Kitase: No FFVII remake project “yet,” play PSN release “for the time being”

[Stoic Hero]

Wow, I guess I'm in the minority here when I say I want a remake. The original is great, (almost legendary, as far as reception goes) but just picture a remake with gorgeous HD graphics, voice-acting, totally redesigned towns and battlefields. Let's face it, even by today's standards Final Fantasy VII's story is epic. Slap on some amazing graphics and some voice-acting, and Final Fantasy VII will explode like never before. Mark my words, a remake will be a very good thing for both fan and developer alike.

 

[EvenAngels]

Well you see... To me, that's the problem. It would explode like never before... And considering how much they've milked it already, it could just lead to more spin offs and the like. I'm still waiting for the announcement of a sequel to DoC... Given the extra ending bit, it just seems so likely... ¬¬

Don't get me wrong, I love VII... Or rather, I loved VII, but now its just overdone... If it were to "explode" again... I think it would be good for the developer at first, but people may start resenting them for reusing the same thing again and again...

 

[Gaige]

It would explode, but as EvenAngels has already said, we would be catapaulted head first into another load of VII spinoffs and remakes of the spinoffs. SquareEnix probably wouldn't focus on the upcoming XIV and XV should it follow, and we'd be forced to play an unoriginal, slightly boring game. So what if it has better graphics? So what if I can see Aerith die in HD graphics? Same story, same oncept, same game. Boring, hackneyed, cheap and repetitive. That's my belief.

 

[hidachi4]

*shrugs* I'm not overreacting. I simply don't want a remake. I knew I'd get attacked by the FFVII fanboys and girls, but hey. I have my opinion. If you don't like it that's your problem. For one, they screwed up the way the original scene at the mako reactor in Nibelheim went in Crisis Core. They added Genesis. He was never there in the original game, so there's one example of a screw up of the original story. I'm not overreacting about anything. I'm just tired of FFVII this and FFVII that. I don't dislike it. I'm just burnt out on it. I think other games deserve more attention. FFVII isn't the only Final Fantasy out there that people enjoyed. Oh and as for my story? I'm not currently writing it and haven't been writing it for a very long time because...gee...I'm burnt out on it, just like I said.

lol........I'm not attacking you, I don't really care. I didn't say anything about your opinion, was just talking about it in a general sense. I was just disagreeing that they have "milked" this game hard because you make it sound like they have just been trying to make as much money as possible out of the original. They could have released Crisis Core for the PS2 instead of the PSP, which would have made them A LOT more money, but it would have had a greater chance of damaging the original in many people's minds. As it stands they left the original alone for NINE years.

Also this "fanboy" or "fangirl" term gets thrown around too much as an insult. I'm pretty sure we are all "fanboys" or "fangirls" of the FF series to some degree or we wouldn't be posting on a FF forum.

I don't necessarily want a FF7 remake either. Genesis was a terrible character and I don't want to hear his name ever again. If they did remake it it would be a delicate process to not damage the original and I'm pretty sure they know this.

Anyway I agree that other titles should get more attention. As I said before FF6 would be very difficult to remake but it could be done with a greater degree of error than FF7, 8 etc.

 

[Stoic Hero]

If you look at it that way, nothing under the sun is new. I've saved millions of princesses, visited countless ancient civilizations, defeated numerous emperors and dictators, met tons of dragons and mythical creatures. It may be the same story, but bringing it into a new light will make it fresh, just like a new Mario, Zelda, Metroid, etc. makes the series fresh. Twilight Princess, for all intents and purposes, is the same story as Ocarina of Time and A Link to the Past, just retold in a different way. You're still in the role of a hero setting out to save the world. Same with a remake of VII. You'd still be a group of heroes trying to save the world. Sure, you've heard the story before, but you've heard the good vs evil heroes conquer all story all your life, and you still buy the games and enjoy the story.

Sorry if that was confusing, what I'm basically trying to say is don't underestimate the epicness of the story. When brought into a new light, every story can be made fresh, even if it has been told before.

 

[Gaige]

Saved countless princesses etc? Yes. Different princesses. It doesn't really matter if Aerith and Cloud are remade with new graphics, they're still Aerith and Cloud. Nothing new would come into the equation, and, like I've already stated, future, newer Final Fantasies will be pushed to the sidelines in favour of a story we've already experienced.

 

[Gingerbread Lesbian]

Personally, I don't think an FFVII remake would necessarily sell better than any other game, the large majority of the people that are really asking for it are the fanboys and fangirls of the compilation. I'd put money on the likes of CoD etc would destroy it in terms of sales and quality

 

[hidachi4]

Saved countless princesses etc? Yes. Different princesses. It doesn't really matter if Aerith and Cloud are remade with new graphics, they're still Aerith and Cloud. Nothing new would come into the equation, and, like I've already stated, future, newer Final Fantasies will be pushed to the sidelines in favour of a story we've already experienced.

I think FF11 and FF14 have pushed back newer FFs 10 times more than any remake could. They are getting away from what they do best in attempt to get a piece of the market which includes ridiculous cash cows like WoW.

 

[Serah]

lol........I'm not attacking you, I don't really care. I didn't say anything about your opinion, was just talking about it in a general sense. I was just disagreeing that they have "milked" this game hard because you make it sound like they have just been trying to make as much money as possible out of the original.

You weren't attacking but you were accusing me of overreacting which I was hardly doing. I was just posting my personal opinion. And they haven't milked it? LOL Bullshit. What are Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, The Lost Episode, Crisis Core, Before Crisis, Case of Denzel OVA, all the novellas, Advent Children Complete and all FFVII merchandise for? If you seriously think they aren't releasing all this stuff because they know it's a cash cow, then I dunno who you've been listening to.

Also this "fanboy" or "fangirl" term gets thrown around too much as an insult. I'm pretty sure we are all "fanboys" or "fangirls" of the FF series to some degree or we wouldn't be posting on a FF forum.

I wasn't using the term as an insult. I'll be the first to admit I'm a Final Fantasy fangirl. I love VI, VIII, IX and X. I was just meaning the FFVII fanboys and girls in general would come after me because I posted my opinion regarding a remake.

 

[Rey]

Guys the other Final Fantasys need much more love. Final Fantasy VII is not the only one that is good. IMHO VIII and even Ix were better(I hope Mokken does not see this) VIII is a very long game and its beautiful. Just cause VII is overrated and a very good game if you play it more than 2 times it will get boring. The only things I care for in VII are Tifa and Aerith. I like Zack but he died and so did Aerith. Also about VII Advent Children was good but not the best to say omg VII is Sure so much people love VII so much but look There is XIII being made! I bet XIII will be better than VII and probably others. Also XIII is making like 3 games so far in the series. Fabula Novala Crystallis consits of XIII Versus XIII and Agito XIII. Lightning is not a cloud remake or something. To me from what I have seen she looks like a really awesome character. Also does everyone like the villian Sephiroth? No. Sephiroh was added into AC cause everybody liked him so much. So he thing is there are better FFs out there and the world does not revolve on VII only.

 

[hidachi4]

I'm not denying that they have milked it somewhat. I just think that they could have milked it 10x more but they haven't because it's important to them to protect the original. They could have packaged dog crap in a case entitled "FF7: The Sequel" for PS2 and it would have sold 8 million copies. I kinda view Crisis Core the same way I do Dissidia. Yes, they are released to make money but they have also been released for a much less lucrative system, which is essentially leaving lots of money on the table. I kinda think those games were developed and released for the fans.

Anyway I'm kinda babbling now. Hopefully they remake FF6 first (and possibly 5), so those that are currently tired of FF7 will likely be more receptive to a possible remake in the future.

 

[Dionysos]

I'm not denying that they have milked it somewhat. I just think that they could have milked it 10x more but they haven't because it's important to them to protect the original.

This is where some people will disagree. A lot of people, myself included, feel that they have done a lot to undermine the impact of the original with the expansions. With the introduction of Genesis, and having him like a lesser-Sephiroth, suddenly makes Sephiroth seem less important and just like a stronger version of a concept that wasn't new at all.

Crisis Core had a heck of a lot of people grow wings, turn manky, and fly off crying their eyes out because they are becoming so lame. With all this and pretty big events happening in Crisis Core, such as

Spoiler

Midgar and Junon being attacked by flying men that happen to be Genesis "copies"

, the impact of Sephiroth being THE legendary SOLDIER that turned on Shinra is immediately lost, as Genesis formed a heck of a fuss himself.

I kinda view Crisis Core the same way I do Dissidia. Yes, they are released to make money but they have also been released for a much less lucrative system, which is essentially leaving lots of money on the table. I kinda think those games were developed and released for the fans.

I guess you could say that they were both made for the fans. They were. But there is a difference. Dissidia wasn't created to expand or mess with an existing story. It essentially is what it is meant to be, a fighting game with FF characters fighting in. Yes they created a story, purely to have a story mode I guess (though they have done a good job to have the story fit in with what is at FF's heart), but the main aim was to have an FF fighter and the stories are not meant to retcon the respective games that each character comes from. They are completely seperate. It is just a game for fans to have fun playing as some of their favourite characters.

Crisis Core however attempted to be a prequel. And since just repeating the Nibelheim incident and havng

Spoiler

Zack shot

would have been short on its own, they invented loads of other stuff to expand it out. It is at this point that some people (not all) feel the mistakes were made and suddenly part of the history and backstory of FF7 was rewritten.


I feel the topic has turned into something of a debate when it is essentially meant to be about the news article. I'll get back on topic.

So my point is, if they make a remake they might feel the need to put some of the changes to the history, or at least references to them, into the game. For example Genesis might appear in flashbacks at Nibelheim. I'd personally not like to see them do any changes like that, and plenty of people feel the same way. But the sad thing is, if they don't put them in people might instead now be saying "uh! Where is Genesis?".

 

[Fusionist]

I'm still waiting for the announcement of a sequel to DoC... Given the extra ending bit, it just seems so likely... ¬¬

I've often said that I wanted another installment taking place after DoC because of the open-ended secret ending it has. I might be wrong, but I think it's hard to leave a story alone when there's such a gaping ending that doesn't resolve anything.

I think technically, the actual FFVII story ending is that scene 500 years after the game ends with Nanaki and his cubs, but with DoC ending the way it did, it doesn't really fill the gap to that scene, right?

I will say that I believe there won't be a sequel to DoC per se, but some kind of installment taking place after DoC. Doesn't necessarily have to be centered around Vincent again

 

[Rey]

So what do you think will be different about a remake? The fact that it will be even more overated? Maybe voice acting would be nie but still it wont change the game that much at all. Whats the point of a remake of a great game anyway? Just for next gen graphics? Sure graphics and voice would be nice but it still wont change the game. It will just be even more overated.

 

[HighwindPilot]

As for "milking" FFVII, I would hardly include "Last Order" or the novellas in this. None of these things were even close to mainstream, and hardly any hype circulated around them. Last Order was just taking what we've already seen, and expanding on it a bit more in "anime" format. Nothing was even retconned in this like with CC. The novellas meanwhile, appear to be nothing more than nice little installments made by writers who enjoy the world and story of FFVII, and thereby cater to the more hardcore fans who'd like to dive into the series more. It's comparable to the Expanded Universe of Star Wars vs the movies. These installments were never pushed on anyone. BC kind of falls in this category as well.

I wouldn't say that "Advent Children" did this either. Advent Children, while suffering from a narrow plot and stunted elements, was kind of a necessesity for some, because it allowed everyone to rest assure after the huge bang out that VII ended with. In addition to this, it allowed everyone to have a taste of FFVII with the latest CG tech - which, let's face it, nearly everyone wanted to catch at the time. Lastly, it was the first of the "core" installments, so I'd hardly say they were milking it at this time.

Only with the remaining two "core" additions, Crisis Core and Dirge of Cerberus, would I say they milked it. I'm less inclined to say so about Crisis Core, because if you actually hear them talk about it, they came up with the idea on a whim. It seemed like a project they wanted to do for enjoyment. Nevertheless, even though it's merely expanding on the story of Zack (which was kind of shrouded in mystery during FFVII), I can still see how this would be considered "milked". Dirge on the other hand, was a definite fucking exrtortion of Cash Cow. They took a character now cliche in today's time, and rode his cliche hard, seemingly focusing on nothing more than "making uberz awesumz Edward Cull--I mean Vincent, as much of a badass as possible". That was milking it, because there seemed no honesty behind it.

All that being said, no one here is talking about more additions to compilations. This is about the remake of the game itself. If I-IV got it, why not V, VI, and yes, VII? I like how everyone's so quick to pass purely negative speculation on it. Why would there be something like "no World Map" simply because the newer installments don't have one? They were continuing to evolve things in the main FF series when they were remaking I-IV, but we didn't see any vast changes like that in them. I'm sure they can grasp the concept of a remake.

I kind of understood the continuity thing after Argor's response about Crisis Core's retcons showing up, but even now, I'm not so certain about that. Yes, Crisis Core retconned things, and yes, it was absolutely disgusting. But 99% of it (if not all), pertained mostly to that era and to Zack. And that whole Nibelheim scene at the reactor is really only explored twice in the initial FFVII, but considering it was done through the eyes of Cloud and Tifa - Genesis would be nowhere in sight, as neither even knew of him.

And as far as any recollections or references? Cloud was never even conscious or present when Genesis showed up. Rufus wasn't around at the time. President Shinra doesn't last that long in the game to begin with. Most of the initial people from the tale who truly had relation to Genesis are dead (Zack, Angeal, The Director). And I highly doubt Tseng or Sephiroth would go name drop him in a monologue. The only person who might possibly reference Genesis would be Hojo, and that's questionable. If he's got no business there, they won't force it. Just look at Dirge, Genesis was never spoken of - not even by Reeve, who was a part of Shinra at the time. Why? He wasn't relevant to anything at hand, nor would he be in VII.

So I don't see why continuity changes would be any more an issue of an FFVII remake than it would be for any of the others. Kitase said in an interview that in doing the project, he'd want all of the game's initial Core developers. To me, that shows that the project itself means a lot to the team and is handled with care as a personal project (not just a homage to fans). With that in mind, I'd trust them to execute it very well.

------

*shrugs* I'm not overreacting. I simply don't want a remake. I knew I'd get attacked by the FFVII fanboys and girls, but hey. I have my opinion.

Contrary to your defense later in the thread, this comes across in a very inculpating tone. As one of only two people disagreed with your post at the time, I feel this warrants a response.

#1. Please spare the drama. No one attacked you - at all. I merely asked why FFVII received a double-standard compared to the others. You had fear of the continuity being screwed, but felt that others should receive that focus. Argor's response sufficed, although there're still things I'd like to address on that. Additionally, I asked why VIII should get attention. And pretty much, lastly, pointed out how silly it is for compilations to decrease positive feeling towards FFVII in general - and it is. None of this was done aggressively.

#2. I don't understand why or how defending something you feel positively towards or questioning opposing responses automatically equates to being a fanboy or fangirl. You can soften it however you'd like, but given the kind of tone or context the term most often appears in, I'm sure you can understand the response of disdain towards it.

In any case, my bad about the essay thing. But could it be that you've partially burnt yourself out? Because the compilations really are easy to ignore.
---

Good God, that was ridiculous...

 

[Sir Kenneth]

A Final Fantasy VII remake is not really something I feel strongly about. If they did go ahead and remade it, I would definitely check it out. If they don't ever do it, that's okay with me too.

I wouldn't say that "Advent Children" did this either. Advent Children, while suffering from a narrow plot and stunted elements, was kind of a necessesity for some, because it allowed everyone to rest assure after the huge bang out that VII ended with. In addition to this, it allowed everyone to have a taste of FFVII with the latest CG tech - which, let's face it, nearly everyone wanted to catch at the time. Lastly, it was the first of the "core" installments, so I'd hardly say they were milking it at this time.

Advent Children was the ultimate sellout, because the ending of Final Fantasy VII didn't really warrant a sequel. I still think that the logical conclusion to FF VII is that Gaia's Lifestream cleanses the planet of all human life.

 

[HighwindPilot]

because the ending of Final Fantasy VII didn't really warrant a sequel.

That's debatable. I felt the ending was itself was riveting and brilliant the way it was. But I could also see the alternative, and when things are put in perspectives, there's nothing that says the FFVII ending wasn't meant to or couldn't play off as some kind of cliffhanger or open-ended piece. This is based on the fact that we didn't actually witness what we were told at the game's end. So while I may agree with you on a personal level, simply because I was fine with leaving VII as VII, I do see the alternative.

Where I do feel AC sold out, was in terms of its actual content. Bike haxorz, Cloud and Sephiroth fight, and "co character" cameos at best from the others. It didn't seem like it was made to do much as an actual FF story; I hated that. And so maybe, based on what we were given, it could be considered "milked" for the simple fact that it seemed like it was purely meant for homers to eat up. But if we're looking at it in these terms, then I think it could easily be swapped for Crisis Core, which was really just expanding on backstory that was already told in the initial game (which, even if I hated all that Genesis and degredation shit, admittingly and naturally received better handling than AC). If nothing more, that at least seemed like an honest idea and attempt to add a legitimately decent installment.

So all in all, you still only have two additions from compilations that were really guilty of "milking" VII. The two that were made for the sake of showing how "coolz" the series is.

 

[Gingerbread Lesbian]

To be fair, I think she was meaning the compilation as a whole rather than individually, since most of the compilation is a waste of time, Advent Children and DoC were shite, Before Crisis is one of those things no one is going to buy, FFVII is good but doesn't warrant all the hype it gets, Crisis Core was decent because it focused on Zack and didn't whore Cloud for once but was still pretty poor. As for Advent Children, that is a cash cow, no two ways about it, Square Enix blatantly knew what they were doing when they released a half arsed version before the Complete Version, if it weren't a cash cow they'd have released the Complete Version straight off, hell, they even threw an FFXIII demo in there so it would sell, and it gets better, they even made an FFVII PS3 model to go with it if you wanted, if you don't think that's whoring the film then you really do need to open your eyes.

Personally, I don't want a remake. The only reason people want FFVII as a remake is because it's whored, take any other solid FF title, FFVIII, FFIX etc few people would want a remake because they think the game is fantastic and want SE to leave it as it is. If it weren't for the fact they made an utterly pointless tech demo and mentioned FFVII at EVERY games convention then it wouldn't receive half the publicity it gets now.

 

[hidachi4]

People want a FF7 remake because it had such a profound effect, more than any other FF. Many consider the graphics dated, particularly on plasma etc TVs. It's arguable that the spin-offs make people want it more. There's been talk/desire for a remake long before AC/DoC/CC came out, and I think this thread is proof that the spin-offs have turned off some.

I think the overrated talk is dumb, mainly because it always comes down to listing popular games you don't particularly like. I'd like to see a game considered top 5 all time that everyone considers "worthy" of the praise it gets. Zelda: oot? Really fun game, but not near the top to me.

Also, if you were to poll all the big time fans of FF6, 8, 9 etc I'm pretty sure the majority would want their respective games to be remade. You're insane if you think the results would be significantly different from the fans of FF7.

 

[Terra Branford]

So what do you think will be different about a remake? The fact that it will be even more overated? Maybe voice acting would be nie but still it wont change the game that much at all. Whats the point of a remake of a great game anyway? Just for next gen graphics? Sure graphics and voice would be nice but it still wont change the game. It will just be even more overated.

Wow, I agreed with everything you said! I think I already something close to that here, or was it on another forum?

Anyway, VII was a great game. But would you, as FFVII fans, want the chance of your game being remade just so you play it and nothing is the same? That's what SE would do!
They'd make it so where that stupid, silly argument about the love triangle would last longer and the story, plot and dialog will be changed so dramatically, that you'd think it was either a spin-off or a completely different game!
Games being remade have done this! Take a look at the new remakes of Pokemon red/green. They are different now, not the same games.