Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Producer Had to Stop Playing Zelda

The producer of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has revealed that he had to stop playing The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom while working on the latest game in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy. With Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth recently wrapping up development, the producer has been understandably too busy with his own game to see Link’s adventure to its conclusion.

With the release of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, the highly-anticipated sequel to Final Fantasy 7 Remake, the wait for fans to play the game is finally over. Similar to Tears of the Kingdom, the latest entry in the Final Fantasy series has garnered impressive reviews from critics. Before its release, the game’s producer took the time to discuss some of his favorite non-Final Fantasy games.

During an interview with BAFTA, Yoshinori Kitase, the producer of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth,talked about several gaming-related topics, including his love of the Zelda franchise. According to the developer, 1986’s The Legend of Zelda was one of the first games that got him invested in gaming. While Kitase revealed he has played most of the games in the series, he admitted that he has yet to finish the most recent one, Tears of the Kingdom.

The producer said he started playing the sequel to Breath of the Wild following its release in May 2023. Kitase even made it up to what he described as the end of the game. Unfortunately, his duties producing the latest installment in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy pulled him away from the Zelda game before he had a chance for the end credits to roll. According to Kitase, things became “really busy at that point,” forcing him to put the conclusion of the game on hold.

In addition to Zelda, Kitase noted in the interview another game he has been enjoying recently. Keeping with the Nintendo theme, the producer said he is in his second playthrough of Pikmin 4, another successful 2023 game. Even though this is not his first time playing the game, he said he enjoys going back and getting everything