I wrote a thing! How Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Unites Parents and Kids Across Generations
I was absolutely tickled to speak with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth's director Naoki Hamaguchi about his experience as a father, and how games like Final Fantasy VII Remake and Rebirth are using nostalgia to reach a whole new audience through the original generation of Final Fantasy VII fans: our kids.
It goes without saying that Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was one of my most anticipated games of the year. And, now, 15 hours in, I can safely say it's exceeding my expectations, and unless things go totally south over the game's back half, it'll easily be the front-runner for 2024 GOTY (and likely would've beat out any of the heavy-hitters from last year, too.)
So, I was absolutely tickled to speak with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth's director Naoki Hamaguchi about his experience as a father, and how games like Final Fantasy VII Remake and Rebirth are using nostalgia to reach a whole new audience through the original generation of Final Fantasy VII fans: our kids.
Naoki Hamaguchi spent his high school years obsessively poring over gaming magazines for news about Final Fantasy 7. Now, a quarter century later, he's directing the latest entry in the series, and looking to wow fans of the original and newcomers alike.
A direct sequel to 2020's Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Hamaguchi's Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is a heady, unusual blend of pure remake, bringing players through all the familiar locations and story beats of the original, as well as sequel, introducing new elements to the story as dreamy antagonist Sephiroth attempts to rewrite the events in the original game to change the ending.
It's a big, bold idea. But Final Fantasy 7 has always been big and bold going back to its meteoric 1997 debut, which changed not only what players expected from console RPGs, but from gaming as a whole with its incredible set pieces, riveting story, and one of the most memorable plot twists of all time.
"I still remember the sensational debut of Final Fantasy 7," Hamaguchi tells IGN when I asked about his experience with the game in the late 90s as the industry shifted from 2D pixel art games to brand new 3D tech. Times were different back then, he explained. Nowadays you can get up-to-the-minute updates about your most anticipated games thanks to the Internet, but back then it was a drip feed.
In addition to Hamaguchi, I also spoke with a handful of parents who've introduced their kids to Final Fantasy VII through the remakes, and we explore what it means to share our beloved childhood experiences with our own kids.
Read it here:
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