Final Fantasy 7 Producer Says CG Was Key To The Series' Success In The West

thegamer.com:

Once upon a time, Final Fantasy wasn't such a thing in the west. While the series was big in its native Japan, and had a devoted cult following among western gamers, it was really the seventh entry, and the leap into 3D, that helped to propel the series into wider success. Meanwhile, its producer has said one aspect of it was crucial to it finding an audience overseas.

Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi recently appeared at the Monaco Anime Game International Conferences 2023, on a panel alongside Castlevania: Symphony of the Night creator Koji Igarashi, and spoke about the challenges Square Enix faced in the west for its games (via IGN).

Related: I Don’t Really Care What Final Fantasy Is Anymore

Sakaguchi said that 1986's Dragon Quest, developed by Chunsoft for the NES, was a great inspiration on him for its music and systems but most of all for its scenario and story. But while Dragon Quest and then Final Fantasy helped to popularise RPGs in Japan, the series was struggling to find traction in the west.

"At the time, people in the west saw pixel art and three-heads-high characters as something for children", Sakaguchi said. "It was frustrating that our games were struggling there, as we wanted to find a way to expand our business. That finally happened when we were able to incorporate CG for Final Fantasy 7".

Those who remember playing the Final Fantasy games on the original PlayStation will recall how mind-blowing the CG was. The movie-like production and quality helped to spread the word around for the titles, with many players wanting to progress to see more of the story unfold via cinematic cutscenes.

Let's not forget that Japanese RPGs were somewhat looked down on for a time, with the term JRPG having