Final Fantasy VII remake news: Yoshinori Kitase confirms 'surprises' for fans

"Final Fantasy XV" might be taking the gaming universe by storm with its movie, confirmed release date and collector's edition, but there is a lesser-known installment that has everyone talking. As noted by reports, "Final Fantasy VII" will have a remake, and Square Enix's Yoshinori Kitase gave further details which made fans even more excited.

Kitase recently sat down in an interview with Game Informer, where he discussed the forthcoming remake of the franchise. Since the company will do a remake of a successful installment, fans will definitely expect more. When asked if there is any aspect of the original game that he wants to incorporate, Kitase admitted that it was hard to tell. Even though there are special moments in FFVII that the production team would like to repeat, they still have to bring something new to the table.

The game director mentioned that despite being a remake, fans are assured that the upcoming game will have new elements to look forward to. "...we want to balance out the areas we would like change versus the areas we don't in order to have that nostalgia, but also the surprises," he said.

Meanwhile, Kitase addressed the rumors about fans wanting only a visual upgrade, with no alterations to the story or gameplay. "The starting point was – and our executive producer [Shinji] Hashimoto-san has mentioned this – it would even be okay if we just upped the graphics to the quality of Advent Children," Kitase explained. "But, in terms of game styles and battle systems, it's been 20 years since the original, and a lot has changed. Trends have changed, and I believed that we needed to revisit and rethink that aspect for the remake."

Square Enix also confirmed that the remake will have an "episodic" nature, but the total number of episodes is not set in stone. To date, Square Enix has yet to give a definitive release date for the remake.