Final Fantasy VII Remake Director, Tetsuya Nomura, has offered further insight into Square Enix’s decision to release the much-anticipated PlayStation 4 RPG in episodic form.
Speaking with Dengeki Online (via Gematsu), Nomura-san said that the game, which is a complete remake of the 1997 PlayStation title that has sold millions of copies around the globe, would have to be trimmed somewhat if it were to be a single release.
“If we dedicated our time to a single release, parts of it would become summarized," he said. “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.”
Final Fantasy VII Remake was showcased during Sony’s press conference at the PlayStation Experience 2015 over the weekend, where the first gameplay footage was shown off to the public. Square Enix later confirmed during a press release that the project would be a ‘multi-part series,’ a revelation that has been met with mixed reactions from the gaming community. The game also appears to be taking on a more action-oriented approach in regards to combat.
Final Fantasy VII was released in 1997 for the PlayStation and has garnered a reputation as one of the best video games of all time, and was responsible for bringing the franchise mainstream appeal in the west. The game was so successful that Square Enix expanded the narrative with a series of spin-off titles and its own CG movie, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, and first teased a potential remake back in 2005 during a PS3 tech demo video.
Square Enix previously commented that the remake will balance action and strategy elements, while also offering character visuals on par with Advent Children. The game will launch first on PS4, although release date has yet to be confirmed.