Square Enix is remaking beloved JRPG Final Fantasy VII – but not as you know it. After offering up our first look at gameplay, not to mention that all-important battle system, the Japanese publisher noted that FFVII will launch as a “multi-part series” in the vein of Final Fantasy XIII.
Dancing around the caveat during Sony’s keynote presentation, news of an episodic release wasn’t mentioned until after the fact, with a press release confirming Square’s launch plans. According to Game Producer Yoshinori Kitase, dividing the Final Fantasy VII remake into separate entries is a necessity if the entire package is to match the visuals of that aforementioned vertical slice.
Per Square Enix:
“Final Fantasy 7 Remake will be told across a multi-part series, with each entry providing its own unique experience. The idea that a remake of Final Fantasy 7 would not fit into a single release was there from the very beginning,” said. “We still can’t share more information about its multiple parts, but please look forward to future announcements.”
“If we dedicated our time to a single release, parts of it would become summarised,” director Tetsuya Nomura added. “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.”
Fans of the original ’97 classic will recognize the footage showcased during this weekend’s PlayStation Experience from the RPG’s opening sequence, with Cloud, Barret and other Avalanche forces infiltrating a Shinra power plant. Taking place largely around Sector 1 and Sector 8 of Midgar, Kitase admits that these areas alone represent a significant amount of resources: “In those areas alone, I think you can see a lot of density. When you’re remaking the entirety of the original version in that quality, it’s not possible to fit it all in one release.”
Final Fantasy VII Remake is now confirmed for an episodic release for PlayStation 4. Whether Square plans to adhere to the trilogy set-up remains to be seen – after all, the PSOne original shipped with three discs – though we’ll keep you updated as this story develops.