Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy co-director Motomu Toriyama focused on retaining stronger elements of the original story while improving other aspects.
Speaking during a talk show session alongside game designer Teruki Endo at INACON, Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy co-director Motomu Toriyama shared that he focused on elaborating the good parts from the original story while creating a new framework for things that needed to be improved. However, he added that the development team made sure the new elements wouldn’t ruin the original story and would stay true to it.
Toriyama gave the example of the story of Red XIII, which is similar to his story in the 1997 original, though there are key new elements, such as camera work, background music, and voice overs. Additionally, he mentioned the example of a new scene featuring Aerith in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, where she expresses her worries about being an Ancient. He said that by giving more depth to each character, he hoped the trilogy could move players’ emotions and result in them enjoying it more than the original.
The Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy co-director further mentioned that the date event in Gold Saucer stood out as memorable to him. He explained the scenario in the original is very popular among fans. In Final Fantasy VII Rebrith, the development team made it more elaborate by turning the loveless stage play into a fantasy opera, where Aerith sings the game’s theme song on-stage. He also brought up the intimate moment in the Gondola. He added that he wanted players to talk about Yuffie’s first love and enjoy the date with Cid, Vincent, and Cait Sith, which is referred to as the “rejected group” by the development team.
Toriyama encouraged fans to check out the shops in each of Rebirth’s towns/cities, because the scenario team has added a lot of unique dialogues and interactions with NPCs. He particularly recommendation visiting a magic book store in Junon called Maghnata Book.
