Square Enix turned to Final Fantasy 7 spin-off film Advent Children to inform how the remake trilogy should look, partly because the developers believed fans found it to be the “ideal vision” of the OG JRPG.
As part of a PAX West panel that delves into how the trilogy was designed, Final Fantasy 7 Revelation director Naoki Hamaguchi explains why Advent Children was the visual benchmark.
“For many fans, we can say that Advent Children is remembered as an ideal vision of Final Fantasy 7,” he says. “So, we wanted to bring the appeal of that visual piece to life as a game that gamers themselves could experience.”
As a slide further explains, Square Enix wanted to ‘gamify’ the film experience so fans of the flick could experience its visual quality and atmosphere – obviously, in a more immersive way. A big reason is that devs believed the film “set a new standard” for Final Fantasy 7 in terms of character expression, especially in Cloud and Sephiroth’s appearance, movement, and presence.
Naturally, part of the reason that Final Fantasy 7 Remake could look like Advent Children, despite being a game, is that the latter came out in 2005, so the capability of gaming graphics had plenty of time to advance. Still, it’s an interesting visual reference. While the OG Final Fantasy 7 is as old as the hills, Cloud and the gang have appeared elsewhere in the years following that, offering a glimpse of what they might look like with an update.
Perhaps our closest was the opening scene, remade for the PS3 to showcase its graphical capabilities. To the great sadness of many, it was merely a tech demo and not an actual remake reveal, but the vibe was there. Additionally, Cloud has appeared in plenty of other fighting games, both Square Enix-led and not, which gave us a hint of what he could look like in an updated game. For years, a Final Fantasy 7 remake was merely a wishlist item for fans, not something Square Enix would commit to for a while.
How times change. Still, it’s nice to see another reference to wider Final Fantasy 7 media, which Square Enix hasn’t been shy of making, especially when it comes to what Final Fantasy 7 Revelation might include from the series broader offering – not just its visual style and quality. We will, of course, see what all of that includes when Final Fantasy 7 Revelation releases on April 8, 2027.