The latest issue of Famitsu via Gematsu features an interview with Yoshinori Kitase, producer of the "Final Fantasy VII" remake for PS4. Kitase was the director and scenario writer of the 1997 original for the PlayStation One, and is now sitting as producer together with director Tetsuya Nomura for the HD remake.
According to the report, Kitase explained that the development team is closing in on the visual direction that they want to take for the game. Back in July, it was reported by GamesRadar that they were taking "Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children" as an inspiration for the visuals but will not use the same 3D models.
With regard to the battle system, Kitase explained that they are still working on mechanics through trial-and-error.
"Since there's a possibility that the command battle system of the old days might not work today, we're thinking hard about what kind of direction we can take it," he said. "Normally, when you do a remake, it becomes somewhere along the lines of a familiar action RPG, so we're looking at how we can put out something like 'Final Fantasy VII' while still surprising players."
The original game featured the now-popular ATB or Active Time Battle system that many Japanese RPG titles utilize to some degree. However, the latter "Final Fantasy" titles from "Final Fantasy X" onwards have strayed away from this system to more action-oriented mechanics.
Kitase then jokingly stated that people should not ask how far in development the team is on the game. Given how they are still working out the battle mechanics, it is likely that the remake is still very early in development, with Square Enix's priorities geared toward "Final Fantasy XV," "Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn," and "Kingdom Hearts III."
While there is no release window yet for the remake, the updated Steam version of the original "Final Fantasy VII" will be released for the PS4 this December.
