Development Staff of Crisis Core -FinalFantasy VII- ● PART 1
Thinking about how to move the camera to prevent motion sickness
——As the name FFVII implies, it’s an event-packed game even on a handheld device.
Maeda
When we first decided on the title CC, we thought it wouldn’t be very large because it was for a handheld device. However, as the development progressed, it gained more attention within the company, and the scale of the project grew in response. As long as it calls itself an FF, it can’t be done halfway, right?
Shindo
It’s true that at first I thought it would be a little lighter [in size]. Gradually, the motions became more extravagant and the graphics more beautiful, and eventually we had to use the UMD to the limit of its capacity.
Momose
As for the process of creating an event, once the scenario is created, we separate the parts that will be events and the parts that will be games. We also discussed whether to use motion capture or manual motion for the event parts, and if necessary, we made storyboards and started production from there. This time, I spent about a year writing an unprecedented amount of storyboards.
——Did the handheld aspect of the game come into consideration?
Momose
Thinking about the users who will be playing the game on trains and other vehicles, we tried not to move the camera too much in the event scenes to prevent motion sickness. We then decided on a screen layout that would properly showcase the motion-captured actors’ performances properly.
Iwasawa
The lack of camera movement also made it difficult to see facial expressions clearly, so we had to create facial animations to a degree that was unbelievable for a handheld device. I was also in charge of the facial animations for “Kingdom Hearts”, but the number of polygons available on the PSP is much smaller than on the PS2.
Momose
I didn’t expect the facial animation to be so precise, so I was surprised. The timing of the lines and mouths are in sync, and in addition to that, the eyes and eyebrows are used to create a very detailed theatrical performance. We were able to create the events as we had hoped, so we were really grateful.
Iwasawa
After receiving instructions from Momose, I gave more detailed instructions to the staff. The staff must have been fed up with me asking them to do too much with the PSP, but they were able to meet most of my requests. That’s why I’m so confident about this facial animation.
What is the secret of CC feeling like FFVII?
——The mini-game events at various locations made me feel like I was playing FFVII 10 years ago. Is there anything special you’ve done to make the game more like FFVII?
Oka
We assigned a person to each location, and each person was free to work how they pleased, which is the same method used in FFVII. Each staff member was free to develop their own ideas, and in the end, their individual strengths came together to create the work. I think this way of creating the game resulted in a feeling similar to FFVII.
——Oka, where were you in charge of?
Oka
The snowy mountains of Modeoheim and the final dungeon. There was a scene in FFVII where you climb up a snowy mountain while maintaining your body temperature by moving your body. I combined that idea with squats to create a mini-game in Modeoheim. But when I finished it, it was so difficult that I couldn’t even open all the treasure chests (laughs).
Shindo
I used to be on the development team for the “SaGa” series, but when I moved to this project, I was in charge of Gongaga and Banora Village before the bombing. The sub-event where you get the treasure from the Gongaga waterfall is called “Zack’s Treasure” among us (laughs). When I asked Oka to check it over, he said, “For better or worse, it feels like FFVII”. When I heard that, I thought, “I’m done!”.
Oka
At first, “Zack’s Treasure” was integrated into the main storyline. But Zack’s anxiety was oddly high, and it doesn’t fit the development of the serious scenario in any way (laughs). So I made it a sub-event that you have to turn back to find.
Shindo
Tabata (Hajime Tabata, Director) told me, “You can’t incorporate that into the main story!” (laughs).
——With so many different types of events, was it difficult to put together a program that could handle them all?
Moriya
Basically, we have a structure where we prepare a few all-purpose commands and then the person in charge of the event uses them to write a script (simple program), but special events are still tough. In particular, Kitase (Yoshinori Kitase, Executive Producer) was in charge of the event in Nibelheim where you fight while protecting Cloud. It wasn’t my intention to display the distance during the battle. Kitase also started to do many other special and complicated things without consulting me, such as the sniper event in Nibel Plain. And then when he had difficulties, he’d tell me “Do something about it” and he made me create a new command for the script (laughs).
Oka
There are so many dedicated commands that only Kitase uses.
Shindo
He would come up to us and mutter something like, “Isn’t there a command for this?” and “Well, I could do without it.” Once he said that, I couldn’t stop making them (laughs).
Moriya
If I had had more time, I would have made mini-games like the snowboarding and submarine games from FFVII. When we made a mahjong-like game to test the PSP’s communication function, we had an idea, “Let’s replace [the images] with a picture of a SOLDIER and make “SOLDjong”, but unfortunately we couldn’t implement it.
Various Anecdotes About the Ending
——The D.M.W. system used is rather unique, isn’t it?
Maeda
At first, we all had a hard time understanding what Nomura (Tetsuya Nomura, Creative Producer & Character Designer) and Tabata were aiming for, so we had to rework it many times.
Moriya
Every part of CC was “made and broken” over and over again, and the D.M.W. in particular took a lot of work to get to its current form.
Maeda
The first thing I envisioned for the D.M.W. was the preview effects in the LCD section of a pachinko machine. Similarly, we had prepared a presentation with three different types of images: “success”, “fail”, and “change from fail to success”. For example, Tseng encounters a monster in Sector 8 in Midgar and calls Zack. Zack will come to [Teng’s] rescue if it’s a “success”, but Tseng will be damaged by the monster if it’s a “fail”. And in the case of “change from fail to success”, Zack will come to [Tseng’s] aid when he is about to be damaged. However, Nakazawa (Takatsugu Nakazawa, Battle Planner) pointed out that “it was difficult to incorporate into battles”, and we had to change everything. So we adopted Tabata’s request that “I’d like to see a movie about Zack’s past that isn’t told in the main story”, and settled on the current form. Although you can’t choose which footage you will watch, some of them will complement the story and connect to its meaning when watched. I hope you will return to the battles again and again to watch them all.
——In the last battle, the staging of the D.M.W is very impactful.
Moriya
I can’t even remember how many times that scene had to be recreated, and the programmer who was in charge of it was discouraged and was like, “Again?” After all, the ending of the game is very special. In previous FF games, the ending was usually triggered by an event, but this time, the ending was suddenly triggered from the battle screen. There were a lot of exceptions to deal with, such as the subtitles…… In the end, though, it turned out to be something excellent that was well worth the effort.
——It’s true that from the final battle to the movie, it’s a magnificent ending, isn’t it?
Momose
For the ending movie, our initial policy was to not show blood and to adhere to the “CERO:A” (Computer Entertainment Rating Organization: “All Ages”) standard. For this reason, I had to create a storyboard that did not show any wounds or blood, even though the character was shot. In that scene, it’s raining, but that was originally put in instead of flowing blood. But partway through, the policy changed, and in the final [version], it rains, the blood flows, and more blood dyes the puddles and gets on Cloud’s cheeks and hair…… Ikumori (Kazuyuki Ikumori: Movie Director) had a lot of trouble with that kind of processing.
——Is there anything you tried to do in terms of direction for the ending movie?
Momose
Tabata had told me many times, “Make it something that leaves us with hope, not just the despair of death”. So I tried to depict a straightforward scene where the Buster Sword is inherited by Cloud. The rain that falls when Zack is dying stops by the time Cloud says “Thank you”, indicating the passage of time, but this sequence of events also hints at how Zack’s memories are imprinting onto Cloud. Also, there are Genesis Copies in CC, but when the main body isn’t there, the copies stop their activities, right? It’s the same thing with Cloud. Since Sephiroth isn’t there, Cloud has lost his mind and hasn’t recovered his ability to function. In the ending, however, Cloud stands up—which means that Sephiroth’s resurrection will happen soon. In this way, I tried to depict the beginning of a new story.
“The ending is also depicted as foreshadowing a new story.”
Main Programmer
守屋俊 — Shun Moriya
Story secrets only I know
If you look closely at the full view of Midgar in the opening scene of FFVII, you can see a man and a woman hugging on the upper floors of an office. The person in charge of the project at the time secretly drew them, and it’s still there in the final version.
Event Planning Director
岡勝 — Masaru Oka
Story secrets only I know
Halfway through the story, “Theme of the Shinra Building” is played in the Shinra Building. That song represents Shinra as seen from the outside, meaning that after Angeal’s death, Zack’s heart left Shinra.
TL Note: “heart” is “心”.
Continuity Director
百瀬季之 — Toshiyuki Momose
Story secrets only I know
For the motion capture of the scene where Zack and Genesis cross swords, the actors were showing signs of fatigue in their movements, so we modified the data, and the scene turned out to be completely different from when it was recorded.
Event Planning CO-Director
前田明彦 — Akhikio Maeda
Story secrets only I know
For the scene in the D.M.W. where Zack fails to jump up, I used the same motion that the person playing Zack made when he failed to jump up. Incidentally, the successful motion is played by the person playing Angeal.
Lead Event Planner
進藤和幸 — Kazuyuki Shindo
Story secrets only I know
If you examine the billboard in Banora Village, you will see that it says “Banora White Juice, Refreshing and Smooth”. But such an item doesn’t appear in the game, so please don’t look for it.
Facial Animation Designer
岩澤見 — Akira Iwasawa
Story secrets only I know
In addition to the middle and high models used in the game, Zack’s CG model had another high quality model called Super High. The model can be seen in the PV video.