The unfortunate news that the Final Fantasy 7 Remake's release date is being delayed broke recently, as Square Enix asked fans to be patient through the extra month's wait. In the end, this could be better for the game as a whole, seeing as a completed game that's late is better than a game that rushes to release in a broken state, like so many cautionary tales will tell us.

However, the Final Fantasy 7 Remake isn't exactly like every other game either, being that it is a heavily altered remake of a beloved classic with an HD coating and updated combat system to bring it into the new decade. One important aspect of that heavy alteration, though, is the episodic release of the title, reportedly extending multiple sections of the original game into separate full length adventures.

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With the recent delay of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake hitting Episode 1 of the new title, this could mean further delays down the line for future episodes. The exact reasons for the delay and how pushing back the release date for Episode 1 might affect Episode 2 and on is entirely up to speculation at this point. Regardless, while the delay is ultimately what's best for the game leading up to the release, it is worrying for the future timeline of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake.

When it comes to what the recent Final Fantasy 7 Remake delay could mean for Episode 2, it's important to look at the possible reasons for the delay. Making a game isn't an easy task, even with a team like what Square Enix has at its disposal, so there are plenty of things that can go wrong during the development process. Two likely possibilities include the use of Unreal Engine 4 as opposed to an in-house engine that the development team might be more used to, as wells as Director Tetsuya Nomura's split attention between two prominent projects.

Square Enix isn't completely unfamiliar with Unreal Engine 4, and neither is Nomura, seeing as how it was used in Kingdom Hearts 3, which the Final Fantasy 7 Remake team also stepped in to help develop before launch. It should be noted that Kingdom Hearts 3 was also delayed, launching in early 2019 after having previously committed to a tentative 2018 release date. If it turns out to be the company's familiarity with the game engine that is the cause of the recent delay, this could lead to further delays down the line for Episode 2 and beyond.

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As the development team gets more comfortable with the engine, it is likely that the time between episode releases could be shorter and shorter. However, it may be some time before all of the kinks are ironed out, and as a result, the years long wait that fans have suffered through for the first part of this remake may become a standard practice. That being said, it should be noted that the wait for Episode 2 will likely be closer to the wait for DLC campaigns as opposed to a series of full length sequels with progressively upgrading combat systems.

It's possible that the delay could have been avoided if Square Enix was working with an in-house engine, like the Luminous Engine used for Final Fantasy 15. Having already shipped a game under the engine that was created within the company should make the development process go a little smoother, but there is still no promise that technical bugs and glitches won't crop up. Similarly, Unreal Engine 4 is a publicly licensed tool that has been purchased and used by tons of game developers, so the tools are likely comprehensive enough for a veteran dev team to quickly become comfortable with. But again, this is all mere speculation at this time.

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So, in the case of the delay being due to the team being less than familiar with the game engine that Square Enix purchased for the title, it could push Episode 2's launch window back a bit, but likely not have too much of an impact. Final Fantasy 7 Remake's first episode is the foundation that the other episodes will be built on after all. Meaning that once the kinks are out and the developers have part one released and in decent shape, the other parts should fall fairly easily in line over the pre-built foundation.

However, if the issue comes less from  the game's engine and more to do with being stretched too thinly over multiple projects, then that might be a completely different story. As mentioned before, Director Tetsuya Nomura is currently working on at least two major projects, Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Kingdom Hearts 3 Re:Mind.

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With Re:Mind releasing on January 23rd (or February 25th for Xbox One), Nomura's focus lately has likely been split between the two major releases that he is directing at the same time. Similarly, if the dev team from Final Fantasy 7 Remake is stepping in again to help with this launch, then the cause of the delay could be less about the team's main project and more about being given too full of a plate. While this sounds like a temporary problem, no development studio really takes breaks, meaning that there will always be other projects that need to be worked on.

Nomura specifically has a history of needing extra time to ship games that he has worked on, reportedly due to being a perfectionist. This famously culminated in the approximately ten year development for Final Fantasy 15, a game that Nomura had to eventually relinquish control of in order to focus on Kingdom Hearts 3. So, while Nomura's games always have a sparkling level of polish and are generally well received, fans are aware that patience is a requirement when waiting for a title helmed by the  director.

All in all, it's difficult to say how the current delay on Episode 1 of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake will affect Episode 2 or any others that follow, but fans should be prepared for a bit of a wait. While it is comforting to know that Episode 2 is already in development, it may be some time until players see the HD recreation of creatures like the Midgar Zolom, or locations like the Chocobo Farm. Once the dev team has the foundational episode released, development might be a quicker process, but there are too many factors that can easily get in the way of progress as it seems to have done for Episode 1.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake is set to release on April 10th, 2020, exclusively for PS4.

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