Japan declares an official ‘Final Fantasy 7’ Day
Final Fantasy 7 Day has been officially registered in Japan, 26 years to the day after the iconic role-playing game (RPG) first launched.
Square Enix has marked the occasion by sharing that Final Fantasy 7 Day has been “officially registered” in Japan, and will take place on January 31 each year.
Along with the announcement, Square Enix’s Twitter account shared a message from game director Yoshinori Kitase.
“The 31st of January 1997, the day that Final Fantasy 7 came out, was not just a significant day for the Final Fantasy series, but also marked when so many big things started moving for those of us who worked on the game,” shared Kitase.
“I remember being overwhelmed at the breakneck speed with which video game technology was evolving, but also dreaming big things for the future,” he said, adding: “with the establishment of this official anniversary day, I will now always remember these things, and hold them dearly in my heart.”
Currently, Kitase is the producer for Square Enix’s Final Fantasy 7 Remake. While the first game in the planned trilogy launched back in 2020, a specific release date for the second release – Rebirth – is yet to be confirmed, though it’s planned to launch in winter 2023.
Last year, creative director Tetsuya Nomura revealed that the remake’s developers were originally unsure if it would require two or three games.
“Originally, I was planning a trilogy, but Kitase suggested that (Square Enix) would like to explore the possibility of a two-part series,” explained Nomura. “It’s one of the many ideas that came up. At the beginning of development for Final Fantasy 7 Remake, it was difficult to see how many man-hours and what kind of development cycle would be necessary, but by the time we finished, we could understand the required man-hours and schedule.”
In other gaming news, Xbox, Nintendo and Sony are all reportedly skipping this year’s E3 return.
The post Japan declares an official ‘Final Fantasy 7’ Day appeared first on NME.
Andy Brown
NME
