[26/06] No Final Fantasy VII Remake Until Original Has Been Topped -- Square Enix CEO

[Jetstream Sam]

http://andriasang.com/con1ny/wada_on_ffvii_remake/?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed


Square Enix CEO Yoichi Wada gave today a specific condition on when we'll get a remake of Final Fantasy VII.
During the Q&A session of the company's annual shareholder's briefing, Wada was asked the expected question about the much wanted remake. His response was something to the effect of, we'll make a Final Fantasy VII remake once we've made a Final Fantasy game that exceeds the quality of FFVII.
If you get the feeling that this statement belittles Square Enix's current development prowess, you're pretty much spot on. Wada admitted that at present, the company is not making Final Fantasy games that exceed the quality of FFVII. If they were to release a 7 remake right now, the FF franchise would be done with, he said.
While the staff would happily make an FFVII remake, this is something that if they decided to do, they'd have to give it their full effort.




I seriously hope they never mention anything about the FF7 remake ever again, that and hopefully they stick to what they say. Oh, who am i kidding? Watch them say that they're considering remaking the game again.

 

[kratoscar2008]

FFVII is great but is not the best quality game from SE (At the time i think they could have acomplished much more graphically wise) HOWEVER the feeling that gives you when you play 7 is unique wich applies to all FF games.

They better dont make another remake of any FF anytime ever, they will just fuck it up, and i REALLY hope we dont see a sequel of any FF tittle Namely FFXIII, better make a new FF game that shows that Se can still make a new entry worth of the FF name.

Better leave good memories as it is.

 

[Ethics]

I don't understand why people are waiting for a remake of this game. No matter what they do, people won't be happy.

We want a remake! But we hate the voice actors, so keep it text! Oh, but text is dated, use OUR voice actors! Add new stuff! But make sure with the new stuff, you don't change anything!

FF7 created an insatiable monster that won't be downed until that generation of gamers die off. In truth, I'm happy they made this decision, classics should be classics, and FF7 isn't one of those games you can "tidy up" and re-release like the Jak series. I love the game and all, but there are too many different opinions that they need to please with a remake.

 

[Martel]

HURRAY!


​

It's about time Square Enix made up their minds and confirmed this one way or the other; their constant sitting on the fence regarding it and bringing it up in conversation just as it's been let lie has been extremely aggravating; it just adds fuel to the fire. To say no (and mean no, please) is the best thing they've done since...I don't know when.

As a side note, I hate FFVII, and would prefer them to put time into making new games anyway, even if all their new games are mediocre efforts. What, people don't think an FFVII remake would be the same? It's a very bad idea to wish for remakes of games you consider a "classic" in this day and age, especially when coming from a company as incompetent as Square Enix. Be thankful they're just crushing your dreams, rather than making them come true in the most twisted fashion possible.

 

[Ayumi Hamasaki]

I'm really happy about this.

Although Final Fantasy 7 is by no means an amazing game, and they've already topped it several times. I'm so sick of hearing about the remake of a game that doesn't even need one. It would be completely pointless, and all people would do is bitch about it.

And honestly, all people do now is bitch about how "incompetent" Square has become, so I mean, it's not like we need anymore self entitled whining.

 

[Starships]

It's sort of sad that SE thinks that FF7 is the best game in the series. Okay it sold well and it gained a large fanbase; but is it the best Final Fantasy ever created ? Not really...

Not calling FF VII awful or bad or anything. Though there's better Final Fantasy titles out there imo.

* cough Final Fantasy 9 *

 

[Ohri-Jin]

Alright VG247 has a slightly different article:


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Tue, Jun 26, 2012 | 06:57 BST

Wada: Final Fantasy VII remake would kill franchise

Square Enix CEO Yoichi Wada won’t sign off on a Final Fantasy VII remake until he’s sure current games live up to the brand’s reputation.

Andriasang reports Wada told shareholders that no Final Fantasy VII remake will happen until the company produces a new series entry which is higher quality the classic PSOne era RPG.

Wada apparently confirmed the implication that in his opinion, recent releases such as Final Fantasy XIII, XIII-2 and XIV haven’t met expectations of quality.
The executive said remaking Final Fantasy VII would irreparably damage the franchise.

Final Fantasy VII released for PSOne in 1997 and was the first entry in the critically acclaimed series to sport 3D graphics. It quickly gained a cult following based on its unusual, somewhat sci-fi setting, anime character designs, contemporarily stunning cut scenes, and complicated, mature story line.
Square Enix has repeatedly denied fan requests for a remake, although it did produce a sequel in the film Advent Children, a prequel in PSP bestseller Crisis Core, a tie-in mobile game which unfortunately didn’t leave Japan, and spin-off shooter Dirge of Cerberus.


Source - http://www.vg247.com/2012/06/26/wada-final-fantasy-vii-remake-would-kill-franchise/

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Red marked sentence! Finally Wada acknowledge the fact that the FFXIII is not on par when it comes to quality.
No FF7 untill new FF titles are on par with PSX era ff titles.

When will that happen? After FFXIII-3???????
After Versus?

lol I dont know what tot think, but at least Wada finally makes sense.

 

[Linnaete]

Wait, wait, wait. Which one was FFVII again? Was it this one:

For the love of everything that is holy, please shut the fuck up about FFVII. LET THAT SHIP GO! IT'S LEFT THE DOCKS LONG AGO! STOP TRYING TO PULL IT BACK!

If this - even at least temporarily - silences the unfathomably desperate demands for a FFVII remake, then so be it. Words cannot describe how annoying it is to read some of the most desperate cries for a remake, along with the furious fanboy rebuttals towards the people who dare to speak up and say that dedicating so much manpower on remaking a 15-year old game that every man and his dog can now easily gain access to is unnecessary. Then there's Square-Enix acting like FFVII is been the best game ever and hailing this masterpiece as a "God" game as if it is the pinnacle of everything. I don't see FFVI and FFIX getting even a fraction of the attention. As far as I'm concerned if I were an oblivious observer, I'd be led to believe there's only ever been one or two good Final Fantasy games with a "mature" storyline, great gameplay and everything there in an amiable package: FFVII, with maybe FFX in second place.

It's also staggering to see how powerful a force nostalgia is. FFVII in my opinion, isn't even that great - and the same goes to FFX. Yet since it's the first entry into the series and for others, the genre, for most people, it appears to possess this brilliant radiance that makes it a lot more deserving of its recognition of quality than any other entry. Fair play if you genuinely love it to pieces for reasons that are more to do than mere nostalgia, but I don't think it deserves all the accolades it receives and it just irks me when so many people overstate its qualities and designate FFVII as either one of, or the best game ever, or one of the best things ever made by a bunch of homosapiens.

I am mystified as to how we judge whether a game has "topped" FFVII. What do we mean by a game that can surpass FFVII? How do we determine this? I doubt it's based on sales because the franchise has gradually seen its sales figures decline since FFVIII and FFXIII-2 has been the absolute nadir point so far. In terms of review scores? I'm pretty sure everything from FFVII up to maybe FFXIII or FFXIII-2 has rated each of the entries on par or even higher. In terms of general fan popularity/reception? i.e. a game that isn't divisive? Good luck with that. The fanbase and the industry has changed a lot since a decade ago, and I'm pessimistically certain that no matter what you come out with, it won't evoke that same level of consensual satisfaction of previous generations. Fans are generally fickle and torn on what they want. Some like linearity, tightly-scripted narratives, conservatism in game mechanics, etc. and others are more inviting of more innovative ideas, bigger worlds, unconventional styles, and so on.

It will be great if they can finally abandon the woeful FFXIII series and start afresh with a new entry altogether - and just concentrate on applying lessons they have learnt to make something that's worth my time and £40+ for. It will be great if they can bring in fresh faces with fresh ideas who aren't clueless and have even a moderate idea of how things ought to be done now for Square-Enix to drag itself out of this quicksand. It will be great if they stop constantly looking back in an attempt to move forward while its competitors race firmly ahead and consolidate themselves as the clear alternatives to an ailing giant. It will be great if they stop applying models of thinking and production that are 5-10 years out of date. It will be great if they put some actual passionate effort into their projects instead of blatant cash-ins like FFXIII-2 and the unmitigated disaster of FFXIV's launch.

Oh, and before anyone suggests that Versus may surpass FFVII - I can't wait for its eventual release just to see what the reception will be. There's the slim chance that it will be hailed as one of the best games ever that is totally worth the wait, and there's the more likely chance that in some way - or multiple ways - a significant chunk of people at the very least will be royally pissed off or awfully disappointed. If Versus can challenge my pessimistic prediction and make me a firm fan, then I certainly invite it! I don't come in wanting a game to be shit just to amuse myself with my hate. Believe it or not, I want good standards and I want to come in to a game to like and enjoy it.

Oh, and they already have topped FFVII in my opinion. They're called FFVI and FFIX. I'm tempted to mention FFXII too as it surpasses FFVII in its own ways.

 

[RioDragon]

Final Fantasies 1-6, 8, 9, and 12 all exceeded 7 in quality, IMO.

Condition met, Square. (Not that I care for a VII remake, but it's gotta be better than XIII-3, XIII-4, XIII-5, etc.)

 

[Shaissa]

*clap clap*

Thanks for stating the same thing you have been saying for years... Fans are just to deaf to hear it...
"We are not going remake FFVII game"
someone that worked on the FFVII game "Yes I would like to work on it but only if we get the original team back together, which is impossible since we are all on different titles for quite some time so it wont happen for years"
Some fan on the web reads these two and writes this...
"We are... going remake FFVII...with original Team...back together..."
Fans flip out...
Square repost this "We are not going remake FFVII!"
Fans flip out... booo
someone makes a fake FFVII remake....
Fans flip out...

Seriously this has been going back and forth for YEARS!

I mean yes I'm glad they said something...yet again... but it wont stop the Die hard fans from going "WE WANT A REMAKE WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA WAAAAAAAAAAAAAA WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA WAAAAAAAAAAA"

 

[Linnaete]

It's also a little embarrassing that they're so keen on chasing the ghosts of FFVII, shall we speak - to the extent that they throw around homages to FFVII in whatever ways they can, from Lightning being conceived as essentially Cloud with tits and hair of a slightly different colour to Caius putting Yeul's body in the water.

They won't find new success and solutions in trying to chase after the days of FFVII over and over again. Focus on now and the future. Do a better job of pulling yourself out of this shite and finish what you are supposed to do to please at least the shareholders instead of bleating about how great it was back in the 1990s...

 

[Hliðskjálf]

we'll make a Final Fantasy VII remake once we've made a Final Fantasy game that exceeds the quality of FFVII.

or "we'll remake this game once we've finally reached rock bottom"

 

[PhoenyxAngel]

Wait, wait, wait. Which one was FFVII again? Was it this one:

Oh sweet baby Buddha, thank you so much for sharing that......this is fucking beautiful

I also agree with most of your post. Nostalgia plays a big part in it. I happen to be a big fan of FFX, and maybe it's because I was younger and it was my first game on the PS2, and the first FF game I finished. So maybe nostalgia is the reason it's my favorite...idk. I know I do like it for many, many other reasons (battle system, sphere grid, the story, the world of Spira, the use of a corrupt religion and the politics of religion as central theme, etc.)

The only part I don't agree with your post is that you want to add FFXII to the list of games that exceeded FFVII....personally I don't see that being the case at all, but to each their own. FFVI and FFIX? Most definitely.

 

[RioDragon]

My argument is that XII was better because it was basically Star Wars' Original Trilogy and I liked more of the cast of XII than I did with VII (I only liked Aerith, LOOK HOW LONG SHE LASTED). Also, I liked the combat, too. It was basically Knights of the Old Republic.

 

[Martel]

The number of likes my last post got disturbed me. Especially considering I was insulting FFVII. I was expecting the fans to descend upon me with butchering axes, or burn me to death in a wicker-man shaped like Sephiroth, whilst dancing around it chanting One Winged Angel. It wouldn't be the first time...

Refusal to remake the title is actually a smart move by Square Enix though: at least they're not going to turn into Nintendo, who have re-released Ocarina of Time so many fucking times now that they've highlighted just how little the Zelda series has progressed beyond it; every Zelda game after Ocarina of Time is just Ocarina of Time with a new coat of paint, which has long since flaked off. It's like decorating a decades old wedding cake with icing...think of Nintendo as Miss Havisham, if you will. Right down to the spooky mansion. But with this blatant denial, at least fans who think the FF series has evolved and gotten better since FFVII can continue to bathe happily in their delusions, never the wiser that they've been playing essentially the same game since it was released (especially with FFXIII, which is FFVII in a straight line with a *barely* gender bent Cloud and no Sephiroth) and those who think FFVII is more amazing than Chuck Norris making sliced bread don't have to come crashing back down to reality either when they realise just how piss-poor the game is, and how much of a difference those subtle little additions and subtractions they make to make it seem as though the game they're playing isn't FFVII really matter. Everyone is happy this way; even the fans who wanted a remake. They've got something they can eternally complain about. Anyone who says they don't enjoy having something to complain about is lying through their teeth.

...although they're kidding themselves if they think VII is the best FF they've ever made. That goes BEYOND delusional; that's Drakengard-level fucked up. Only not quite so awesome. VII has nostalgia value only; like Ocarina of Time, it's time is long past, and whilst Square Enix might not have progressed very far beyond it overall (there are exceptions, like XII) other developers have made games that really show FFVII up. FFVII is an outdated piece of rubbish in this modern era despite the stagnation we're suffering with video games; remaking it would only serve to highlight how antiquated its plot is, and how may times Square Enix and other developers have plagiarized it over recent years. Although perhaps doing so would get people to appreciate decent JRPGs; there would be so few left that it'd be difficult not to.

Also, comparing FFXII to Star Wars is perhaps the worst comparison one could make. Might as well try to compare it to FFXIII for all they have in common. Just saying.

 

[Channizard]

The number of likes my last post got disturbed me. Especially considering I was insulting FFVII. I was expecting the fans to descend upon me with butchering axes, or burn me to death in a wicker-man shaped like Sephiroth, whilst dancing around it chanting One Winged Angel. It wouldn't be the first time...

Enter Channy.

If I may be so bold as to say that any TRUE VII Fan would want a remake, regardless of how it turns out. I count myself as one of those. I'm a nostalgia fan of VII. It was my first FF, my first RPG ever actually if I can recall and I loved it to bits. Still do if you can count the thousands of dollars I've blown on merchandise. Do I want a remake? Heck yes I do, but will I stop playing the original any? Fuck no, it's still there for me to enjoy. If the rest of the compilation never happened, I probably wouldn't want a remake very much, but after hearing the majority of the cast with (mostly) beautiful voices, and engaging, beautiful environments with full 3D renders.. and ever since the announcement of Advent Children when it was suspected to be a PS2 remake, well.. that's when it all started. REAL fans might not remember that.

This generations of gamers have nearly ruined the idea of a VII remake. I say nearly, because I'll never really give up on it. They say "Well get better voice actors for so-and-so" no.. just be consistent with it! Aerith has had 3 VA's over the titles. WTF. "Well, we just want pretty graphics", aye, I do as well, SE you teased us with ACC and we can never completely give up the idea of a remake if we know THAT'S what you're capable of. "Well, they can't retcon anything. Leave it 100% original, otherwise it's ruined." This just completely baffles me beyond belief and it's ridiculous, and it insults a lot of fans of VII.

I DO want to see a retconned VII:Re. I WANT to see Banora Ruins and Old Modeoheim.. I WANT to come across all these other things, just even tiny small allusions, but acknowledge that they're there at least for the rest of the Comp to make sense. If people think that that ruins the rest of the game, then they've already ruined the experience for themselves by going in with that mindset. A TRUE fan would go in, not demanding anything from SE, not expecting it to be perfect but going in with an OPEN MIND and being GRATEFUL that they would spend the TIME on a project to acknowledge all the fans that want it. I for one, would be very grateful because it gives me another chance to experience the world I fell in love with 10 years ago. I can still do that any time with the original game, but would a remake be any more fullfilling? No, but it would be appreciated.

 

[Martel]

That's a very easy and self-righteous stance to take when there is minimal chance you'll ever get called out on it by Square Enix...although I have no problem calling you out on it, because that's one of the most blatant lies I've ever seen on these forums. I guarantee that any FFVII fan who was arrogant enough to consider themselves a "TRUE" fan would be bitching right along with the rest of the "regular" fans that the remake didn't live up to their expectations. People are impossible to please; expectations are NEVER met. The greater the experience, the less likely the expectations are met.

You wouldn't be pleased with just anything, and approaching a remake with an open mind is an impossibility, especially if you consider yourself a TRUE fan, or whatever other bollocks you want to use to make yourself out to be better than the other fans. It "wouldn't be FFVII" if you didn't like it. You'd expect that same feeling you got the first time around, and if you didn't get it, you'd bitch more than I do about it. If anything, you would approach FFVII with the most closed mind of all, because you'd want that experience duplicated. Appreciated? Only if you got what you wanted, which is so narrow in scope the probability of it happening if something like this ever happened is even more minimal than it would be otherwise.

What utter bollocks.

 

[Channizard]

Not true, and I don't think that you can speak for how I would be expected to act about it. I can't say for 100% certain how I would feel about the game, but sure, I may have reservations. VII was by no means a perfect game, I'm not of that delusional fanbase. But it had a lot of things the others didn't. It had a very engaging, and thought out backstory that wove together the way of the world and the cycle of life with how it affected the heroes. It had a magic system that didn't make people want to tear out their hair (I'm looking at yoooou, Junctioning.) It had memorable characters, and a musical piece that was recognized in the 100 Classical Pieces of all time. There is no doubting that VII had something very special.

But it still wasn't perfect. There was still plenty of room for improvement. It was a rushed project as it got closer to the end, there were incomplete areas, forgotten materia, optional characters that weren't really expanded upon. A remake could fix all that. Leave the Materia system alone, but add in the forgotten pieces from the Debug Room. Fix all the tiny pieces of cinematic continuity errors. Add in additional endings for Yuffie and Vincent, and elaborate on their backstories. Touch on the Wutai/Shinra War. Talk more about Lucrecia. I don't think 20 min cut scene inclusions did EITHER of those characters justice.

What I'm asking is nothing short of a miracle because it's basically a request to 'fix what isn't broken'. Would I be pissed if they took out the Wall-Market scene because it didn't fit the new feel of the upgraded game? Yeah, you can't just cut out a crucial part. Of course I'd be pissed. Would I be annoyed if they fiddled with some of the more interactive scenes, like the Shinra March, and scaling the building? Probably.

But overall I'd still be grateful because SE has said nothing over the years but to the tune of "VII:Re will be a complicated project. It can't be done." So something that couldn't be done but they tried anyway? Yah, I'd really appreciate that. It'd be a huge gamble on their part, especially since their recent games haven't been wholey promising. And that's why they're holding off on it. XIII had a lot of problems. So XIII-2 tried to do everything opposite to XIII to fix those problems. It's the same way that X-2 was treated to X, and that's why I can't take XIII-2 seriously. I LOVED X so I managed to fall in love with X-2 as well, but a lot of people didn't. So while I hated XIII, I won't even waste my time with XIII-2 because I have no faith in it either. The idea behind it, the characters I never really liked to begin with, it's all just... poo.

So at LEAST SE has acknowledge that their recent games haven't been up to snuff of the PSX era, and will forego a Remake because it would potentially ruin them. But I do, I have faith they could do it. Maybe not with the exact current team of SE now, bring back a lot of the old staff and we'll talk.

ETA: Am I an arrogant elitist FFVII fan? Oh totally, I don't deny it. I love that game and universe more than anything ever in videogame, visual, or literature history. I don't even really care for the rest of the FF franchise, but I gave each one a chance. I don't stand as a "True fan of all FF", I stand as a "True FFVII fan" if the multitude of merchandise, weapons, jewelry, promo's painted all over my room stands for anything. I'm well aware of this, but I think that.. maybe not a TRUE fan, but a GOOD fan, would go in open minded. Yeah, I'll have my expectations but I try to dispell them because I don't want to ruin the experience for myself.

And contrary to the usual assumption, I wouldn't go into it wanting to feel EXACTLY the same way, I'd want to go in feeling something new. It is, essentially, a new game. With the same world, same characters, but a new game. I felt something new for each of the VII Comp titles. I hated DoC, but I loved CC. I felt something new for each of them and experience different things playing those games. Some good, some bad. But you take it with you as you go.

I don't think anyone should ever go into any game ever expecting anything because right away, they'll be let down. They've already set them selves up for disappointment.

 

[Martel]

Well, I don't think YOU can speak as though you're better than every other FFVII fan; which I know you're promptly going to deny, but you have a decidedly holier-than-thou attitude in your first post which cannot be construed as anything other than blatantly insulting. I will speak as I please, as I always have. If you don't like it, block me. It's that simple. And before you start whining about insults or direct attacks, I will point you to your assertion that every FFVII fan is inferior to you, a TRUE fan who would apparently accept anything and everything, which is a direct attack on everyone who might be an FFVII fan and would have standards for a remake.

Your assertion of being a "TRUE fan" also contradicts your assertion that you're not part of the delusional fanbase, because only someone from said fanbase would speak of themselves like that.

I could care less what you think of VII, so I'm just going to skip over that; that isn't the point I'm addressing. Whatever works for you; I would and could contend that FFVII had nothing special, and my points would be equally as valid as yours, but I can't be arsed to go into it, because it would be very much like talking to a wall. Plus it's off topic....and a waste of my time besides. This entire conversation is a waste of my time, but I have a point to make.

The funny thing about gambles is that they're only appreciated if they pay off. Talk is cheap. The simple fact of it is that neither of us will ever prove our point unless a remake is actually made. But I'm still going to call bullshit, because this happened prior to FFXIII's release, and look at how THAT turned out. Suddenly all those people who were telling the others to lay off Square Enix were nowhere to be seen. Putting your money where your mouth is isn't as easy as people like to think.

You're already picking holes, contradicting yourself. "Bring back the old staff"? You're already setting conditions, conditions an OPEN MIND wouldn't make, because that would be, y'know, close-minded. Fancy that. So much for being a TRUE fan, eh? Surely a TRUE fan would take Square Enix as it is and have this magical-girl level of faith that they could pull it off despite their recent abysmal performance? Ha. You prove my own points for me. I'm done now. Think before you open your mouth and pass yourself off as superior to every FFVII fan next time, eh?

...yes, I am acutely aware of the hypocrisy of the holier-than-thou attitude I'm taking in response to yours. But I don't really care; unlike some, I will openly admit these things.

 

[Razberry Knight]

I'm not going to make a long post but really the ff6/7 description was quite vague. Only showing the similarities there are many things that made the game different. Honestly it was a vague explanation. The only thing they share in common is theyre expirement which granted that is a significantly big similarity. But other than that...getting a wing(s) near the end?

FF7 arent deaf. But this is the first i see of any comparison. If you all believe ff7 has too many similarities to be a great game. I respectfully disagree.


Now i admit ff7 isnt the worlds greatest FF game...but think about it. It was the first 3D FF game and had a vast world. Several different minigames and optional events an introduction to limit breaks. It just had so much to do. The story was also engaging and the only real issues was compared to FF8 and ff9, it does not age well because of the poor graphics.

Also due to compilation of ff7 that have games such as Dirge of Cerberus and Crisis Core (and the possible . The sequels just resemble the original. I guarantee we wont hate it because Wada is right. Currently theyre not making games upto previous calibur. Dont get me wrong ffx is about a whole different revolution to FF, FF7 was just ahead of its time but not enough for non-fans to see it.