When game company Square Enix announced during the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2015 that they are officially working on a remake of "Final Fantasy VII," they only gave fans a short teaser trailer and have since been coy regarding what they intend on changing and what will remain. More recently, director Tetsuya Nomura finally gave fans an answer, albeit short and vague, with regard to the game's combat.
Speaking to Official Playstation Magazine, as reported by GamesRadar, Nomura confirmed that the traditional active time battle or ATB system of the original game will be updated and changed.
"And of course, that being said, we want to clarify: We're not going to be changing it into a shooter or something like that," Nomura told the publication. "We are going to be bringing dramatic changes, but we want to make sure it's still recognizable."
"Final Fantasy VII" did not use a turn-based system to begin with, as the ATB system allows enemies to attack while the player chooses their actions and switches between characters to control. It is likely that this will be altered and modified a bit to resemble the action-based system used in "Final Fantasy XII" to "Final Fantasy XV" or even "Kingdom Hearts."
Nomura also stated that the development team is looking at their 2005 film "Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children" — which Nomura directed — as a visual referrence and also as an inspiration. However, he stated that they won't just be utilizing the 3D models from the film. After all, that movie is already 10 years old.
According to a report from Gamespot, Nomura previously stated that while they are changing things up to fit the more modern technology and audience of today, they do not want to drastically alter "things that make the original game so iconic." This includes specific plot points and gameplay mechanics that people associate with "Final Fantasy VII."
"Final Fantasy VII: Remake" is set to be released on the PlayStation 4 but no release date has yet been given. A PS4 port of the Steam version of the original game is also set to be released before the end of 2015 so if fans are disappointed by the remake, they will have the original they can turn back to.
