

The upper class lives in the regions on top of the plates, while everyone else is stuck in the slums below. At the center of the city is a massive central column, with eight additional support columns that hold up gigantic plates that house much of the population. “It was a challenge for us to balance these elements, which were at times contradictory, with its realism,” Takako Miyake, environment director on Final Fantasy VII Remake, tells The Verge. Because of this, the developers at Square Enix had to greatly expand the scope of the city to make it a larger, more believable place without sacrificing the offbeat personality that fans remember. In the original game, the city was the focus for the opening hours, but now it has become the centerpiece of an entire 40-hour experience. But in the new remake, the most important might just be a place instead of a person: the futuristic megacity known as Midgar.

Final Fantasy VII has no shortage of memorable characters.
