"Obviously for low level systems that interfaced with PS hardware (eg, rendering, sound, FMV) we had to replace with PC-specific versions trying to mimic the original functionality. All the data assets (models, textures, pre-rendered field backgrounds and FMV) were from the original PS versions.
We tried to get as much of the original system's code compiled and running. "Different programmers did have areas that they were responsible for: world map, field system (ie the pre-rendered area screens), UI system, battle system, mini games, etc. The documentation was the code itself, and the comments (if any) were mostly in Japanese.
This enabled the original UI portion of the screen to be updated at refresh rate making interaction feel very responsive, while the rest of the Battle System screen refreshed at a much lower rate.
For example, I recall the UI programmer had some unique challenges because the original Battle System UI update was hooked up directly to the Vsync which would update just the UI portion of the screen (bottom), something the PS hardware allowed you to do. The Playstation architecture was obviously different and some of the code was written specifically to take advantage of that hardware platform. "As far as tools, we were just using Visual C++ and Direct3D 5 at the time.
Here's Fong describing the development process: Porting Japanese PlayStation games, at the time, was no easy task-language was a serious barrier, and 3D graphics accelerators were in their infancy on PC.
So I set out on a quest to learn more about Final Fantasy 7's infamously quirky PC port: what it was like to port an early PlayStation game to PC, why new localization errors were introduced while others were fixed, and mostly, why the hell Cloud has a mouth. But after coming across this Gamefaqs thread and doing a little digging into Final Fantasy 7's PC credits, I realized that all of the development staff had worked at Squaresoft USA. Because Eidos's name was on each box, I'd always assumed that the British company had ported Square's games itself. Why are they there? Who added them, and who decided they should be there? I started searching for the answers to those questions after looking into the history of the PC ports of Final Fantasy 7 and Final Fantasy 8, two rare, early examples of console games being ported to the PC. But when FF7 came to PC a year after the PlayStation, suddenly there they were: little mouths, in the form of a terse line or a comically large, gaping black O. The more detailed battle models did, of course, but out on the field? Nope. But deep within the lore of Final Fantasy 7, there is plenty of knowledge to be gained about these magical spheres.On the PlayStation, the lumpy-limbed character models of Cloud and Barret and the gang had big anime eyes, square fists and absolutely no mouths.
While the game does a great job of explaining how to use Materia, very little information is provided about its origins. There are many different categories, as well as some purely unique Materia. Materia forms through the crystallization of Mako and can be found in a number of places throughout Gaia. It enables the user to cast a wide range of spells and can also be used to summon creatures that aid the player in battle. RELATED: Final Fantasy 7 Remake: The Best Materia Set-Up For Each Party Member Characters in the game are unable to innately produce magic and must instead rely on Materia. While many of the earlier games focused on spells and incantations to cast magic, Final Fantasy VII took a different approach. Magic plays a huge role in the world of Final Fantasy and has been a series staple since the very first entry back in 1987.