Interview with Final Fantasy developers who explain what they have decided to do in the Final Fantasy 7 remake with respect to the original.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake is just around the corner. It comes out on April 10 and Square Enix has already confirmed that the launch is maintained despite the exceptional situation that is being experienced in half the world. The company has published an interview with developers where they talk about multiple details of the remake: how they have made it interesting for nostalgics but also for those who never enjoyed the original, why it is not a game that encompasses the entire plot and focuses only on Midgar, what will we have when we finish the story and other details. We review them.
Larger midgar and without omissions
One of the most important decisions in the Final Fantasy 7 remake is to focus this entire first chapter on Midgar. producer Yoshinori Kitase explains that "in the original game there were a lot of breaks, where the screen went dark and then the game continued in another location." "In other words, there were a lot of parts between sections of Midgar that were implicit, but that we never saw. It's something that we wanted to change in the remake, filling in those gaps and showing how all parts of the city are connected, making for continuity in the experience, "he adds. In this sense, co-director Naoki Hamaguchi complements the response, noting that they have focused on "making each section of Midgar feel its own, complete and with its own culture and community." For him, Midgar will show an "enormous variety" and will transmit "the feeling of how people live in that place".
Following around with Midgar, Hamaguchi believes that there is so much love for that city because he broke concepts at the time for its darkness, the modern steampunk style and being eclectic. "Those elements really made it shine and it became a credible and memorable city (…) I think that's why people remember it, because being in a fantasy world, it felt like it could be real."
The absence of Red XIII as a playable character
One of the surprises of these last weeks has been the absence of Red XIII as a playable character in this part of the title. Hamaguchi, who appreciates how much fans love the characters in Final Fantasy VII, expresses that they have not made him playable because "he only entered the team during the final stages, and having him playable would not have been satisfactory; that is why we decided that moment was a guest character. " In any case, the co-director adds that the team sees him as "an important character, and we have designed his gameplay in a special way even if he is not controllable in battle."
In addition, he adds some expectations when saying that "we have added a new upper floor in the Shinra building to offer a climax that was not in the original." The key in this regard is that we will have to use Red XIII's unique physical abilities to being able to move around this plant and being able to overcome obstacles in the environment.
Final bosses and endgame
Another of the highlights of the interview is knowing what secrets the world hides. "We can't say much because we want to save surprises for the players," says Hamaguchi, later adding: "It was designed as a complete game, with a size similar to any other numbered game in the series, but let's say it. If you wait endgame content, you won't be disappointed. "
The interview touches on many other topics, from how technology allows them to offer something that maintains everything that the original game brought with it but make it fresh and modern for new players, or tells the combat system that "allows you to wait for your ATB to fill the bar and choose the commands, but the action elements allow you to open the enemy defense, knock it out and create options to do a lot of damage. It is more efficient than waiting to load the bar ATB, it has been specifically designed to offer both systems together "
Source | Square Enix USA
