"Final Fantasy VII Remake," the PS4 re-do of the classic PlayStation One RPG, will not be one complete product but will instead utilize a "multi-part" or episodic format. However, according to a report from Games Radar, this may not just be a gimmick to gain more profits but as a strategy to expand the original game's mythology.
The original story told in "Final Fantasy VII" was already expansive. At the time, the game could not fit into a single PS1 disc and its content had to be split into three. According to the report, expanding all that content just by itself would already make "Final Fantasy VII Remake" a much larger game than most expect.
Adding in story elements from the "Final Fantasy VII Compilation" would make the game even larger. Most of Zack's back-story is told in the PSP game "Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core." There are also story elements relating to Sephiroth's rise to stardom and his eventual fall from grace, as well as his history with Angeal and Genesis.
"Dirge of Cerberus" and the CGI film "Final Fantasy VII: Advent of Children" served as epilogues to the main PS1 game but their story may as well be included in the remake to create the go-to "Final Fantasy VII" experience.
It is explained further in the report that the "Final Fantasy VII Compilation" is similar in many ways to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the sense that several titles across multiple platforms were used to tell a complete story. By splitting "Final Fantasy VII Remake" into an episodic format it is now possible to tell that complete story in a single game.
According to iDigital Times, the game may be split anywhere from two parts to four or more episodes. It is explained that the logical choice would be to split it in the middle, with the first episode ending with Aerith's death.
If the remake is split into three then the first part may end with Cloud and the party battling Jenova for the first time after leaving Junon, the second part ending with Aerith's death and the third part finishing off the series, with additional episodes allowing players to explore side-stories such as the history of Genesis or Vincent Valentine.
