Official Final Fantasy VII Remake Chapter 4 Retrospective Discusses Wedge’s Cheeks, Roche’s Presence & More

Square Enix has shared their fourth installment of deep-diving into each of Final Fantasy VII Remake’s Chapters, discussing a series of sequences that were not at all present in the original Final Fantasy VII.

Unfortunately, I forgot to provide coverage for the second and third Chapter reflections. You can read the full Chapter 2 and 3 articles via Square Enix Blog.

We provided a summation of the Chapter 1 retrospective article.

Sensically, Chapter 4 primarily served to highlight the relationship between Cloud and the members of Avalance, namely Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge, since that factor was practically nonexistent in the original game. Humorously, during the parachute scene, the team spent a fair amount of time making Wedge’s cheeks flap in response to wind pressure.

Facial Director, Akira Iwasawa, elaborated on this aspect:

The facial animation team proposed doing this immediately after seeing the scenario. Our reasons were very simple, as we felt it would look funny to have Wedge’s cheeks flapping around, and we had never done anything like that before, so we wanted to give it a go.

The character team and the programmers collaborated along the way too and tested lots of simulations on the skin movement, resulting in a much higher quality wobble effect than I had initially imagined. I was amazed when I saw it in the cut scene for the first time and re-watched that scene over and over.

Roche is also extensively discussed as an unexpected original character who plays an integral role in Chapter 4 as being an obstacle for both the cast and the player. He is commonly seen as a wall for some fans since he is arguably the first battle that actively requires a moderate understanding of the combat system, such as Punisher Mode.

Co-Director for Scenario Design, Motomu Toriyama, shared the following background for Roche’s character:

Roche was also a special case in that he is the first ever Shinra bike soldier to advance to join SOLDIER.. He is skilled enough to rise to 1st class but stubbornly sticks to bike-based operations, so hasn’t even been recommended for 2nd class yet. Roche himself seems fine with this arrangement though.

That is the background we thought up for this character.

I recommend reading the full article via Square Enix Blog, which also talks about Jessie’s theme, the bike minigame, and a brief outline of how Summon development was planned.

• View our hub article housing all of the recent Final Fantasy VII 25th Anniversary news
• Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade has been officially released for Steam & Steam Deck.
• Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis Closed Beta Test Arriving This Year
• Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion Announced for All Consoles & PC; Winter 2022
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Remake Part 2) Announced
• Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion Interview Info; Voice Cast
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth & Ever Crisis & More Interview Info

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion is set to be a modernized retelling of the original Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, a prequel to the game that initiated this beloved sub-franchise. Players control Zack, a hyperactive and determined SOLDIER yearning to become not only First Class, but also a hero in his own right. Combat utilizes real-time action elements alongside the innovative “Digital Mind Wave” system, used to perform special attacks called Limit Breaks and achieve other notable feats.

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion is releasing for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam in Winter 2022.