Despite what you might think about Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and people got a lot of opinions particularly about that ending, it’s undeniable that the game has gone on to be a major hit, and will easily become one of the best selling games in the franchise. It was also well-received, and despite some key changes (like mentioned above, that ending), was considered a faithful expansion to the original’s story. But that apparently wasn’t always the vision, as at some point, it was meant to be a more dramatic departure.
In an interview with Push Square, Producer Yoshinori Kitase revealed that he actually originally foresaw a much more “dramatic” change to the Midgar arc. He didn’t go into details, unfortunately, about what it was he envisioned, but did say that it was the Director and Co-director who stepped in to make sure key elements of the original were respected. In the end, that mindset won out, with the team focusing on recreating the original with only added new elements.
“I personally envisioned quite a dramatic change overall, but our Director; Tetsuya Nomura and Co-director; Naoki Hamaguchi, wanted to keep the beloved aspects in the original as much as possible. Eventually the development team decided to focus on respecting the original while adding in new elements, ensuring a delicate balance between the two.”
It’s an interesting fact, especially since Kitase also recently said that the overall story of Final Fantasy 7 would not change drastically with ongoing parts. But it definitely makes you wonder just what Kitase had in mind for “dramatic” changes. Maybe we’ll get more details some day.
