Yesterday, Square Enix announced that the Final Fantasy VII Remake “will be told across a multi-part series, with each entry providing its own unique experience.”
In interviews with Famitsu and Dengeki Online (translated by Gematsu), Producer Yoshinori Kitase and Director Tetsuya Nomura talked about the remake, confirming that the final title is Final Fantasy VII Remake, as they want people to know it isn’t a spin-off or sequel.
As for the decision to make it a multi-part series, Kitase explained that they made this decision early on:
The idea that a remake of Final Fantasy VII would not fit into a single release was there from the very beginning. We still can’t share more information about its multiple parts, but please look forward to future announcements.
Nomura added:
If we dedicated our time to a single release, parts of it would become summarized. We’d have to cut some parts, and additional parts would come in few, so rather than remake the game as a full volume, we decided to do multiple parts.
Kitase finished up the thought by mentioning how dense Sector 1 and Sector 8 are in the trailer. “When you’re remaking the entirety of the original version in that quality, it’s not possible to fit it all in one release,” he concluded.
As for the story, Nomura says, “In addition to delving into these episodes more deeply, we’re preparing a number of mechanisms and such. To those who played the original version will know the important parts and understand the story from the beginning to the end.”
Kitase, meanwhile, doesn’t want the remake to end as something nostalgiac and wants to get fans of the original version excited, so “we’ll be making adjustments to the story with this feeling in mind.” Also, while you don’t have to worry about the Cloud cross-dressing scene going anywhere, Nomura and Kitase say it hasn’t been designed yet.
Looking at the battle system, the ATB gauge and Limit Breaks “will appear with new ways to be used,” and Square Enix is “aiming for a seamless active battle, as you can see in the trailer,” rather than a command-base battle starting when you encounter an enemy.
Nomura explains:
Regarding the battle speed and tempo, for the sake of a stress-free battle, we want to do something on the level of Dissidia Final Fantasy. As far as the degree of action goes, it’s Dissidia Final Fantasy, then Kingdom Hearts, then Final Fantasy VII Remake. There won’t be any actions that require a technique. By using the new system, we want to do action battles while also being able to fight while thinking strategically.
Other interesting details include the fact that companies like CyberConnect2 (Naruto) are helping with development, there are three-member parties you can switch freely between (you can also control one character if you don’t want to switch), and you’ll be able to explore locations in Midgar that you couldn’t in the original.
[Source: Famitsu, Dengeki Online via Gematsu]
