The Final Fantasy 7 Remake project has certainly turned out to be far bigger than anybody expected. Not only is Square Enix committed to remaking the PlayStation One classic as a multi-part epic, but the company recently confirmed a couple of other projects that will coincide with it: a battle-royale prequel game titled The First Soldier and Final Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis, a mobile game that acts as a retelling of not just the original game but the entire Final Fantasy 7 series, covering the events of Crisis Core, Before Crisis, Dirge of Cerberus, and even the Advent Children movie.
Recently, director Tetsuya Nomura spoke with Famitsu about the future of the entire remake project, where he also confirmed some new details for the Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade Yuffie DLC, and he clarified some exact details on how Ever Crisis will work and how it will be distributed. Ever Crisis is expected to launch next year, but it won't initially feature the entire chronology. Instead, players will need to wait for new episodes that will release over a period of time. Fortunately, Nomura has confirmed that every chapter can be downloaded for free.
But since the game needs to make money somehow, it will feature loot boxes containing random weapons, which may be off-putting depending on how they're handled. While it's safe to assume that players will be able to earn new weapons just through playing it, some may be concerned that the game will deliberately hold stronger weapons behind the paywall. Nomura adds that some special weapons will come in sets that come with optional costumes, including ones that weren't present in the original game.
In terms of game length, Nomura states that the saga which covers the original Final Fantasy 7 will be 10 chapters long, which he believes should give an idea how long the other sagas will be as well. He even confirms that the first three chapters will cover the initial Midgar arc, with chapter 3 ending with Cloud and the party leaving Midgar.
But Ever Crisis won't entirely consist of retellings of these old stories. According to Nomura, there will be wholly original stories told through Ever Crisis, meaning long-time fans can still look forward to something new. For example, one episode will cover the events of The First Soldier, which will feature younger versions of certain characters, like the Shinra executives.
Lastly, Nomura was asked about a moment in the trailer where Aerith is seen fighting the Guardian Scorpion, the first boss fight of the original game, which is weird since that takes place before Aerith even appears. Nomura says that this is from a separate mode that lets players enjoy special battles with their "dream" party, essentially allowing them to replay boss fights and the like in ways that weren't possible in the original.
Final Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis will launch for Android and iOS in 2022.
Source: Famitsu