Final Fantasy VII Remake Is Back

There were several hints that Final Fantasy VII Remake would resurface during this latest short-but-sweet State of Play, Sony’s new Nintendo Direct-like stream that they’re fortunately keeping around after an underwhelming first installment. Square Enix producer Shinji Hashimoto retweeted several tweets about the stream in the earlier part of the week, someone still infamous for how he announced the port of the original at PlayStation Experience 2014.

But it was hard to believe that it would finally resurface here after going MIA for so long, since PlayStation Experience 2015 in December 2015, in fact. A lot has happened with the game since then, like its development being shifted from CyberConnect2 to a Square Enix’s internal studio, and project lead Naoki Hamaguchi being promoted to co-director alongside Tetsuya Nomura. Not to mention all the current events that have occurred over the nearly three-and-a-half-year period. Yeesh.

Fortunately, it actually did surface in the stream in the form of a teaser a hair over a minute in length. This was all some fans who were going through withdrawals after waiting years to even see it again needed to excite them, and observe the already-visible changes made between the old version and this current one.

The art style has changed slightly, with some character models looking a bit more stylized and colorful — especially Cloud and Barrett. This was also the first opportunity for them to show Aerith, who looks just as good as you might expect in this visual style. A small preview of Tifa was also provided through a quick glimpse at her name in the battle menu.

Speaking of that: Not much of the battle system was shown, but it appears to have only received minor modifications from the preview provided in the previous trailer. Instead of being turn-based, the game is an action RPG whose combat fortunately bears more resemblance to the recent Kingdom Hearts games than Final Fantasy XV. This isn’t a coincidence given Nomura’s presence as co-director, the same position he’s assumed for the KH titles (alongside Tai Yasue). It feels like Square Enix doesn’t want to green light a big-budget turn-based RPG that doesn’t have the name “Dragon Quest” in the title, but the new style could be a good substitute depending on the depth it offers.

It sounds like several, if not all, of the voices have been changed for the game. The previous one featured the return of Steve Burton and Beau Billingslea as Cloud and Barret, respectively, who voiced the characters for years. It’s tough to tell if Burton is still here, but Barret’s voice is definitely different — to say the least. Sephiroth also doesn’t sound like George Newbern, who voiced the character since Kingdom Hearts II. The voices could have been changed due to scheduling conflicts, but union issues are another possible culprit. This should be easier to determine in a longer trailer, which should provide the opportunity to see if Rachel Leigh Cook has returned as Tifa.

It’s also noticeable that all the footage is still coming from the earliest parts of the game. Most of the locations shown are from the Bombing Mission at the game’s start, though other aspects of Midgar, including Cloud meeting Aerith, are included. It was confirmed after the new trailer arrived that this will still be an episodic release, and at least a good portion of the installment could be from Midgar. The remake will be greatly expanded compared to the original, so there won’t be a one-to-one comparison between the story developments in the old PlayStation game and this one. There are hints that Square Enix could keep it to three installments, the same idea Nomura originally had for FFXV when he was still directing it. If it’s planned to be more than three, this will take an unfathomably long time to finish.

Square Enix will provide an avalanche of Final Fantasy VII Remake info next month, at both the Final Fantasy VII: A Symphonic Reunion that will take place in Los Angeles on June 9th and at E3 2019 later in that week. They’ll air a Square Enix Live stream to showcase their E3 lineup on June 10th at 9PM ET, the same time Sony’s conference would air if they were attending E3 this year. Perhaps Sony will provide a new State of Play instead, which will be much shorter in comparison and could air at any time.

Look forward to more FFVII Remake fun next month, and cross your fingers about a potential release for the first episode soon. Square Enix announced plans to release at least one major title in the next fiscal year (between now and March 31st next year), and it could very well be this if it’s not the still-MIA Avengers game.

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