1)
What drove the decision to move away from the traditional turn-based system toward action-focused combat?
We haven't completely transitioned into action, but as our director [Tetsuya] Nomura-san says, Final Fantasy (in terms of action games) is best represented by Dissidia in the current landscape. In terms of the Final Fantasy action battles people have experienced themselves, that is most familiar to them these days. In terms of the image of the battle system, that's where we're getting the feel from. It won't be as action-focused as Dissidia, of course, but the the visuals and how the gameplay feels in essence will be drawn from that Dissidia-esque style.
2)
Finally, please tell us more about the Final Fantasy VII Remake that has caught the world's attention.
Nomura: If it had past materials like
Kingdom Hearts, the basics would have been easy to understand, and the staff can understand the hurdles we've had to overcome, but at any rate, the battles in
Final Fantasy VII have greatly changed from the original, since they're something with more action in them. The next time I release information about
Final Fantasy VII Remake, I think that I'll definitely have to explain the specifics of what the battle system has become to the players. I think right now that nobody is really able to imagine a concrete battle, so I'm in the middle of coming up with steps that I can show and explain to people, "It's this kind of battle."
Sounds like you're breaking your backs over remaking what was originally a command-based battle system into an action style battle system.
Nomura: We've heard a lot of
Final Fantasy VII fans also say that they want to play the game with the original ATB style, but for the remake we're proceeding toward an action-heavy style. Of course, we've added systems that future fans will be able to enjoy, so people who are bad at action-style battles, please don't worry. For those who excel at action-style battles, we're working to make this a system that's different than what you've used before and can still enjoy. Recently, we checked the Guard Scorpion at the beginning of the game, and I think you'll be satisfied with the realism you'll feel there.