FINAL FANTASY VII G-BIKE: Your thoughts

[LeonBlade]

G-BIKE is one of the most beloved mini games from the FINAL FANTASY series. First appearing in FINAL FANTASY VII at specific points in the main story or from the Gold Saucer amusement center, this G-BIKE title is now completely re-imagined to a brand new mobile experience. Customize, level-up, and collect items for your characters to perform exciting actions in full 3D stages as you fight familiar boss monsters and take on different missions.

Look out for more FINAL FANTASY VII G-BIKE information coming soon! For the latest Final Fantasy news, be sure to like and follow us on our official social networks.

http://na.square-enix.com/us/blog/final-fantasy-vii-g-bike-coming-soon-your-mobile-devices

Introduction

The start of a possible slew of mobile games from Square Enix themed interestingly with the Golden Saucer from the iconic Final Fantasy VII. I have created a poll to ask how you feel about this game, I would like for you to give your opinion with the poll, and also share your opinions in the thread as well.

I have outlined a few points for discussion split in paragraphs for you to easily read without being overwhelmed by a large post like this.

Topic points for discussion

With mobile gaming becoming very popular, it makes sense financially to invest in this platform of gaming. With new hardware/software innovations like the recently announced Metal at Apple's WWDC 2014 earlier this month, mobile gaming is only going to become more impressive both with better visuals and higher performance. This large market share with mobile devices creates the opportunity for companies to release smaller titles that are "pick up and play" friendly, allowing consumers to enjoy a game without having to dedicate a large amount of time to it at any given time. Developers also feel more safe knowing that almost everyone has a smartphone or smart device, which far exceeds the install base of any conventional gaming platform.

Knowing that a possible future for other Golden Saucer or other Final Fantasy experiences coming in the later future, what are your expectation for future titles as well, and how do you think that the general consumer base will receive this information?

Currently, the video posted in this thread has a very split opinion, with 500+ likes and 300+ dislikes, it's apparent that not everyone is happy with this title. Is it possible that fans are truly not interested in a title like this? Or, is it more a backlash from Square Enix not releasing an HD Final Fantasy VII, instead opting for a mini game adaption in a mobile environment as a few people point out in the comments.

Conclusion

As for my opinion, I really enjoy this idea, and will be downloading it personally. As this is a free game with the F2P model that many Japanese mobile games use similar to Square Enix's Guardian Cross, it's certainly something that I can easily spend time on whenever I want. This idea of taking a familiar popular title and popular mini game and turning it into a fun quick mobile game really interests me, and I'm looking forward to other games in the future... Perhaps, Triple Triad?

Thank you for taking the time to read my post, please share your opinions below, I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

 

[yeah_93]

Not interested.

 

[Joshua]

Well written. Game seems low budget, low risk for SE. It's worth reminding that they took this approach once before when they released the Snowboarding mini game as a mobile phone app nearly a decade ago: http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Final_Fantasy_VII:_Snowboarding.

Of course, Final Fantasy VII: Snowboarding didn't look nearly as good as G-Racer does.

 

[LeonBlade]

Well written. Game seems low budget, low risk for SE. It's worth reminding that they took this approach once before when they released the Snowboarding mini game as a mobile phone app nearly a decade ago: http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Final_Fantasy_VII:_Snowboarding.

Of course, Final Fantasy VII: Snowboarding didn't look nearly as good as G-Racer does.

Thank you.

Yes, I agree with the low budget low risk. I'm interested in seeing if Snowboarding makes a return for a possible mobile game as well, as it was also a very fun mini game. Creating mobile games like this back then was a bit ahead of itself, as stated on that page it was only available on select phones. With smart phones, the adoption of mobile gaming has increased dramatically, now is the time to release something like this.

 

[LeonBlade]

Isn't that the point of video games though? Sure, there are games you play with rich story and gameplay, but sometimes you just want to play a game that is fun you can pick up and put down whenever you want, wherever you want.

If something is fun, isn't that good enough? Of course, if the gameplay doesn't interest you, then that's a different story.

 

[Azuardo]

I expected a totally half-arsed rip from the original game, and it turns out it's a full makeover with some actual effort put in. Yes, it's milking to a large degree - it's designed to pull in big FF7 fans that loved G-Bike - but it's a perfect phone game and time waster that will tempt anyone with some spare change in their wallet to give a go. If I was a smartphone owner, I'd pick it up, especially as I loved this mini-game in the original.

Triple Triad Online is what needs to happen more than anything else, though. But as much as I want that, I don't want a smartphone to play it so... :/

 

[LeonBlade]

I think I accurately described this already with my last post. Yes, this game will be something casual, but I think that's to be expected from a F2P mobile game, yes?

I expected a totally half-arsed rip from the original game, and it turns out it's a full makeover with some actual effort put in. Yes, it's milking to a large degree - it's designed to pull in big FF7 fans that loved G-Bike - but it's a perfect phone game and time waster that will tempt anyone with some spare change in their wallet to give a go. If I was a smartphone owner, I'd pick it up, especially as I loved this mini-game in the original.

Triple Triad Online is what needs to happen more than anything else, though. But as much as I want that, I don't want a smartphone to play it so... :/

I wasn't sure what to expect myself until I saw the video, it looks very well done. Square Enix loves fanservice, and so do I, so I'm not at all going to object to this. The game itself is going to be completely free with in-app purchases, similar to something like Square Enix's Guardian Cross, which is a simple F2P game, that's one of the most appealing aspects about this. If you can download it, just download it with no risks at all. It's a fun idea, and you don't even have to invest any money to play it.

I'm hoping to see Triple Triad added to Final Fantasy XIV... here's to my hopes and dreams!

 

[LeonBlade]

I can understand that point of view, I'm not sure about innovation or not, but I can't argue with your opinion. Thank you for your discussion so far.

 

[Fleur]

The trailer surprised me. Like Azuardo, I was expecting little, and instead they offer us something that had actual effort put into it, and a product that genuinely looks decent.

I will have to take a look at their business model first, because that ultimately is a large determiner of whether I will bother with a mobile game. If it's blatantly one of those pay to play titles that constrict you, the player, unless you wait/spend money to remove timers, I will immediately dismiss it. If the microtransactions are not ubiquitous or THAT necessary that I can happily spend time without having to put up with constant psychological warfare, then yes, I will happily try out the game.

Untrue.

You're going to have to substantiate this. While I agree that a large percentage of mobile games are sadly knockoffs of the most egregious calibre, to say that there is nothing innovative at all about them is ludicrous, especially when for a while, mobile has been a bastion of indie efforts and unique experiences either exclusive to your smartphone, or concurrent with counterpart PC releases.

 

[TRI Mike]

I'm surprised, it doesn't look bad at all. If it's cheap I might get it.

 

[LeonBlade]

I'm surprised, it doesn't look bad at all. If it's cheap I might get it.

I've said a few times in here, the game is F2P, how it will work, we'll have to wait and see, but look towards the Japanese F2P model for a general idea.

 

[TRI Mike]

That's awesome, better yet.

 

[Tani]

As far as i'm concerned, it's a nice time pass for me. I usually play games on my mobile so this will definitely be aq nice way to spend time. However the approach might be effective and i'm interested. However i'm not too excited about it xD
As far as the dislikes are concerned, i think those are some kids who didn't get what they want, Final Fantasy VII HD xD That's no surprise but seriously it's a shame an idea like this is getting so much hate because of other reasons entirely.

 

[LeonBlade]

As far as i'm concerned, it's a nice time pass for me. I usually play games on my mobile so this will definitely be aq nice way to spend time. However the approach might be effective and i'm interested. However i'm not too excited about it xD
As far as the dislikes are concerned, i think those are some kids who didn't get what they want, Final Fantasy VII HD xD That's no surprise but seriously it's a shame an idea like this is getting so much hate because of other reasons entirely.

Yes, perhaps the part about the YouTube dislikes is true, I can only imagine it to be so. Thank you for sharing your opinion.