‘Final Fantasy 7’ Remake News: Release Date, Xbox One Update, And How It Could Ruin The Game

The latest Final Fantasy 7 remake news has hit, and it’s bittersweet for some. Its release date and possible Xbox One update rumors could leave many simply wanting more.

Square Enix has announced that they’re releasing the high-definition remake of the PlayStation classic in episodes much like Life is Strange and The Walking Dead. Unfortunately, this could destroy the game for those of us who simply want to buy the game and finish it in its newest incarnation.

Of course, if you want that, you could bypass the remake altogether and buy the original for PlayStation 4 right now. At less than $20, and just over five gigabytes, this may be the ultimate solution for purists.

However, if you demand improved visuals, you’ll need to wait for the possible Final Fantasy 7 remake release date in 2017, according to the BitBag. News from Square Enix, as previously reported by the Inquisitr, is that the game will be released in episodes in an effort to avoid cutting any content from the final game. Each episode will supposedly be a complete game by itself, though we can probably expect quite a few cliffhangers.

Every character in the game had a deep and involving storyline, even the optional extra ones like Vincent and Yuffie. The main character, Cloud, was known for his identity crisis plotline and his surprising connection to the game’s villain, Sephiroth. If these individual storylines are being expanded, the episodic approach could work.

However, some beloved details and secrets from the original game could be lost, and some necessary elements to unlock them could be stunted. Long-time fans may remember the long-winded quest to breed a gold Chocobo, being the only method of transportation to reach the elusive Knights of the Round materia.

Quests like these could easily be altered, losing some of what made the original Final Fantasy 7 a classic. Remake news is also rumored to have some lengthy waits between episodes, so if the one you’re playing isn’t heavy on “grinding” (leveling up through hours of repetitive battle), you could be waiting months to continue and easily lose interest.

One possibility that could easily destroy the game for gamers on a budget is the idea that each episode could cost quite a bit more than most similar titles. The price for the full game could easily double or triple that of current games.

Game Rant says that the combat system itself, though a complete departure from the turn-based combat of the original, could actually be an improvement. How will the classic staple of summon magic and limit breaks be handled, though? There doesn’t seem to be a way to fit that into an alleged action RPG combat system without stopping everything while the animation plays out. This Final Fantasy 7 remake news could create a lot of disappointed fans.

Latest Final Fantasy 7 Remake details: The good, the bad & the ugly #Features – https://t.co/8BIXAdc4g5… pic.twitter.com/7GEuMGy22C

— Gamers FTW (@ftw_gamers) December 10, 2015

Other Final Fantasy 7 remake news points to a possible Xbox One update, though it hasn’t been announced yet. The franchise has been known to be PlayStation exclusive, even though the original titles were released for Nintendo. A cross-platform release could easily increase profits and draw in a whole new audience who’s never played the franchise before or hasn’t played it recently. Tech Crunch says it’s a temporary exclusive title, so Xbox One owners may just get their first taste and start demanding more; a win-win scenario.

With its new look, one more idea may leave some worried. Twinfinite has questioned whether the overworld map from the classic will be cut, since the Final Fantasy 7 remake looks more linear. This news could also eliminate things like optional party members and fights with the Weapon bosses.

A lot can go wrong with this updated title, and Square Enix could lose more fans than they bring in.

What do you think? Are these Final Fantasy 7 remake updates worth the possibility of losing elements of the original?

[Image via Square Enix]