Longtime Final Fantasy producer Yoshinori Kitase shared that the Star Wars franchise served as a significant inspiration for his work on the RPG series. Speaking with IGN at the Lucca Comics & Games Festival 2026, Kitase expressed happiness that newer games are inspired by Final Fantasy, noting that he, too, draws heavily from other entertainment properties.
"I think it's beautiful that there's this kind of cycle where we inspire each other and we take things from each other's games," Kitase stated. "I think it's something beautiful, and it should be like that."
Kitase explained that he carefully avoided direct imitation of Star Wars to prevent his work from appearing as mere copies. However, he identified specific elements within the Final Fantasy franchise that were born from his admiration for the sci-fi series. The characters Wedge and Biggs in Final Fantasy VII are direct homages, named after characters from the Star Wars rebellion.
More subtly, Kitase pointed to Blitzball from Final Fantasy X as an inspiration drawn from Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. "One more that came to my mind is from Final Fantasy X, where I had to create [Blitzball] for the game inside the fantasy setting. And I used an idea from Star Wars Episode 1 where there's this [pod] race and the fact of using sport inside a fantasy context, I took this idea directly from Star Wars," he said.
The final part of the Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, is slated for release on April 8, 2027.