Final Fantasy 7 PS4 remake won't be like-for-like copy, director confirms

Square Enix's Tetsuya Nomura has one again indicated the recently announced Final Fantasy 7 revival may be more reimagination than remake.

Speaking to Wired, Nomura, who is directing the project, said the development team doesn't "want to interfere with what makes the original title so iconic," but said it wouldn't be a like-for-like reproduction of the beloved RPG classic.

"In terms of taking such an iconic game and giving it a fresh feel, we can't go into too much detail but we're not intending for this to become a one-to-one remake, or just the original Final Fantasy 7 with better graphics," he said.

"There are certain plot points we don't want to interfere with or disturb, nor will we want to change elements that fans have very big attachments to."

According to Nomura, the team is aiming to re-invent the game for a new generation of fans, but also make the experience fresh for fans of the original.

"My goal with the remake is to make it apply to the current era, the current generation of players that are going to be coming into contact with or playing Final Fantasy 7 for the first time through this remake.

"I want to make it so it's relevant to the modern era, as well as having an element of surprise. It has to be something that riles up this sense of wonder and amazement. I don't want to change it so much that it's unrecognisable, but make sure that it's something fresh and new [but still] recognisable as Final Fantasy 7. That's what I'll be keeping in mind as I work on this."

Nomura also discussed the difficulties in bringing a game which told its story primarily through text boxes in line with modern storytelling techniques, along with adding production effects.

"We're taking something that's text based with no voice over. If we add voice over to it, that will trigger some adjustments that need to be made to accommodate for that. Then, because we're making it in full HD, we'll need to think about all the resources that are needed to populate the screen.

"We'd need to go in and see what needs adjusting in that aspect. It's like a chain of events; 'OK, we're going to revamp this part, what do we need?', and see if there are any changes that creates. As I say, we can't go into the specifics at this point but we'll need to revisit elements within the game to see what is appropriate."

Nomura previously suggested that Final Fantasy 7's story could deviate from the original at E3. Speaking to GameSpot, he said that the upcoming PC-to-PS4 rerelease of the classic Final Fantasy 7 would be available for those looking to relive the exact same experience.

"We've announced an HD port version on the PlayStation 4, and then we have the remake coming to PS4," Nomura said.

"You'll have this extremely, very, very pretty FFVII existing on the same plane. We feel that if that happens, it's like, why have the same exact game?"

The Final Fantasy 7 Remake is in production with key members of the original game's staff on board. Yoshinori Kitase, who directed the original, is serving as producer on the remake. Scenario writer Kazushige Nojima also returns for the project.