One of the most impressive announces of E3 2019 was made by Square Enix, and it concerned Final Fantasy VII, the cult game planned to remake this year. What we know so far is the release date, the concept, and some technical details; but there’s far more left unrevealed.

What’s the Remake?

​

Though the core will be transferred from the original Final Fantasy VII, with the confrontation of Shinra Electric, exploiting Mako energy that keeps the planet alive, and Avalanche, an underground organization trying to save the planet from this uncontrolled Mako exploitation. There are armed forces that protect the corporation, and the rebels opposing them, along with lots of other actors.

All of this will be featured in the new game, But, since it’s been 22 years since the original was released, the remake will surely beat it in terms of visuals. The demo shown at E3 is really impressive, showing the enormous Midgar, the city where most of the action takes place.

Cloud Strife’s sword is even more gorgeous than it was in the original, and the visuals are more typical for a modern JRPG than the game of ’97. Too little was shown to decide if our beloved characters still act, move and talk the way we appreciate, but they look like improved versions of themselves.
And, of course, these grand visuals take precious gigabytes, One Blu-ray won’t be enough, so the first two discs will be just the first chapter.

What about Combat System?

Of course, it is reviewed, with more real-time elements introduced. The hardware of PS4 is much stronger than anything of 1997, and it allows for the much trickier system. Say, ATB (Active Time Battle) bar gets filled when you apply an attack and stands still while you’re idle. When filled, this bar lets you stop the time and select a special attack, which makes the combat system resemble more of a turn-based analog. The characters you don’t control at the moment keep fighting when involved in the combat, but manual activation is required to make them use special attacks.

The enemies got one more complication too. Focus bar is filled as they get hot, and when it’s filled, they become an easier target. It doesn’t mean yet that they can be just fatalitied with one move; it will be easier but not easiest.
So, there is something both for those who stayed loyal to the classical tactics, and for those who were born after the original Final Fantasy VII was released. The game lets you try both ways of combat, and then you select yours. 

When Will It Appear?

The release date is already scheduled and shown in commercials: the game will be available for Sony PlayStation 4 only. The release date for Episode I is set for March 3rd, 2020. Probably the new episodes will get a physical release for each, and, besides that, each of them may get its share of DLC.

Final Fantasy VII is already recognized as the beginning of its own universe within FF worlds, and it seems to get larger and more complicated.

How Many Parts Will Final Fantasy VII Remake Have?

The first episode action will be concentrated in Midgar, the large city within the game, and it’s really enormous. We’ve said that the episode will take two Blu-rays, and there will be others. But they aren’t scheduled so far, so Square Enix cannot tell what it just doesn’t know. Well, we might see the canon crashing down with innovations, but it won’t be soon.

By the way, it’s already been in development for four years (and it will be five by the date announced). Don’t let all these years result in a disappointment, or the avalanche will cover you!

Is It Final?

Of course, it is, the title says so! In fact, of course, this remake won’t impact the production of new Final Fantasy games. Maybe the remake will influent and inspire new developers as the original did in its years.
It’s not sure whether it will foster new memes like the famous “Wutai”, now used to name any fictional Oriental country east to India. But chances are the developers won’t be satisfied with just retelling the familiar story, and there’ll be new side arcs we didn’t think about, and new characters and locations we only wrote fanfiction on.
So, we expect a really great remake of the greatest game we have about the next books from the Song of Ice and Fire universe. We already know the core output, but this or that one, killed on TV, make it to the end? Or vice versa? Come on with your expectations, and let George R.R. Martin monetize them. Final Fantasy VII does our nerves about the same: we’ve seen it all, but let’s see the way the original authors see it!

Will it impact?

No doubt. Even If the developers manage to fail somehow (it happens, well), the game will still leave its mark and maybe inspire new titles. And, we see, some of them will be so grand that you’ll want to put away your Dualshock and go create yourself a Steam account.