FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH is out in the wild and everyone’s taking note of the meticulous care the team has taken in re-imagining this definitive RPG. The amount of music written for the game is massive, with eight discs total for the special edition (seven for the standard edition), so when we say it took an army of talent to create it, that’s not an exaggeration.

At the helm of the score for this second installment is SQUARE ENIX composer Mitsuto Suzuki, who is no stranger to the FINAL FANTASY series, having contributed to FINAL FANTASY XIII-2, LIGHTNING RETURNS FINAL FANTASY XIII, MOBIUS FINAL FANTASY, and FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE. Being a huge fan of his work, and loving the interview series conducted on the SQUARE ENIX MUSIC channel on YouTube, we had a few questions of our own (provided by Scarlet Moon’s Dale North) related to the direction he took, his process, and his gear.

See what Mitsuto Suzuki has to say below.

DALE NORTH (DN): The FINAL FANTASY series is renowned for its music, and you’ve participated in the series as a composer. Tell us how you came to work on this project and what influence the series history, specifically in the context of continuing the work that Nobuo Uematsu (PlayStation version) started, had on your work and the direction for the score.

Mitsuto Suzuki (MS): Shortly after joining the company, I became involved in FINAL FANTASY XIII as a synth programmer for Masashi Hamauzu. I worked on various titles after I transitioned to a composer through the FINAL FANTASY XIII series, but there was not a huge difference in my production style of writing and arranging music and operating the synthesizers at the same time. However, each project has its own characteristics in terms of how the final decisions are made, and this is still one of the components that influence its style. I became involved in the FINAL FANTASY VII remake project following in my experience from FINAL FANTASY XIII, and I am approaching this project with a sense of respect for the original work while also striving to update the expressions from the past era. There are varying opinions, but I am proud of the fact that it is my job to have a clear idea of where I stand in relation to the work and to create music free from the influence of my surroundings, and I am constantly seeking new ways to face this challenge.

DN: Diving deeper, perhaps you’d like to tell us about your process/technique in general, and whether it was right at home with FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH or if you had to adapt it for this project.

MS: I believe that game music evolves in tandem with the evolution of games. It’s certain that the games I’ve experienced thus far have formed a foundation of memory for me. There are various methodologies, such as varying uses of music, and selection of musicians and engineers according to game genres. For FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH however, there were areas where it was impossible to utilize the methods that I’ve used up to this point, as-is. For a vocal song in one particular scene, we needed to support multiple languages, which were Japanese, English, German, and French. This was something we haven’t faced in prior productions, and there was no prior know-how on how to proceed, making this a great challenge. However, we were able to make good progress by syncing among our colleagues, and I am confident that we’ll be able to proceed even more smoothly next time. The Japanese proverb “After the rain, the ground hardens,” which in this case means that adversity made our teams’ relationships better, is directly applicable to this project. Adaptation and growth are alike in their appearance yet different in nature, but I’d like to continue my work as a creator without settling for what I am now.

DN: Please tell us about the gear that you used to create your contributions to the FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH soundtrack.

MS: A Mac, audio plugins, music plugins, plugins for music production, and many vintage synthesizers, small percussions and effects devices. I can create tones with my eyes closed with the synthesizers I’ve been using since I was a child. All of the equipment is like family to me that has been with me for a very long time, making music together. It takes a lot of time and effort to create, but the love I have for them is just as deep.

DN: How did you handle working alongside such a large team of musical talent, and did their work influence yours or vice versa? Feel free to provide a list of all the contributors and their role.

MS: I have constant respect for all the people I work with on the same project. If any one person were missing, the product would be something different. It’s precisely due to each person’s work having their own unique flavor that when the game is put together, it’s fascinating and full of variety. There are the members from REMAKE, such as Hamauzu-san and Shima-san, as well as Ise, Kawamori, and Toki from the sound division, just to name a few. I am proud to be able to present this gorgeous and delicate, yet daring music from Japan to the world.

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Special thank you to the SQUARE ENIX PR team for making this interview possible.