Final Fantasy VII REMAKE - General News Thread

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It's happening? A FFVII Remake is happening?

  • Yes

    Votes: 12 66.7%
  • No

    Votes: 6 33.3%

  • Total voters
    18
  • Poll closed .

RetroPS4

Chocobo Knight
Aug 10, 2015
203
125
Appears I was slightly wrong about info timing, there is some new stuff here, courtesy of Game Informer:


10 Questions And Answers About The Final Fantasy VII Remake

Feature

by Joe Juba on April 11, 2016 at 02:00 PM

Final Fantasy XV's impending September 30 release makes it the "here and now" of Final Fantasy, but what about the franchise's future? Fans enjoy looking ahead to the upcoming entries in their favorite series, and this case, the next big step is Final Fantasy VII Remake – the often-rumored (and long-desired) project that was finally confirmed at E3 2015. During our visit to Square Enix for our Final Fantasy XV cover, we talked to Final Fantasy VII Remake producer Yoshinori Kitase to get some answers about the highly anticipated project.

Fans have been asking for a FFVII remake for years. What about the gaming landscape makes now the right time?

The landscape was one thing, but it was more that we’d been working on the XIII series for the last 10 years. My team and I were mainly focused on that project. Final Fantasy VII Remake would be an equivalent – or even greater – project in terms of scale, and so it would have been hard to do both at the same time. After XIII ended, of course XV is currently being developed by [Hajime] Tabata-san’s team, so it presented a time when we can fully place our focus on the Final Fantasy VII Remake.

When the remake was first announced, there was some confusion among fans about its multi-part format. Is comparing it to the Final Fantasy XIII saga fair in that regard? Will each entry have that kind of scope?

It will essentially be a full-scale game for each part of the multi-part series. In XIII, each installment told the story from a different angle. It was kind of like approaching an unknown territory, in a sense. Whereas with Final Fantasy VII Remake, we already have a preexisting story, so it wouldn’t really make sense if that isn’t encompassed in the multi-part series, and it wouldn’t make sense to remake it if we don’t encompass that that entire story.

With regards to the current HD capacity and volume, the idea is that we wouldn’t be able to encompass it all in just one installment. So, if we’re just looking at each of these parts, one part should be on par with the scale of one Final Fantasy XIII game.

Have you decided how many installments there will be?
Yeah, we do have an idea on the project side in terms of how many installments it may consist of, but unfortunately, we can’t share that at the moment.

Of course, as we’re creating and developing the scenario and the stories, these are things that move in real time. So, the plan may change along the way. But, that said, we do have a vision for how many installments it will consist of.

The Compilation of Final Fantasy VII added new wrinkles to the story and lore behind the game. How is the team approaching the integration of those new elements into the remake?
It’s not to say that all or some of the characters from the spin-offs or other Compilation works will appear in the remake, but if there are any areas where we can use the settings or the characters, we do want to try to incorporate it in there, so it gives off that sense of nuance and those other stories existing.

So, there isn’t any pressure to include every character and storyline from the Compilation content?
Yes, there may be instances where the characters appear themselves, or are just referenced in dialogue. But, of course, it would be difficult to follow up on everything that happened in this universe. So, maybe some of the characters who weren’t as famous won’t appear or be mentioned. But in terms of the characters and instances that remain in the memories of our fans, we do want to try our best to integrate that in some fashion in the world.

Some fans seem to want a remake that is mainly visual upgrades, with none of the story or gameplay altered. Was that ever considered for the project?
The starting point was – and our executive producer [Shinji] Hashimoto-san has mentioned this – it would even be okay if we just upped the graphics to the quality of Advent Children. But, in terms of game styles and battle systems, it’s been 20 years since the original, and a lot has changed. Trends have changed, and I believed that we needed to revisit and rethink that aspect for the remake.

What drove the decision to move away from the traditional turn-based system toward action-focused combat?
We haven’t completely transitioned into action, but as our director [Tetsuya] Nomura-san says, Final Fantasy (in terms of action games) is best represented by Dissidia in the current landscape. In terms of the Final Fantasy action battles people have experienced themselves, that is most familiar to them these days. In terms of the image of the battle system, that’s where we’re getting the feel from. It won’t be as action-focused as Dissidia, of course, but the the visuals and how the gameplay feels in essence will be drawn from that Dissidia-esque style.

Not many creators have the chance to revisit a previous project like this. For you personally, is there any aspect of FFVII that you’re looking forward to bringing back to life?
That’s a difficult question. There are certain scenes that are ingrained in the memories of our fans – like Cloud dressing a female, or that impactful Aerith scene. At that time, that was the latest technology and the latest graphics, but now it does look a little bit cheap as far as how it looks graphically and how those scenes are staged. So, everyone’s probably wondering how those scenes will be brought back to life in current, realistic graphics and how they will be expressed. And I myself am interested in that, but it’s also a challenge. For all of those scenes that people remember, I’m wondering how we can meet expectations and express them properly in current-gen graphics.

I’m sure there are areas that our fans want to see how we can change, and areas that they don’t want changed. The opinions of our fans are probably split on a lot of those elements, so determining from a development standpoint where we’ll be more true to the original versus where we change is something we hope to grasp through communicating with our fans. Also, while we want to understand their concerns, we also want to get them excited for the story and seeing how it can be revamped and refreshed.

So, even if you’re familiar with the story, there’s still an opportunity to be surprised?
Definitely. We have archived versions of our games, and a lot of times, people buy them and it starts off with nostalgia – but after that, you’re essentially following the story you already know. That experience starts to diminish as you proceed through the game and the interest level starts to decline. If it’s just nostalgia, it’s just a matter of following the story, and there wouldn’t be any surprises. So, in that sense, we want to balance out the areas we would like change versus the areas we don’t in order to have that nostalgia, but also the surprises.

Do you see the larger iconic plot points as an opportunity to surprise fans, or are there things that you and the team consider untouchable?

I, along with Nomura-san and [Kazushige] Nojima-san – who are involved with the remake – were involved with the original Final Fantasy VII. We were the people who created it, so in that sense, we don’t think anything is untouchable. That isn’t to say we’re changing everything!

Of course, within Square Enix and across the globe, there are people who think it’s on this holy scale. That there isn’t anything we can touch or play around with. But we believe we know the balance between what can be changed versus what needs to be protected.
I have bolded the parts that seem the most inportant. In all honesty, I hope this project goes well, and I have anticipated it greatly. I almost wonder though if we are in for an even greater train-wreck among the fans than what has occured with Versus/XV. It feels like the greatest irony that the two Final Fantasy projects I am most anticipating might be the most devisive to the fans :p
 
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Likes: LeonBlade

Chocobocoholic

ShinRa SOLDIER
Mar 29, 2016
160
79
I'm glad the multi-part stuff has been cleared up. When the FFVII Remake was first announced as being "Episodic" I was really confused as to how that would pan out, but now we have it straight from the horses mouth that "each part will be a full sized game". Personally I'm hoping for no more than two parts but if there are three then, well, I'm buying them all.

I'm really interested to see where they go with this. Also I agree with Kitase completely about the game needing to "surprise" people. If I'm spending a whole bunch of cash then I want a "new" FFVII experience. If I want to play FFVII, I'll just play FFVII. Like you say Retro, it'll be a very divisive game. People will cry - some with tears of joy, and some with anguish and disappointment, but personally I'm really looking forward to it.
 
Likes: RetroPS4

Rogue-Tomato

ShinRa SOLDIER
Jan 17, 2016
166
98
38
Worcester, UK
I'm glad the multi-part stuff has been cleared up. When the FFVII Remake was first announced as being "Episodic" I was really confused as to how that would pan out, but now we have it straight from the horses mouth that "each part will be a full sized game". Personally I'm hoping for no more than two parts but if there are three then, well, I'm buying them all.

I'm really interested to see where they go with this. Also I agree with Kitase completely about the game needing to "surprise" people. If I'm spending a whole bunch of cash then I want a "new" FFVII experience. If I want to play FFVII, I'll just play FFVII. Like you say Retro, it'll be a very divisive game. People will cry - some with tears of joy, and some with anguish and disappointment, but personally I'm really looking forward to it.
I'm happy about the ''full size'' game bit too. I was a little worried that there would be 10 or 15 ''episodes'' which would completely ruin the magic for me.

I think it'll be a 3 part series.

I think for the first part we will have the FF7 main story as we know it, but with a lot more depth and side stories etc. I can't imagine them bringing out the first part of the series without it being the full game (from bombing mission to end game crater). I think one of the games will be the whole Advent Children story - And I am not sure what the 3rd one may be.
 
Sep 26, 2013
1,612
626
I think for the first part we will have the FF7 main story as we know it, but with a lot more depth and side stories etc. I can't imagine them bringing out the first part of the series without it being the full game (from bombing mission to end game crater). I think one of the games will be the whole Advent Children story - And I am not sure what the 3rd one may be.
They're dividing up the main story into several parts.
 

llazy77

Warrior of Light
May 27, 2014
1,149
550
29
I feel like they are going to save late 2017 for kingdom hearts 3 then 2018 for ffvii episode 1, 2019 for episode 2 and 2020 for episode 3 and then maybe ffxvi for 2021
 

RetroPS4

Chocobo Knight
Aug 10, 2015
203
125
I feel like they are going to save late 2017 for kingdom hearts 3 then 2018 for ffvii episode 1, 2019 for episode 2 and 2020 for episode 3 and then maybe ffxvi for 2021
The 20 year anniversery of VII is 2017, I think they made it episodic partially so they can take advantage of that by at least releasing Chapter 1 (Midgar)....
 

Chocobocoholic

ShinRa SOLDIER
Mar 29, 2016
160
79
TGS is less than two week before FFXV releases so they might opt not to show it there, as Square Enix will be going for one last big push to sell FFXV. Maybe they will team up with Sony for a FFVII Remake showing at PlayStation Experience in December. My guess is that FFXII: The Zodiac Age will release with a demo for the FFVII Remake to boost sales, just like Type-0 HD released with the FFXV Episode Duscae demo.
 
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Rin

Reformed
Apr 11, 2015
330
330
TGS is less than two week before FFXV releases so they might opt not to show it there, as Square Enix will be going for one last big push to sell FFXV. Maybe they will team up with Sony for a FFVII Remake showing at PlayStation Experience in December. My guess is that FFXII: The Zodiac Age will release with a demo for the FFVII Remake to boost sales, just like Type-0 HD released with the FFXV Episode Duscae demo.
Last year Nomura said that more information about the remake would come once WoFF and KH2.8, two other works he's involved in, are released. I also read that he said again during E3 that he'd personally deliver new information. It's probably safe to say that the earliest we'll receive any information is mid-December. Most likely not until early next year.
 

Chocobocoholic

ShinRa SOLDIER
Mar 29, 2016
160
79
Frankly, people said that for FFXV and look where it's at now: Nothing but FFXV related content bundled with the main game upon release.
With The Zodiac Age, like with X/X-2 HD, it's more than capable of standing out independently and selling well when it releases as long as it gets the love from Square it deserves. XII is nothing like Type-0 HD. It's almost an insult to put the two on the same boat to be honest.
Despite being an underrated FF title, XII did go on to sell a few million copies worldwide back in 2006.
I did think at one point that FFXV might launch with a demo for the FFVII Remake, but I'm glad it isn't. As you say the game deserves it's own spotlight after 10 years of being on many of our radars, and it's time is almost here.

As for Type-0 and FFXII, I didn't even make a comparison between the two. I'm just simply saying that a FFVII Remake demo would benefit the FFXII Zodiac Age sales, just as the FFXV demo helped shift copies of Type-0 HD. I'm not saying it won't sell much without one because there are clearly a lot of fans of the game, but it won't have the same reach as FFX/X-2 HD which released on PS3/4/Vita and now Steam.
 

DrBretto

Warrior of Light
Mar 18, 2016
1,605
1,436
41
I think XII-HD works perfectly for a VII-R demo bundle, actually.

There are a lot of FF fans stuck in the past that took exception to FFXII being so different and they either didn't give it a chance or fell victim to the many pitfalls the vanilla game came with. These are the same people that will be most interested in FFVII-R. Bundling the two together will give many of them an excuse to play XII again, this time the much improved IZJS version. I think it has a decent chance of bridging the divide between old-schoolers and the "new" age of FF games (post X).

I think it's a perfect fit.
 

dissasterrific

fal'Cie Goddess
Administrator
Site Staff
Mar 6, 2016
78
79
28
cosmos
I've recently revisited the FFVII compilation and it's making me wonder now if they're going to remaster the other titles in it (eg Crisis Core) for the sake of making them more accessible for potentially new fans that will play the remake.. I'm really hoping that if they do, they would already have it all prepared just like with FFXV Universe. I like VII, but if it returns at the forefront and center of the series again.. I personally would not be too fond of it.