• More Remakes of Older IPs? Square Enix wants to remake your old games!


    In Square Enix's fiscal report this year there was an important tidbit added in; a tidbit that many long time fans may be thoroughly excited about!

    1. Revitalizing Existing IPs
    We will revitalize some of our strong IPs in ways that meet the needs of the modern gaming market.
    For example, we will take an IP developed for earlier generations of game consoles and recreate it
    for the latest consoles, while also proactively developing versions for play on smart devices. In
    addition, we will also explore possibilities involving VR (virtual reality) and other new platforms. We
    want our longtime fans to relish reliving past experiences with a freshness that only the latest in
    technology can provide, while at the same time have new customers enjoy the IP as though it were
    brand new. By not only optimizing single pieces of IP for single platforms but also rolling out IP in a
    multi-dimensional manner to meet the needs of the modern market, we believe we can deliver
    exciting new experiences.
    So Square Enix plans on remaking some older games to reach new audiences, and possibly use VR to do so!

    What are you thoughts about this new remake mission? What games do you want them to remake and update?
    This article was originally published in forum thread: More Remakes of Older IPs? Square Enix wants to remake your old IPs! started by Freya View original post
    Comments 26 Comments
    1. escobert's Avatar
      escobert -
      I like it since I haven't been very interested in anything new they've put out for quite a few years now.

      I'd love to see some Saga games redone, specifically 1. Vagrant Story, FFT, FFVI and FF8 get my vote as well.
    1. Freya's Avatar
      Freya -
      I want some Chrono games! Trigger preferably but if that leads to Cross as well, I can deal with the two of them.
    1. Del Murder's Avatar
      Del Murder -
      Of all their games, Chrono Trigger is the one that least needs to be remade. It was pretty perfect exactly as it was.

      FFVI with 3D models would be fun and I'd play the hell out of that one. Not super interested to see remakes of the other FFs. The older ones have been done to death and VII is coming. I guess the other PS1 games would be cool. Oh wait, there's the forgotten FF: V! Imagine FFV with essentially X-2's battle system, fast paced battles where you can chain attacks and switch jobs on the fly *drools*.

      Vagrant Story is a great candidate although they could easily nerf the best (and most time consuming) aspects of it and make it terrible.

      Really what I want to see most is a remaster of Seiken Densetsu 3 and have it finally released in the West. They can redo Secret of Mana while they're at it since it's an action game and fits well with current trends.

      However, let's not ignore the third line of that quote. We'll probably just get a bunch of cell phone versions of these things and that's the 'remake'.
    1. Ayen's Avatar
      Ayen -
      I would make fun of them for running out of ideas, but then I would have to make fun of everyone in Hollywood, and I just don't have the time. So I'll narrow it down.

      Remember when Square set trends instead of following them?

      Me neither.
    1. Freya's Avatar
      Freya -
      Oh they are going to make new IPs too this was just part of a really long plan. It's linked in the first line if you want to check out. I just thought people would like the remake aspect the most.
    1. Ayen's Avatar
      Ayen -
      Damn! I activated their trap card. "Online Assumption!"

      -loses 800 life points-
    1. Freya's Avatar
      Freya -
      Spoiler cause it's long, but here's their "Way Forward" plan
      The Way Forward
      Our business environment is undergoing major changes. Sales of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are
      growing significantly, primarily in Europe and North America. At the same time, smart devices are
      becoming more advanced and more commonplace. As such, we are seeing an evolution in where
      and how we enjoy digital content. Moreover, as the term IoT (Internet of Things) suggests, everything
      around us is beginning to connect to the Internet. This is another trend that promises to create new
      experiences for us. We recognize that such changes are a constant feature of the landscape in
      which we do business, and based on that recognition, we maintain a constant goal: to deliver
      content of consistently high quality to customers around the world under the best conditions
      possible. We will continue to strive to attain that goal by engaging in research into the latest content
      and technologies, developing new business models, and cultivating new sales channels and regions.
      In addition, we will focus on the following initiatives in order to further strengthen and enrich our
      Group’s content and IP portfolios.

      1. Revitalizing Existing IPs
      We will revitalize some of our strong IPs in ways that meet the needs of the modern gaming market.
      For example, we will take an IP developed for earlier generations of game consoles and recreate it
      for the latest consoles, while also proactively developing versions for play on smart devices. In
      addition, we will also explore possibilities involving VR (virtual reality) and other new platforms. We
      want our longtime fans to relish reliving past experiences with a freshness that only the latest in
      technology can provide, while at the same time have new customers enjoy the IP as though it were
      brand new. By not only optimizing single pieces of IP for single platforms but also rolling out IP in a
      multi-dimensional manner to meet the needs of the modern market, we believe we can deliver
      exciting new experiences.

      2. Creating New IPs
      How to constantly generate new IPs and how to cultivate them are key business issues for any
      content provider. Once new content begins to take shape, it is vital to have an environment and
      mechanisms in place that help it grow into a major franchise. We intend to strengthen our efforts to
      sow the seeds of new content, and cultivate them constantly, and we will pursue a variety of avenues
      in order to do so. Our Group possesses many content platforms, including console games, smart
      device games, arcades, PC games, and comics. All of those platforms are capable of giving rise to
      new IPs. We see this as a strength of our Group that is unmatched by any competitor. We will work
      in the fiscal year ending March 2016 to ensure that these IP cultivation platforms give rise to new IPs
      for us to foster for the future.

      3. Collaboration with Partner Companies
      As I mentioned above, we find ourselves in an age of change. Devices, business models, and the
      competition are constantly changing. This means that today’s assumptions may not apply tomorrow.
      In such an ever-changing environment, insisting on complete self-reliance does not strike us as the
      best approach to staying unique and highly adaptable. Instead, I believe it is more beneficial to remain
      flexible about forming partnerships with others. A willingness to seek in others what we lack is a better
      approach to growing our business in this age of uncertainty. As such, we will not rule out any possibility
      as we explore and execute collaborative initiatives ranging from joint collaborations focusing on a single
      product to business alliances of a wider scope. In so doing, we hope to capture earnings opportunities
      in a timely fashion and leverage them for our further growth.

      4. Geographic Expansion
      The regions marked in red on the map below are those that the Square Enix Group has yet to enter.
      While the Internet has made the world more interconnected and less impeded by national
      boundaries, I believe that regional and individual tastes remain a major determinant of preferences
      for different types of content. Furthermore, as these untapped regions experience economic growth,
      their demand for content will mount, and their consumers will begin to want content rooted in the local
      culture rather than being satisfied solely with imports. As such, these regions have the potential to
      become major content-consuming markets in the future, which means it is important to establish a
      foothold there now. In the fiscal year ending March 2016, we will remain open to not only exporting
      existing content but also investing in local development efforts in these regions. We note also that
      economic growth in Asia remains strong and that the region continues to be a key market for us. In
      terms of size and technological development, Asia is now an advanced market rather than a growing
      one. In particular, China’s shift to mobile has been remarkable, and the country possesses some of the
      most advanced mobile game development technologies in the world. This makes collaborations and
      partnerships with Chinese companies very appealing, and we intend to approach such opportunities
      as an important part of taking on the competition not only in China itself but also in Japan and globally.
    1. Vermachtnis's Avatar
      Vermachtnis -
      Mystic Quest should be remade. It was already kind of self-aware, they should take that and run with it. Get some funny writers onboard and make it a full blown parady/love letter to the series. Could replace the old man with S-Sha from Neptunia.
    1. Vyk's Avatar
      Vyk -
      And there's always Setsuna
    1. Zanmato's Avatar
      Zanmato -
      Remakes are very profitable these days - everybody knows that. :P
      Maybe it's weird, but I'd like to see the remake of... FFXII! *shocked*
    1. Fynn's Avatar
      Fynn -
      Quote Originally Posted by TheZanmato View Post
      Remakes are very profitable these days - everybody knows that. :P
      Maybe it's weird, but I'd like to see the remake of... FFXII! *shocked*
      No, a lot of us have been clamoring for at least an HD remaster of XII for years.
    1. Vyk's Avatar
      Vyk -
      If they could remake it without being so Vaan-centric in the beginning, that'd be great. Or just remove Vaan and stop pandering to 12 year old Japanese kids who don't like playing as mature characters because they're crazy, I wouldn't mind
    1. Fynn's Avatar
      Fynn -
      I loved Vaan. He's a sweet cinnamon roll too good for this world, too pure, and must be protected.
    1. Vyk's Avatar
      Vyk -
      Actually, I only care about the obnoxious "I'm Captain Basch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" scene

      On par with FFX's laughing scene. Except that scene pretty much summed up the game, it didn't ruin anything that wasn't already questionable. Vaan actually ruined XII for me. But I can't swear that changing him would draw me back into the game. It's ship may have sailed. So I guess if people actually like him, then so be it. I just hate the knowledge that he was knowingly shoe-horned into the game because a few focus groups of Japanese kids couldn't handle a JRPG where you didn't play as a kid. So they added a kid

      People forgot that you played as (young) adults in FF6 and 7. And if their focus group didn't play/enjoy those games, then they had the wrong focus group to begin with /rant
    1. Fynn's Avatar
      Fynn -
      The key is the execution here. Sure, he was shoehorned in, but was really subtle and far from the stereotypical kid hero. His role was smaller compared to others, but it was still a substantial part of convincing Ashe to not get revenge on the empire, thereby preventing her from becoming a villain. They may have been forced to include him, but I think they went about it in a very smart way, which is why aim personally really miffed by people complaining about Vaan's inclusion. But that's just my opinion

      I'd personally love it if the Saga series got a revival so I could finally play all of it! I wanna check out that game that made The US branch of SE apologize to its fans.
    1. Depression Moon's Avatar
      Depression Moon -
      I'd rather have sequels. There's nothing of theirs I want to see remade.
    1. Del Murder's Avatar
      Del Murder -
      Let's take bets on when the FFXIII remastered trilogy with bonus Lightning content will hit PS4.
    1. FifthDream's Avatar
      FifthDream -
      PS4 FFVI-VR confirmed.
    1. Wolf Kanno's Avatar
      Wolf Kanno -
      They've already started with Seiken Denetsu with them remaking the first game for Mobile and possibly Vita. The director even mentioned that if it did well, they would follow with remakes of Secret of Mana and Seiken Densetsu 3. Course I would have just preferred a collection of Mana games. You know, just give me the original SD3 (not like it isn't still beautiful and plays well) just translate it officially and release it on PSN/Nintendo eShop and let's be done with it. It baffles me how much some of these game companies waste money on projects when just releasing some of their old games with actual translations would probably do just fine.

      I'm sure this plan will largely focus on the 16-bit era though, with a few early PS1 titles being thrown into the mix.
    1. Ayen's Avatar
      Ayen -
      Quote Originally Posted by Vyk View Post
      Actually, I only care about the obnoxious "I'm Captain Basch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" scene

      On par with FFX's laughing scene. Except that scene pretty much summed up the game, it didn't ruin anything that wasn't already questionable.
      Except, the laughing scene was supposed to be bad and awkward. Tidus was letting out a forced laugh for Yuna. Even Wakka made fun of them at the end.
  • EoFF on Twitter

  • Square Enix on Twitter