The Evolution of Final Fantasy from Final Fantasy VII to Rebirth with Yoshinori Kitase | BAFTA

Legendary producer/director Yoshinori Kitase takes us an epic journey of his career in the games industry; from his early years being inspired by Star Wars; finding his way into the core Final Fantasy team and working on one of the most iconic games ever: Final Fantasy VII.
Includes audience Q&A, and discussion with Steffan Powell.
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[@Riku2005]

damn the godlike Square Enix translator is back. He's been working there for like 16+ years crazy....

[@dylangreene86]

This translator is in another league. So much personality and movement to emphasize Kitase's intent. Great watch!!!

[@grapes9h5]

Yeah he did a great job

[@LiquidFlower]

This is such a nice presentation! The translation was so on point I actually felt gutted they cut out his translation towards Yoshinore Kitase as I wanted to see more of his expressions towards the questions being asked. Seeing his ability to joke around and laugh makes him look so much more human than most Japanese to English translations have been able to do.

[@adrianyoyo3635]

He's been there for a while

[@cirmothe9]

He looks like he'll take a bullet for Kitase too.

[@dylangreene86]

So very true. I look at previous images of him compared to this video and it doesn't even seem like the same person.​@@cirmothe9

[@The_dunkman]

bro the translator is insanely good

[@petervickers911]

i think he has been on before actually for remake

[@itslukebond]

It’s Gavin. He did them for remake and XV, he’s literally an S-Tier translator.

[@25cats]

he’s insane. Hope he’s reading this and soaking in the compliments he deserves it

[@theonewhoistornapart2506]

Oh shit it's Gavin Poffley. I haven't seen him since Final Fantasy XV. He is the best translator I have ever seen.

[@AtotheZness]

Gav!!!!

[@theonewhoistornapart2506]

@@AtotheZness The Gavinator!!!

[@eddy5097]

I absolutely adore everyone that worked at Squaresoft in the 80s and 90s God bless you all and please take care of your health and thank you

[@zayjay26]

This man such a legend Director of Final Fantasy 6, 7, 8, 10 and Chrono Trigger. Also Producer of FF 13 trilogy, FF 15 and the FF7 Remake series 🐐🎉

[@dreamer6737]

They actually exceeded my expectations with VIIR project. So much respect for Kitase, Nomura and rest of the dev team. It’s not an easy task remaking this game.

[@alyzaabal33]

It is a remarkable achievement. I didn't receive the first game very warmly but it has aged incredibly well. I think this project will end up being a legendary success.

[@NoctLightCloud]

​@@alyzaabal33 Agree. I personally am very glad that we aren't getting a 1:1 retelling. I once saw someone commenting how we get the mystery about who Zack and Sephiroth are once again, just like for the first time when we played the og7 - the devs thus invoked literally the same feelings in us surrounding the same characters once again. Also, changing things up helps the community bridge the waiting time until the next installment. I heavily(!) doubt that the ff7r project would've been discussed as much if it were a 1:1 retelling. By the way, Sqex is using the same meta trick for Kingdom Hearts now, and it's working wonders for the revival of that franchise. Kingdom Hearts 4 is still at least 1 year away (KH3 released in 2019! and sold the most in that franchise), but they've managed to include some content that makes for even crazier discussions than the ff7r project. Which is very exciting and keeps the fandom alive for years. And the fans are welcoming the changes.

[@Daniel_Rodrigues_89]

Yeah, man. It's so easy to take it for granted now, but for us who played the original at the time it stills feels like a dream. We've waited and waited and waited SO MUCH, since Advent Children and the PS3 tech demo and all the OG rereleases, that the only thing I could think of is that this would NEVER happen, because the expectation was simply unprecedent to any game that I knew of. There was simply no way to deal with this level of hype, and the E3 where they announced the Remake may still the greatest moment of all time in the game industry for some people, including me. And you know what? They KILLED it. There's just SO MANY ways it could go wrong and make the project universally hated for basically messing with so many people's childhoods, and in the end IT'S WORKING. And they even took the risk of changing lots of stuff the way the franchise is known for, instead of going safe with a glorified remaster (like Super Mario RPG, for example). They accepted the challenge of remaking one of the greatest, most influential games of all times, and they did it the FF way. Can't be bolder than that.

[@Wickerrman]

They didn't remake it, they made a sequel. You can tell it's a sequel because it requires prior knowledge of the OG game to fully understand.

[@Erikthedood]

6, 7, 9, 10, 15, and 16 are my favorites. 7 is my all time favorite, including the remake. Kitase is a legend in gaming. Thank you for uploading this!

[@mkk2010]

I think Kitase is under appreciated for the part he played in the final fantasy games. My favourites 7, 8, 9 and 10. That was a special era in games

[@Haveafastbath]

Kitase is truly a hero of the industry. Translator is unreal too.

[@aceplatini859]

lol his game didn’t sell.

[@kurisu3000]

@@aceplatini859 Finish your homework, Jimmy.

[@ocean_0602]

​@@aceplatini859 Look up the actual data instead of regurgitating misinformation. You purist fans are so far removed from reality, unable to view things outside the confines of your nostalgia-driven pessimistic cynicism. Kitase and his team have put both Remake and Rebirth among Playstation's highest rated games of all time. Both games have sold just fine and will continue to sell for years to come. Keep crying though.

[@aceplatini859]

@@ocean_0602 keep snorting that copium dude. I posted this over a month ago before figures had been released. You could tell no one bought it by the amount of views the game got in KZbin and twitch, total disinterest. the game actually sold half of remake and less than 16. SE has also just posted loses. The company is going down the shi tter and it’s because of bad choices by the developers.

[@DewaHuang]

Kitase san truly is one of the greats in our gaming world. Thank you for your work and dedication

[@m.sinangursel846]

Thank you all who organized and contributed to this insightful event. Great questions at Q & A also.

[@nelia039]

Kitase-san is a treasure. So much emotion tied with creating Final Fantasy. ❤ No wonder

[@DonCactuar]

Thanks a lot for uploading this. As many pointed out, shout out for Gavin, amazing work there translating. Thanks Kitase for giving up on the pressure to remake FFVII :D. I guess we were all anxious for it while at the same time kind of fearful that "it could go wrong". After playing REMAKE and also experienced REBIRTH's DEMO, you guys did it. Somehow i'm able to feel that these characters are the same ones as those polygonal dolls back who could only talk through text. The care for the detail and respecting the original while at the same time taking it to different paths really touch the nostalgic and surprised/curious nerves.

[@NoctLightCloud]

after the departure of core team members and merger into Sqex, it was almost like they were in a decades long depression and dropped in quality and passion. I'm glad they hired new staff and included both sides to breathe fresh air into FF (and KH4 next, as it seems).

[@kaylee42900]

I was just thinking yesterday how the character voices ARE these characters I first saw as a bunch of blocks with badly translated text. Like the voice over work could have gone so wrong. But it turned out legit amazing and just feels correct.

[@davidwilson6577]

That is a fantastic way to gauge your audience.

[@user-zp4ls2je8h]

thank you kitase and thank you mr. translator!

[@Yasuroth]

This was great! Thank you everyone.

[@bafta]

What is your favourite Final Fantasy game?

[@mauriciojr.4276]

Final Fantasy VIII

[@khayrinqistina1901]

Final Fantasy X

[@Franktasy7]

Final Fantasy VII

[@paulwarren29]

6

[@knightofanguish7399]

VII, IV, X, VIII, and IX. VI will play someday

[@atomosfabian]

Thanks for this, Love so much Final Fantasy and its creators

[@nasrulfarid6826]

The translator 🫡

[@Karanagi]

Such thoughtful questions and answers at the end. Gavin's brand of translation is also a delight!

[@fernandozavaletabustos205]

Awesome presentation and translator!

[@snowrider9018]

…MAX WAS RIGHT. My god, Kitase is definitely making the VII Remake trilogy based on Star Wars 4, 5, 6. FFVII Rebirth is gonna be based on Empire strikes back and end on a sour note

[@annakatharinasponagel4630]

47:30 I was not ready for the feels

[@black9rw]

7, 15 and 8.

[@jxbanzai]

Much as being the translator, this man has to be part of the production team just by seeing so passionate in his words and the way he translate what mr. kitase is talking about. don't know his background but man never saw a man doing his job like this.

[@akiinmoonlight79]

Bless Kitase ❤

[@Bpace777]

We're lucky to have Kitase and Hamaguchi on the Remake trilogy.

[@atikurrahman9304]

Rpg god

[@aceplatini859]

Weird how he never talked about final fantasy being online, that’s a pretty big leap.

[@Mrdeathxv]

7 AND 13

[@ValAllenSamonte]

volume too low :o

[@dhdurhueur-qe5pn]

Added to watch later-hope the rumors are true and X is getting the Remake/Rebirth treatment. That style of combat, along with insta-character-swap-which I'm sure will be in Part 3-is perfect for X.

[@Wickerrman]

Oh I really hope not. I'd hate that so much. FFX is fine as it is, it was a great game and needs nothing else.

[@wilddragonchase]

needed to put headphones on to hear it at all

[@Nigel222]

You should probably reupload this with boosted audio. Its very quiet.

[@alrecendo1640]

Why the volume so low

[@levitastic]

sound is a bit low..

[@luciosemirsahagun8376]

IV,VI,VII,VIII,IX,X,XV,XVI

[@kennethguinto4862]

II ,IV, VI, VIII, IX, X , XII, XV

[@Wickerrman]

Story and world of XII, yes. Combat, no. XV more or less the same, except the story shouldn't have been split with the film etc.

[@berserkguts6212]

S Rank translator here like Cloud Lol

[@jamesgravil9162]

Star Wars was still showing in cinemas in 1978?

[@numinous_ashes]

Yes. It stayed in cinemas for over a year, if I recall correctly.

[@user-sm1it7yj1w]

STAR WARS was showing at 1978 in Japan.

[@idaiyar]

Translataga equipped

[@taimalik1110]

The translator puts to shame Google translate :p

[@DodderingOldMan]

Everyone's saying how great the translator is, but I actually speak Japanese and Kitase really spent this entire speech talking about how much he hates Final Fantasy and how he's always been a Dragon Quest fan. ... Obviously this is a joke, please don't kill me.

[@AKABoondock19]

Rebirth looks good, but I hate what they have turned the mainline series into.

[@BHFFS]

Imagine repeatedly mispronouncing Enix when translating someone pronouncing it perfectly.

[@vonclaren1]

Yeah, it evolved into pure sh*t

[@beyondearth6418]

This should have been called the "Devolution" of the final fantasy...

[@aceplatini859]

Yoshinori Kitase thought Rebirth was like Empire, ended up making The Last Jedi. What a pleb, time to retire old boy before you sink the company. 13 y/o girls write better fan fiction 😂.

[@DanIel-fl1vc]

Skipped through the transcript of this video. It's very good except a few things he said. He is happy that Final Fantasy VII remake was made by a new generation of people that were fans of original Final Fantasy VII. And that in order to expand the genre you need new people with different ideas. Yet he said he was surprised by the new generation's lack of understanding of how to use a physical camera, where to put the tripod. The camera placement in a visually driven narrative like a game or a movie is as important as the assets. If the game developers don't understand this it will cripple the product. Leaving the camera control up to the player while moving around for example, a mistake. It's also a bad idea to have fans of something design an upgraded version of that thing, it becomes a caricature of the thing. Lack of subtle qualities or understanding of what made it good to begin with. Superficial understanding. This is evident in the remake and rebirth games, the fan service and "cool" scenes is off the charts. It hasn't got to be cool or make the fanatics happy to be good, in fact if you're on the outside looking in. The "cool" stuff will make people roll their eyes. I also suspect that the technical limitations prevented them from going where they really wanted to go. The 400x200 resolution might have been a blessing in disguise. Because they really didn't hold back on "anime" aesthetic in FF7 remake and FF16. The look they went for in FF14 makes it unplayable. It's difficulty to know exactly why FF8 FF9 FF10 hit gold. Could be the music, could be the world design, turn based battles or crazy narratives. But none of what made those games enjoyable survived into the modern games. Final Fantasy has ultimately become a provider of fan service not original work that can stand on its own two feet. There's a better way to put it, it's obvious from playing the games that the games are aware of whom they're trying to please. If you're a game developer I think you should focus on trying to please someone who has never played a game. That means if you're a gamer, throw your assumptions of what's good out the window. Look to movies and literature for inspiration, not what they're clearly doing. Witcher 3, World of Warcraft, Devil may cry and original Final Fantasy 7.

[@Wickerrman]

A.K.A. How to take a loved franchise of games and ruin them by changing them beyond recognition in order to try and attract the mainstream while ignoring our current fans.

[@priv1leged]

it all went downhill ever since uematsu and sakaguchi left the boat. dont even mention FF7 remake. FF games were ready to enjoy finished artworks and now they are selling u bits of the cake to profit from additional spinoffs and never finish the actual main game.

[@lukedodson3441]

Go away

[@priv1leged]

@@lukedodson3441 just stop

[@unitedcamos]

only case that comes into mind is final fantasy 15 which was a disaster, but you cant say that for the other final fantasy games especially FF VII remake which has more content that the majority of games launching these days

[@Wickerrman]

@@unitedcamosMore filler, more side quests, more excuses to put the price up but things that don't really improve the game.