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Yoshinori Kitase Director - Final Fantasy

Yoshinori Kitase is a Japanese video game director and producer who has been employed by Square Enix since 1990. He was born in 1966 in Japan and is best known for his involvement as a game director in the Final Fantasy game series, having directed Final Fantasy VI (1994), Final Fantasy VII (1997), and Final Fantasy VIII (1999). He has also worked on various other successful games such as Chrono Trigger and the first three entries in the Kingdom Hearts series.

In recognition of all his contributions to Square, Kitase was eventually promoted to producer by Hironobu Sakaguchi . He made his debut in this role with Final Fantasy X (2001). Since then, he has produced Final Fantasy X-2 (2003), the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII (2004–2009), the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy (2009–2013), Mobius Final Fantasy (2015), and the upcoming Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020). Currently, Kitase serves as a vice president of Square Enix and a member of the board of directors and general manager.

Life and career

At the age of eleven in 1978, Kitase watched Star Wars , which ended up making a big impression on him early in life, which eventually sparked his interest in video production and the film industry in general. He went on to attend Nihon University College of Art and majored in film production and screenwriting. While he was most passionate about filming, Kitase quickly realized that he was also passionate about the post-production process of editing, as it allowed an editor to completely rethink footage from scratch and give it a completely different context and meaning than the original shot. He then worked at a small studio that created various types of animated television programs and television commercials. After playing the original Final Fantasy on the Famicom (Nintendo Entertainment System in America), he was further inspired to delve into the video game industry, as he believed it had much more potential than filmmaking, animation, and writing alone.

Kitase had virtually no experience in software development, but he decided to apply for a position at Square (later Square-Enix) and was eventually hired in March 1990. Kitase began working as an "event writer." In this position, he directed character movements and facial expressions, as well as setting the timings for musical transitions and other related activities. He continued to direct cutscenes as he rose through the ranks at the company. Once he became a producer, however, he began taking on many other responsibilities that prevented him from working directly on cutscenes.

Today and working on the Final Fantasy VII Remake

FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE is a reimagining of the iconic original game that delves deeper into the world and characters of FINAL FANTASY VII than ever before.
Our goal with this project is to rebuild FINAL FANTASY VII for a new era. We're not making a simple copy or remaster of the original game.
Reimagining this world is a colossal and data-intensive undertaking. Each game in the project will have a volume of content comparable to that of a standalone FINAL FANTASY. The disc version of the first game is actually a two-disc Blu-ray set. This approach allows us to remake the original without having to cut back on everything players loved.

-Yoshinori Kitase on the Final Fantasy VII Remake

Yoshinori Kitase is currently engaged in the production of the Final Fantasy VII Remake, an upcoming reimagining of Final Fantasy VII , the seventh title in the seminal Final Fantasy series. The original version launched on the PlayStation in 1997 and quickly became one of the most successful and influential games in the series. The remake's release date for the PlayStation 4 was set for March 3, 2020, but was later delayed to April 10, 2020. Trailers for the game show that some of the series' most iconic characters, including Cloud Strife , Tifa Lockhart , and others, will return once again, but with significantly improved graphics. While the game remains faithful to the original storyline, new battle systems and gameplay will be introduced to create an entirely new experience. The first version of the remake will only cover a portion of the original game, though more is planned for a later release.

Kitase stated that he wasn't sure how many entries the remake would cover, but he and his team are working to make Final Fantasy VII Remake more than just a "remake." He stated that what makes the Final Fantasy franchise and series so successful is that they innovate and push boundaries, allowing them to create games that ultimately surprise players. Kitase also sees the remake as the next title in the flagship Final Fantasy series, rather than just a remake or spin-off.