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Nomura Shares Unreleased Early Final Fantasy VII Art, Linking 1997 Vision to Remake Combat

The creative lead uses the 29th anniversary to showcase sketches he says prefigured fighting through a 3D city.

Overview

  • Tetsuya Nomura marked Final Fantasy VII's 29th anniversary on January 31 by releasing a previously unpublished-in-full concept sketch.
  • The doodle comes from the earliest plot stage and depicts Midgar streets with a large dragon and a rough early version of Cloud.
  • Nomura identifies a figure labeled “Johnny the Needle” and an unnamed Avalanche-like character, noting elements later informed Reno.
  • He says the team originally envisioned combat unfolding while moving through a three-dimensional city, a design realized in the Remake series.
  • Some fans voiced skepticism about that claim on social media, and the post did not include new release dates or development milestones.