"Devs from around the world came to work" on FFVII: Remake

Final Fantasy VII released some 23 years (and a month) ago, and in that time so many things have changed with regards to how fans and new audiences perceive the classic JRPG. And the same can be applied to how games are developed, as the team adding the final touches to the imminent Remake is also different and more experienced.

"When the original FF7 came out I was just a player, one of these people who played the game, I wasn't in game development then," recalls game director Naoki Hamaguchi when talking to Gamereactor in Madrid about how things have changed.

"There's a lot of people on the development staff with the same kind of background as me," he added. "There are also people like Mr. [Yoshinori] Kitase here who were on the original development team and it's not just Japanese people either, there are developers from all over the world who have this great respect for FF7 who have come to work on the game with us."

We asked the Japanese developers how they are dealing with the game's huge expectations and the consequent pressure if they're to meet them.

"No, of course, there's a lot of expectation. So, there is pressure involved there. But, really, it's that challenge of how we can respond to this expectation, give the players what they want, that's stronger for us", explains Hamaguchi-san before talking of how the dev team has changed with time.

"So, it's really that feeling of, 'how can we...?' So that's why, because we all love the game so we understand why people are so expectant about it, and we really want to think of how can we respond to that, what can we give the fans of Final Fantasy VII. That feeling is a lot stronger than trying to give in to the pressure."

Now, how are you, dear readers, dealing with your own expectations with the game finally arriving on PlayStation 4 on April 10? You can learn more with our just-published FFVIIR hands-on impressions right here.