Although little was initially revealed about the project, Square Enix did leave some cryptic clues surrounding the game’s content. Chief amongst these was the reveal that the Final Fantasy 7 remake would receive some big changes to both gameplay and story. This led fans to speculate on just what the additional content would be, with everything from new, exciting mini-games to better open world exploration topping up fan lists of most-wanted changes around the world.
Those awaiting an update to the game’s story in the form of new characters are going to be disappointed, however. Hachima Kikou reports (as translated by Gematsu) that during an interview with Famitsu magazine, Final Fantasy 7 remake director Tetsuya Nomura revealed that the updated version of the original PlayStation classic will not add any new characters to the roster.
When asked about whether any new characters would appear in the new version of the title, Nomura candidly replied that “there won’t be new characters.” With new characters one of the main ways in which Square Enix could change the game’s story, it will be intriguing to see exactly where the development team takes the Final Fantasy 7 narrative. The look of the characters, however, looks likely to change. Nomura stated that the team was going to change the title’s graphical style “to match today’s visuals and appear closer to reality.”
It looks as though the remake’s gameplay is also going to see an overhaul. Although Nomura was coy surrounding exactly how Final Fantasy 7’s mechanics will be updated, it certainly seems that change is afoot. “I can’t share details, but we’re changing it to a more realistic system,” said Nomura. Meanwhile, the director reiterated that the title is not going to simply be a high-def port of the original Final Fantasy classic. “Because it’s a full remake, I want to challenge what’s fun and what’s possible now,” he said.
Anticipation could not be higher for the Final Fantasy 7 remake, with the announcement of the title even leading to a sharp increase in Square Enix’s stock. That said, there is still a long way to go until more finite details surrounding the project are released. At the moment, Square Enix has only stated that more news surrounding the much-wanted remake will be revealed by the end of the year. Perhaps then fans will get a deeper look at exactly how Square Enix plans to update Final Fantasy 7 for modern consoles.
Source: Gematsu, Hachima Kikou
