Xenogears Weekly Famitsu preview interview (1997)

The following is a translation of an interview with Tetsuya Takahashi and Hiromichi Tanaka from the 1997.11.28 issue of Weekly Famitsu from a series of pages that previewed Xenogears a couple of months before its Japanese release. The original scans were donated to the Xeno Underground website by pidgezero_one.

Translation by: trexalfa

Undertaking an emergency interview with the developers of a highly anticipated RPG, launching in the New Year! Before saying "this isn't Square-like," "I don’t like anime" or whatever else, read this! This is an exclusive interview granted to Famitsu in which the two top men in charge of development spell out what’s on their mind, all for the purpose of spurring the hype towards even greater heights! Ho-ho-how about it!! Videogame development is always a challenge, and Xenogears comes packed with new elements! Hand drawn animation for the purpose of depicting psychology: Interviewer: The opening of the game is a movie done in hand drawn animation, however, wouldn't you say that its flavor is liable to be considered different? Hiromichi Tanaka (Tanaka hereafter): You think so? I believe it proceeds in an orthodox way, rather. Interviewer: It's also anime, so it leaves a comparatively un-Square-like impression (laughs). Tanaka: I see (laughs). At first we had quite the heated argument within the company, then Takahashi said "we are going with this." After that, if you saw the completed thing, you'd think "I see, so he wanted to do something like this, huh" and find yourself mysteriously convinced. Interviewer: Mr Takahashi, why did you want to put hand drawn animation into the game? Tetsuya Takahashi (Takahashi hereafter): I had various reasons, but first of all, it was a matter that had to do with the game system. In this videogame, aren't the maps done in 3D, while the characters are expressed as 2D? Interviewer: Just the opposite of "Final Fantasy VII," isn't that right? Takahashi: Exactly. When it comes to characters in 3D, you might be able to put great care into things like the camera work, however, when it comes to characters in 2D, above all, it is sadly difficult to make them act. When it comes to characters portrayed in a deformed style, with shrunken heads and bodies, we weren't able to depict the parts that we wanted to depict at all costs. Accordingly, this time we used anime in those specific instances connected to the foundations and themes of the story. They are surely focused on those parts that involve things like the core of the story and the psychological depiction of the characters. Tanaka: After all, things like psychological depiction are difficult to pull off using CG images. Interviewer: I see. Certainly, even things like slight movements of one's gaze hint at that person's emotions. So it was rather easy to depict such a thing using hand drawn animation, right? Takahashi: Nowadays, you either shoot live footage, getting the service of professional actors, or you use hand drawn animation. You could also do everything through CG animation, but that'd be impossible unless you were willing to risk some 10 or 20 billion yen. Tanaka: I think we should be able to make things related to nature, such as trees and rocks, using CG. However, I believe that, when it comes to subtle changes in the facial expressions of humans, there are sides of it that remain unrefined. Interviewer: I see. So, in chasing after that expression, you chose anime without reluctance. Takahashi: We didn't face excessive reluctance. Tanaka: To this day, I'm still reluctant (laughs). We didn't want to create a half-baked protagonist. Inteviewer: I've heard that a great number of the staff for "Chrono Trigger" is connected to this project but, what do you have to say about it? Tanaka: Sure enough, I believe that they've influenced us a little (laughs). Takahashi: Comparatively speaking, there are many pastoral things in the village that shows up in Xenogears. I think that might be some vestiges of Chrono right there. However, that's about all that's reflected. Interviewer: Seeing the ideas behind the protagonist, Fei, don't they look similar to Cloud from Final Fantasy VII? Takahashi: Regarding the ideas behind Fei, what became their foundation was a protagonist concept which I submitted in the early days of Final Fantasy VII's development. It was a protagonist who had been administered a mock personality, who breaks away from a society subjected to tight control, and goes on to live an adventure in the world of genesis. Nevertheless, Fei ultimately became an entirely different character from Cloud. Interviewer: As expected, did you pay special attention to the ideas behind his [Fei's] character? Takahashi: It seems that I did. I've found myself to be deeply dissatisfied with the ideas behind videogame characters up to now. Novels and movies can reliably build characters, but videogames leave me with the impression that they are still not there yet. Being honest, this time I gave Fei his amnesia on purpose, motivated by such feelings. Interviewer: Give us some more details, please. Takahashi: Characters built around the idea of amnesia have been featured in other works up to the present, but I think that the justifications have been horrible. Among them, you might even find characters who've "fallen, and hit their heads"... and so, thinking "Enough of half-baked forays, isn't it about time for creators to learn and create?", this time we purposefully built our protagonist Fei with that very same idea of amnesia, as an antithesis. Its significance was that of "how deeply can we probe into a single character idea?". Therefore, if you think "What the hell, another protagonist with amnesia?", I believe you are going to be on the receiving end of a counterpunch midway through. I have wanted to use robots for some time. Interviewer: These robots called Gears appear but, since when has their idea been around? Takahashi: It originated from a conversation I was having with Tetsuya Nomura while working on the Final Fantasy series, at that time we came to the conclusion of "Wouldn't it be cool if we had robots appear?". Then, we felt like using the summoned beasts like robots, exchanging the beasts for mechs. And because that's how that story went, the Gears were referred to through the codename "Odin" until just quite recently (laughs). Interviewer: I see, I find myself satisfied, for some reason (laugh). Tanaka: He (Takahashi) likes robots, he has placed a glass case on top of his desk at the office, and within it he has a hundred figurines standing in line (laughs). Interviewer: This is my personal curiosity coming through but, lorewise, what's the size of a Gear? Takahashi: The size of a Gundam, right? (laughs). Interviewer: And one more personal question (laughs), but what kind of impression do the characters give when boarding the Gears? Takahashi: My mental image is that they would get into the cockpit like this, with this kind of impression... (makes gestures). Interviewers: You sure like robots, don't you? (laughs). Takahashi: Yeah, fairly (laughs). After finishing the game, you will certainly be left with an invigorating feeling Interviewer: How much playtime can we expect? Takahashi: I feel about 50 or 60 hours are ensured. I think players will probably get lost when first arriving in towns and dungeons. I believe that's how it works even in the real world, if you repeatedly move through you'll eventually grasp where things are, but until you become familiar with the environment, you might just get a bit lost... Well, we'll be making it so you don't get lost (laughs). Interviewer: Please, tell us about what to watch out for in Xenogears. Takahashi: We've purposefully put in some time lag in the camera's movement when the characters walk. This was done for the purpose of making it more human-like. When turning around or when changing your gaze, it takes a little time, don't you think? We would be extremely happy if we could allow players to relish in such atmosphere. Tanaka: The other thing to watch out for is that you can rotate the camera round and round (laughs). Or rather, the exquisite camera work in this game. It uses cinematic techniques, such as panning and cranes, which have been incorporated at every turn within events in the game, thanks to the 3D map allowing us to do things which couldn't be depicted traditionally. Please, look forward to this as well. Takahashi: Also, regarding the characters, there's not one pointless individual among the humans that make up the villains of the game. Each and every one of them has their own feelings. Also, not one of them is intrinsically evil. Interviewer: This will be the last question, can we expect to be left with an invigorating feeling upon finishing the game? Tanaka: I think that much is certain. Interviewer: Thank you very much.

Two sides, obverse and reverse, of the same coin, in terms of worldview: After the end of the project that was Final Fantasy VI, Tetsuya Takahashi from the graphics team mulled over certain magnificent lore, with the objective of it being used as the worldview of Final Fantasy VII. It was about a technological civilization in which titanic robots, which pushed the lore about the "Magitek Armor" that had shown up in Final Fantasy VI even further, would rampage. However, such a thing deviated far too much from the worldview, filled with the essence of the fantasy genre, that is characteristic to Final Fantasy. He gave up on this idea. He launched a new project, as its director. The core of the staff members assembled for this new project figure within the former production staff for Chrono Trigger, the very best men within Square. Yasunori Mitsuda, who was in charge of music; Masato Kato, who was in charge of the scenario, as well as Kiyoshi Yoshii, the main programmer. And of course, Takahashi himself too had been the person who gave birth to Chrono Trigger's miraculous graphics. Moreover, Hiromichi Tanaka, game designer from Final Fantasy I to Final Fantasy III and director of Secret of Mana 2 and 3 will also join as the supervisor for the entire battle system. There's absolutely nothing that this staff can't pull off. What is it that they are about to undertake? Countless planning meetings have been held. And for their duration, there was a fire that kept smouldering within Takahashi all the way through. And that's because, within his head, scenes in which titanic robots rose and flew through the air had been vividly depicted already. This was not Final Fantasy, it was not Chrono and certainly wasn't Secret of Mana, it was a worldview that wouldn't be yielded to naught but a new title. Conflict ensued. In comparison to a sequel to a title that already had past achievements, the risk was rather big. However, if they wouldn't make it here, with this staff, then when could they?! Takahashi's unified direction for this new project, as well as his determination to wipe the slate clean, hardens. In response to his zeal and originality of his ideas, the entire staff gave their approval. Thus, in spite of going through a sinuous road, "projectX - Xenogears" begins. Regarding the lore of the technological civilization that had originally been conceptualized for Final Fantasy, one part of it went into "Shinra" from Final Fantasy VII, while in Xenogears, it was sublimated into "The Holy Empire of Solaris." Also, when it comes to the ideas behind their protagonists, points in common, like multiple personalities, have been discovered. We wish that these two works, which have an entirely different feel, be compared. And that is because Final Fantasy VII and Xenogears share a connection that's very much like two sides, obverse and reverse, of the same coin. Two sides, obverse and reverse, of the same coin, in terms of 3D expression: 2 years ago from the present, investigation of basic technology ensued at Square, all for the sake of creating RPGs for the next generation of consoles. Its main purpose, it goes without saying, is related to the establishment of new ways to express graphics. From all that research, two expression techniques were born. One of them was "Use full polygon characters and high end graphical pre-rendered-CG for backgrounds." After this, it bore fruit as Final Fantasy VII. And then, the other one was its exact opposite, "Express 3D backgrounds through fully textured polygons, then have pre-rendered billboard characters walk said 3D world." That is, this is a technique that is being shown off for the very first time through Xenogears. The Final Fantasy VII formula is effective at adding a rich performance to the characters' facial expressions. In contrast, the Xenogears formula is suited to creating a simulation of actually having come inside the game's world. It's impossible to say which is better. However, there was a definite flaw in the Xenogears formula. The making of 3D topography needs an immense amount of labour and time, since there's no choice but to thoroughly affix textures to each individual polygon manually. We want you to imagine such a thing. The energy required to draw down to the most obscure of details of this "grand world," which the developers don't know whether or not players will witness. As a result, Xenogears would truly take about 2 times Final Fantasy VII's production time. Xenogears and Final Fantasy VII are the obverse and reverse of the coin known as graphical expression. Despite adopting the exact opposite techniques, at their source, both of them breathe the unlimited obsession towards 3D expression".

See the original Japanese interview (from pidgezero_one) here: