Final Fantasy VII Remake is right around the corner, but there’s still plenty we haven’t seen from the new game, with most footage released so far focusing on the earliest parts of the game. Now, in the first episode of this new documentary series about the making of the game, we’ve seen new areas and scenes–and it looks glorious.
The video, Inside Final Fantasy VII Remake – Episode 1: Introduction, is embedded below. In contains insights from many of the designers who worked on the game, but make sure that you turn on closed captions if you don’t speak Japanese.
This video comes alongside several new screenshots, which are also worth looking at–but seeing the game in action is even more impressive.
According to Yoshinori Kitase, the game’s producer, he decided to remake Final Fantasy VII after the series’ 25th anniversary exhibition, after thinking long and hard about what he could do with the series “in the time he had left”. He settled on remaking this game because it had “always been in the back of (his) mind.”
The video shows plenty of new footage from around Midgar, including Cloud dancing at the Honey Bee. We’ll see more of the upper city, too, whereas most of the original game’s opening 10 hours were set in the slums of Midgar. According to Tetsuya Nomura, the game’s director, the game has been dramatically expanded: “You can’t go everywehere in the city, but the area you can walk around in has been expanded a lot, and the citizens and characters that appear are depicted in much more detail.”
New music arrangements and completely new themes have been added to the game too, which has caused some pressure due to how iconic the original game’s music was, especially when coupled with the new game featuring voice acting. Composer Mitsuto Suzuki also says that the game incorporates dynamic music that changes depending on your actions.
This first part of Final Fantasy VII Remake will end with the group escaping the city, and the video reiterates that it’ll be as long as a traditional Final Fantasy experience. There’s plenty more in the video, including some enemy designs we haven’t seen before and plenty of battle footage.
The video even features some neat comparison shots between the Remake and Final Fantasy VII Advent Children–Remake undoubtedly looks better.
Final Fantasy VII Remake releases for PlayStation 4 on April 10, and a demo is now available. For more, check out our hands-on report with the game.
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