The following interview originally appeared in Denegki PlayStation Magazine.
In the interview, Tetsuya answered questions about Kingdom Hearts II, Kingdom Hearts:
Chain of Memories and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.
The following is an extract from the interview. We have included the questions relating
to FFVII:AC only. The full interview can be found on
GameSpot.
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DPM: Why was a movie sequel to Final Fantasy VII decided for development, and
when was it decided?
TN: About a year back, Visual Works (a company that has developed CG movies for
Square) picked FFVII as the theme for a presentation that they were going to create.
Our research and development department worked with them on its launch, and I joined
the crew after producer Kitase-san called me. It's going to be released as a sequel,
but it was planned to just be a visual presentation in the beginning.
DPM: Why is Advent Children a movie instead of a game? Are there any differences
between making a game and making a full movie?
TN: First of all, we started off from the project that Visual Works was handling,
but they can't make a game on their own. We tried to see if we could make it into
a game, but it wasn't possible due to a number of factors. As a result, we decided
to stick with the original plan and work on it as a movie production. The development
isn't too different from the way we make movies that get used in our games, but
our schedule is a bit tight. We need to keep the cost down since it's not a game,
but [we still need to] maintain high quality.
DPM: Are there any differences between creating movies for games and creating
Advent Children?
TN: There are more efforts put into the textures and the atmosphere. We usually
need to balance [the movie graphics] with the game screen, but there are no such
limitations in Advent Children, so we're going all out on it.
DPM: What meaning does Final Fantasy VII have for you?
TN: It was the Final Fantasy game that I was most involved in, and it is also my
favorite. It's also where the series takes a radical change [from past FF titles].
DPM: How is production going?
TN: We are at about 10 percent done. Not all the characters have been created
yet, but the scenario has already been completed.
DPM: Were there any things that you were especially careful about when bringing
back Cloud and Sephiroth to the screen?
TN: What you are seeing now is the result of numerous explorations. Since it
was impossible to bring the look [from FFVII] directly to the new realistic look
(in Advent Children), the characteristics that would allow anybody to recognize
Cloud and the others were left behind on them.
DPM: What kind of standing does the new character fighting with Cloud have?
TN: He is an enemy.
DPM: Were the characters in Advent Children's promotional video animated through
motion capture?
TN: They were animated by motion capture, but that capture was recently taken
for promotional use. It isn't a part of the main movie.
DPM: Are the battle scenes also created through motion capture?
TN: Many are, but parts that aren't humanly possible are done by hand.
DPM: Will the characters have voices? And will it be in English or Japanese?
TN: The characters will have voices, but I can't answer more.
DPM: What is the theme of Advent Children?
TN: Nojima, who handles the scenario, says that it won't be something soft,
like healing. It will be about survival.
DPM: Where, specifically, will Advent Children take place? Will it be somewhere
from the original Final Fantasy VII?
TN: It's hidden in the logo.
DPM: How long will Advent Children be?
TN: It is planned to run for 60 minutes.
DPM: Are there any chances for a FFVII sequel to be developed as a game after
the release of Advent Children?
TN: I hope that this project may lead to something, since we woke up something
that was sleeping.
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