According to director Tetsuya Nomura, Final Fantasy VII Remake is not a replacement of the original game, but an entirely new series built on the nostalgic framework of the original. When Final Fantasy VII Remake was first announced back in 2015, it was both universally celebrated and also seen as inevitable in the eyes of many fans, because for well over a decade the passionate Final Fantasy fandom had been clamoring for this exact thing. It's impossible to overstate the impact Final Fantasy VII had on gaming, introducing a whole new generation to the deep gameplay and storytelling possibilities of the JRPG genre, all while making strong use of the then-groundbreaking visuals which were only possible on the Sony PlayStation and its cutting-edge CD-ROM format.
Now that Final Fantasy VII Remake is out in the wild, the new game is being enjoyed by old-school fans and Final Fantasy newcomers alike. The remake has earned universal critical acclaim, while some continue to lament the fact that it's only the first chapter in a greater retelling of the Final Fantasy VII story, despite the fact that this new re-imagining of the Midgar portion of the original has more than enough content to absolutely qualify as a full game on its own; this isn't an episodic title, it's a brand new franchise.
While some believe Final Fantasy VII Remake makes the original obsolete, director Tetsuya Nomura knows better. In an interview with Famitsu, translated by Frontline Gaming, the director (and character designer of the original Final Fantasy VII) explains that Remake isn't meant to serve as a replacement for the original Final Fantasy VII, but a tribute to it, a brand new way to experience the story and characters of Final Fantasy VII using a brand new suite of technology. Frontline Gaming reports "Nomura says that Final Fantasy VII Remake's release does not overwrite the original Final Fantasy VII. The original is the origin, and VII Remake is only possible because of the original."
There is some misconception regarding video game remakes which takes the form of people thinking that the original somehow loses value because of a new or rebooted version. Final Fantasy VII Remake is so vastly different in terms of visuals, gameplay, and storytelling that it doesn't replace the original. In fact, it has the opposite effect, bolstering the 1997 classic by pointing out the things which made it so special in the first place. It's not unlike Capcom's recent spate of Resident Evil remakes; Resident Evil 2 and 3 (and, for that matter, the GameCube remake of the original Resident Evil) don't somehow invalidate their originals; they are brand new titles which use their originals as their root inspiration.
Perhaps there's a semantic argument to be had regarding the differences between terms like remake versus remaster versus the more abstract re-imagining, but none of that actually affects the original game. Final Fantasy VII has stood as a hallmark entry in one of the most venerated franchises of all time. No matter what happens with the future of the expansive Final Fantasy VII Remake project, nothing is ever going to change that fact, and Tetsuya Nomura knows it.
Source: Frontline Gaming