Square Enix have released another developer diary for the soon to be released Final Fantasy VII Remake, this time focusing on the music and sound effects.

This includes interviews with Producer Yoshinori Kitase, Music Supervisor Keiji Kawamori, composers Mitsuto Suzuki and Masashi Hamauzu, and sound director Makoto Ise.

For example, Kitase states a traditional approach to create music would be too outdated for modern players. As such, he created a video of all the major moments and battles from the game, with the original soundtrack.

This was then used as a starting point for discussions, such as dynamically shifting music, creating variations on tracks depending on the scene’s mood, and respecting the original melodies while using newer technology to produce the music.

Ise also explained how the sound team used an originally created sound management system dubbed MASTS, and improved it for the game. In short, the game’s AI determines what sounds should be generated.

When characters moves in gameplay or a cutscene for example, the game judges how fast they are moving and other factors, to determine what sounds from an available bank should be played. Most of these sound effects were recorded by the team themselves.

Masashi Hamauzu also reveals that while working on the original Final Fantasy VII, he also sang in the iconic “Sephiroth chorus.”

In addition, small teasers of tracks from the game can also be heard. You can find the fourth dev diary (Music and Sound Effects) below.

In case you missed it, you can find the past developer diaries here [1, 2], and more information about the game here [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9].

You can find the full rundown of the game (via PlayStation) below.

The world has fallen under the control of the Shinra Electric Power Company, a shadowy corporation controlling the planet’s very life force as mako energy.

In the sprawling city of Midgar, an anti-Shinra organization calling themselves Avalanche have stepped up their resistance. Cloud Strife, a former member of Shinra’s elite SOLDIER unit now turned mercenary, lends his aid to the group, unaware of the epic consequences that await him.

A spectacular re-imagining of one of the most visionary games ever, the first game in this project will be set in the eclectic city of Midgar and presents a fully standalone gaming experience.

In earlier news, the final trailer for the game was released.. Square Enix also insisted they would not release the game early digitally, despite doing so physically in some regions.

Final Fantasy VII Remake launches April 10th on PlayStation 4, and  “much earlier“ in Europe and Australia. The console exclusivity ends April 4th, 2021. In case you missed it, you can find our hands-on preview here. You can expect our review soon!

Image: Square Enix