Final Fantasy 7 Remake producer Yoshinori Kitase discusses the progress of Square's most anticipated remake ever, saying the main story voice recording is almost done.

It feels as though Final Fantasy 7 Remake has been laying dormant over the past year or so, as Square Enix focused almost entirely on the release and subsequent blockbuster success of Final Fantasy 15 instead. Now that the launch is over and Final Fantasy 15 is progressing smoothly between impactful DLC releases, however, Square Enix has begun to let news about the progress of Final Fantasy 7 Remake trickle out.

So far, it hasn't been too much to go on - just a few new Final Fantasy 7 Remake screenshots and a tantalizingly brief look at the remade first boss fight for the new game. Yet, given the general scarcity of updates surrounding one of gaming's most heavily anticipated remakes, even the smallest news has been making an impact on fans starved for more information. Those looking for signs that Final Fantasy 7 Remake's development is moving along at a healthy pace were given more assurance today, as the latest issue of Dengeki Playstation featured an interview with Final Fantasy 7 Remake producer Yoshinori Kitase. In the interview, Kitase shares that some important developmental milestones are being hit:

"A remake of Final Fantasy VII required substantial preparedness. The voice actors have almost finished voice recording of the main story."

It might not seem like the biggest developmental goal to hit, but voice acting is a crucial element of the game that often isn't completed until all of a game's cutscenes have been developed as well - lip-syncing, for instance, becomes more difficult if either part of the development process is lagging behind.

Kitase also took a moment to ruminate on what fans should expect out of the voices for each character, suggesting that those who are imagining the cast to sound like their Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children counterparts will be surprised. Kitase said that since characters like Cloud are in their pre-Advent Children days, the voice performance "may feel fresh".

Keeping Final Fantasy 7 similar while making improvements to its dated combat has been the name of the game for Square Enix thus far, so it's unsurprising that the vocals for the game are being recorded with the same kind of philosophy. It's unclear whether Kitase's statement means that Square is nearing completion of every Final Fantasy 7 Remake's episode's audio, but it seems unlikely - it is much more probable that Kitase is referring to the first episode only, given the scope of the project.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake is in development for PS4. No release date has been announced yet.