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!