the elaborate details of Midgar’s various environments, including songs that sometimes only play in one scene, the game is full of a richness that has been carefully crafted, which shows that a lot of time and effort was spent creating this game. The staff must have been very enthusiastic, right?

Nomura: I think it’s due to the staff’s love for FFVII. The enthusiasm from the fans also helped propel us forward.

—Are there any elements from either the Original game or part of the compilation that you wanted to make a reality or something that you wanted to have in the past game that then added into this game?

Nomura: Definitely the world itself as well as how richly the people are portrayed. With all the different compilations gathered, it was rather easy to create the world. I think we were able to convey the importance of the areas seamlessly.

—FF7R really digs deep into the Original Game’s story, but there is a surprising development towards the end of the game. With Remakes, there’s always a faction of people who don’t want anything changed, but there are also those who actually want things to be changed. Were there discussions among the creators on whether or not you should change things?

Nomura: Since the concept of FF7R was already decided from the beginning, there wasn’t that much discussion. However, since each individual had different ways of perceiving things, we did discuss exactly how far we will change the story. I believe that I was the one who actually put a stop on several ideas towards the latter half of development (laughs).

—The Remake contains the “Whispers of Fate” that are not present in the original story, but what was the intent of having this presence? In English, they’re called the Whispers, but in Japanese they’re called the “Feelers.” Is there a specific reason for this difference, for example if the word “Feeler” was the origin of the name?

Nomura: Nojima-san actually requested us to give the Whispers an eerie aura. Initially, the Whispers were designed to be made out of small particles of sand that crumbled while still maintaining its shape, but also unclear in form. We then created an image of them wearing a robe, but more so than that, when we had to make a lot of them appear together, that’s when their form took a clear shape. The word “feeler” means to sense and to touch, but at the moment I cannot say anymore than that.

—Those who come into contact with Aerith can see the Whispers, right? Also, was Aerith able to see them from the beginning?

Nomura: People can see the Whispers when they come into contact with Aerith. However, at the moment I am unable to tell you when Aerith started seeing them.

—Instead of always being on edge, Cloud seems to behave more cooly but instead comes off as uncool to those around him. Aerith also seems a bit more mature than the original’s portrayal of her, and Barret seems a more unhinged and tense. The characters all seem to have a new side of them now. What kind of concepts did you use to add to the characters in this game?

Nomura: I personally think that the characters still have the same image as they did before, but with much more expressions now, and adding voices also created a large impact. This was my interpretation of the characters at the start, but since the original game required the player to imagine the type of reactions the characters would have, I think that this caused there to be different images of the characters. As time passed, I’m sure that those images of the characters had changed as well. I think that the errors in each individual player’s interpretation is in itself an interesting part of the game.

—Jessie has a lot of scenes in the Remake and has become quite a popular character. Were her scenes planned from the beginning, or were they something that was added midway through development?

Nomura: It was planned from the beginning. However, I did not expect her to be this popular though!

—The three new characters in Wall Market, Andrea Rhodea, Madam M, and Chocobo Sam, left quite an impression. What was created first, the characters’ personalities or their designs? Also, how did the concept of the Massage Parlour come about?

Nomura: At first, the characters’ personalities weren’t that detailed. We didn’t plan for their designs to be that rich either. However, I think that the voices and acting played a great role for them. In regards to the hand massage, in a city like that, well, the maturity rating would probably go up, so we couldn’t go further with what we had.

—Characters such as Leslie and Kyrie appeared in the light novels, but what was the background on bringing them into the Remake? For example, was it for fan service or something else?

Nomura: Since the stories are part of the Compilation, Nojima-san and myself had plans for them to be included from the beginning. We thought that it would be natural for them to appear in that time and place within the story, so we decided to leave them there. In regards to what happens to them after the events in the Remake, I recommend that players read the light novel “Final Fantasy 7 TURKS: The Kids Are All Right.”

—In regards to the battle system, it contains a fusion of both command and action elements, and each character has a different fighting style. By choosing different character moves, players are able to form various effective strategies, making for a very refreshing experience. Also, the acting and conversations that the characters have during battle also gives a fresh spin on each battle. I’m sure that this was made possible by trial and error, but what was the most difficult part in doing all of this?

Nomura: A real time action battle requires a sense of nervousness and realism, but we couldn’t discard the form and battle of the original game’s command RPG style. As a result, we went through a lot of trial and error to find a perfect harmony for the two. We decided early on to allow for a slow motion sequence to take place to allow players the advantage of being able to select their actions, but there was a long period of time that we couldn’t do it properly. It was largely thanks to the staff for tying in the ATB system to perfect this as well.

—Lastly, is there anything you would like to say to the readers?

Nomura: We know that everyone wants the next installment to be released quickly. We would also like to deliver it as soon as possible. Since we were able to see the line of quality from the first installment, we hope to make the next installment even better in quality that will make for an even greater experience. We hope to release it as soon as possible, so please wait a bit more. I think we can clearly convey the direction when we officially announce the next installment, so we hope you can look forward to it!

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PRODUCER YOSHINORI KITASE INTERVIEW

—From the time that the game was announced at E3 during 2015, the world focused their attention on the game, and after releasing footage of the game’s progress through a promotional video at E3 during 2019, the expectations from the fans has only increased. I’m sure you felt quite a lot of pressure at that time, but now that the game is finally released, how do you feel?

Kitase: I feel relieved that we were able to successfully approach both veteran fans who have been there since the beginning as well as new fans. I feel like right now, the expectations are even higher than before the game was released, and that gives us a lot of motivation to develop the next installment.

—Before the game was released, you mentioned that the hurdle that you needed to overcome was that of the player’s imagination that they have constructed in their minds for the Remake. After seeing the reception from the players post-release, do you feel that you have overcome that hurdle?

Kitase: Well, not just for me, but the power of the entire development staff combined was great. Most of them were fans from the beginning who also played the original game when it first came out. Thanks to that, they knew what kind of image fans probably had for the Remake, and I think we were able to overcome the hurdles that way.

—The game was released worldwide during a time when COVID-19 was affecting the entire world, but did that have any impacts on the game’s development? Also, before the game was released, promotional events were cancelled and the distribution of the game was also shipped ahead of schedule. There seemed to have been a lot of hard decisions to make depending on the situation…

Kitase: In terms of development, we only had the debugging phase left, which meant that the game was pretty much already complete, so there was not much impact from the virus. However, it was a pity that many promotional events were cancelled, and people were not able to really celebrate the release of the game. Luckily, through the means of the downloadable version, we were able to deliver some fun during a very stressful time where it was hard for people to even leave their homes. I hope that we were able to give them at least a moment of reprieve through the game.

—In regards to the FFVII Remake production, was there anything you were particular about?

Kitase: In the latter half of the story, there’s a scene where Cloud and Sephiroth have a confrontation. I wanted the scenery of that segment to show a starry sky that represents the overall themes of FFVII, and the art design team was able to bring that image to life.

—From the game’s battle system to its story to the elaborate details of Midgar’s various environments, including songs that sometimes only play in one scene, the game is full of a richness that has been carefully crafted, which shows that a lot of time and effort was spent creating this game. The staff must have been very enthusiastic, right?

Kitase: That’s all thanks to the careful attention that the Co-Directors Hamaguchi and Toriyama as well as the development staff put in making this game. I started game development ever since the Super Famicom console, so I’m used to the type of “cut” and “reuse” way of production. However, the new generation of games require a sense of reality, so that former way of developing games has become obsolete. The current generation of game development staff have that new type of conscience when creating games, so it’s thanks to their enthusiasm that we were able to make this possible.

—I’m sure that there are several younger development staff who never played the original FFVII, so were there any instances where there was a bit of a generation gap?

Kitase: Not really. But I guess when we wanted to give an example from a movie or something, we wouldn’t bring up a reference from an old movie that they probably wouldn’t know (laughs).

—Are there any elements from either the Original game or part of the Compilation that you wanted to make a reality or something that you wanted to have in the past game that was then added into this game?

Kitase: I suppose that would be making everything in 3D with a 360 degree scope of the world. Especially when you’re looking up into the sky of Midgar or looking down towards the slums, I’m really glad that we were able to give the city a sense of realism.

—As a gamer, was there anything in particular from FF7R that surprised or impressed you?

Kitase: This is connected with my answer to the previous question, but yes, being able to look above towards the sky from the slums, thinking “wow, you can see the sky after all!” For 23 years, I imagined the slums to be under a lot of pressure and cloaked in darkness. In the Remake, you can see a different side of the city during the day that you could not see in the original game, and I thought that was really fun.

—You were involved with the initial level design of the Sector 5 Mako Reactor from when the characters infiltrate the reactor to their escape, but were there any other parts that you also were involved in?

Kitase: I was also in charge of the initial stage level design for the scene at the top of the Shinra Building. The scene where Cloud is about to fall off the rooftop but is saved by Tifa is a callback and answer to the Sector 5 Mako Reactor scene where Tifa couldn’t save Cloud from falling.

—FF7R really digs deep into the Original Game’s story, but there is a surprising development towards the end of the game. With Remakes, there’s always a faction of people who don’t want anything changed, but there are also those who actually want things to be changed. Were there discussions among the creators on whether or not you should change things?

Kitase: Director Nomura as well as Co-Director Hamaguchi and Toriyama hoped to be able to keep all the parts of the original that fans have come to love. However, we also wanted to add several surprises that would balance out the story too. I’m sure there are people who wish to experience the exact same story and relive memories. However, if we were to do that, then all we would be doing is just adding to the original experience, which would cause the Remake to lose its significance. I think that we were able to successfully revive the story by adding new elements for the new generation of a “New FFVII.”

—Lastly, is there anything you would like to say to the readers?

Kitase: The new FFVII’s story has only just begun. Please look forward to the story from here on out! --------- CO-DIRECTOR TORIYAMA MOTOMU INTERVIEW

—Now that the game has been released, how are you feeling?

Toriyama: I’m really glad that despite the abrupt change in lifestyle [due to COVID-19], this game is able to deliver entertainment to people around the world in the comfort of their own homes. There was some skeptism from fans when we announced before the release of the game that the FF7 Remake will only take place in Midgar, but because the game dug so deeply into the world of FF7, I was relieved to hear that a lot of people were extremely satisfied with the game.

—From the game’s battle system to its story to the elaborate details of Midgar’s various environments, including songs that sometimes only play in one scene, the game is full of a richness that has been carefully crafted, which shows that a lot of time and effort was spent creating this game. The staff must have been very enthusiastic, right?

Toriyama: We thought about how we can revive the entity of FFVII using the latest technology as well as capturing the richness of the original. The time it took to oversee one scene or area was great, and in order to do so, we needed much more staff than what we had back in the day. Each and every staff had their own things they were particular about, and we were able to find a balance and successfully craft this game.

—Since you were involved with the development of the game, was there anything you were concerned about?

Toriyama: Since we had to replace many things with a new portrayal, I was quite particular that the essence of FFVII still remained true throughout. I think that if you had played the original game too, you would know which parts were changed and which parts were left in. However, I wanted to make sure that the events of the Remake flowed in a natural way with both new and familiar elements that you can enjoy. I’m happy to know that the Remake is able to add an even more vivid experience to go along with your memories of FFVII.

—I’m sure that there are several younger development staff who never played the original FFVII, so were there any instances where there was a bit of a generation gap?

Toriyama: There are actually a lot of staff who have played the original FFVII and got the opportunity to work in this industry. There are also staff who are more versed in the original game than even the members of staff who worked on the original game, and many of those staff wanted to make an adaptation that kept faithful to the original. In terms of keeping things as traditional as possible, the staff who worked on the original game, myself included, had the notion of “making a new game that no one has ever seen before.” With that conscience in mind, we were able to decide the type of direction we wanted to go in the Remake.

—Are there any elements from either the Original game or part of the Compilation that you wanted to make a reality or something that you wanted to have in the past game that was then added into this game?

Toriyama: In terms of music, FFVII is a rather cinematic series, but in the original game due to disc space and time restraints, we weren’t able to include a movie-worthy soundtrack. However, we were able to challenge ourselves with the Remake. We wanted to have specific songs that played throughout the entire game that would also go along with the scenes, so the Remake gave us a chance to be able to try this out. With this type of composing, we didn’t really have a specific detailed list, so we didn’t count exactly how many songs we created until we realized that the soundtrack itself would span to seven discs, making it a huge volume of songs (laughs).

—As a gamer, was there anything in particular from FF7R that surprised or impressed you?

Toriyama: After the game was released, I saw a gaming review website capture all the little details of various landscapes in the game, from the posters and billboards to the train time schedules, close inspections of the buildings, pretty much everything that showed the lifestyles of people living in Midgar. Although I’m glad that people were able to deeply observe the details we put in, I can’t help but see some flaws, so it kind of gives me pressure to make sure that the next installment will have even more perfected details (laughs).

—Compared to 23 years ago, from the addition of voices in conversations to a change of design, trends have changed. Was it difficult to achieve a balance of retaining the essence of the original game but still representing it for a new generation?

Toriyama: We wanted to have the game be fully voiced including the NPC within the city, so we were careful when putting in dialogue that would sound natural. We left in some funny lines spoken from the original game’s NPC too, but since there were way more NPCs in the Remake compared to the original, we made sure to find a good balance where those lines wouldn’t be buried among the other spoken dialogue.

—Instead of always being on edge, Cloud seems to behave more cooly but instead comes off as uncool to those around him. Aerith also seems a bit more mature than the original’s portrayal of her, and Barret seems a more unhinged and tense. The characters all seem to have a new side of them now. What kind of concepts did you use to add to the characters in this game?

Toriyama: For the Remake, the voice acting was added after we had finished creating the cutscenes, and I think that the character’s performance really shined through from the work that the actors and actresses have done that brought out each character’s charm. During recording, Barret had an unexpected continuity that we pushed further, and the results really brought out his character very well.

—In regards to seeing a brand new side of Cloud, the peak of it would probably be the dance sequence at the Honey Bee Inn. Was this scene planned from the beginning?

Toriyama: We strongly did not want to leave out Cloud’s crossdressing scene but instead wanted to create a concept that would make it stand out even more in the Remake. We decided to make Wall Market a huge entertainment district, and we were very enthusiastic in making the Honey Bee Inn even more of an entertainment hotspot in the Remake. I actually helped create the Honey Bee Inn for the original game, so it was easy for me to reimagine the place for the Remake. While still retaining some elements from the original, we were able to give it a huge makeover.

—The Shinra Mascot dog “Stamp” appears in various locations, even on a snack package blowing in the wind in towards the ending with Zack. Was the character of Stamp originally created in the beginning stages of development?

Toriyama: The dog Stamp is a very important symbol that was planned since the beginning. Stamp’s use was determined along with the game design. AVALANCHE also uses him as their symbol, so there is a good meaning to him that we included to have him stand out. However, the Stamp that appears in the scene with Zack is a different breed, so please pay attention to that.

—I was quite surprised that Chadley turned out to be what he was in the story, but who’s idea was it to create this character?

Toriyama: Chadley is a new character that was not in the original game, so it was the scenario team who decided on creating this character. There are a lot of contents regarding the game’s difficulty levels and clearing the battle reports, so we decided to have Cloud be able to encounter Chadley throughout the entire game. I haven’t finished clearing the HARD mode yet, but I hope that those who haven’t cleared everything yet can challenge themselves with this!

—The new character Roche left quite an impact, but he’s an eccentric one that only appears in Chapter 4 and nowhere else. What was the purpose of his character, and will he appear in the next installment?

Toriyama: We had initially drawn up a concept of having Roche appear at the last battle on the Midgar Highway, but we thought that he might ruin the serious mood of the ending sequence, so we scrapped that idea. We also thought to put him in as a boss battle in the Chapter 14 slums, but since you can’t really race around on a motorbike in the slums, we unfortunately could not make it work. Roche’s spontaneity is one of his character traits that stands out though, so there’s a high chance that he’ll appear in the next installment (laughs).

—In the Remake, the characters have a lot of banter when they’re walking around or fighting battles, and the dialogue is not always the same either. Did you oversee the types of conversations that were put in?

Toriyama: All scenarios were checked and supervised by me and Nojima-san. We actually had a lot more lines prepared in the script for dialogue spoken by characters in boss battles, but somewhere around the middle of production, we eventually cut out the frequency of giving out hints and instead left it to the players to think about what to do. This in turn caused us to cut a lot of dialogue out.

—Are there any specific episodes, scenes, or dialogue that you were interested in or wanted to include?

Toriyama: The AVALANCHE base at the bottom of Seventh Heaven in the original game was an interesting area that left an impression on me, but since Cloud is not very close with AVALANCHE in the Remake, we wanted to show that distance between them, which made us leave out that scene. Although I really wanted to have Barret punching that sandbag in the Remake, I had to restrain myself (laughs).

—Lastly, is there anything you would like to say to the readers?

Toriyama: Even though the first installment of the “FFVII Remake” has ended, the story has only just begun. While listening to the voices of the fans, we also hope to make the next installments something that would exceed your expectations. I personally also played the original game again after finishing the Remake. While waiting for the next installment, I hope you can enjoy the differences in the Remake’s portrayal of Midgar and also have fun imagining what kinds of things lie ahead in the next game too!

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CO-DIRECTOR HAMAGUCHI NAOKI INTERVIEW

—Now that the game has been released, how are you feeling?

Hamaguchi: I felt very relieved after seeing the user feedback after the game was released. I fully joined the development team for FF7R in 2017 when the fans had been waiting for this game for quite some time already. So I made it my mission to ensure that fans do not wait longer than 3 years for the completion of the game. FF7 is a game that many people have come to love, so there was a real sense of responsibility to carry, but even so, the development team staff is composed of people who are extremely passionate about FF7, so we were able to enjoy making this game while progressing on its development.

—Since you were involved with the development of the game, was there anything you were concerned about?

Hamaguchi: What was constantly said to the team was that we must “respect the original game.” We were not creating a new game that is only inspired by the characters and world of FFVII, but we strove to create a game where the elements of the original are remade using the latest game design and graphics, making it feel “nostalgic yet new.” If we were to stray far away from the source material, then people might think “this is not the FFVII that I know,” so we tried to follow the original story but added details that we could not add 20 years ago using the latest technology. With that, we were able to focus on enriching the story to create an experience that is still “the FFVII that l know, but with a lot more new things waiting to be discovered.”

—From the game’s battle system to its story to the elaborate details of Midgar’s various environments, including songs that sometimes only play in one scene, the game is full of a richness that has been carefully crafted, which shows that a lot of time and effort was spent creating this game. The staff must have been very enthusiastic, right?

Hamaguchi: The Remake was made possible by the enthusiasm from the entire staff. During the production of this game, the task division between the development staff was even more than another Final Fantasy numbered game. For example, a person in charge of location would usually be a level designer that would spend 2-3 years on a single location’s design, execution, and then implementation, and we had specific staff designated to work on all the locations as well. For battle parts, we had a single person in charge of 2-3 bosses at a time, and a level designers also oversaw everything from design to implementation. With this scheme, we were able to have each game designer focus on only the parts that they are designated with, which allowed them to be enthusiastic and particular with the production of their areas. However, because of this, each game designer felt very strongly of their work that they poured their all into, so in order to not lose satisfaction, wemade it a priority to view the contents as a whole within the team. By doing this, we were able to combine everyone’s vision into the end product.

—Without having the battle system be solely either a Command RPG or Action style, it must have been challenging to fuse the two together. During development, there must have been some trial and error to get it right, but was there any part that was specifically concerning or challenging?

Hamaguchi: One of the most particular parts was how we were going to incorporate the ATB Battle System. We didn’t want to incorporate a completely new battle style that was different than the original, so we were inspired by the original FF7’s ATB battle system to create a new and improved one that also works in real time. Of course, I’m sure that the action elements we added gives off a very fresh impression, but the root of the system is from the ATB battle system, allowing us to incorporate a sense of nostalgia to the battle system. The part we worked extremely hard on was how to fuse together action and command style elements. Many of the development team staff including myself have a long history working with command RPGs, so we are very confident with that type of battle style in that field. However, when we tried adding action elements in, there was a sense of discord within the battle system we had.

The part we were stuck on was that implementing a command system will cause the the user to have too much information in regards to fighting strategy, and that would only cause issues if we were also going to add real time action options too. When we were doing trial and error to figure out how to draw the line between how many action and command elements we could add, Battle Director Endou Teruki was able to join our team. He is extremely versed with action battle systems and how to develop them, so as soon as he saw what we had created, he immediately pointed out that we were lacking features in regards to the action elements of the battle system. Since we were having trouble figuring out a balance between the action and command elements, we couldn’t really answer what we were lacking since we just simply added in action elements, so we were not able to create a very refreshing experience. Luckily, Endou was able to concentrate on the action parts and balanced out the battle system with fast paced command RPG strategy as well as action elements, which is what you see in the finished product.

—In terms of creating an action battle system, I’m sure there were concerns about the increasing difficulty of that fighting style. For those who are not fond of action battle systems, there’s also the option of “CLASSIC Mode,” but was there anything else you were particularly conscious about?

Hamaguchi: For those who only wanted to enjoy the game’s story, we implemented EASY Mode, for those who wanted to enjoy the command RPG style of fighting, we also created the CLASSIC mode, so there are different play styles you can choose from. Since the “CLASSIC mode” was something we tried for the first time, we were excited to hear the reactions of the players, and I think the reviews have been favorable. We heard comments from users who enjoyed the Normal mode’s difficulty level but in the CLASSIC mode style, so we will refer to their feedback in the future as well.

—Since the game’s release, I’m sure that most people have viewed the battle system in a very favorable light. What do you think about the reactions that you have seen thus far?

Hamaguchi: We feel that we have delivered the exact type of battle experience that users can accept. I think this is thanks to the way we were able to create a system that not only reimagines the ATB battle system in real time form, but we also pays homage to the Command RPG style, which leaves a sense of nostalgia while giving a fresh new experience to the battle style. I’m sure there are a lot of people who are interested in what kind of battle system we have in store for the next installment too. We would like the battle system to be even more customizable with more action and command strategies that users can curate into their own playing style, giving an even newer experience, so please look forward to that!

—It seems that the level cap at 50 has some limitations in regards to your status attributes and range, and since various weapons have their own strengths, it seems like you put thought into balancing out battles. In regular RPGs, characters grow and their weapons become stronger, but it feels like this was done in moderation. Was this balance something that the development team had planned from the beginning?

Hamaguchi: When we were stuck on how to create the battle system, we made changes to optimize the balance of the battle system. We wanted a balance that also incorporated the original FF7’s customizable options with materia, and Battle Director Endou also had the same thoughts. However, if we allowed players to get as many materia as they would like, then they could technically give the same set of materia to each character, which would defeat the purpose of giving each character their own unique abilities. Thus, we decided to put limits on the amount of attributes you can have. Moreso than putting a moderation on gaining strength, we wanted players to have fun with the strategies that they could incorporate by using different materia or weapons. If you were to redo a battle, you could try other ways of setting up your weapons and materia to create a stress free battle, and I thought that was an important function to have.

—Boss battles within the game have different stages where the attacks or field changes, such as the Sword Dance battle that splits between two parties during the fight. Was this concept of having battles be set up in different stages as the fight progressed something that was decided during the beginning of production?

Hamaguchi: That’s right. I told the team during the beginning that boss battles would be executed out in phases. Many of the bosses within each chapter contain some of the most exciting reveals, so we wanted players to be able to feel immersed within the story even through the boss battles. In order to do that, we constructed each boss battle to have several different phases where the battle strategy changes and also focuses on the story at the same time. We also paid attention to the party structure. In particular, we spent a lot of time and effort to solidify the party structure during the battle with Sephiroth. The battle with the Whisper Harbinger that leads to the climax fight with Sephiroth is one that changes automatically as does the structure of the party you are fighting with, so the protagonists need to work together in order to challenge their own fate.

However, we felt that if we were to do the same type of structure during Sephiroth’s battle, then it might become tedious to the player. For example, if we were to take away one of the protagonists out of the four, then the fans of that protagonist might feel let down. Because of that, we decided that the characters who join you during the Sephiroth battle will depend on how you fought during the Whisper Harbinger battle. However, in order to do this, we would have to create a ton of cutscenes depending on the order that the characters appear in, and even now I remember the look on the cutscene team member’s faces when I proposed the idea and the blank stares that I received (laughs). Because the Final Fantasy Series is one that is known for having a large amount of cutscenes, I am really grateful for the cutscene team member’s assistance in not just the Sephiroth battle scene, but for working so hard on all cutscenes within the series too.

—There are weapons, accessories, materia, and items that were added into the Remake that were not present in the original game, but was there any particular reason for doing this?

Hamaguchi: Right before the game went gold, I actually made an absurd request to the team to add the “Pedometer” materia. You get this materia at the start of Chapter 14, and since you’re there to help people out with odds and ends within the Sector 5 and Sector 6 slums, you would need to walk around the areas a lot. Since you had visited these areas within Chapter 8 and Chapter 9 already, there wouldn’t be many changes, so I thought to give players a reason for walking around these places again by adding in this materia. I actually originally called the materia the “Step” materia, but I noticed that Toriyama changed the name to the “Pedometer” materia instead (laughs). I was reminded of it again when I saw the strategy book refer to that name.

—Is there any specific monster enemy or battle (whether it be within the Colosseum or Battle Simulator) that piqued your interest?

Hamaguchi: The “Level 7 Top Secret Battle” has quite a shock factor. The person in charge of battle planning asked me, “Does it make sense for Bahamut to summon Ifrit?” Since they are fighting in a virtual reality, it wouldn’t be a problem, so I answered “Yeah, go for it!” without thinking too much about it. However, when I was doing a play check for the difficulty level of the battle, I remember being shocked (laughs). When that happens, you’d probably panic and think that you should defeat Ifrit first, but it’s actually more advantageous to focus on attacking Bahamut instead. This battle was the most difficult one for me and left quite an impression.

—I’m sure that there are several younger development staff who never played the original FFVII, so were there any instances where there was a bit of a generation gap?

Hamaguchi: Since the original game was so widely loved by fans everywhere, there were a lot of younger staff members who were scared of making changes. On the other hand, Producer Kitase wanted big changes (laughs). Nomura and I saw the Remake as an homage to the original game, so if we were to change anything, we made sure that it would be something planned with a specific reason that fans could accept.

—Did you have any ideas or wishes that you were entertaining by yourself that was then made a reality in this game?

Hamaguchi: It’s not something I was entertaining for a while, but having an automatic weapon growth system was something that I focused on before working on FF7R since I was on the development team for the “Mobius Final Fantasy” game, which left a strong impression on me. Since a smartphone game operates in a way that you return to it on a daily basis, lots of things are automated as much as possible to create a smooth experience. There’s also a card synthesis system within the game that allows for an automated way to synthesize your cards, so that was a point that I thought would be nice to have in FF7R where weapons could automatically level up as well. I’m always thinking about the consumer side when developing games, and being able to see customer reactions in real time, such as when I was developing smartphone games, gave me an environment to try out a lot of ideas I had. I think that was a great experience for me.

—As a gamer, was there anything in particular from FF7R that surprised or impressed you?

Hamaguchi: Although I myself was involved too, I’m still very impressed that we were able to successfully create a game from start to finish without making compromises to any of the large amount of data we had. This is all thanks to not only Nomura, Toriyama, and other directors such as me, but also to the game designers, graphics team, sound team, system staff, and more. All of us had various responsibilities as creators, and it’s because of the best efforts of everyone that we were able to make this game possible. I’m personally very excited to make the next game with the same team members again!

—FFVII Remake is highly praised as a game with amazing quality with the latest technology, but was there anything that was challenging or something that you did not personally oversee but was still impressed with the outcome?

Hamaguchi: Seeing the world of FFVII open up through its story is one of the highlights that makes the game so enjoyable, but the user experience and story immersion could be greatly impacted with too many loading screens and wait times. We therefore kept a technical eye on the loading system since the beginning. In order to do this, we aligned the data with each situation so that it could simultaneously load, which allowed us to not have the loading screen appear during the middle of the chapter. During the last cutscene of each chapter, the next chapter’s data would already be loading in the background, which allowed for the load screen between chapters to also be as short as possible. We also added tips to read on the load screen, but because the loading times are so short, it’s also difficult to read all of them. It made me cry out with joy!

—Lastly, is there anything you would like to say to the readers?

Hamaguchi: The first installment of the “FFVII Remake Project” was centered around Midgar, and we strived to recreate a Midgar that you could not experience in the original story, showcasing the hustle and bustle of the lives of the people there as well as the environment. The next installment will then shift to the other parts of the world since the characters have escaped from Midgar in the story. We hope to create a game that allows you to experience the charm and allure of the world of FFVII from the various lives of the people as well as the environments that will be present. Production for the next installment is already under way, and our team is putting their all into the advancement of the game. Although there is still a wait, we hope that you can look forward to what we have in store!

[akb48mty]

List of videos with romaji/english/spanish subs by AKB48MTY.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::: AKB48 videos ::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

- Bara no kajitsu sub eng/esp/romanji Por AKB48, Murayama Yuiri x Okada Nana Link: https://vimeo.com/389291099

- Dakara kimi ga suki na no ka sub esp/eng/romanji Por AKB48, Tano yuka x muto tomu Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x736udn

- Hell or Heaven sub esp/eng/romanji Por AKB48, Yokoyama Yui x Nagano Serika x Nakano Ikumi Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x73mnlj

- Seishun Girls sub esp/eng/romanji Por AKB48 Team K 2da. Generación. Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x73r85l

- Saishuu Bell ga naru sub esp/eng/romanji Por AKB48 Team K 2da. Generación. Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x75860s

- Dear my teacher sub esp/eng/romanji Por AKB48 Team K 2da. Generación. Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x758301

- Kaiyuugyo no Capacity sub esp/eng/romanji Por AKB48 Team K 2da. Generación. Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x75h1lv

- 16nin Shimai no Uta sub esp/eng/romanji Por AKB48 Team K 2da. Generación. Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x75h07a

- Nounai Paradise sub esp/eng/romanji Por AKB48 Team K 2da. Generación. Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x75jsui

- To be continue sub esp/eng/romanji Por AKB48 Team K 2da. Generación. Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x75q03v

- Gokai sub eng/esp/romanji Por AKB48, Murayama Yuiri x Okada Nana Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x798iqw

- No, Thank you sub eng/esp/romanji Por Okada Nana (AKB48/STU48). Original by Yoko Hikasa   Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7bvmwg

- Kawaranai mono sub eng/esp/romanji Por Yagahi Moeka (AKB48). Original by Oku Hanako   Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ca2ji

- Ashita mo sub eng/esp/romanji  Por Oda Erina (AKB48). Original by Mush&Co   Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ca2km

- NIPPON sub eng/esp/romanji   Por Yokoyama Yui (AKB48). Original by Shiina Ringo Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ca4fa

- Sayonara daisukina hito sub eng/esp/romanji   Por Yahagi Moeka (AKB48) x Okada Nana (AKB48/STU48). Original by HanaHana Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7cfd3z

- Marunouchi Sadistic sub eng/esp/romanji  Por Yokoyama Yui (AKB48). Original by Shiina Ringo   Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7cfeqj

- Nagisa no cherry sub eng/esp/romaji Por AKB48, Yuko Oshima (center) Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7mssb7

- I love you sub eng/esp/romanji Por Yahagi Moeka (AKB48). Original by Chris heart Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7dymy4

- Souchou Innocence sub eng/esp/romanji  Por Okada Nana (STU48/AKB48). Original by Maaya Uchida  Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7dyn6c

- 1/2 sub eng/esp/romanji   Por AKB48, Murayama Yuiri x Okada Nana Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7rbvaq

- GAGAGA sub romaji/english/español, Team K names ver.   Por AKB48, Team K Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7t6o3e

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::: 48G Videos  :::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

- A~ Yokatta sub eng/esp/romanji   Por Sakamoto Erena (HKT48) x Oda Erina (AKB48) . Original by Hana*Hana    Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7cfd2q

- Mirai e sub eng/esp/romanji   Por Nojima Kano (SKE48) x Yano Honoka (STU48) . Original by Kiroro   Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7cfd3l

- Kusaimono sub Esp/Eng/Romaji Por AKB48, kashiwagi yuki x yamamoto sayaka x yokoyama yui Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x732kcr

- Mistery Line sub esp/eng/romanji Por AKB48, matsui jurina x tano yuka x shiroma miru Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x732t0b

- Bakuhatsu Professor sub eng/esp/romanji  Por AKB48, Oshima Yuko x Sashihara Rino Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7n0drg

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::: SKE48 videos :::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

- So~Yu~koto aru yo ne? (Names ver.) subs rom/eng/esp Por SKE48 Link: https://vimeo.com/385497269

- Dakishimete Anthem sub esp/eng/romanji Por SKE48 x Team Syachihoko Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x734up6

- Shower no ato dakara sub esp/eng/romanji Por SKE48, Saito Makiko x Suda Akari x Yamauchi Suzuran : https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x73i5rr

- Neko no Shippo ga Pin to Tatteru you ni... feat.Bose (Scha Dara Parr) sub esp/eng/romanji Por SKE48, Team S Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x757ygg

- Tooku ni ite mo sub esp/eng/romanji Por SKE48 Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x75pzgk

- Part of your world sub eng/esp/romanji   Por Nojima Kano (SKE48). Original by Little mermarid movie   Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ca2jv

- Story sub eng/esp/romanji   Por Nojima Kano (SKE48). Original by AI Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ca4fq

- M sub eng/esp/romanji   Por Yamauchi Suzuran (SKE48). Original by Princess Princess   Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ca4f3

- KissHug sub eng/esp/romanji   Por Yamauchi Suzuran (SKE48). Original by aiko   Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7cfeq0

- Juujun na Slave sub english/español/romanji   Por SKE48, Furuhata Nao x Takayanagi Akane Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7mnvbl

- Honshou subs english/ español / romanji   Por SKE48, Furuhata Nao solo stage Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7qvskp

- Dokumugo sub english / español /romanji  Por SKE48, Takayanagi Akane x Furuhata Nao Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7rpga5

- 12 nin shimai no uta - Sato Kaho ver. english / español /romanji Por SKE48, Sato Kaho ver. Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7smip3

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::: NMB48 videos ::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

- Stay Free sub romaji/eng/esp Por Yamamoto Sayaka Link: https://vimeo.com/403776446

- Sayonara Elegy sub eng/esp/romanji  Por Yamazaki Amiru (NMB48). Original by Suda Masaki Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ca4fi

- Kabutomushi sub eng/esp/romanji    Por Yamasaki Amiru (NMB48). Original by aiko   Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7cfer9

- Priority sub rom/eng/esp  Por NMB48, Yamamoto Sayaka Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7tca2j

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::: STU48 videos ::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

- Donna tokimo sub eng/esp/romanji  Por Yano Honoka (STU48). Original by Sonoko Inoue   Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ca2kb

- Goodbye Yesterday sub eng/esp/romanji   Por Yano Honoka (STU48). Original by Miki Imai   Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7cfer1

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::::::::::: HKT48 videos ::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

- Ashita mo sub eng/esp/romanji  Por Oda Erina (AKB48). Original by Mush&Co   Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ca2km

- Catch the moment sub eng/esp/romanji  Por Sakamoto Erena (HKT48). Original by LiSA   Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ca4fv

- Watarasebashi sub eng/esp/romanji  Por Sakamoto Erena (HKT48). Original by Chisato Moritaka   Link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7cfepw