With Final Fantasy VII Remake‘s 10 April release date drifting ever closer, Square Enix have released the first part of a behind-the-scenes video series. There’s also a new batch of screenshots, showing off key characters and locations from the Wall Market part of the game, the Leviathan summon, and more.
Titled “Inside FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE”, the video series brings together interviews with the game’s creators, artists, and developers, including producer Yoshinori Kitase, Tetsuya Nomura, scenario writer Kazushige Nojima, game design and programming co-director Naoki Hamaguchi, and scenario design co-director Motomu Toriyama.
The first episode, “Introduction”, talks about the origins of the idea to remake one of the most beloved games of all time, and the desire to appeal to both old and new fans—”it should feel both new and nostalgic for players”. There’s plenty of back-to-back footage contrasting the original game with the remake, to show how things have both changed and remained the same.
The Final Fantasy VII Remake project will span a number of different games, with the first part covering the Midgar chapter—roughly the first 10 hours of the original game, but a full game on its own in the remake. The video offers a bit more insight into how that part of the story has been expanded, with more opportunities to visit the upper parts of Midgar, get to know the people, and see the city’s inequality firsthand. (At one point in the video, Kitase says that Midgar’s vision of class disparity “still seems a setup that is relevant today”—I’m sure the usual suspects will still try to argue that Final Fantasy VII is an apolitical game, though.)
Square Enix also shared a batch of new screenshots, showing off various aspects of Final Fantasy VII Remake. Among them are shots of Turks leader Tseng, Don Corleone and some of his subordinates, Barrett in combat, views of the Wall Market, Beginner’s Hall, and Honeybee Inn areas, a look at the Enemy Skill materia and new jukebox function, and the reveal of a new summon: Leviathan.
Final Fantasy VII Remake is coming to PlayStation 4 on 10 April 2020. There’s a free playable demo available on the PlayStation Store.