If you’re worried that Square Enix’s multi-part release plan for the Final Fantasy VII Remake will result in a smaller experience, Square Enix says the opposite will be true.
In an interview with Japanese game publication Famitsu that Square Enix translated, the publisher revealed that the remake of the 1997 role-playing game will include areas and content not in the original.
“For instance, players will be able to explore many different areas of Midgar in this game that they couldn’t access in the original — if we’re remaking this world, we want to add in areas like this and depict them with real detail,” the translated interview from Square Enix attributed to Final Fantasy VII Remake’s director Tetsuya Nomura. “Of course, there may be parts that are cut from the original for various reasons, but with all the new depiction that we’re adding to the game and the level of detail we’re incorporating, the overall amount of content is only going to increase.”
As for what exactly the multirelease strategy means, Square Enix is being a bit mysterious (and intentionally avoiding the word “episodic”). However, Square Enix told GamesBeat that each entry will have its own story and feature the same amount of content as a full-sized game.
It’s hard to know exactly what that means. Final Fantasy VII was originally a complete game with one story, mostly told through the perspective of hero Cloud Strife. However, Final Fantasy VII did have prequels (like Crisis Core for the PSP) and sequels (like the movie Advent Children). Perhaps the remake will also involve those pieces of the Final Fantasy VII mythos.