Final Fantasy VII Rebirth co-director Motomu Toriyama has shared how the game’s performance at The Game Awards turned the development team’s watch party into a “funeral.”
During a special interview on the Square Enix Music Channel, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth co-director Motomu Toriyama, Music Supervisor Keiji Kawamori, and Sound Director Makoto Ise shared their thoughts on the game’s acclaimed soundtrack and its reception at The Game Awards 2024. Toriyama revealed that after Final Fantasy VII Remake won Best Score and Music at The Game Awards 2020, the development team had higher hopes for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.
“This time, the team was like ‘[It’s] gonna win all the awards!’” said Toriyama. This optimism led the development team to watch the awards show live together, only to see Final Fantasy VII Rebirth repeatedly passed over in major categories. “As time went on, [it] kept being passed over, and our viewing party turned into a funeral (laughs).”
The mood changed when Final Fantasy VII Rebirth ultimately won Best Score and Music, just like Remake back in 2020. “When it finally won for music, we were all ecstatic,” Toriyama recalled. Instead of being disappointed over missed opportunities, the team chose to celebrate its continued dominance in the Score and Music category. In fact, Toriyama jokingly set a new goal of having the third and final entry follow suit.
According to the game‘s co-director, the development team’s guiding philosophy was to create music not just for cutscenes, but for exploration, dynamic gameplay scenarios, and even multi-phase boss battles. “Because this is what’s happening in the story at this moment, I want the music to do this,” he said, explaining his close collaboration with music supervisor Kawamori and sound director Ise. As a result, around 600 individual pieces of music were created for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. “We didn’t do it just for the cutscene, but for the gameplay following it,” he added.
