The Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis outfits are stunning. From young Sephiroth’s classic Shinra hero garb to Cait Sith’s adorable party jacket, and even Zack’s umbrella-wielding tropical beach fit, you can be as serious or cutesy as you like while playing through epic active time battles.
So, to celebrate Ever Crisis’ one-year anniversary, we spoke with Shoichi Ichikawa, the game’s producer, about how the team designs outfits that fit each character’s personality and style, if Nomura’s love of belts has any impact on designs, and why they chose to differ the outfits from Remake and Rebirth.
Pocket Tactics: Are there any specific guidelines you have to follow to ensure each character’s outfits match their personality and style, or do you base them purely on aesthetics?
Shoichi Ichikawa: We do keep the existing design elements of the character in question in mind when creating new weapons and gear. For example, with Cloud, we keep his original design in mind and use it as a sort of guideline for approaching new elements.
Of course, for things like seasonal outfits, we focus more on how the gear matches with the season’s image or themes. Any outfits that we know a particular character would never wear are generally not incorporated into the game.
Is there a reason why the outfits differ from Final Fantasy VII Remake/Rebirth? For example, the beach outfits in Ever Crisis are different from those in Rebirth.
Of course, we could’ve made those outfits exactly the same, but I figured those who are enjoying Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis are probably looking forward to brand-new outfits they have never seen before. As such, we plan to continue weaving in outfits seen in titles such as Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, etc., while also adding lots of original outfits as well.
All of the outfits are very varied, I get a sense that different inspirations include Middle Eastern culture, formal Western wear, and Nomura’s love of belts among other things – what would you say your biggest inspirations are?
The gear designs in Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis are not handled by a single artist, but a team of multiple artists, and we take those various rough drafts to Tetsuya Nomura to review and select. So, rather than the outfits being inspired by one particular aspect, you are seeing the influence each of the artists have, which I think is what makes it so good.
Do you face any challenges when designing outfits for Cait Sith and Red XIII? They’re non-human but still have unique looks.
Actually, the team seems to come up with lots of ideas because Cait Sith and Red XIII are not human. It’s very interesting to see what designs come around for Red XIII especially. For example, the team could take an outfit originally meant for a human and then deliberately redesign it for a canine, making it feel even more human-like.
Will Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith’s iconic dresses from Don Corneo’s Mansion ever come to Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis in the future?
I can’t answer in detail at this time, but I feel like these are highly popular outfits, so I would love to be able to deliver them to the players. Please look forward to it!
That’s it for our time with Shoichi Ichikawa, I’d like to thank him for his time and I can’t wait to see what’s next for Ever Crisis. For more on the best Final Fantasy games, why not check out why we think a Final Fantasy 8 and Final Fantasy 9 remake aren’t out of the question?