Ever since we learned that Final Fantasy VII Remake would be coming in multiple parts, fans have been theorizing exactly how much each game will cover. While we always knew that the first game would focus largely on Midgar, it wasn’t exactly clear where the game would conclude. A new interview with Producer Yoshinori Kitase and Co-Director Naoki Hamaguchi revealed that the Final Fantasy VII Remake ends when the party escapes Midgar after a brand new climax at the top of the Shinra Building that wasn’t in the original.
In the interview, the creators talked about why they selected Midgar as the focus for this first game, saying that the choice was between either cutting back on areas and scenes from the original remake it as one complete title, or going the other way and expanding on areas while splitting the game up into multiple parts.
Essentially, to make a single release viable the resulting game would have ended up being a digest of the original story, and we didn’t think that fans would be pleased with that.
Ultimately, we decided the best option for the project was to go for the highest level possible, with an expanded story. Having more than one game in the project allowed us to focus on keeping everything people loved from the original, but go into greater detail and more story depth than before.
It’s here that Kitase-san also confirmed where the first game ends: as the party escapes from Midgar.
Midgar is iconic to FINAL FANTASY VII, so we had to start the game here, and follow the story up to the main party’s escape from the city.
The same interview also revealed why Red XIII is not a playable character in this game, despite (and actually, because of) joining the party near the end of the game. He will be a guest character playing a crucial role leading up to a new climax in the Shinra Building on a new upper floor, and is expected to be made playable in the second part, as his character can get more development leading up to Cosmo Canyon where his story can really open up.
However, the development team feel the same way that the fans do when it comes to seeing Red XIII as an important character, and we designed his gameplay in a special way to offset him not being playable in battle.
I won’t reveal exactly what that entails, because I want people to enjoy it when they actually play the game, but I will say that FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE has added a new upper floor to the Shinra Building to present a climax that was not in the original.
The key to navigating this floor lies in using Red XIII’s unique physical abilities to overcome environmental obstacles. Letting the player experience his heroics in this way is something that I’m confident will please the fans.
Keen-eyed fans may be able to deduce what that new climax is from footage seen in recent trailers. While players didn’t actually fight Jenova until they stow away on the boat to Costa del Sol in the original game, Final Fantasy VII Remake’s trailers seem to show areas where Jenova has infested the Shinra building and the party must fight the monstrous being before ever leaving Midgar. This change would certainly be a pretty massive shift from the original and qualify as a brand new climax ahead of the group escaping Midgar. It also seems to confirm that trailers have shown critical moments leading up to the end of the game, including the fight with Jenova in the Shinra Building, the motorcycle chase sequence (with the rest of the party in the blue truck), and even the free PS4 theme that shows the iconic shot of the party standing at the edge of the unfinished highway literal moments before departing the city.
Of course, just because we know how the game will end doesn’t mean we know about everything in the middle. Square Enix has expanded Midgar into a full-length RPG of its own, giving players the opportunity to explore the city more in-depth than ever before. They recently talked about some of those changes and additions, and this interview even hints at secrets and hidden bosses that should provide some endgame content for people who want more than just the story.
You can play the Final Fantasy VII Remake Demo now on the PS4, including the secret ending featuring a fan-favorite character. Final Fantasy VII Remake is scheduled to release on April 10, 2020, however, some physical shipments may be delayed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
[Source: Square Enix]
