Final Fantasy 7 Remake, as great as it was, had some issues- such as its excessively linear level design, for instance, which got old pretty quickly. But it’s possible that its upcoming sequel is going to expand its horizons in some pretty major ways.
In an interview with IGN, Naoki Hamaguchi – recently confirmed as the sole director of the sequel – said that Cloud is going to “explore the world map” in the game, and suggested that exploring a much larger world is going to be something of a focus.
Hamaguchi said: “As for improvement, or should I say “change,” moving forward — because the next installment will involve Cloud and company to leave Midgar and explore the world map, our next challenge will be to create gameplay that leverages the vastness of the world, unlike what we did in this current title.”
I don’t know about you, but to me, that sounds like an open world setting- or at least an overworld, which, of course, is something Final Fantasy as a series is no stranger to. Either would honestly be a refreshing change of pace, after Midgar’s tight and cramped corridors. It’s been previously suggested that Part 2 is going to present significant change in atmosphere based on the environments you’re going to be exploring (which makes sense if you’ve played the original), so here’s hoping that change in atmosphere goes hand in hand with a larger world.
Recently, Hamaguchi also said that Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2 is likely going to continue using some of the new gameplay mechanics introduced in Intergrade– read more on that through here.