Those who have had the chance to play both iterations of Final Fantasy VII — the original and the recently released remake — may have been surprised to see that Sephiroth was introduced pretty early in the new game.
The original Final Fantasy VII had Cloud and other characters referencing Sephiroth before we got to see him, which actually helped make the character even more mysterious. In a recent interview posted on Square Enix's official website, Final Fantasy VII Remake Producer Yoshinori Kitase revealed why they chose to introduce him early in the remake.
As revealed by Kitase, they kept Sephiroth concealed in the beginning of the original game because he was inspired by Steven Spielberg's timeless classic film Jaws, where the shark was built up as a presence before it was revealed.
"You may not know this, but I was inspired by the movie Jaws which took a similar approach of teasing this powerful presence, but never fully showing you the shark until later in the story. We wanted to build him up as this really big, powerful character in people’s minds. By only referring to him indirectly, it created this feeling of fear and oppression - so when he makes his first appearance, it’s a big deal," Kitase explains.
It's been over twenty years since the original Final Fantasy VII was released, and keeping Sephiroth hidden just didn't make any sense now — since, according to Kitase, everybody knows who Sephiroth is now and they "didn’t think it would be as effective to have him held back until later on in the story."
"Sephiroth is this massively overarching presence that looms over the whole FINAL FANTASY VII saga. We wanted to make sure that aspect of him was present in this first game in the project - that’s why we have introduced him much earlier in the story now."
Do you think Sephiroth should've been kept hidden from the player in the beginning of the game? Do you agree that Kitase's decision to introduce him earlier in Final Fantasy VII Remake? Sound off your opinions in the comments section down below!
In Midgar, a city controlled by the mega-conglomerate Shinra Inc., the No. 1 Mako Reactor has been blown up by a rebel group, AVALANCHE. AVALANCHE was secretly formed to wage a rebellion against Shinra Inc., an organisation which is absorbing Mako energy, destroying the natural resources of the planet. Cloud, a former member of Shinra's elite combat force, SOLDIER, was involved with the bombing of the Mako Reactor. Can Cloud and AVALANCHE protect the planet from the huge, formidable enemy, Shinra Inc.?
Final Fantasy VII Remake is currently available for the PlayStation 4.