'Final Fantasy VII' PS4 remake to see changes to gameplay, story: what to expect

Final Fantasy VIISquare-Enix

Ever since Square Enix announced that they are doing a full remake of "Final Fantasy VII," fans have speculated about the changes will be introduced. A recent interview with producer and game designer Tetsuya Nomura sheds some light on what will change and what will stay the same when the game is released on the PS4. 

According to a report from Kotaku, Nomura stated that the game will be more than just an aesthetic re-imagining. He explained that the game will not just be a port of the 1997 classic to modern HD graphics, and reiterated that it was important to update the game for today's standards. 

"The original version is a game that came out in 1997, and if you look at it today, you can feel how dated the graphics and the game system are," Nomura explained. "We haven't shown any gameplay yet, but since we're updating them quite a bit, please look forward to that." 

According to a report from Uproxx, this might be an indication that the battle system will see an overhaul. "Final Fantasy VII" still used the turn-based ATB system of the older games in the franchise and also featured random battles, a system the more modern entries such as "Final Fantasy XII" and "Final Fantasy XV" are moving away from. 

Nomura also stated that there will be "more plot devices" to the story. "Final Fantasy VII" included two secret characters, Yuffie and Vincent, but their chapters might now become a natural part of the game's plot. A few changes might also be done to the story for the game to better fit in with the canon created by spin-off titles like "Crisis Core" on the PSP. 

Nomura previously worked on "Final Fantasy VII" as the lead character designer, coming from a monster designer background for the older games. He would later be promoted as game director and would eventually spearhead the "Kingdom Hearts" franchise.

"Final Fantasy VII" for the Playstation 4 has no official release date yet at the time of writing.