Final Fantasy VII Remake: Material Ultimania

by Studio BentStuff

Packed with art and visual reference materials used during development of the game, this deluxe, hardcover volume is a must-have for fans of Final Fantasy VII Remake.

Final Fantasy VII Remake: Material Ultimania presents a comprehensive collection of production art and CG art assets, including character models and illustrations, locations and backgrounds, accessories, weapons, enemies, and more, all accompanied by staff commentary. This volume also includes detailed costume references, cutscene storyboards, song liner notes from the sound staff, and Q & A interviews with the Japanese voice actors.

At over 300 pages, this full-color, jacketed, hardcover book is a visual tribute to the stunning new rendition of one of the most beloved RPGs of all time.

Genres: Art, Video Games, Reference, Nonfiction, Gaming, Manga, Guidebook

336 pages, Hardcover

First published December 7, 2021

About the author

Studio BentStuff (スタジオベントスタッフ) is a Japanese book editor that has planned, written, and edited many of the Ultimania series books by Square Enix. Studio BentStuff wrote the first Ultimania book for Final Fantasy VIII in 1999, though the company had been contracted to write various Kaitai Shinsho guides for Square games published by Famitsu including the Final Fantasy VII Kaitai Shinsho The Complete. Since then, Ultimania books have been published for every major Final Fantasy title.

Studio BentStuff formed in 1989 from people who worked at MyCom Basic Magazine. The CEO is Akira Yamashita (山下 章). In February 2018, Digital Hearts Co., Ltd. acquired Studio BentStuff, and are credited on guides as "Studio BentStuff/DIGITAL HEARTS".

Reviews

[Aubrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book I'd give to my 15 y.o self without even thinking. The section about the building of Midgar is that point where you KNOW this book - and game, were made by people who were struck by the game and bear it in their hearts. Just as I do.
This is the work of love I was kinda waiting for, I felt validated into my undying love for this universe, tbh.

[Nyx · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly this is how an artbook should look like. I absolutely love this one, friend got it for me in japanese and it looks so stunning.
All the little sketches and the details??? Hello, let's talk about the details cause there's A LOT!!!
Definitely a must for the ff7 fans. I love it

[AltLovesBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a delight to dive into. I'm a huge fan of artbooks, and this one was staggeringly comprehensive. Character art, full color spreads, notes from the development team aplenty, and so many small details I would never have caught otherwise were included in this book. There's even sections on the graffiti on the walls, the posters, signs, and various ephemera that really brought Midgar to life--even if you never really stopped to look at them. There's just so much going on here!

Highly recommend, this was fantastic.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised at how detailed this book is! Multiple pages are dedicated to things like the graffiti in certain areas and the section on the worldbuilding of Midgar was particularly intriguing.

[Grace B · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is hugeee and filled with such amazing content. Tbf I did not read it all but I did look through all of it. Makes you really appreciate the effort and detail put into the game.

[Victor Lau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esta guía tan completa nos invita a descubrir y a comprender la cantidad de trabajo que implica crear y recrear partes de un videojuego tan querido como Final Fantasy VII, que sin duda marcó un antes y un después en la vida de muchas personas (entre las que me incluyo).

A lo largo de sus 336 páginas podemos ver las distintas fases de desarrollo del videojuego, ilustraciones, artes conceptuales, fichas de personajes (principales, secundarios y NPCs), escenarios, armas y criaturas, renders, mecánicas de juego, banda sonora, etc., todo ello aderezado con comentarios y explicaciones de parte del extenso equipo de creadores. Cada página destila la emoción que sienten tanto estos como quienes disfrutamos del producto final.

Final Fantasy VII es mi videojuego favorito y me alegro mucho de tener la oportunidad de ver crecer este proyecto a través de este tipo de documentos gráficos. Gracias.

[Rowan]

honestly one of the more comprehensive books of this kind i've encountered in a while. they go into character models, not just for the base but also special costumes and equipment, and discuss some of the decisions behind them, as well as backgrounds and locations, music, enemies, posters, graffiti...basically every detail is at least given a page of time with some commentary. this is also handy for cosplayers looking to get a 360 turn around of characters or high res images. the price point means i'd only recommend purchasing if you plan to continue to refer to it over time, otherwise it's worth checking out from the library and making some scans.

[Jed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything you could ask for from an artbook; stunningly high-quality renders of the major characters in the game, developers' notes scattered throughout to give us mortals insight into their ways of thinking, concept art, you name it. I'm a big fan of Remake's music though, and this book was fantastic in giving me more understanding of the soundtrack's making. The composers did a superb job and some of them really let their love for the music shine through.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the better video game concept art books. Very thorough. Gives a complete roadmap to the entire game, be warned if reading before completing the game. Not only is concept art involved, it also has decisions for how the story was decided as well as what inspired the art and music of the game.. Definitely for fans of FFVII

[MCalhen MCalhen · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many cool worldbuilding details were packed into this game, so it's fantastic to read about them all. I'm blown away by how much they thought of, from food to the people to the background of Shinra's company. Really loved that they included a timeline. There are even covers for every song. Just incredible stuff that makes me love and appreciate this game even more.

[Amanda Setasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This game series has a very special place in my heart, so I was obviously super excited about the remake overall.
This artbook is no exception. I loved every bit about it.
I hope they continue to give this quality to their future series.

[Brady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly fascinating read. I particularly loved composers talking of each of their songs. Some other highlights were the clothing section, the cutscene rendering, and environmental design. I've never read this much into game design, and it really opened my eyes.

[Azbaqiyah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Art - 5/5 ⭐
Plot - 5/5 ⭐

Overall - 5/5 🌟

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lot of fun to explore. It really highlighted the amount of passion, work, and detail that went into this game, especially since it has been a JRPG classic for so many years.

[Ronin Petrozziello · Rating 5 out of 5]

Libro meraviglioso per tutti gli appassionati del gioco, uno dei migliori regali mai ricevuti

[Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with all the ultamanias I’ve read I love the concept art and blurbs by the devs

[Marc B · Rating 5 out of 5]

baby aerith

[Assa · Rating 5 out of 5]

como quisiera tenerte en mis manos librote 😩

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A complete, cohesive insight into the creation of the game and the inspirations behind lore and characters. If you’re a fan, it’s a must-read/see

[Rosenblue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book read late 2022.

The book covers key visuals,illustrations,planning, soundtrack and voice actor questions and answers.

The key visuals are glossy and very detailed but my favorite section of the book are the location,weapons, accessories illustrations and the entire planning materials section.
I will write a full review once I re-read this book.

[Diya · Rating 5 out of 5]

😍😍