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For more than 30 years, the Final Fantasy The franchise transported players to distant worlds, introduced them to colorful characters and confronted them with complex narratives and in-depth game mechanics. This week, the remastered versions of the 2001 role-playing game Final Fantasy X and his suite, Final Fantasy X-2, were released on the Nintendo Switch and Xbox One for the first time.
What started in 1987 as the last effort of a troubled gaming company (hence the "finale" in the title) has become one of the most successful series in the field of games, with over 140 million copies sold worldwide during its existence. Created by Japanese game developer Hironobu Sakaguchi, the franchise now has 15 numbered entries in the main series; dozens of spinoffs, remasters and remakes; and even a number of feature films (the 2001 release, Final Fantasy: Inner Spirits, stars such as Alec Baldwin and Steve Buscemi).
Over the years, the popularity of the franchise has continued and even with new releases every few years, older titles continue to attract public interest. The entire video game industry continues to exploit old categories of remastering and remakes (this year). Resident Evil 2, a remake of the original of 1998, was shipped to 3 million copies during the first week only), Final Fantasy and Square Enix, its publisher, have been at the forefront of the trend.
Over the past two decades, the mobile and PC ports of almost every major numbered entry in the Final Fantasy franchise have been released. In 2017, Square Enix released a fully remastered and reorganized HD version of Final Fantasy XII, the hit RPG 2006, for the PlayStation 4. Titled Final Fantasy XII: The Age of the ZodiacThe new game has updated visuals and updated sound, as well as new game and mechanic options, and has sold over one million copies.
Now, Square Enix is expanding even more its range of remaster titles, bringing Final Fantasy VII, IX, X, X-2 and XII both the Nintendo Switch and Xbox One. Meanwhile, the planned Remake of Final Fantasy VII is still under construction, a project that fans have been calling for for more than a decade.
With a slate of Final Fantasy upcoming titles to new systems this month, Thermal vision met the series's executive producer, Shinji Hashimoto, to talk about the franchise's enduring popularity ("the classics are never out of date"), the "respectful" approach of society Final Fantasy games and an update of progress on the Remake of Final Fantasy VII.
To do what Final Fantasy 18-22 year olds still have so many fans?
When we developed these titles, all staff thought about how they wanted to create something "better" – something that would surpass the previous one. Final Fantasy Title. We were very passionate about these titles, which I think have also helped turn content into accessible content for everyone, regardless of generation.
What is Square Enix's approach to remastering? Is it different from remakes?
I always want to treat the original versions with great respect, especially because of the amount of thought and passion that the original team members have dedicated to them. And I'm not talking about the material, but rather things like any thought that went into the original pixel art. Elements created at the time specifically for old tube TV screens, controls, problems that could not be solved at the time – here are the elements we want to revise and integrate into our remasters, adapting to current conditions and certainly so that the younger generation can play too. Regarding the differences between a remaster and a remake – in a remake, you rethink the original version from scratch. In fact, it is a difficult task and it is not possible to do it for several games at the same time. I want to address our future projects, which include of course the Remake of Final Fantasy VII, in the hope that the players who love the originals will love the remakes.
What happens in remastering a title?
After analyzing previous data sources, we meet the original creators and discuss the portions to be revised to match modern times. It goes without saying that we are checking all the problems, but there are also cases where the 4: 3 aspect ratio of the past is updated to be 16: 9 for example, or the cultural references are revised to fit the current era.
Different titles have different remastering experiences. FFXII brought so many new features while FFIX feels largely the same. Make different FF titles have different approaches to remastering?
As I mentioned in my answer to the previous question, one of the big challenges is to replenish the original team. If the original staff members have expressed their desire to make things more specific, we sometimes come back to several points. That said, as a general rule, we make sure that the revisions always respect the original version.
Why do you think remasters are so popular right now? It's not just the FF series that goes through that.
I mean that the Final Fantasy The series has somehow acted as a pioneer in this regard, but it may be a little exaggerated! Final Fantasy XIIfor example, was amazing – it sold over a million copies. Nowadays, the new games are certainly endowed with incredible technology, but at the time – and I think other companies understand it too – the creators were looking with some intensity for what they wanted to create, and I think of the very way in which were created at the time differs from the way it is today. This meticulous attention to detail has been incorporated into players in the game culture during this period and, therefore, even ten, twenty years later, you can see that the "classics are never out of fashion", so to speak. Memories of people from each main line Final Fantasy the titles reflect the profound impact of this avenue of entertainment on the lives of each player at the time. I would like to present a new title again for them to play in this generation, but I still think that for people in their thirties or forties today, Final Fantasy the titles they have lived in their teens or twenties will always be unforgettable. With this meaning in mind, we view these past titles as treasures.
The recent FFIX Port to Switch was based on the mobile version. In the future, will other ports of the Nintendo Switch also be based on mobile versions?
"Based on the mobile version" is not quite right – for starters we used the Final Fantasy IX as a base and recreated the game using the Unity engine. Using this version as a base, we created the mobile version as well as the Steam and Switch versions. As such, it is not based on the mobile version; rather it is based on the version created on Unity. The mobile version was first published, so I think a lot of people think it's the base version, but that's not the case. In addition, for other titles, we do not necessarily use this method each time. We carry the titles using the method best suited to each of them.
Which games will not be remastered or rebroadcast? I'm sure all recent re-releases have opened the door for fans who are demanding more obscure titles to get back to the current material.
Yes, we have actually received various requests from a multitude of people. In simple terms, developing multiple games simultaneously is very difficult. Therefore, we listen to fan comments and treat each title carefully, also taking into account the company's strategy.
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