There was a tiny little announcement of a game remake today at Sony's E3 press conference.
Post all discussion of said remake here. I'll keep this OP up to date with trailers and whatnot. If you have a piece of news, post it and I'll include it here (and if it's big enough, it'll go on the main site!). Last updated: April 8, 2016
What we know:
- The official title is Final Fantasy VII Remake.
- It will be episodic. This structure will allow some elements from the original game to be expanded upon, while others will be cut. Each episode will be of a "full scale" length, similar to the FFXIII games.
- It will be exclusive to PS4 at first. Releases for PC and/or other platforms are not out of the question.
- Yoshinori Kitase is producing, Kazushige Nojima is writing, and Tetsuya Nomura is directing. The director at Square Enix Visual Works is working on the modeling.
- Character designs are by Tetsuya Nomura and Roberto Ferrari. Some characters, like Barret, will see significant redesigns.
- CyberConnect2 and other outside studios are collaborating with Square Enix on this project.
- Some plot points and/or other elements might change. Cloud's crossdressing scene has been confirmed to be in the remake.
- The remake project started in June 2014 or earlier.
- The battle system will be dramatically different, though it will retain some familiar elements, such as the ATB and limit break bars. Characters can be controlled individually, or players may stick to one.
- Advent Children will be referred to as a source of inspiration.
- The game is being built with Unreal Engine 4.
- Nobuo Uematsu is not involved with the remake project.
What we don't know:
- If Sony is helping to fund the remake. They are said to have a "partnership" with Square Enix on this project, but outside of the timed exclusivity, the details are unknown.
- Whether it will be a turn-based or action RPG (UPDATE: the PS Experience trailer hints at an action RPG system, though it has some turn-based elements)
- Most everything else.
Rumor mill:
- "Miss Cloud" will be kept in. Likelihood of coming true: medium to high. ETA: CONFIRMED
- A big chunk of unverified "insider" information from a NeoGAF member. Key points: Zack, Yuffie, and Vincent may be integrated more into the story, and there's a good chance that the Welcoming Ceremony sequence and other scenes (side stories, Tifa and Cloud under the Highwind, Cloud beating on Aeris) might be changed. A lot of the other "info" is common-sense analysis. Likelihood of being true: low to high.
- CyberConnect2 (Solatorobo, lots of .hack and Naruto games, etc.) is involved in the development. Likelihood of being true: low to medium. ETA: CONFIRMED
Speculation:
- A planned 20th anniversary release in 2017 has been speculated in many corners of the internet. Likelihood of coming true: high.
- Unreal Engine 4 will be used as the game's engine. Likelihood of being true: medium to high. ETA: CONFIRMED
Citadel news posts:
- June 15, 2015: Final Fantasy VII Remake in the Works - Not a Rumor!
- June 16, 2015: First Press Assets for the FFVII Remake
- June 17, 2015: Tetsuya Nomura E3 Interview Roundup (with Commentary)
- June 20, 2015: Additional Little Details on the Remake
- July 30, 2015: "Dramatic Changes" to Battle System Planned for FFVII Remake
- Nov. 7, 2015: Nobuo Uematsu is Not Working on the Remake
- Dec. 5, 2015: New FFVII Remake Trailer Shown at PlayStation Experience
- Dec. 6, 2015: Yoshinori Kitase on the Remake, Mobius Final Fantasy Gets a Tie-in
- Dec. 6, 2015: The FFVII Remake Will Be Episodic
- Dec. 7, 2015: Final Fantasy VII News Roundup
- Dec. 8, 2015: The FFVII Remake is Powered by Unreal Engine 4
- Apr. 8, 2016: Length of FFVII Remake Installments Will Be "Full Scale"
Trailers and other official videos:
E3 2015 trailer (June 15, 2015):
PlayStation Experience 2015 trailer (Dec. 5, 2015):
Sony: Interview with Yoshinori Kitase (Dec. 5, 2015):
Other stuff:
- Official website (English)
- Official website (Japanese)