Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth producer Yoshinori Kitase thinks the cast of "very appealing characters" is what made the game so popular.
Speaking in a recent interview with Rolling Stone, producer Yoshinori Kitase and co-director Naoki Hamaguchi discussed the upcoming launch of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. They discussed modernizing the turn-based combat of the original 1997 classic title, as well as how the team at Square Enix was able to honor the other story elements.
Kitase, in particular, spoke on how he was able to approach remaking much of his original work after so many years, and that he understands what made the game a beloved classic. According to the developer, he thinks the game has grown so popular over the years due to the game's most memorable feature: its cast of characters.
"I do believe this title, being beloved for all these years, is really owed to its very appealing characters,” Kitase said. “And not just from the original title, but from Advent Children and beyond.
"We’ve really done a deep dive into the characters that allows the player to discover and feel close to understanding who these characters are. In that way, we were able to convey their personalities and character that have lasted through all these years."
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, is set to launch on February 29 exclusively for PlayStation 5, so there's just two more days to wait until its release.
For TechRadar Gaming's review, staff writer Cat Bussell rated the game four and a half stars out of five, and said that the game is a "loving recreation of the original’s second act, elevated by an impressive level of commitment and confidence and only held back by the occasional wobble." She pointed out that the deviations in Rebirth's story may annoy purists who adored the original.
For more, here's our list of the best JRPGs to play right now, alongside our list of the best single-player games.
