It goes without saying that Square Enix's reveal of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake at E3 2015 was a big surprise to everyone watching the press conference. Honestly, the game's announcement was so utterly exciting that the gaming blogosphere practically exploded from sheer excitement, which in turn caused Square Enix's stocks to rise to its highest point since 2008.

While fans looking forward to the Final Fantasy 7 Remake are expecting a lot of the original title's core mechanics and elements to stay in place, the game's director, Tetsuya Nomura, has previously mentioned that some plot and gameplay changes will occur. As a matter of fact, in a recent interview with Official PlayStation Magazine (with the aid of GamesRadar), Nomura-san teases specific alterations by saying that the team behind the FF7 Remake will be crafting "dramatic changes" to the upcoming release's Active Time Battle system.

In order to not completely upset the apple cart, Nomura further expands upon the issue, saying:

"And of course, that being said we want to clarify: We’re not going to be changing it into a shooter or something like that. We are going to be bringing dramatic changes, but we want to make sure it’s still recognizable."

Although the above statement does little in the way of actually offering any combat specifics, it's plain to see that the Final Fantasy 7 Remake director wishes to retain much of what made the source material a classic RPG while also incorporating fresh aesthetics. For instance, Nomura goes on to say that the developers are using the motion picture Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children – of which he also directed – as a muse for the upcoming game's visuals and artwork.

However, the Square Enix designer and director says the movie is only being looked at for inspiration. As it happens, Nomura clears the issue up entirely by explaining he and his team "don’t intend on utilizing the 3D models of Advent Children as is because . . . it’s a different technology, and it’s actually been almost ten years since [the film] was first released."

Amidst this discussion of gameplay revisions and adjustments, fans of the franchise shouldn't worry too much about the possibility of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake being wholly revamped. But with there being so much talk of new content for the game, fans can at least rest easy knowing no new characters are being added. If anything, the title will probably get graphical updates along with some technical tweaks added to the aforementioned fight mode's changes. Not to mention, with Nomura confirming Cloud's cross-dressing scene being in the final cut, it's obvious he will make sure not to eliminate the sensibilities that made the title so special in the first place.

The Final Fantasy 7 Remake is set to release for PlayStation 4, with PC and Xbox One ports likely to follow.

Source: GamesRadar (via GameSpot)