If you're on the brink of completing one of the most ambitious projects in video game history, you're probably stressed. If said project is the decade-spanning Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy, a ground-up rebuild and drastic expansion of one of the most influential games of the last 30 years, you’d probably be even more anxious.
\n\nNaoki Hamaguchi doesn’t seem stressed, though. When I ask the Square Enix studio head and game director how he’s feeling as the release of Final Fantasy VII Revelation draws near, capping a series he’s worked on for over a decade, the only reply is a wry “I was just so focused, it really felt like it passed in a flash.”
\n\nHamaguchi’s calm demeanor is all the more surprising given the weight of expectation surrounding the project. The original Final Fantasy VII, released on Sony's PlayStation in 1997, was a pop-cultural phenomenon—not the Japanese-RPG series’ first Western release, but undeniably its breakthrough title; one that arrived right as gaming was growing out of its kids-only niche and into a mainstream medium.
\n\nIt’s still regarded as one of the best Final Fantasy entries, and its tale of reluctant hero Cloud Strife and his scrappy band of eco-warrior…
Original source: https://www.wired.com/