 |
| Peter Triezenberg |
Did anybody see this coming?
12.07.15 - 1:54 PM
At the recent PlayStation Experience 2015 event, a new trailer for the much anticipated Final Fantasy VII Remake dropped, and there was much rejoicing. Producer Yoshinori Kitase took some time after the keynote to discuss the game in greater detail, addressing concerns over the game's apparent shift in combat style and how Square Enix was utilizing the power of the PS4.
"I can't say the new game is completely action-based, but it has more of that element and real-time than the previous game," says Kitase. "However, what makes Final Fantasy and RPG different from other games is that the players have the ability to choose weapons, capabilities and magic to be strategic minded, so while the new game has more real-time elements, it will also maintain that strategy building element, balancing these two factors perfectly to enhance the gaming experience." He also stated that the team was using the Advent Children CG movie as the basis for the remake's visual style, "to have the same quality of these characters in real-time while playing the game, and this is only achievable with PlayStation 4." You can watch the video for more information below.
All very interesting, but it sounds like Square has even bigger plans for Final Fantasy VII this time around. In an official press release, it was revealed that "Final Fantasy VII Remake will be told across a multi-part series, with each entry providing its own unique experience." Exactly what this means is unclear, but it certainly suggests a more episodic approach or a series of games. For now, we can only speculate. Perhaps this will allow the developers to release the game more quickly, by making the size and scope of the original Final Fantasy VII more digestible?
According to Takashi Mochizuki from The Wall Street Journal, this approach is indeed due to the sheer size of the game's data, and that there will be new scene additions while staying true to the 1997 classic. This was confirmed by Tetsuya Nomura and Kitase, who stated that "if we tried to stuff the whole game into one release, some part of the game would have to appear as digests. We’d have to remove some contents from the game, and it would be difficult to add more to the game. Considering that a full remake of the original game must be achieved, we have decided to split the game into episodes."
Each episode should be the length of a full-size game, so as not to skimp on content. It also appears that portions of the game's development are being outsourced, with CyberConnect 2 confirmed as one of the developers, and that the came is being developed with the Unreal Engine 4, a la Kingdom Hearts III. Kitase also elaborated on the controversial changes to the combat system, saying that their goal is to make a "seamless" combat system. Nomura commented that the combat would be "slower" than Dissidia Final Fantasy or Kingdom Hearts, though not as action-y as those titles.
I know we're all waiting to learn more about the remake, but in the meantime, you can purchase and download the PC port of the original Final Fantasy VII now on your PS4, complete with trophy support. Doing so now will enable you to nab a reduced price and get a nifty PS4 theme based on Final Fantasy VII Remake. Be sure to keep an eye on RPGFan for all your Final Fantasy VII Remake needs!
