In interviews with Dengeki Online and Famitsu on December 7, Final Fantasy VII Remake director Tetsuya Nomura and producer Yoshinori Kitase elaborated on the remake's multi-title split, the battle system, and the changes in the game's story. Nomura also confirmed that the remake's scenario retains the cross-dressing Cloud from the original, although the HD designs have not been done yet. CyberConnect2 is collaborating with Square Enix on development.
Splitting the Game into Multiple Parts
Regarding the decision to split the remake into a multi-part series, Nomura stated that "There will be parts that have to be removed, but there will be a significant number of added scenes as well. We decided that it has to be split into multiple titles to be a 'full volume' remake." Kitase added that they had "only shown Sector 1 and Sector 8, and if we made the entire game in that quality, one title wouldn't be enough."
Character Designs
In the Famitsu interview, Nomura said that players would also be able to explore areas such as the city of Midgar, and go to places that they previously could not in the original game. He also stated that character designer Roberto Ferrari worked on the character designs for Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie, who appeared in the latest trailer (viewed below). Nomura also commented on Barret's new character design, mentioning that this is how Barret would look in a more realistic setting, and that he had planned for redesigns for some of the characters from the beginning.
Battle System
Commenting on the game's battle system, Nomura stated that "The battle's speed and tempo will allow players to play without getting stressed out, somewhat in the vein of Dissidia Final Fantasy. In terms of the degree of action, it will be less than Dissidia Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts, and will still require knowledge of the system and strategizing." When asked what key components of the original game's battle system would carry over to the new game, Nomura answered the Active Time Battle Gauge and Limit Breaks, but declined to elaborate on how exactly the old systems would be used in the remake. In the Famitsu interview, Nomura also said that having the ATB Gauge turn red would be important.
Sony hadposted a video with the game's producer Yoshinori Kitase on December 6 where Kitase explained that the game will not be "completely action-based," but that it will have "more of that element and real-time than the previous game."
Story Changes
When talking about the changes in the story, Nomura said that "Those who've played the original game will know the important points of the story inside and out, but we're making the story in such a way that it will still surprise those people." Kitase further said that they are "making adjustments to the story because we still want fans of the original to get excited."
Regarding the recently revealed trailer, Kitase stated that every scene in the trailer where the camera shows a third-person view behind Cloud is actual gameplay and not pre-rendered.
Final Fantasy VII Remake will debut first on PlayStation 4. Tetsuya Nomura is returning to direct the game, and Kazushige Nojima is also returning to writing the scenario. Square Enix is developing the game using Unreal Engine 4.
