Quote:
-- Is there a connection between Shinra and FFVII?
Nojima: Yes, actually. After Shinra quit the Gullwings he got enormous financial backing from Rin and went to the Farplane to start extracting the Mako energy used by the Vegnagun. But the system for utilizing this energy could not be completed in his generation, so far in the future when space travel was possible, the Shinra Company was founded on another planet... or something like that. That would be a thousand years or so from this game's story.
-- And VII's story takes place after that?
Nojima: Well, you could say that's how I personally feel about it.
By the way, according to
Quote:
The second statement where Nojima says that is how he "personally feels about it" is an inaccurate translation, as far as the context of the interview goes.
The rough translation reads "Even well, in me such feeling you will say." In Japanese context, it really means something along the lines of"It's all in my head," or, "It's just inside me." Nojima says this because of the fact that everything he described (Spira travelling in space, 1,000 year gap) isn't in the game with the other evidence (because that would only deviate from the main story, thus, more subtle hints are found instead,) but rather, it is just in his head at the moment.
This is not implying that there really isn't a connection, but Nojima personally feels like there is (otherwise, why would this have been published in the first place? He IS the writer, after all.) Rather, it should mean there is a connection, but it just hasn't been expanded on yet. Nojima planned a connection, put what evidence there is in the game, but as far as the details of how they are connected, it is just in his head at the moment.
Again, the key words are IS and HOW. There IS a connection, Nojima says, but as far as HOW there is a connection, that hasn't been worked out yet in much detail.
Also of note, Olivier Hague of the GameFAQs forums, who knows Japanese and read the entire interview, was able to bring us some more juicy details. "Nojima talks about how he already had that connection in mind when he created the characters (he then talks about Shinra, so I assume he means "the characters of Final Fantasy X-2"). He thought it was funny to think that a nice kid like Shinra would eventually have evil descendants like President Shinra.
Watanabe (Scenerio Planner) then notes that one of the staff members, having seen Shnira's episode (i.e. the connection), arranged the camera work during that event when you first see Under Bevelle, so that it would bring memories back to the players. Toriyama (Director) chimes in, and says that it's indeed similar to the opening sequence of "Final Fantasy VII", when we see Midgar for the first time."