WARNING: The following article main contain minor spoilers for those who have never played Final Fantasy VII.
The newly released trailer for SquareEnix's Final Fantasy VII Remake delivers lots of foreboding images of Sephiroth, and the yet-unexplained ghostly shadow spirits, and the new blond, Soldier character, for starters. However, the trailer focuses on many of the story beats during the Midgar portion of the original game: the second bombing run, Cloud meeting Aerith (Aeris) and the Turks, the Don Corneo segment, President Shinra, and the destruction of the Sector 7 plate.
Within this supercut, we can see changes in the gameplay, such as fighting Reno and Turk, and doing squats with Cloud in WallMarket. We see sections where we get to play as Tifa and participate in mini-games such as darts. There are also some small details, like when you are doing pull-ups with Tifa at WallMarket, you can see that it's daytime, whereas it was always in the evening in the original. There's going to be a lot of time passing by in this version, allowing you time to do more.
In addition to all these story beats, we also see what seems to be Cloud escaping the first bombing run with Jesse on a motorcycle, as opposed to just running out of the Mako reactor. We also see Cloud strapped to Biggs and Jessie while they parachute. It appears some story beats are going to be changed in order for you to spend more time with minor characters, such as the other members of Avalanche. The parachute sequence doesn't appear tied to a scene in the original game, so there may be additional missions. That may very well be an excuse to have players spend more time with the characters.
Most likely, the developers want to give fans something they've wanted ever since the original Final Fantasy VII: more time with the ensemble cast. Despite the brief time you spend with them, characters like Jessie, Reno and Don Corneo became fan favorites. While their unique designs and personalities endeared them to players, the characters were short lived. You know how everyone loved Boba Fett in the original Star Wars trilogy? Final Fantasy VII has several characters like that.
What's exciting is how this remake will allow you to play around with those favorites. Will you be able to control them directly? We know you can play as Tifa in the Midgar section, which wasn't an option in the original game. Why not give players control over Biggs or one of the other members of Avalanche? Perhaps between bombing runs, you'll be tasked with recruiting other people to join Avalanche! Maybe WallMarket will be open to you sooner and you'll be able to buy and trade items there and do side missions and jobs. Perhaps you'll be able to explore Midgar past Sector 7 and 6. Maybe you'll even be able to get out of the slums and explore the top plate!
Final Fantasy VII Remake releases March 3, 2020, for the PlayStation 4.