Yoshinori Kitase, producer of Final Fantasy VII Remake, celebrated its first anniversary with a special message to fans. The long-awaited reimagining of the beloved Final Fantasy VII finally saw release last April, where it wowed players with its updated visuals and daring storyline, which stayed true to the spirit of the original while branching out in new and exciting ways.
Even though it was on many fans’ wish lists for decades, the production of Final Fantasy VII Remake had its fair share of complications following its announcement at E3 2015. Originally set to be developed by CyberConnect2, production was moved to Square Enix’s in-house studio following some undisclosed creative differences. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic also complicated the game’s release, as Square Enix was forced to delay physical releases from Amazon in the weeks leading up to FFVII Remake’s launch. Now Final Fantasy VII Remake's creators are looking back at this journey, a full year after the game finally arrived on the PlayStation 4.
Earlier this week, Square Enix’s Yoshinori Kitase posted a special message to Final Fantasy VII Remake fans on the Square Enix website to commemorate the game’s release one year ago. In it, he stated how thankful he is that players who almost didn’t get to play Final Fantasy VII Remake due to the COVID pandemic were able to download the digital edition, and thanked everyone for their support as he and his team worked to bring the long-hoped-for title to life.
Kitase also mentioned that Final Fantasy VII Remake INTERGRADE, an upgraded PlayStation 5 port of Final Fantasy VII Remake with added story content centered around the spunky ninja Yuffie, is set to be released on June 10. So far, there is no word yet on when the next part of the FFVII Remake series proper will be announced, nor what story changes may or may not be made as Cloud and crew deal with the ramifications of their escape from Midgar at the end of the last game.
Fans of the original Final Fantasy VII had been waiting for a remake for a long time before the talented people at Square Enix finally made it a reality last year, and it’s nice to see the hard work of Yoshinori Kitase and his team paying off with one of the best-selling games of 2020. Likewise, these fans will have much to look forward to in the coming year or so, with Final Fantasy VII Remake INTERGRADE set to arrive on PS5 in a couple of short months and the second part of Final Fantasy VII Remake still on the horizon.
Source: Square Enix