Quick stuff from interviews of the developers posted on Neogaf:
-they made multi-release since they would have to cut stuff out if they made it in one game. The detail of the game will be so dense, and you will be able to go to various locations within Midgar that you couldn't go before.
-there will be some stuff that has to be cut, but there will be lots of stuff added. overall volume will be big
-They are working with various companies outside, including CC2
-The battle system is real-time, action feel. The degree of action will be "Dissidia > Kingdom Hearts> FF7 remake" It will be more tactical.
-Although it's action style, it has ATB as well.
-You can control other party members, but you can keep control one if you want
-3 party members at a time like the original
-Character model is supervised by Visual Work's director.
-They don't want to go with 100% realism for the characters since it might make it hard to recognize certain characters. So they are going as real as possible, while keeping the character's personality.
-Advent Children model data is over 10 years old so they can't really use it.
-Everything from the trailer (excluding the stuff that was shown from E3 reveal) was real-time. The end scene where Cloud gets off the train, it transitions directly to the gameplay.
-Cloud looking sick is partly due to the lighting. Nojima likes that Cloud looks very sick.
-Cross-dressing is obviously in the game, but Nomura didn't design it yet.
-All the party member's design is renewed like Barret.
-At first they thought of going with AC design of Barret, but decided not to.
-ATB and Limit gauge is there but they are different from the original. ATB turning red is something important.
-Battle tempo will be similar to Dissidia. Battle is done by people who has experience in both Dissidia and Kingdom Hearts..
A rough translation of
http://dengekionline.com/elem/000/001/173/1173362/- About the details of splitting the game into episodes, please tell us more.
Kitase: From the beginning, we have considered it impossible to remake FF7 into one single game. Althought it's impossible to tell you the details about the splitting at the moment, please wait for our further announcement.
Nomura: If we tried to stuff the whole game into one release, some part of the game would have to appear as digests. We'd have to remove some contents from the game, and it would be difficult to add more to the game. Considering that a full remake of the original game must be achived, we have decided to split the game into episodes.
Kitase: Taking the No.8 street shown in the video this time, even just this is already highly dense. If we are to remake the content of the original version at that quality, it would have been impossible to do with a single release.
Splitting the original version into episode with nothing dropped, as well as adding complements, and remaking the game the game in its full volume is what we are thinking.
- How will the battle system look like?
Kitase: Unlike the encounter battles in the original version, we were aiming for a seamless active battle like shown in the video.
Nomura: Regarding the speed of the combat, as well as the sensation of tempo, we have considered something alongside Dissidia FF that you can play without stress. The degree of action would feel like Dissidia FF > KH > FF7 Remake.
We are trying to make a new action combat system that definitely demand no action technique, and let you consider your strategy during the combat.
- What would the elements in the battle system from the original version become?
Nomura: Since the game is based on FF7, elements like ATB gauge and limitbreak will appear but with new useage. Please wait for our further announcements on how they would evolve.
- Are you going to adjust the story in order to maintain connection to other compilations of the game, as well as adapting to the modern age?
Nomura: We are planning some mechanism to dig deeper into each episodes. Players who have played the original version surely would know everything from the beginning to the end of the game, including some very important moments. And we are planning to give even such users surprises.
Kitase: We are not going to remake a game so you only play for nostalgia. We want to make the hearts of the original fans pump. We are adjusting the storyline with this idea in mind.
More:
Q
I got it. And I heard it’ll be multiple parts.
Kitase-san
Yes. The reason why we haven’t gave a go for VII remake is that it’s extremely hard to remake FFVII with the current technology, and to be honest, we hesitated. Remaking FFVII in HD without losing the original’s “density” requires more than one part.
Nomura-san
If we were to put it in one part, then we have to cut many parts and deliver it as a digest. Nobody wants that kind of game. Plus, users can explore many places in Midgar where they couldn’t in the original game. Once we decided to remake VII, we will develop those details and more. Of course we have to cut some parts from the original, but users can expect the VII world that only VII Remake can deliver. We estimate that, with the quality of those details, the volume of the game will be larger than the original after all. You may worry about the schedule, and we want to provide the game as soon as possible. Making it multiple parts is the line we drew to deliver the game.
