Multiple Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth leads describe how "tough" the JRPG's development was: "I honestly wasn't sure that we could put it all together in time"

Lead developers who worked on Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth have described how "tough" making the sequel really was.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, the second part in the ongoing remake trilogy, was released just last month to universal acclaim and became the highest-rated game in the series in over two decades. But creating something so monstrously huge and densely packed was obviously pretty arduous, as multiple developers have now confirmed. 

"As a creator, it was very fun to work on, but the workload was also pretty tough," lead user interface artist Hsueh Huei Liao says on Square Enix's developer roundup. "Even so, the UI team worked hard and without compromise on each and every one of them, to such a high standard that each one is almost like its own standalone game."

Environment director Takako Miyake echoed similar sentiments, calling development "tough," but emphasizing that the "staff were unanimous that the experience is worth the effort that we put in."

Battle director Teruki Endo was unsure if the team could "put it all together in time" when he first saw "how much content would need to be created for this game, even just for the combat." Considering that every character combination has its own unbique synergy move, that's not too surprising. 

A common theme between all the developer comments was that, ultimately, the team supposedly felt the hard work was both worth the effort and, occasionally, didn't feel like work at all. For instance, Miyake also claims that the team would "sometimes forget that we were supposed to be performing checks, and just get lost in enjoying the game."

Director Naoki Hamaguchi previously cited the development team's chemistry as a key reason for the ambitious sequel's relatively quick turnaround, even hoping that the team could stay together on future projects past the inevitable finale to the trilogy. Speaking of, Hamaguchi also teased that Part 3 is in "the same stage today" as Rebirth was when Remake first came out.

One Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth writer said the remake was an opportunity to "properly portray Aerith and Tifa's friendship."