Final Fantasy VII Remake

FFVII Remake: Everything we know so far

by Lex June 17, 2015 0 comments

I thought it would be a good idea to roundup all the tiny tidbits of information we have on the game so far, and give extra emphasis to some of the points we’ve come across on the visual and text analyses of the trailer.

1. The game has been in development for a while already, and not solely by Square Enix

Square Portal
”The game is developed in collaboration between Square Enix and Cyberconnect 2 and has been in the works for a while now – about a year and half.”

Tetsuya Nomura
”When we announced the HD port, the PC port on the PS4, we weren’t sure when we wanted to announce the remake. The production was underway then, so there’s no real connection between the timing of the two FF7s coming to PS4.”

Yes, this absolutely means that Square were already aware of this remake during the Playstation Experience announcement debacle in December. I don’t know about you, but I’m willing to forgive them now! As for the fact that the game is being partly developed by another company, this can only be a good thing. The bigwigs who were monumental in the creation of FFVII are all back, so we shouldn’t panic because another company is being contracted to make some rocks in the Mythril Mines look a bit prettier.

2. This is a remake of the original game

People have been wondering about this image on the right. This along with the music (which is used as the opening to Advent Children) may have indicated a sequel, however “Edge” appears as a naming convention in the original game. Indeed, the train station Cloud emerges from at the beginning of the original game is called “North Edge Station”, so this game is most definitely a remake of the original game. It is possible that with the existence of the Compilation, they may frame the game in such a way that there is a new epilogue set post Dirge of Cerberus, but there’s no reason to suspect that any part of this trailer takes place outside of the events of the original game.

3. And it’s a fully fledged remake

Square Portal
”It’s not a port or a small remaster with old models, but a completely new version of the classic role-playing game which was revealed at Sony’s E3 press briefing.”

“Please look forward to [cross-dressing Cloud in HD]!” – Everyone.

4. The Buster Sword has not been retconned (well, not really)

The Buster Sword has undergone many a redesign in its numerous iterations. It would appear that here the gold hilt established in Crisis Core is gone, but this gold hilt appears to have been covered with the steel visible – there is a tiny hint of it here. There are probably reasons for this, and whether it will be explained in-game or not remains to be seen. For a full visual breakdown of the trailer, including further insight into these two things, see here. Full credit goes to S&G and Shademp for the visual breakdown.

5. It’s probably running on Unreal Engine 4

Square Portal
”Earlier this year, Cyberconnect2 told Famitsu that they are working hard on creating photo-realistic RPG experience with Unreal Engine 4. It’s very likely Final Fantasy VII Remake is running on it too.”

Either this or the Luminous engine, which has been developed in-house by Square Enix. It’s entirely possible that whatever they have planned for FFVII is more suited to a development environment fostered by Unreal 4. Needless to say, both are capable of breathtaking games so either are capable of producing a fantastic end-product.

6. It’s going to be different, so be open for change. The original game will still be there

Tetsuya Nomura
”This is not a simple remake. Let’s say for argument’s sake that we only pretty up the graphics for current gen hardware, I don’t think that would surpass the original version. We haven’t shown any gameplay yet, but since we’re updating them quite a bit, please look forward to that.”

Yes, we’d all like to see the exact same game with a face lift, but really think about it – such a thing just wouldn’t really work in a modern game. An evolution is a great thing. Don’t panic until we see some actual gameplay. If we end up without the ability to choose our party members and switch between them in battle, or if the materia system magically disappears, you have my express support to riot.

7. The remake will retain the original’s funny moments

Tetsuya Nomura
”The comedy or the lighthearted parts — I like those. I don’t want to change it that much. But we can’t have these upgraded, beautiful 3D models of Cloud and Barrett, still lining up in a row, jumping forward to attack an enemy, then jumping back to wait for their next turn. That would be bizarre. Of course there will likely be changes there. But if we took away parts like the lighter moments of the game, then it would no longer be FFVII.”

Marshmallow Barret. Mr. Dolphin. The “Group” Room. Hype.

8. There’s going to be more story

Tetsuya Nomura
”Since we now formally revealed Kazushige Nojima’s name for the scenario, there will be more plot devices in the story, so I think you can also look forward to that.”

Again, freaking out at this is futile because we don’t know enough yet. This could be an excellent thing. There’s a lot in the original game that could have done with a bit more explanation, there are countless scenes that didn’t make it to the final game but are still present on the original discs, some important scenes (such as how Cloud made his way to Midgar from Nibelheim with Zack) are entirely optional in the original game. It would be fascinating to actually learn more about the Cetra for example.

Awesome Trailer Voice
”The reunion at hand may bring joy, it may bring fear. But let us embrace whatever it brings, for they are coming back.”

For more analysis of the remake, see the transcript breakdown by Flintlock and the imagery breakdown by SandG and Shademp.

Hungry for more? Drop into our remake discussion board and share your thoughts.