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[Update] Square Enix Offers Some Additional Detail On FF7 Remake Segmented Release
Update: Some additional information about Final Fantasy VII Remake's episodic nature has emerged from a couple of sources. In short, Square Enix says it's taking the multi-entry approach to preserve content.
The first information comes from a Famitsu interview (reported by Polygon) with producer Yoshinori Kitase and director Tetsuya Nomura. During the chat, the duo share that the game will be released in multiple installments because remaking it with the PlayStation 4 visuals and content would be too significant for a single release. The intent is to preserve content rather than cut it.
According to a statement received by Kotaku, each installment will have the material of a full title and will tell a complete story. Because "full-sized" games can vary in length between 10 hours and 200 hours (or more), this doesn't necessarily help us pin down exactly what the publisher is going for with this new approach.
It's likely not going to be like a Telltale game or Life is Strange, and could be more along the lines of the recent trilogy of Hobbit films. Regardless, the faster Square Enix explains the plan and puts the questions to bed, the better.
Original Story:
Apparently, life IS strange. The Final Fantasy VII Remake that stole the show at the PlayStation Experience keynote isn’t going to be a single game. It’s episodic.
Square Enix announced the huge news in a press release that went out at 6 p.m. Pacific / 9 p.m. Eastern tonight. “Final Fantasy VII Remake will be told across a multi-part series, with each entry providing its own unique experience,” the publisher says.
No further information is available about how that will impact the narrative, pricing, or general timing. For those looking for a Final Fantasy VII fix right now, a port of the PC version was released yesterday on PS4.
Our Take
This is beginning to sound like a “greatest hits” or "highlight reel" of Final Fantasy VII moments instead of the full remake fans have been anticipating. We already saw the more active combat system in action during PSX, but this news seems to break the expectations of the narrative one might reasonably have from a remake.
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