Newest from Verendus, who teased this remake since late 2013 when it has been in planning stages already:
"I'll just tell you some of what I know then. Boring, long post coming.
So when planning began a long time ago, there were several issues. It's a big game, it's very important to Kitase, and obviously Nomura, and fans. There were other issues here, but we'll just skip to the game. You're going to remake this game. Now, people will say that since there's already a story, music, script, that a lot of the work is done. This is wrong. You have a starting point, but this is very much like building a new game. That takes a very long time.
Since there's a huge difference in technology, and this is the remake of a game that exists, you have to go through, and address everything. You have to get the scenes, and then decide what you're going to do with them. Some stuff is pretty clear, and it's mostly about presentation. For example, nothing major storywise is being changed. No one has to worry about that. Cloud is still a nutcase, Aeris is still going to die, Weapons are going to run rampant, the Lifestream, and pretty much every important story moment is going to be present. That's FF7. You can't change that. But because this is a new generation of technology, and it's a proper game, that alone brings changes from a design point of view.
Now you have a balancing act of lots of small things, and lots of major things. Kitase, I can assure you, is someone who is quite involved in making sure they try to stay as faithful as possible. He's someone who worried the most originally about this project, and he's also someone who's heavily involved right now. And the original writer is back with Nomura too, so it's a big thing.
Let's use examples:
They want to integrate Zack more, so how do you do it? In the original, it's very much an optional thing, but that's not as realistic now. You can flesh it out too, but in order to integrate it, it needs to be placed somewhere. This is a technically a script change, but it's not a bad thing. It also takes work.
Characters like Yuffie and Vincent which are optional need to be integrated.
How do you tackle the implied sex scene in this game? This is going to be in the game, but it's another presentation issue. How do you do it this time, over two decades later?
How do you tackle Cloud beating the hell out of Aeris? It was fine then, but this needs to be thought about. It's kind of an important story beat for his character because of what happens next, so do you want to change it? But at the same time, is it something you're comfortable leaving in, or should it be altered a little?
A lot of the side story stuff, can it be integrated better, or will some of it have to be cut?
They need to change up the Junon infiltration a little. Red XIII being in a suit isn't that big of a deal, but the ship aspect needs to be worked on now because you have a parade, which then leads to boarding the ship, and the big boss battle. This area and sequence has to be overhauled. It's a good amount of work.
Everything related to the story needs to be addressed within the confines of the new game, and the presentation of that new game on current technology. This means going through all of that, and seeing how to fit in the important things, what to flesh out, and what to alter. Basically, you're designing everything again. There's something to work with, but it's much like creating something new due to the work it actually involves.
Separate to that, there are a lot of other things. There are a lot of mini-games in FF7, notably the snowboarding game, and also the Chocobo breeding. With the former, it doesn't make as much sense to have it happen like that, so you need to integrate it all again, but at the same time, you can still leave something as a nod for fans. How do you do this? Is it possible to do that? Then there is also the case of some stuff being replaced, and maybe Nomura wanting to add other mini-games.
Basically, it's a lot of work. They have to prioritise major things with minor things, and as time goes on, they'll probably have to do it again depending on the development progress. This doesn't mean they can't show you anything this winter. Far from it. They're at a place right now, where they have a little to show, but it's a big game, and it's still in its infancy. It's not as simple as if they have something to show, then they're really ahead of the game. They're not rushing this.
It's important to all of them to remain as faithful as possible, but at the same time, create a new FF7 for a new generation of fans as well as old, and something which takes advantage of what is available today. This means design changes, execution changes, alterations etc. And because you're not just creating something new, and have to keep in mind a beloved game, the cuts you decide to make, or the changes you decide to do, have to be careful. As time goes on, and more work is done, there'll probably be other changes too. It's also important that the creators create something that they're pleased with because this is a project that's going to take a lot of their investment, time, and effort. It's unfair to not give them a chance to show you their new vivion at least.
This game being announced right now isn't ideal. That wasn't the plan. This time last year, no one was thinking, "Hell yeah, let's announce FF7, and have fans wait a few years again! That's going to be great!"
But the problem is, PS4 isn't doing great in Japan. There are a bunch of issues, FFXV has taken longer than expected, and it's basically a crap situation to be in if I'm frank. So this announcement is there to build some faith, and also try to make people believe that there are a lot of big plans for the PS4. And there is a lot to come, but because of so many issues, it's taken time. Thankfully, since FFXV is around the corner, and KH3 is also progressing well, it's not that bad of a time really. Those games are coming soon, and this announcement happening now, as well as those games releasing should help fans believe more in companies trying their best to get content out there.
It also didn't help that FFXV had a bit of a negative shadow over it with people complaining last year when it was revealed Nomura has been removed, and then again recently when Tabata mentioned the changes. Now people know what Nomura is doing. There doesn't need to be doom and gloom over him leaving. He's busy, he's working on something. Leave him to it.
FFXV, also, can now be focused on as its own entity, and hopefully have people look at it as what it is rather than what they felt it could have been. And this game is actually coming soon, so there's something to be actually be excited for."
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=169176782#post169176782
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"I like the idea, but I don't think they're intending on sticking to the original depiction of the character. I like the lonely, sudden, and brutal death he has in the original. It's brief, and it makes you think. Not everyone dies like a hero. I don't really like the overly dramatic one he was given later in Crisis Core, which I think is basically terrible. I'm sure the former isn't what's going to be in there though. They're going to add some stuff, and this is one of those things I imagine they're going to add to, rather than just altering it.
All I remember saying to Kitase was that they shouldn't shy away from the harsh things. They're always thinking about what their western fans want, and FF7 has a lot of little moments, which depicted today, would feel a little grim. They need to go for them, and not shy away because they're afraid of how people might react. People will appreciate this more.
All I know is, if Cloud still beats the hell out of Aeris, I'm taking credit for its inclusion."
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=169180762&postcount=8237
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"All I know is from planning long ago, and that was that it was going to become more action oriented. But that in itself, doesn't really mean anything. I haven't seen the battle system (or what they have right now), so I genuinely don't know what that could be. I, personally, haven't been expecting a full action based system overhaul, and am expecting some kind of evolution or hybrid thing. That's been my impression anyway.
That's speculation based on something from long ago, so it's probably not worth much right now. Especially since I've seen first-hand how FFXV went through some changes in that aspect. I'll know soon enough since I'll get a chance to see what they've been doing. Pretty curious on actually seeing this game, rather than just plans and concepts or whatever. It's been a really long time."
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=169185527&postcount=8292
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