Remake on hold until series improves

[Jiro]

That hotly anticipated remake to Final Fantasy VII could be closer than we thought. Yoichi Wada, CEO of Square Enix, discussed the possibility during the company's Q&A section of their annual shareholders meeting and the requirements before such a task could be undertaken. His condition: first they have to make a game that exceeds FF7.

That's a tall order from a company whose flagship series has been dividing its fanbase with recent instalments. The fact that Versus XIII seems stuck in development hell is just another black mark on the gaming juggernaut.

However, Wada's words are a resounding assessment of the condition the Final Fantasy series in. Obviously Square Enix shares the same feelings as its fans - the quality of games in the Final Fantasy series needs to improve - but Wada said that to release the remake now would ultimately be a nail in the coffin for the series as a whole.

He did note that staff would happily throw themselves behind a FF7 remake, but until such a time as Square Enix returns to its former glory, we fans will have to sit on our hands and continue awaiting that remake. In the mean time, it does look like Final Fantasy VII might be getting a Steam release (http://home.eyesonff.com/content/1896-ff7-coming-pc.html), so it's not all bad.

Source: andriasang (http://andriasang.com/con1ny/wada_on_ffvii_remake/?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed)

[Sephex]

They'll crack and remake it eventually.

[Slothy]

Make a game that exceeds FFVII? Do they mean in sales? Because FFIX and XII are already better than it.

[Alpha2099]

Make a game that exceeds FFVII? Do they mean in sales? Because FFIX and XII are already better than it.
Hmmmm...:-/

[ReloadPsi]

I'm quite excited about the PC version going on Steam actually, but I've never actually used Steam before so I have no idea how easy/hard/impossible it'll be to put any mods on it. If all else fails I can borrow it off my friend who still has it...

[Loony BoB]

That wasn't him saying they will remake VII soon, that was simply him saying he is more interested in making his own games than remaking VII after someone asked him if a VII remake was on the cards. I would say it's more of a "We're not making a remake of VII right now" than the opposite which is being suggested. It's just a website trying to pull in views by reporting false news, I'd say.

[Iceglow]

Well why not turn this in to an open discussion...

The words used were "we need to make a game that exceeds FFVII in terms of quality. If we were to remake it before then, it would mean we're done with the series" So what could SE do to make an FF title of higher quality than FFVII...

Here's an opener from me:

Get back to the basics, JRPGs are not dead, seems they might smell funny though in these later years, perhaps thats because they're all trying to wear the butch cologne of WRPGs or the even more macho scent of an action game. You're not making Devil May Cry, you're not making Elder Scrolls, you're making a JRPG Lets get the series back to that!

[Alpha2099]

Amen, brother!

I have always been drawn to the early FFs myself. They have a simplicity in terms of gameplay, but there's enough complexity that it makes you want to play again and try something different (examples: trying different group combos in FF1, messing with Materia in FF7). If they can do something like that, and stay away -- FAR AWAY -- from anything that remotely resembles a License Board, they might be able to revive the series very quickly.

[Del Murder]

Yeah, I interpret this the same way as BoB. Still fun to speculate, though.

[Jiro]

You don't mention how much bad it would do if you were remade it now, as well as mention how much the staff want to work on the piece, if you're not planning on following through. That was a strategy he was proposing, really, a way to continue the series. However, it was shareholders he was talking to, and I would be very positive about possible money makers like that to my shareholders.

[Loony BoB]

You don't mention how much bad it would do if you were remade it now, as well as mention how much the staff want to work on the piece, if you're not planning on following through. That was a strategy he was proposing, really, a way to continue the series. However, it was shareholders he was talking to, and I would be very positive about possible money makers like that to my shareholders.
He was responding to a question specifically about a VII remake, so it's completely reasonable that he would mention all of that which he mentioned. You're right about the shareholder thing, too. I think they'll be smart enough to read through all that as "Not right now, no existing plans to do it."

[ShinGundam]

Well why not turn this in to an open discussion...

The words used were "we need to make a game that exceeds FFVII in terms of quality. If we were to remake it before then, it would mean we're done with the series" So what could SE do to make an FF title of higher quality than FFVII...

Here's an opener from me:

Get back to the basics, JRPGs are not dead, seems they might smell funny though in these later years, perhaps thats because they're all trying to wear the butch cologne of WRPGs or the even more macho scent of an action game. You're not making Devil May Cry, you're not making Elder Scrolls, you're making a JRPG Lets get the series back to that!
Ugh, But a lot of basics that were associated to FF series such as ATB, Chocobos, summons, spellblades, Limit breaks, Green/Time/Blue magic, multiple vehicles, etc are never been a part of original game either.

Editaga: What Wada wanted to say is, FF is a prison of its legacy.

[Alpha2099]

Editaga: What Wada wanted to say is, FF is a prison of its legacy.
As the saying goes, "Achieving the impossible only means it will be added to your job description." When you make a game that becomes a mega-hit, people will expect every game thereafter to be a mega-hit.

[Wolf Kanno]

Wada mentions that a remake of VII would destroy the franchise, partly because it's success would only help to prove the current staff can't produce a game of it's caliber anymore, in other words, it would probably confirm what most fans have suspected for awhile. While I don't necessarily like Wada and I often feel he's more of the problem than he admits, I have to say I agree that SE should be trying to build a game that can chump the older titles. What I'm not sure is if he knows what that would entail and understands what the series has been missing.

[Sephex]

Wada mentions that a remake of VII would destroy the franchise, partly because it's success would only help to prove the current staff can't produce a game of it's caliber anymore, in other words, it would probably confirm what most fans have suspected for awhile. While I don't necessarily like Wada and I often feel he's more of the problem than he admits, I have to say I agree that SE should be trying to build a game that can chump the older titles. What I'm not sure is if he knows what that would entail and understands what the series has been missing.

But then why is it okay to port or remake other FF games? In I and IV's case, multiple times? They already crossed that line multiple times. Why hold off on VII?

It's kind of like a drunk person saying, "Nah, man. I've already had 40 beers. Having my 41st would be taking it too far!"

Square-Enix has already indulged themselves. Just drink the final beer, bro!

[ShinGundam]

Wada mentions that a remake of VII would destroy the franchise, partly because it's success would only help to prove the current staff can't produce a game of it's caliber anymore, in other words, it would probably confirm what most fans have suspected for awhile. While I don't necessarily like Wada and I often feel he's more of the problem than he admits, I have to say I agree that SE should be trying to build a game that can chump the older titles. What I'm not sure is if he knows what that would entail and understands what the series has been missing.

But then why is it okay to port or remake other FF games? In I and IV's case, multiple times? They already crossed that line multiple times. Why hold off on VII?

It's kind of like a drunk person saying, "Nah, man. I've already had 40 beers. Having my 41st would be taking it too far!"

Square-Enix has already indulged themselves. Just drink the final beer, bro!
IV remakes weren't big or over budget. I mean 4's sequel was a mobile game.

[Alpha2099]

And to be fair, SE has tried to cash in on the success of VII in other ways without a full-blown remake. We had a movie sequel (Advent Children), then a game sequel to the movie sequel (Dirge of Cerberus), then a PREQUEL (Crisis Core), then a mobile game (Before Crisis, I think?).

Which, by the way, how well did any of these games fare? Dirge of Cerberus was adequate, but I don't hear it talked about much anymore. Crisis Core seems to have come and gone without anyone noticing, and since Before Crisis is a mobile game, that automatically gets thrown out.

The point is, SE has done an awful lot related to VII already. They can sit on a remake for a little while and focus on what really matters, namely restoring the series to its former prominence in gaming culture.

[Jinx]

It's like this: as long as they hold out on remaking FFVII, fans will play every other Final Fantasy title they put out in hopes that they create a game that matches the former glory of the older titles. General consensus is that recent Final Fantasy games have been terrible. If they remake VII, fans will go insane and the game will sell like crazy. But fans no longer have faith in the Final Fantasy name, so it's likely if VII was remade, there'd be nothing left to look forward to, and the series would die.

[ShinGundam]

It's like this: as long as they hold out on remaking FFVII, fans will play every other Final Fantasy title they put out in hopes that they create a game that matches the former glory of the older titles. General consensus is that recent Final Fantasy games have been terrible. If they remake VII, fans will go insane and the game will sell like crazy. But fans no longer have faith in the Final Fantasy name, so it's likely if VII was remade, there'd be nothing left to look forward to, and the series would die.
So FF7 is the"Final" Final Fantasy after all.

[Alpha2099]

So FF7 is the "Final" Final Fantasy after all.
Eh...that's debatable. I would agree with that sentiment because I love FF7, but I think you can find a reasonably large group of people who think that FFX was the last great Final Fantasy.

[Loony BoB]

But then why is it okay to port or remake other FF games? In I and IV's case, multiple times? They already crossed that line multiple times. Why hold off on VII?

It's kind of like a drunk person saying, "Nah, man. I've already had 40 beers. Having my 41st would be taking it too far!"

Square-Enix has already indulged themselves. Just drink the final beer, bro!
Remaking NES games with PSP/DS standard graphics (at best) = Simple.
Remaking PS1 games with PS3/360 standard graphics (at worst) = Tricky.

Relatively speaking, anyway.

[Sephex]

But then why is it okay to port or remake other FF games? In I and IV's case, multiple times? They already crossed that line multiple times. Why hold off on VII?

It's kind of like a drunk person saying, "Nah, man. I've already had 40 beers. Having my 41st would be taking it too far!"

Square-Enix has already indulged themselves. Just drink the final beer, bro!
Remaking NES games with PSP/DS standard graphics (at best) = Simple.
Remaking PS1 games with PS3/360 standard graphics (at worst) = Tricky.

Relatively speaking, anyway.

I am aware that it is more difficult, but saying they want a more successful game at this point before doing a remake is silly. They had no problem crossing that line with other FFs, but they can't cross that line with FFVII? If they want to get back on top and have more positive attention back at Square-Enix, then maybe the remake would get that ball rolling.

[ShinGundam]

So FF7 is the "Final" Final Fantasy after all.
Eh...that's debatable. I would agree with that sentiment because I love FF7, but I think you can find a reasonably large group of people who think that FFX was the last great Final Fantasy.
Nah i just were joking, I don't think X is the last great FF at all but for Square to create a greater impact similar to 7 then it will be tricky job maybe a matter of luck too.

[Loony BoB]

I am aware that it is more difficult, but saying they want a more successful game at this point before doing a remake is silly. They had no problem crossing that line with other FFs, but they can't cross that line with FFVII? If they want to get back on top and have more positive attention back at Square-Enix, then maybe the remake would get that ball rolling.
Because it's easy to translate the mood of a 2D game into another 2D game, perhaps with the mildest of 3D attributes. It works.

But the atmosphere of FFVII and Advent Children differs dramatically. Same for VII and Crisis Core. We all know how Cloud changed notably, but how do you translate the Honey Bee Inn and Don Corneo from blocky 3D to full-on graphics? Do you give it the chop, taking away a great bit of humour? Do you cut the dolphin jumping five stories into the air with the help of a whistle? Finding the balance between comical and serious in a game is easy for games with poor graphics but in high definition, I worry that things will not translate so easily. It would be the same as trying to get FFI through to FFVI reworked in HD+3D.

[Sephex]

I am aware that it is more difficult, but saying they want a more successful game at this point before doing a remake is silly. They had no problem crossing that line with other FFs, but they can't cross that line with FFVII? If they want to get back on top and have more positive attention back at Square-Enix, then maybe the remake would get that ball rolling.
Because it's easy to translate the mood of a 2D game into another 2D game, perhaps with the mildest of 3D attributes. It works.

But the atmosphere of FFVII and Advent Children differs dramatically. Same for VII and Crisis Core. We all know how Cloud changed notably, but how do you translate the Honey Bee Inn and Don Corneo from blocky 3D to full-on graphics? Do you give it the chop, taking away a great bit of humour? Do you cut the dolphin jumping five stories into the air with the help of a whistle? Finding the balance between comical and serious in a game is easy for games with poor graphics but in high definition, I worry that things will not translate so easily. It would be the same as trying to get FFI through to FFVI reworked in HD+3D.

I have considered this problem myself many times. I still say that finding a balance isn't as hard as they think. At the end of the day, I don't like their excuse of waiting until a game performs better than FFVII. That isn't the real reason. What is preventing the remake is the desire to get most of the original team back on board and the issues you just brought up. They have admitted it already, but now they seem to be changing their story. It just bugs me.

[Freya]

This coupled with the "hey we're not gonna make anything inhouse anymore after XIII-2 cause it bombed" just makes me kind of laugh at Square Enix. At least they know their newer games haven't been the best!

[Alpha2099]

I liked them better when they were just struggling to stay financially solvent. At least then they were motivated to make something good.

[ShinGundam]

This coupled with the "hey we're not gonna make anything inhouse anymore after XIII-2 cause it bombed" just makes me kind of laugh at Square Enix. At least they know their newer games haven't been the best!
Who said they won't make anything inhouse. :eep:

[Freya]

Oh, the news! I haven't posted an article about it but wk made a thread about it.

[Mercen-X]

"Achieving the impossible only means it will be added to your job description." Indeed. At this point, Square should settle for second best with everything or just stop producing games entirely and retire.


How well did any of these games fare? Dirge of Cerberus was adequate, but I don't hear it talked about much anymore. Crisis Core seems to have come and gone without anyone noticing, and since Before Crisis is a mobile game, that automatically gets thrown out..I owned DC until I had to sell 50+ games to afford travel fare to Canada... waste of money.
I own Crisis Core, but my PSP is broken. I think both games are great.
I've never played BC because those Squas sholes won't translate to another console a la Re:coded.



The atmosphere of FFVII and Advent Children differs dramatically. Same for VII and Crisis Core.
Kingdom Hearts has made us play through the first game's storyline four times. Why the hell does it sound so difficult to Re:VII? Use AC/CC/DC-style graphics, CC-style battle and retell the original story from the deceased Aerith's perspective. She'll narrate since she's dead and this is all just flashback.
The only reason Square is gleaning passed the obvious solutions they're already exploring with KH is because they want to keep their fanbase jerking off to the POSSIBILITY of a remake. They don't give a flying fach about the fans.

[Trumpet Thief]

I'm no businessman, but I would gladly buy a new-age Final Fantasy with beautiful Sprite graphics, or 'toned down' 3D graphics, as long as the story/mechanics captured the magic present in some of the older (and not so older) games.

I didn't mind Final Fantasy XIII all that much, but it was (in my mind) the weakest of the games from VI forward. The graphics were indeed very beautiful, but for the nostalgic in me, I'd like to believe that many people would enjoy playing an FF game with simple graphics, so long as it captured the magic and ridiculousness of some of the previous installments.

[Alpha2099]

Can I just say I feel awesome for being quoted twice in one post. :D

[ShinGundam]

I'm no businessman, but I would gladly buy a new-age Final Fantasy with beautiful Sprite graphics, or 'toned down' 3D graphics, as long as the story/mechanics captured the magic present in some of the older (and not so older) games.

I didn't mind Final Fantasy XIII all that much, but it was (in my mind) the weakest of the games from VI forward. The graphics were indeed very beautiful, but for the nostalgic in me, I'd like to believe that many people would enjoy playing an FF game with simple graphics, so long as it captured the magic and ridiculousness of some of the previous installments.
Sorry, Keep that away from me. I understand people got a soft spot for NES/SNES/PSX/PS2 but i refuse more pandering than what we have now (remakes,ports,sequels,fan-services). This only serve one thing which is a lot of releases in market but very little new content or fewer chances of creating de-facto form of FF or JRPG.

The other point is i don't want simpler graphics too (This is what KH and BDFF for). I want less flat/non-detailed textures or environment design in my 3D FF. Making simpler graphics doesn't translate into a "smarter" world design or scaling.

[Trumpet Thief]

I'm no businessman, but I would gladly buy a new-age Final Fantasy with beautiful Sprite graphics, or 'toned down' 3D graphics, as long as the story/mechanics captured the magic present in some of the older (and not so older) games.

I didn't mind Final Fantasy XIII all that much, but it was (in my mind) the weakest of the games from VI forward. The graphics were indeed very beautiful, but for the nostalgic in me, I'd like to believe that many people would enjoy playing an FF game with simple graphics, so long as it captured the magic and ridiculousness of some of the previous installments.
Sorry, Keep that away from me. I understand people got a soft spot for NES/SNES/PSX/PS2 but i refuse more pandering than what we have now (remakes,ports,sequels,fan-services). This only serve one thing which is a lot of releases in market but very little new content or fewer chances of creating de-facto form of FF or JRPG.

The other point is i don't want simpler graphics too (This is what KH and BDFF for). I want less flat/non-detailed textures or environment design in my 3D FF. Making simpler graphics doesn't translate into a "smarter" world design or scaling.

Don't get me wrong. I don't want a new Final Fantasy done in traditional style for the sake of pandering and/or appealing to the nostalgic crowd. I want a 'toned down' graphic style for the sake of proper implementation of things that we took for granted back in the day.

Now, I haven't Final Fantasy XIII-2, but for XIII, I remember explicitly reading that things like towns had to be exempt due to the huge amount of time and effort it would take to render them properly. This would not be a burden if every generation, and Square in particular, had to push the envelope of 'next generation graffix!!11' every couple of years.

I'm actually a very big fan of good graphics, but the argument can be made that they aren't worth it in exchange for some of the things that were let up in some of the newer installments. I don't want a quick cash-in of 'old school' appeal with no substance. I want something with the same charm, effort, and reinvention that other titles in the series have had.

If they can pull off an amazing game with amazing graphics that continues to reinvent the formula while keeping some of the key characteristics that make a Final Fantasy game a Final Fantasy game, then I'll be more than for it, but on a personal level, I haven't felt satisfied for the past 5/6 years.

I do agree with you on the simpler graphics and 'ports/remakes' argument, so my apologies for not making my point clear.

[DMKA]

More like "We've got a shitload of unfinished projects that are probably going to bankrupt us; we can't think about an FFVII remake until we've made money back off those."

[ShinGundam]

Now, I haven't Final Fantasy XIII-2, but for XIII, I remember explicitly reading that things like towns had to be exempt due to the huge amount of time and effort it would take to render them properly. This would not be a burden if every generation, and Square in particular, had to push the envelope of 'next generation graffix!!11' every couple of years.
Hard to tell to be honest with you, while i do agree a simpler looking city might help a lot but i don't think it is the whole story here. I have been actively playing modern JRPGs in general what i think is the real problem here is importance of city/town in a traditional sense has been dropped a lot just like what happened to the Overworld. Today, I expect a town to function like a guild to take multiple quests or town is simply menu " Shop, Inn, blacksmith,etc" or point and click town map.

[silentenigma]

Can't wait till SE outsources to Mistwalker. That's about the only way they'd sell me on FF anymore, let alone reach Wada's 'goal'.

Seriously, I'll be skeptical of any FFVII remake that doesn't somehow involve Sakaguchi near the driver's seat. He seems to be the most likely person to keep Nojima and Kitase from screwing everything up.

[ShinGundam]

Can't wait till SE outsources to Mistwalker. That's about the only way they'd sell me on FF anymore, let alone reach Wada's 'goal'.

Seriously, I'll be skeptical of any FFVII remake that doesn't somehow involve Sakaguchi near the driver's seat. He seems to be the most likely person to keep Nojima and Kitase from screwing everything up.
Why would SE need to hire Mistwalker if they can't make a game themselves?
Mistwalker isn't a software developer consists of programmers, designers, directors, art teams, etc, they are just 6 people plan a project while Artoon or freeplus do the whole home work, so what is the point from hiring them?

[Karifean]

Sakaguchi is part of Mistwalker. That's reason enough.

[ShinGundam]

Sakaguchi is part of Mistwalker. That's reason enough.
For me, that isn't enough.

[Jiro]

Sakaguchi doesn't want to talk about FF anymore, I hardly think he would want to work on one.

[Wolf Kanno]

He still talks about it actually. Hell he's drinking buddies with Kitase and even in a joking matter told him stuff he wished they would stop doing in the series. He also told Tokita (FFIVDS/The After Years) to stop making so many remakes.

I still think he thinks of the series as his baby, though he is probably trying to move away from the series. The Last Story is gameplay wise, very different from anything he's personally worked on in the past. Hell he still gives Squenix advice like telling them they should start moving FF to the X-Box as well, though this may have more to do with Microsoft owning him back then and his not so subtle loathing of Sony.

[Spooniest]

Ah, the Final Fantasy 7 remake.

They have to do it, in the end, for one simple, unadulterated reason:

WE WON'T SHUT UP ABOUT IT.

The first law of media is to give the people what they want.

Wada's assertion that "we have to make a game that surpasses it" first is BS, and I'll tell you why.

It isn't that he wants to make a game that surpasses it from a technological standpoint; that's Final Fantasy 8. Final Fantasy 8 is technologically superior to Final Fantasy 7 in every way. Hell, Final Fantasy Tactics even managed to do a few things better, technically speaking (Hi-res battle backgrounds, for instance).

It isn't that he wants to make a game that sells better, because if you think about it, they've kind of done it already. Final Fantasy 7 has sold more than any other game in the main series over the last 15 years. Look at the "opening weekend" figures, though. Final Fantasy 7, according to Wikipedia, sold 2.3 million copies in its first three days of release (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_fantasy_7#Initial_reception_and_sales). Final Fantasy 8 sold 2.5 million (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_fantasy_viii#Reception), I'm guessing largely on the strength of people's anticipation from 7. So that's another motivation down.

It's the perception of Final Fantasy VII that they want to top. The reputation. The idea. This is where things become hairy. Have you ever tried to evaluate an idea?

Evaluation of technical specifications or sales figures is easy, it's just simple math. But to try to nail down the idea of Final Fantasy 7 is something else.

Wada is, quite frankly, a suit. He makes speeches to shareholders and tries to manage a huge multimillion dollar corporation. He isn't an artist. He relies on artists to make evaluations of this nature, and right now, if SE is going to do a remake, they need the expertise (at least) of the artists responsible for constructing it in the first place.

But in order for that to happen, SE has to say (in public!), "we need these artists to return in order to explain to us why the hell these people (us, the fans) are so goddamn crazy about this game." They have to publicly declare that they are not Final Fantasy 7. The artists who made Final Fantasy 7 are Final Fantasy 7.

This isn't an easy thing for a huge corporation to have to do, even in the west, but can you imagine how it is in the east? This would involve SE losing a lot of "face."

But I remain firmly convinced that they will have to swallow their pride, bite the bullet, and get the people they need to do the remake that

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WE WILL NOT SHUT UP ABOUT.

I just hope I'm still alive when it happens, cuz hey...killin' some monsters. Good times.

[ShinGundam]

Artist who? you mean Yusuke Naora?

[Jiro]

I believe he means the original development team in general.

[ShinGundam]

I believe he means the original development team in general.
Huh,why would you even need the original team? most of remakes and ports are done by different teams or even outsourced.

[Wolf Kanno]

Several of the better remakes, like the DS ones were still largely helmed by the people who worked on the game. While VII still has Nomura and Kitase, I would guess many fans were not as pleased with their foray into the Compilation and hope that having more of the core team that's missing like Sakaguchi and Masato Kato would be able to keep the remake more faithful. Especially since Kitase has said he would probably be making lots of changes if he did direct a remake of VII. The Compilation has also kind of killed the likelihood of a faithful VII remake, as many of the newer VII fans got into the series through Crisis Core and Dirge of Cerberus, and you can't exactly blow them off because the older fans want nothing to do with Genesis and DeepGround.

[Mercen-X]

I'm an older fan. AND despite what many other think, I for one don't find Genesis to be anymore of a whiny douche than Cloud or Sephiroth. I don't care if story or motivation didn't make sense to you. I found him to be more interesting than I ever thought of Sephiroth.


I think the importance of city/town in a traditional sense has been dropped a lot just like what happened to the Overworld. Today, I expect a town to function like a guild to take multiple quests or as simply a menu "Shop, Inn, Blacksmith, w/e" or point and click town map.

I'm fine with a game interpreting towns by this standard. The purpose of towns is usually to recuperate, refresh disposable items, upgrade equipment, etc. Why should you have to trek all the way there just to do those menial things? could try Fable's "instant travel" system which still affects your in-game time as if you played that long but you know you didn't. It's not actually part of the story. Hell, if this was an actual quest or war and not just a story, most questers/soldiers wouldn't trek back to town for such useless things. You eat/sleep/"relieve" wherever you are along the trek and equip with whatever you find along the way.
The only reason you should have to set foot in/explore a town is if there's key dialogue/items to be found at this point in the story. Without that, towns are pointless. Just like the entrance area in Traverse Town KH.
Usually, battles are fought out in the field or in dungeons. Realistically, heroes wouldn't waste their time exploring the vast expanse when they already know where they're going. Hell, we've tried world map exploration 9 times and it's not like you ever find anything special for searching every nook and cranny (unlike SO which rewarded you for 100% maps)

My favorite battle system so far is XII's. The Quickening system kind of irked me sometimes because if you managed to use all three character during the one instance, all of their MP would be gone which sucks if you weren't able to get more than a 3-shot combo.

[Spooniest]

Look at that, IGN is stirring the bucket too. (http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/07/24/how-to-remake-final-fantasy-vii)

[Jinx]

Reading this list is actually interesting BECAUSE...


It makes me realize what a colossal failure an FFVII remake would be. No, really. It wouldn't just be the graphics they'd be remaking. Realistically, IGN's "wishlist" would not be the product we'd get.

We'd have voice actors. We'd probably lose the world map. They'd probably re-do the battle system. No pre-rendered backgrounds. They might leave the more "controversial" aspects out since it would be much more realistic (The Honeybee Inn, Don Corneo's Mansion, etc)...

I honestly feel like a remake would ruin the shit out of this game. If it was JUST GRAPHICS....hell yeah! But Square does not know how to leave well enough alone, so...

[Shiny]

I don't think they'd re-do the battle system or take out Honeybee Inn. I hope to god if they do a remake, they don't make Cloud's voice actor annoying. And please keep Yuffie as an optional player.

[Tigmafuzz]

They'll probably make Cloud a whiny little emo :bou::bou::bou::bou: throughout the entire game. And I bet he'll sound like Vaan. I really don't want to see that.

[sabin101]

I just don't know about this whole remake of final fantasy 7. It would please a lot of fans but I think it would take a lot of work to even do so. If they did it totally in 3d it would take so long to create each town character magic etc. The task at hand if they decided to do it would be a gigantic. I don't know if they can do it. I really don't. I say bury the axe and move on to a different project. Like final fantasy 13 versus wink wink I think six years is long enough.

[Jinx]

I just don't know about this whole remake of final fantasy 7. It would please a lot of fans but I think it would take a lot of work to even do so. If they did it totally in 3d it would take so long to create each town character magic etc. The task at hand if they decided to do it would be a gigantic. I don't know if they can do it. I really don't. I say bury the axe and move on to a different project. Like final fantasy 13 versus wink wink I think six years is long enough.

Exactly. FFVII really is a massive game.

[sabin101]

I used to do 3d animation I was not really good at it. So you have 32 frames per second and the game was four discs just impossible. I would not mind if se did a 3d version like they did for ff 4 on the 3ds for ff 6. I am sure one day they will but ff 7 it cannot be done. It would take more than a hundred artists to do so. That is a lot of man power and talent. At their present talent from what I have seen I don't have faith that they could topple ff 7. Square is not at the same level like they where back when the game came out.

[ShinGundam]

I just don't know about this whole remake of final fantasy 7. It would please a lot of fans but I think it would take a lot of work to even do so. If they did it totally in 3d it would take so long to create each town character magic etc. The task at hand if they decided to do it would be a gigantic. I don't know if they can do it. I really don't. I say bury the axe and move on to a different project. Like final fantasy 13 versus wink wink I think six years is long enough.
Yeah square is slow but VSXIII is different case of why they are slow because cities that shown are modeled after real life cities (Tokyo, Venice).

[DarkBahamut]

I don't really want a re-MAKE. I want it to be more of a revised re-RELEASE.

I don't want them to change the block graphics. They just need to touch it up a little and make everything cleaner, like the text and maybe the backgrounds.

[Spooniest]

I'm reminded of the Who song "Magic Bus":

"I want it, I want it, I want it

Ya caaaan't have it!"

[Wolf Kanno]

I don't really want a re-MAKE. I want it to be more of a revised re-RELEASE.

I don't want them to change the block graphics. They just need to touch it up a little and make everything cleaner, like the text and maybe the backgrounds.

So you kind of want what SE did with the GBA and PSP ports of the early FFs then?

Though to be fair, if you use the DS remakes as example, Squenix did actually keep them mostly true to the original. The 3D engine only affects cutscenes in those games, the dungeon/world layout is exactly the same as before and it still plays like the NES/SNES entries. So their is a good possibility a remake wouldn't be too different.

I think the major changes would be minor things like referencing stuff from the Compilation, and re-tooling the batle system a bit. Maybe even add in the Materia Fusion system from Crisis Core so they can rebuild Ruby and Emerald Weapon to make them nastier. VA would be added, and I'm not sure how bad that would be for the game...

[Jowy]

Why not just downrank it...picture FF7 with FF4 PSP sprites. THAT is something new and intriguing.

[ShinGundam]

Why not just downrank it...picture FF7 with FF4 PSP sprites. THAT is something new and intriguing.
I am sorry but for who? hipsters?

[Jowy]

People who like those sort of games. If they put it on iOS or Android marketplace it would make billions.

[ShinGundam]

People who like those sort of games. If they put it on iOS or Android marketplace it would make billions.
Me, No thanks. I want more premier console JRPGs now more than ever. I don't care about nostalgia because if i want old school feel then i will just play old games not a retro wannabe. I know that is selfish but i am more disheartened by lack of variety of console JRPGs.

[Jiro]

a remake would be the coolest!! hurry up and make better games then :mad:

[Wolf Kanno]

People who like those sort of games. If they put it on iOS or Android marketplace it would make billions.
Me, No thanks. I want more premier console JRPGs now more than ever. I don't care about nostalgia because if i want old school feel then i will just play old games not a retro wannabe. I know that is selfish but i am more disheartened by lack of variety of console JRPGs.

I just don't feel Japan has it in them to make a premium next-gen JRPG. Partly because they want to move away from a lot of the elements that made the genre what it is and partly because the gamers genre taste don't care for it as much anymore. It hasn't been helped that JRPGs lost their niche (story telling games), have been shackled with graphic quality and most designers feel that modern RPGs need to absorb action game elements or MMO style gameplay to be even remotely successful.

I honestly don't think a remake of VII would work since the game still plays like a 16-bit RPG, has been cluttered with it's plothole tumor Compilation, and several of the elements probably wouldn't fly over so well in today's market. The best you could hope for is a smaller handheld release on the Vita using the Crisis Cire/Dissidia/Agito engine with a few tweaks and references thrown in.

[Mercen-X]

My wishlist (it's different again):

1: Fix graphics glitches. Okay. Fine. Keep Cloud a blocky Popeye wannabe. But grant a bit more diversity to character animations (like when you scan through the character reactions of Cloud's catatonia, most of then just swivel on a dime with no real reaction. My favorites were Barret's and Vincent's where Barret looks over his shoulder while Vincent just walks out without a second's thought. I think Red XIII should have looked over his shoulder instead of swiveling around 'cause that made no sense and his tail goes through the wall.)

2: Tad more diverse battle animations. For what was a "modern-era" game, a lot of what you saw in battle was copy-pasted dozens over and I personally feel that even the main party's finishing reaction got stale after the first few times. I liked in XII how each character's finishing stance was determined by their weapon (and like their active battle pose was also unique for each character). Maybe broadswords like the Buster Sword and Ultima Weapon are a bit too hefty to be believably swung about like a windmill fan before being slung over Cloud's shoulder or maybe I just think it'd look cooler to gouge the thing into the ground. In his intial cocky ex-SOLDIER mercenary state, Cloud should probably have a more hyperactive repeating stance like Yuffie's, Barret's, or Red XIII's (hell, Tifa sorely needs one as well, "sitting pretty" doesn't suit a badass like her).

3: Stick to a single FMV format. Why were most of the scenes animated to express Cloud as a lifelike individual and then we got some crappy filler bits where he's still a dwarf? Also, there's never any dialogue during these bits and I'm not complaining. But there is dialogue during the final FMV after defeating Sephiroth. I know many of you twits will hate me for suggesting it, but that one scene should be voice-acted. We already got a lineup of voice actors thanks to AC DC & CC so we don't need to worry about anyone sounding "off" as we already know what they sound like now.

4: Fix the translator. Keep the scene where Aerish says "This guy are sick" but have Cloud point out how silly she sounds. But for the most part fix the weirdo translation mistakes. How am I supposed to acquire the right items if when I get them, they read as something else..?

5: Use XII's battle display. Why the hell did VII's display cut off half of the animation for something as uniform as a Summon?

6: Grant some motion strategem to battle. Battle positioning was always determined at random. Either you'd be facing the enemy, facing away, attacked from both sides, or attacking from both sides. Allow for characters to choose to shift to other parts of the battle field. You know how it's useful sometimes to attack an enemy from behind. Battling Air Buster was made a lot easier due to positioning. Sure, maneuvering characters around may seem tedious but it's the closest I come to saying a battle system with a full-range of motion field map is at all a good thing.

7: Fix the W-Item glitch so these pansies will stop saying it's the best strategy in the game.

8: Effing reward me for bothering with Aerish at all.

9: Show the end at the beginning. Later, we can explore how it's possible that Red XIII is not the last of his kind.

10: Add a battle animation for Cloud's crossdressing. Y'all know you want to see that. Hell. Add an FMV of his debut in the dress shop. And one of the three girls being looked over by Corneo.

11: Toss in a few weapons, accessories, materia from parts of the Compilation.

12: Make Vincent's transformations truer to the DoC incarnations.

13: Put Vincent's and Yuffie's major roles back in the game but keep them optional characters. This way your choice of whether to recruit them impacts the game... if somewhat.

14: Add the Excalibur as a weapon for Cloud. Let Cloud wield the Masamune Replica (weak a la Excalipoor). Make Barret and Yuffie's critical hits target all opponents (even if that might be irritating during battles against Chocobos). Give Red XIII weapons that make sense (Behemoth Horn was fine). How was Yuffie's Pinwheel less of a joke than the Super Ball? Give everyone else a second joke weapon. Banish Cait Sith's giant mog. Let Vincent also equip Tifa's gloves (like Albel on SOTET). Put a third Triple AP weapon in the game (this one will have one slot and either Red XIII or Cait Sith should wield it, I suggest to piss some people off).

15: Make Koji Masuda from Ehrgeiz the leader of Bone Village. lol

16: Most importantly, allow me to take Cloud out of the party for battles.

[Jinx]

6: Grant some motion strategem to battle. Battle positioning was always determined at random. Either you'd facing the enemy, facing away, attacked from both sides, or attacking from both sides. Allow for characters to choose to shift to other parts of the battle field. You know how it's useful sometimes to attack an enemy from behind. Battling Air Buster was made a lot easier due to positioning. Sure, maneuvering characters around may seem tedious but it's the closest I come to saying a battle system with a full-range of motion field map is at all a good thing.

No.

I think you're missing the point on this one. The whole "being attacked from behind" etc was random because it created a challenge. Your characters were more vulnerable to attacks and it switched the front/back lines. The others also added a different level of easiness/difficulty. The point was for it to be random so you don't know what's going to happen, and it possibly messing up your game. I know there were times when enemies would attack from both sides, and I'd die.

The point is to throw a wrench in, not allow you to choose to attack from both sides to make the game easier for you.

[Mercen-X]

Don't much care. Basically, I've been thinking on being able to move around the battlefield for a long time, because hey, in a real battle, you're not stuck in one place... well, in gun battles you usually are, but not these.

[Jinx]

Don't much care. Basically, I've been thinking on being able to move around the battlefield for a long time, because hey, in a real battle, you're not stuck in one place... well, in gun battles you usually are, but not these.

That's true. :P

That's one reason, now that I'm older, I'm interested in giving FFXII another try. It's more realistic.

[Sephex]

The fact that these type of threads get so much attention across the internet really should say something to Square-Enix.

[Mercen-X]

I'm stealing some ideas from Wolfie's post in the Remake VIII thread.

1) If 7 were remade, I would hope that Cloud would be made an optional party member by the point when he reveals how he knows Sephiroth to the party at Kalm. Forcing him on us did force us to appreciate his strengths in the original, but it'd be nice to have other options as party leader. In fact, I think the story should be tweaked slightly so that Cloud isn't turned to for every decision. Barret was the leader of AVALANCHE, Red XIII is highly intelligent, Cait Sith is a fortune teller, Vincent was a Turk, and Cid's a captain... in a game of rock, paper, scissor, Cloud ain't the dynamite!

2) Alternate outfits are always a plus especially in differing enviornments. Before traveling down to the Great Glacier, the group was at Icicle Inn. Why wouldn't there be a shop selling warmer clothes? Even if you were too cheap to buy them, why wouldn't Holzoff give you warmer clothes before you climbed Gaea's Cliff? I would especially love to see Tifa wearing that leather jacket she sports only in fanart. I imagine the disguise outfits acquired in Junon would be a permanent fixture in your alt outfits collection.

3) Obviously, being remade for a new console, as Wolf has said, VII would certainly sport a new dungeon. Well, I mean, is it really obvious, or is that just an assumption? I would approve it.

4) Definitely re-balance the materia system. Maybe rearrange which spells/commands appear on which pieces of materia. Something I definitely wish to see is the materia being dependent upon its TYPE rather than its COLOR to determine what is does. Partially or mostly because I want the Lavender materia to disappear. Introduce a materia that lets you dual-wield. It's a classic.

5) Make running the default rather than having to hold a button (or at least set an option in the menu to change it to defaut).

6) Summons, for which I have two options: I never appreciated the size of the summons cutting away half of the screen so I can't even see the enemies who are supposedly being attacked. So either the summons' size can be reduced, or the cut-scene by which they attack could be like 9 wherein you could skip the animation.

7) I would like a more in-depth version of the Fort Condor defense battles. Also I think FC should call Cloud up on the PHS to tell him there's an incoming attack from Shinra rather than relying on guesses as to timing.

8) The Costal Del villa. I think they should add at least one extra feature to this place. Why waste money on it if it just does the same thing any other inn will do for less money? Then again, if there is an extra feature added, buying it should cost more money. That shouldn't be a problem though. I would imagine the extra feature as the villa being the only place where you can change outfits.

[Jiro]

5) Make running the default rather than having to hold a button (or at least set an option in the menu to change it to defaut).

There is an option for this :greenie:

Costa Del Sol villa is utterly useless so they should give you something cool in there. Maybe some extra minigames, or just put the actual minigames in there and have them not cost gil to play for the trade off of never gaining GP.

Alt outfits would be great. Sailor Barret always and forever <3

I don't know about making Cloud optional there, perhaps after Mideel. He's way too integral to the plot at Kalm. If you don't take him with you then nothing happens.

[Mercen-X]

5) Make running the default rather than having to hold a button (or at least set an option in the menu to change it to defaut).

There is an option for this :greenie:Screenshot, please.


Costa Del Sol villa is utterly useless so they should give you something cool in there. Maybe some extra minigames, or just put the actual minigames in there and have them not cost gil to play for the trade off of never gaining GP.
I kind of feel the mini-games played throughout the story should feel more like the rest of the environment. So if any enhancements are made to the graphics, the same has to be done for the mini-games.
However, all mini-games in Gold Saucer can retain their original form because they're games after all.

Alt outfits would be great. Sailor Barret always and forever
http://www.icybrian.com/fanart/youngwang/ywaeristifaoutfits.jpg

I imagine the girls would each put their own spin on the switch. So Tifa would still be baring her midriff and Aeris would still look proper. It's not so much the idea that they switched outfits with each other but that they've obtained outfits that look similar to the other.

http://m.mygames.pt/MediaCenter/media/images/ezine/dissidiaduodecim_mg_n.jpg

http://images.wikia.com/egamia/images/0/03/AerithKH2.jpg


I don't know about making Cloud optional there, perhaps after Mideel. He's way too integral to the plot at Kalm. If you don't take him with you then nothing happens.Plenty of times, VII shoved a party member into your team you were expecting to have prepared; Aerith, Tifa, Barret, Red XIII... why not Cloud? Sure their instances were once each and his would likely happen someting like eight times throughout the game, but hey, the point is having control over your party during battle. Hell, I'd accept a Chrono Cross-style battle-switch where though is the lead on the field, he disappears from combat.

[Jinx]

Dude, somebody needs to tell KH Aeris that her skirt and top clash horribly.

[Sephex]

Dude, somebody needs to tell KH Aeris that her skirt and top clash horribly.

Oh, she'll just die when she gets called out like that!