Bits of information about the Final Fantasy remake are trickling in during the past few days. Two things are certain though: there will be a new battle system and Nobou Uematsu will not be involved with the remake.
According to IGN, Uematsu confirmed that he is not working as the composer of the remake. "Not at all," Uematsu answered when asked if he was working on the PS4 remake of Final Fantasy 7.
The confirmation of Uematsu is quite a shock to Final Fantasy 7 fans. However, there are no current details as to the identity of a new composer.
In the same IGN article, Square Enix said that the remake is not a mere re-master of the original. This statement started the speculation that the soundtrack will not be just a re-master as well. That said, there is also a popular theory online that the remake will still use the original Uematsu themes similar to what Advent Children did.
While the exclusion of Uematsu is a let-down, Anime News Network noted that director Tetsuya Nomura and scenario designer Kazushige Nojima are back to work on the game mechanics and scenario.
Crossmap reported that new gameplay elements are being tested by Square Enix. "...they planned to add new gameplay features to 'Final Fantasy 7' remake, while still retaining its original form. Game producer Yoshinori Kitase added that the combat system for the remake is under 'trial and error' stages and many have speculated that it is an action-RPG style gameplay, while other gaming fans wanted the old turned-based combat gameplay for the remake."
The original Final Fantasy 7 as well as the various ports was certainly a commercial success with 11 million copies sold worldwide. The game made money but was very polarizing critically. There were young gamers who attributed their love for anime and JRPG to Final Fantasy 7. On the other hand, grizzled gamers think that the game is highly overrated and not as good as the older NES or Super Nintendo Final Fantasies.
The Final Fantasy remake is rumored to be released in 2017 for PS4. Square Enix is also working on a PS4 port of the HD PC version of the game released in the 90's. The aforementioned PC version was an HD port of the original PS1 game.
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