The release of the Final Fantasy VII Remake Ultimania guide book brought with it a wealth of new information thanks to an interview with Producer Yoshinori Kitase and Director Tetsuya Nomura. Translated by @aitaikimochi on Twitter, the interview includes details on future installments of the Final Fantasy VII Remake saga, as the first game ends when the party leaves Midgar. Despite some theories after the end of Final Fantasy VII Remake that the story would be taking a different path from the original Final Fantasy VII, Kitase reassures fans that they are “not drastically changing the story and making it into something completely different than the original.”
Quote by Kitase on how different the #FF7R will be from the original story:
“We’re not drastically changing the story and making it into something completely different than the original. Even though it’s a Remake, please assume the story of FF7 will continue as FF7 always has.”
— ☆オードリーAudrey☆ (@aitaikimochi) April 28, 2020
“Even though it’s a Remake, please assume the story of FF7 will continue as FF7 always has from here on out,” Kitase continues. What we can presume from Kitase’s comments is that subsequent entries will follow the same general narrative structure of the first, recounting iconic moments from the original game with some surprising and unexpected new twists, but not completely changing what the original game was. If you have a favorite moment from the 1997 game, rest assured it will probably end up translated into the Remake saga in some way.
Many of the changes being made to the scenarios in Final Fantasy VII Remake have to do with the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII (which includes the original game, the Advent Children film, Crisis Core, and more). Remake is being envisioned as the “culmination” of the complete compilation.
So basically what they imply is that the Remake is the culmination of the entire Compilation of FFVII extracted into parts and bundled into something new, which took form of the Remake’s story.
I’ll translate the rest of the interview tomorrow!
— ☆オードリーAudrey☆ (@aitaikimochi) April 28, 2020
Kitase’s words should help allay fears that Final Fantasy VII Remake would take too much of a bizarre “Kingdom Hearts-esque” turn and alter the story and moments people have come to love. The first game was lauded for its daring reinterpretation of iconic events and moments while still being the game we remember from 23 years ago. Unfortunately, we don’t know how much longer we’ll have to wait for the next part, or even how many parts the full saga will be. In fact, Nomura and Kitase themselves aren’t even entirely sure.
Final Fantasy VII Remake is out now exclusively on PS4.