Final Fantasy VII Leak Reveals Potential New Story Changes, Character Redesigns, and More

Square Enix has confirmed once more that the upcoming Final Fantasy VII remake will be episodic in addition to doing the term “remake” justice with key story changes and expansions on the original idea that so many Final Fantasy fans fell in love with. 

Before diving all in, it’s important to keep in mind that this is a leak and not an official announcement. As exciting as some of the details are, they don’t equate to a full reveal. Take everything not confirmed with a grain of salt until the studio themselves have more to share. 

As for the leak itself, the massive info dumb too place over on Reddit from someone claiming to work at the localization branch of Square Enix in El Segundo, California. The original post has since been deleted, but not before being captured by another Redditor that managed to snag all the info. 

First things first: episodes. When it was first announced that the upcoming remake would be episodic, fans didn’t know how many they could expect. According to the leak, Final Fantasy VII will be broken into two major parts with the first part ending with that Aerith scene that fans of the original will remember. 

As far as character designs go, according to the leak: 

• Sephiroth is very limited in what is shown of him until the Kalm flashback. Before this you only hear his voice or see glimpses of him during Clouds breakdowns.
• Monster redesigns for a lot of the enemies but most will remain recognizable. Some do not make an appearance. For example, there were no ghost enemies in the train yard.
• The design for Tifa is also true to the original outfit, her face appears to be mostly similar to her Advent Children design but slightly more western. Materia also shows up on her gloves.
• Cait Sith seems to be pronounced “Ket” Sith but has undergone no major design overhaul. His fighting style is more close up, and does have his BARS for a LIMIT BREAK.
• Cid does not appear to be smoking but you see evidence that he does. He is clearly upset with Shera but toned down the aggressiveness as they felt it was unnecessary.
• Yuffie and Vincent are no longer optional. You can miss them up until a certain point where they then become mandatory to get. You automatically get Yuffie if you have not gotten her before Rocket Town for example.
• Cloud will have a dress and wig in one particular scene. But its fade to black getting in/out of it.

The leak also added “Summons will work for the most part as cut scenes like the original, they do not fight with you on the field. There is 1 new Summon Amarok and appears to be a wolf and causes darkness in addition to damage.” 

From zone changes, areas available, and mechanical changes, the latest leak does offer incredible insight if proven true. You can read even more about the upcoming remake right here ahead of Square’s planned E3 showcase next month.