DiipuSurotu
Banned
I think we'll see Cissnei, for example, but I'm not sure there's a better way to expand Midgar short of simply expanding the plot there. The alternative is to open considerable chunks of the city up but keep the critical path as short as it is in the original game... and to be honest, if FFVII-R Episode I is indeed just Midgar, that's what I'd anticipate. A great deal of optional content and a critical path that's a few hours in length.
For the record, while I agree that thematically it's a terrific stopping point, I don't agree (at least not without further details) that it's where Episode I ought to end. I'm not a big fan of padding Midgar that much and I don't entirely trust the team to try adding more "relevant" content instead (or have much luck with it if they did). I'd prefer the following approach:
Episode I:
Open region #1: Midgar
Open region #2: The eastern continent
Expand upon Junon and especially the cargo ship level to feel like a suitably high-quality narrative stopping point.
Episode II:
Open region #1: The central continent
Open region #2: The western continent
Integrate Wutai into the critical path. The Tiny Bronco can auto-sail across the sea to the western continent on command, but players are given full control of it through the central continent's expanded river routes and of course the buggy as the Regalia 2.0. Conclude with a relatively linear opening stretch for the northern continent which can be expanded into a full-scale open region for the third game. City of the Ancients as final dungeon.
Episode III:
Open region #1: The northern continent
Open world: everything, via airship
By this point, the groundwork has been laid for quite a bit of the game's world space, and when OG "Disc 2" kicks into its second half story-wise, players can traverse the entire planet because Nomura's team has spent a very, very long time getting it right and making Unreal Engine play along with their madness. The sole exception here is that Midgar would be reduced to a linear path. Critical path ends where the original game ended.
Maybe we will finally learn Cissnei's real name.