An Interesting Interview

[Wolf Kanno]

This was an interview on IGN that featured Kitase and Arakawa of SE back in May 09. They speak about Dissidia and bit about XIII but its the other things that get asked that are really intriguing.

Final Fantasy Reader Q&A - PlayStation 3 feature - at IGN

For those who can't be bothered to read, here's a rundown:

No plans for a remake of FFV and VI though they are under "consideration"

With the release of FFVII:ACC, the Compilation of VII is considered over unless someone comes up with a new idea they want to play with.

Arakawa really wants to make a sequel to FF IX.

They also dodge a question about a new FFMMO but we already know now about FFXIV.

Any thoughts?

[Slothy]

Didn't find anything overly intriguing myself. Mostly your points, but I'll take them one at a time.

No plans for a remake of FFV and VI though they are under "consideration"

Honestly, I'm surprised that neither has been announced already. If they aren't already in development and there are no current plans to do them then I have to wonder if SE still loves money as much as they used to.

With the release of FFVII:ACC, the Compilation of VII is considered over unless someone comes up with a new idea they want to play with.

I really hope no one comes up with any new ideas. If I see one more FFVII related anything I might just scream.

Arakawa really wants to make a sequel to FF IX.

For the love of god, I hope this never happens.

They also dodge a question about a new FFMMO but we already know now about FFXIV.

Makes sense since it wasn't officially announced until a month later I suppose. I don't care for MMO's though so I'm not too concerned about this game one way or the other.

Any thoughts?

I'm hungry.

[PeneloRatsbane]

they better not touch ff IX. it DOES NOT need a rubbish little sequel! its perfect and done the way it is.

[P4ine]

nothing really appealing to me, in fact the ff9 matter.. the game is complete the way it is, there's no need to make a sequel

but a full 3d ff6 remake would be seriously bad ass to be honest

[Bolivar]

- FFIX absolutely should not be serialized, but I really think they NEED to go the God of War collection route and properly upscale this game to 1080p, smooth everything out, Raise the atrocious framerate during battles, maybe remaster the sound just a tad (it was near perfect to begin with) or break it up into 7.1, and release it on a Blu Ray (with trophies would be nice!(they'd have to)) with developer commentaries and such. That would be beautiful.

- I don't think this offers any more closure on the FFVII compilation. I think they should just do the PS3 remake and officially state that it's over and done with. Period.

- I doubt remakes to V and VI will ever come. The III and IV remakes were conceived, proposed, executed, and overseen by Hiromichi Tanaka - they were his projects in between FFXI and FFXIV, and he worked on those games originally; he didn't have anything to do with V and VI. Kitase, Nomura, Hideo Minaba and Hiroyuki Ito did and they're ALWAYS being used for new projects. I don't think any of them have touched a remake ever.

Anyway I hope FFvXIII comes sooner than later, and they make a classic FF entry in the FNC series.

[black orb]

>>> Just remake FF7 for the ps3, that would be good..

[Wolf Kanno]

I think a remake of V and VI is just as likely as a remake of VII (though I wouldn't be surprised if VII got it first) and to be honest, Kitase has been doing more executive stuff lately so he may actually have time to stop and come down and work on a few titles, I can see him doing it for VII since the Compilation has been the last project he was creatively involved in.

Of anything, SE has been using the remakes and sequels as a means to train new people so what better way to get the Dissidia team better at their job by having them work on remakes, especially since Arakawa revealed V is one of his other favorites.

With Nomura apparently stepping down from FF titles after XIII Versus gets released to work on KH, it seems to me they may need to build more strong figured in the company to give creative direction since Nojima is freelance and Kitase is basically fulfilling Sakaguchi's place before he left.

Anyway I hope FFvXIII comes sooner than later, and they make a classic FF entry in the FNC series.

Considering XIII still applies the very same formula as all numbered FFs (Innovation), I have no idea what you mean by "Classic". I would say XIII is the "traditional" entry while Agito and Versus are radical departures.

[Bolivar]

I think a remake of V and VI is just as likely as a remake of VII

Agreed although I think a remastered versino of VII, VIII, IX, X, XII is more likely than both prospective projects.

Considering XIII still applies the very same formula as all numbered FFs (Innovation), I have no idea what you mean by "Classic". I would say XIII is the "traditional" entry while Agito and Versus are radical departures.

Basically take the Dawn of Souls engine and make a new game with it. Come up with a new battle system, but maybe keep it along the lines of the job systems in III and V. New adventure. New apocalyptic FF storyline. New characters.

But 2d. Kinda like Mega Man 9.

[Wolf Kanno]

I would say that would have been the FF Gaiden but I guess we'll never know... Besides, chances are they will just remake FFI and II again next year.

I'm not sure how remastering the games will go over, Square talked about it a long time ago but since a decade has nearly come and gone I guess that idea got scrapped for some reason. I am still waiting for a PS1 collection of the series similar to Anthologies and Chronicles but DLC makes that an almost obsolete idea.

Personally, I would just be happy if they released FFXII International: Zodiac Job System cause I feel its closer to being the true version of FFXII.

[Bolivar]

I would say that would have been the FF Gaiden but I guess we'll never know... Besides, chances are they will just remake FFI and II again next year.

It's unbelievable they haven't been released on XBLA and PSN Store already.

I haven't read too much about Gaiden, kinda sad that I won't get a chance to enjoy it anyway.

I'm not sure how remastering the games will go over, Square talked about it a long time ago but since a decade has nearly come and gone I guess that idea got scrapped for some reason. I am still waiting for a PS1 collection of the series similar to Anthologies and Chronicles but DLC makes that an almost obsolete idea.

I remember reading about this on Gamestop a few years ago and actually found it:

Final Fantasy remakes sold separately - PlayStation News at GameSpot

Really strange, I would think that with Wada in charge this would have came out years ago.

Personally, I would just be happy if they released FFXII International: Zodiac Job System cause I feel its closer to being the true version of FFXII.

I'm fine with the original. I took a look at the job paths they laid out and I was very disappointed, immediately going into "That's not how I would have done it!" mode.

Although controlling guests and Espers was a great idea.

[Rad Bromance]

in fact the ff9 matter.. the game is complete the way it is, there's no need to make a sequel

That didn't stop them from making sequels to IV, VII, X, and XII!

[Slothy]

in fact the ff9 matter.. the game is complete the way it is, there's no need to make a sequel

That didn't stop them from making sequels to IV, VII, X, and XII!

I really wish you weren't right about that. At least I've heard good things about FFIV: The After Years from some people. I have no Wii, so my chances of playing it any time soon are fairly slim. One decent sequel out of four is actually pretty remarkable for Square given how few good games they release at all lately.