Learn About the Lip Sync Technology Used in Crisis Core: FFVII Reunion

In an interview with Japanese outlet Automaton, developers at Square Enix and Tose responsible for the recent Crisis Core: FFVII Reunion discussed some details about the development of this remaster. The Crisis Core: FFVII Reunion developers talked about the methods used to remaster a 15-year-old PSP game for modern platforms, the technology used for lip sync, and the process behind adding full voice acting to the game. [Thanks, Automaton!]

Crisis Core: FFVII Reunion uses the CRI LipSync technology from CRI Middleware to emulate realistic lip sync in both the English and Japanese dubs of the game. The game uses a pre-analysis method, which transforms the voice audio into files that determine the movement of the mouth, and can be manually adjusted if needed.

Program Director Haruyuki Yamaguchi of Tose said that adapting the game to Unreal Engine 4 was a relatively easy process. The original PSP game was originally programmed using C++, and since Unreal Engine 4 also uses C++ as its base, there wasn’t much difficulty when changing engines.

While one of the most obvious upgrades in Crisis Core: FFVII Reunion is its graphics, another important focus in the remaster was on adding full voice acting. The producer of this remaster, Mariko Sato, cited the series of side missions involving Yuffie as one of the things that benefited from this transition to full voice acting, and event virector Masaru Oka mentioned the scene where Zack gifts Aerith her ribbon in the Midgar slums as a particularly emotional scene.

Crisis Core: FFVII Reunion is immediately available for Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Windows PC via Steam.