The original Final Fantasy 7 is more than 20 years old. Developer Square Enix announced at the E3 show 2015 that it was working on the Final Fantasy 7 Remake, but they didn’t mention the release date. Fans have already waited for about three years, and there is a good chance they will have to wait another few years before the Remake arrives. Fresh leaks suggest that the game’s development is heading in the right direction, but it might not arrive until 2023. The prolonged waiting period might disappoint some fans.
A Lifestream forum member going by the handle hian has posted the translation of a behind-the-doors conversation between producer Yoshinori Kitase and development lead Naoki Hamaguchi. Square Enix character designer Tetsuya Nomura was also involved in the conversation, which took place in January 2018 at the Final Fantasy 30th anniversary event. The executives discussed how the game was progressing and the changes that they were making in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
After character designer Tetsuya Nomura left, development head Hamaguchi apologized to Kitase for making him wait so long before providing details on the Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Kitase and Hamaguchi then go on to talk about launching the Final Fantasy 7 Remake before the franchise’s 35th anniversary. The franchise would turn 35 in 2023. So, the title might arrive earlier. The Final Fantasy XV had made fans wait for 10 years. You might not have to wait that long for the Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
It’s possible that the two executives were merely discussing whether releasing the game on the franchise’s 35th anniversary would be a good idea. Hamaguchi and Kitase also talked about working on “something we’ve never seen before.” Square Enix has taken a series of steps to ensure that the game arrives much sooner than 2023. For instance, it has pulled the project out of CyberConnect2 and brought the development in-house.
The recent job listings by Square Enix described the Final Fantasy 7 Remake as a “new creation” rather than a “simple remake” of the original title. The developer aims to create a title that “surpasses the original.” They also plan to “preserve the existing concepts” that users love while offering a “new world view.” Tetsuya Nomura said last year that reproducing the world of Final Fantasy 7 in HD would require “an extraordinary amount of time and resources.”
Nomura has told fans earlier that the Remake would not be a “simple remake” of the original. We will have to wait for a few more years before the Final Fantasy 7 Remake is released. Only time will tell whether it will be able to meet the expectations of loyal Final Fantasy fans. Given such a prolonged development timeline, the game is unlikely to be released in episodes.
Anyway, Square Enix could offer concrete details about the Final Fantasy 7 Remake release date at the E3 2018 press conference next month in Los Angeles. The company is expected to showcase the Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Kingdom Hearts III, and other games at the show. Square Enix could offer a sneak peek into the Final Fantasy 7 Remake clip.
A separate report suggests that noted composer Nobuo Uematsu is getting involved in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake development. Uematsu has reiterated over the past several years that he would never work on a Final Fantasy title again. For the uninitiated, Uematsu has composed music for many Final Fantasy titles including the original Final Fantasy 7. Now it seems like he has decided to come back to compose music for the FF7 Remake.
FF7R：インタビュー記事北瀬氏発言より、植松伸夫氏が「FF7リメイク」の音楽に関わられている事が判明（情報：当サイトコメ欄） pic.twitter.com/wnF0cehdBw
— aibo (@aibo_ac7) May 13, 2018
This could be Uematsu’s one time stint for Final Fantasy remake. According to a tweet from the user aibo, an interview posted by Yoshinori Kitase confirmed Uematsu’s involvement in the development. However, it is unclear to what extent the composer will be involved in the project. It’s possible that Uematsu would work directly in composing music for the Final Fantasy 7 Remake to ensure that its music is as good as the soundtrack for the original FF7. However, he has also worked with other composers such as Junya Nakano and Masahi Hamauzu on the Final Fantasy series in the past.
