Pretty cool. Yeah it's crazy how you could develop such a huge game back then in so little time and also with little money really, when compared to even a middle of the road game today. It sucks that Saka-san left Square because the guy is still awesome (I still say Lost Odyssey is the best FF since FF10) and I'd love to see him back on FF. They also lost the Xeno guys which is a pretty big deal too. Oh well.
BTW...when the fuck is the goddamn remake coming out? I mean this game was officially announced how long ago? If its not coming out this year they are high.
Isn't an Oral history when an old chick gives a blowjob?
I'd take Sakaguchi over the frauds that came after him any day of the week though. Him and that beautiful mustache.
This is actually decent, unlike most things of this sort that are simply long.
We all like to shit on video game journalism because it really isn't journalism, well this is what actual journalism looks like. This piece by Polygon is super in depth and gets direct quotes from 30 of the people involved in the creation and marketing that lead to one of the biggest games of all time.
http://www.polygon.com/a/final-fantasy-7
In it you will read a bunch on how arrogant Nintendo was and how that lead to the split that changed video games forever. It talks about how Sony went all in with being a publishing partner by giving square crazy royalties.
The actual development was just a year, crazy how different game development was then and now. That's what I found most fascinating, how FFVII came about because square had tons and tons of funds and yet they allowed full creative freedom. It was also a time where Sakaguchi was the "king" and every single decision on the game was him. It was a dictatorship, one vision and because of that you got this masterpiece. Game design is not like that anymore, it's all committe based, trying to appeal to all sorts of demographics which leads to a game that can be bland. That said they said the success of FFVII changed Sakaguchi and it lead him to make the FF movie which was a total disaster.
its a tale of how when all the stars align you get an all time masterpiece but that success could lead to arrogance and poor future decisions.
If you like any insight into game development or care about video game history this is a great read.