Yoichi Wada, President and CEO of Square Enix, has said that the Japanese publisher is considering a remake of the fan favourite Final Fantasy VII.
Don't expect a remake to be announced any day soon though, according to Wada the company isn't even sure what platform it would bring Final Fantasy VII to.
"Right now we don't have a clear direction, but many fans have requested we remake Final Fantasy VII," he told Siliconera. "We're going to explore the possibility - whether or not we're going to do it, if we're going to do it, and the platform."
Last month, Final Fantasy XIII producer Yoshinori Kitase said: "If it were possible that we had all the right facilities and the right environment to be able to make and prepare a Final Fantasy VII remake within a year, we'd very much like a go at it!"
"We're going to explore the possibility - whether or not we're going to do it, if we're going to do it, and the platform."
Apart from the fact that he states the same point twice, if they haven't realised that the fans want it on the PS3 (and 360 - but from FFXIII sales figures they'd probably just do PS3) they haven't been listening close enough.
Most just want the same game with updated graphics. I'd say same story, same materia system, updated combat (FFXIII like - i.e. high speed like the movie) and few new additions. That's just me though.
Apart from the fact that he states the same point twice, if they haven't realised that the fans want it on the PS3 (and 360 - but from FFXIII sales figures they'd probably just do PS3) they haven't been listening close enough.
Most just want the same game with updated graphics. I'd say same story, same materia system, updated combat (FFXIII like - i.e. high speed like the movie) and few new additions. That's just me though.
Agreed, i would also prefer the faster paced battle system. But I assure you that every hardcore FF fan would riot and murder all of Square Enix in a heartbeat if their precious FFVII battle system was tinkered with. Make no mistake about it.
...but from FFXIII sales figures they'd probably just do PS3...
It's not like it sold 5 copies on 360. First week sales here were 54% PS3, 46% 360, so I'm sure they'd at least investigate the possibility of a 360 version. It'd probably be a port though.
If it comes out on either console, I'd be all set, but giving more people the chance to buy it is the best solution.
If they do remake FFVII there are a few things the must NOT do.
1. Make it for a hand-held console (PSP, DS) 2. Change battle system 3. Change the music. 4. Give the characters ridiculously camp voice acting.
I was 7 when i first played this game. Alot of the story went completely over my head, but what i do know/remember it was a truely awsome game. I can remember the first time i saw the video segment of Midgar and thinking how great it would be if the game looked like that.
Some changes would be good. I would like the card mini-game added into it.
Spot on, plus any remake they make now wouldn't be a patch on the near perfect original, Square are a very different company now compared to back in the mid/late 90's.
FF VII with XIII's battle system and speed, not to mention annoying voice acting?, please god no!. Leave it alone PLEASE Square.
FF VII remake for PS3 please. FF 13 IS A PERFECT EPIC ART MASTERPIECE. My one request for VERSUS 13 & FF 15: PLEASE INCLUDE TOWNS. Anyways, thank you SQUARE-ENIX for blessing the world with the magnum opus, high art, work of sci-fi genius that is FF 13. It exists on a higher realm & exceeds my wildest dreams....
Agreed, i would also prefer the faster paced battle system. But I assure you that every hardcore FF fan would riot and murder all of Square Enix in a heartbeat if their precious FFVII battle system was tinkered with. Make no mistake about it.
Yes they would kill SE for it, but the battle system is very outdated. It's all well and good "fans" claiming nostalgia but the battle system wouldn't cut mustard nowadays.
It's not like it sold 5 copies on 360. First week sales here were 54% PS3, 46% 360, so I'm sure they'd at least investigate the possibility of a 360 version. It'd probably be a port though.
Not saying the 360 didn't sell, just not as well as predicted. With Versus XIII being PS3 exclusive and FFVII originally on PSOne I could see it being a PS3 exclusive. If Sony aren't biting their hands off to get this game (if they make it) then they are mad.
If they do remake FFVII there are a few things the must NOT do.
1. Make it for a hand-held console (PSP, DS) 2. Change battle system 3. Change the music. 4. Give the characters ridiculously camp voice acting.
...
Some changes would be good. I would like the card mini-game added into it.
I'll run through them:
1. Agreed. They won't make it for DS anyway, but PSP already has the Crisis Core storyline. It'll be a console game because it's a license to print money for SE. 2. Here's where I differ. Already mentioned that I feel the combat is archaic, but considering XIII is based on AC's combat then I reckon they'll change it. 3. Agreed, but they should re-record the tracks again for better sound quality. 4. They already have voice actors. Whether you like them or not is a different matter. I think they're alright.
Then you mention the "Card Game"? Triple Triad (from VIII) by any chance or whatever IX's was? Can't see that happening. Both were rather integrated into their respective games and it would change VII to much to implement it. Not to mention feel a bit tacked on. Chocobo Hot and Cold (Treasure Hunt) however...
If they 'remake' it, they should do it with Advent Children's graphics (somehow), re-record the soundtrack using a live orchestra, have it run a bit faster/smoother and maybe even use the voice actor's from AC to re-record all the dialogue Other than they should leave it as it is.
Oh and bring it out via XBL & PSN, obviously with achievements/trophy support
Would LOVE to see this happen. Please don't forget the PC. The original Final Fantasy VII got a PC release and to this day is one of my all time favourite games.
Not saying the 360 didn't sell, just not as well as predicted. With Versus XIII being PS3 exclusive and FFVII originally on PSOne I could see it being a PS3 exclusive. If Sony aren't biting their hands off to get this game (if they make it) then they are mad.
Agreed, Sony would be absolutely insane to allow this to go multi-platform. This would be their biggest system seller ever.
Plus Sqaure Enix needs to make sure this game iis perfect in every way. If they do it, they have to do it right, nothing substandard. A sh*tty port to another system just wont cut it.
If you don't want to 'ruin' the original game, then simply don't play it when it comes out.
It's awfully selfish to deny a much-wanted remake on those people that DO want to see their beloved game see an update to the next generation of consoles.
To everyone saying that this is a bad idea, In some ways you may be right, in others you are wrong. To many of you, myself included, FF VII was the Pinnicale of Character Development through-out a game. What final Fantasy VII produced in terms of story and narative will always hold a nostalgic memory. Now, why would you not want the newer generations of today to be able to experience the same game ? This is more for the newer J-RPG fans then it is the older ones. Most people have heard of the final fantasy 7 series, and probably more have heard of Cloud Strife. This is a chance for everyone to know what a good RPG is.
I don't understand what all this furore is over an ancient game.
The emotional empathy won't be the same and the story will have no surprises.
In fact, I'll bet that if it does happen, it'll just get slated by the FF nerds for some silly injustice.
Forget about it, Square. Concentrate on just bringing new characters and new experiences to us gamers and we may then soon receive another classic.
I agree.
They'd be better off making a new FF. They'll only end up annoying some small sector of the internet with some trivial aspect of the remake and they're probably better off just leaving the original as it is - it's not as if people can't play it.
I just don't see the point. It's already sort of been ported to the PSP and its still perfectly playable.
I think what made up a large portion of the games character was the excellent soundtrack and uematsu no longer works for square. If they didn't bus him in to redo it i think there'd be something missing.
Personally i think they should remake VI. Its more deserving of it.
Just leave the game be for god sake. Nothing worse than a company having to rely on a games past success to try and turn a few quick bucks. I'm living in the present and I had my fun with FF7 in the past, just like I did with many other classic games. However, I like to keep moving forward to the future and I want new experiences, with new characters and new plots to get involved in. If they can set up a side team that wouldn't have any nearing on future 'new' FF games then fine, do a remake and please the people who like to live in the past, but please do not focus all efforts on remake.
Some people seem to think that re-making FF7 would just ruin the nostalgia of it. However, the games since 7 seem to have split fans, some loving them, others being disappointed. 13 and 12 both seem to have differing opinions on whether the system works or not. I am personally not that keen on what I have seen in 7 so far (playing it at the moment), as I do not like the game-play, but for the people who like the game, perhaps a revisit to that system and style with a new story applied would be enough to satisfy them without ruining the original. It could even be set in the same place or re-use some of the characters.
I would actually prefer to see the story (as this is the only reason I’m trying to sit through the game), with a new system applied, but I know for a fact that such an event would probably cause fans of the series to rage.
I'd like to see a remake of Final Fantasy VII. It was the first Final Fantasy game I played, and it got me into the series. I'd like pretty much everything to be kept the same, but have the graphics updated to XIII standard, like the battle system kept the same, but the visuals updated so that the characters are a lot more flashy, like in Advent Children for instance. Those people saying a remake would ruin the nostalgia, I have a very simple solution: don't play the remake.
Advent children didnt take any shine off ff7 and I played ff7 recently and it didnt give me the same captivating experience as it first did all those years ago.
A re-make to give the game some grit and seriousness would be great.
I really do want to see this, but not tinkered wtih in the slightest...just updated (as in better quality, not different) graphics and sounds to the original game
this game has so many mind-blowing moments, and i do still love the original, but at the same time it is quite noticeable (prime example in the gamesradar article a couple of weeks ago on FF summons throughout the series) that the in-game graphics and audio do not live up to the story.
I'm a huge believer in substance over style in games...if i have to choose between an amazing looking/sounding game with a crap story, and a crap looking/sounding game with an awesome story, i'll take the latter everytime. But this game already has the substance, now it would be possible to give this game the style it deserves as well.
As I said the last time this sort of story was on here, it's only a matter of time. I have no idea of the sales figures, but I'm imagining that VII is the best-selling of the series. It's certainly the most popular, considering all the spin-offs. Taking into account the amount of effort a remake would require (far less than a brand new game, obviously), SE would have to be crazy not to pursue this. They stand to make way too much money not to.
I can't imagine them changing the storyline or the music (I would absolutely love an orchestral version of the soundtrack), although the battle system requires a bit of an overhaul. The speed of XIII would be great, but with the actual hands-on interface of the original. Materia needs to stay of course. I'm a bit iffy about the voice-acting, but hey, I'm just going to kid myself that they'll choose to finally include the original Japanese vocals in this FF.
Yeah if they did include voice overs, they have to be Japanese or include the option to turn them off completely. Any English voice overs would ruin how I imagine each of the characters to talk (I watched AC in Japanese but I don't want to know how Square would want them to sound in English).
Materia system must stay. Battle system I liked as is but I wouldn't mind seeing an option for a battle system akin to the newer FF's, just to please everyone that doesn't like turn based systems. It shouldn't be hard to implement both anyway. Hopefully. ^^
And I'm probably alone in liking the squashed look the characters had in VII... I hated it when everyone was tall and skinny in FFVIII. Dwarves FTW!
I will say, he did mention that if they were going to do a remake, it would need to be able to be developed in a year. So at least they aren't trying to stretch it out over 5 years.
They should remake it and update the graphics and maybe even use the music by the black mages for the most part and keep the cheesy casio tones for certain sections would be brilliant but i wory that if they re-made it it would lose its charm
I'm a huge believer in substance over style in games...if i have to choose between an amazing looking/sounding game with a crap story, and a crap looking/sounding game with an awesome story, i'll take the latter everytime. But this game already has the substance, now it would be possible to give this game the style it deserves as well.
Agree completely. This game got me into RPGs, and I recently tried to get my wife to play it, as she really liked FF X, Mass Effect and Dragon Age. But it's just too dated compared to those, and a revamp would give newer gamers the chance to enjoy it.
Personally i think they should remake VI. Its more deserving of it.
I wouldn't know, but if it got a remake, I'd certainly give it a try
New graphics, everything else the same. I disagree that FFVII's combat is 'archaic'- it by far outclasses most modern battle systems. It was deep, tactical, suspenseful and exciting all at once. If they did change it, then it would be like a big middle finger to most of us fans. Also, no voice acting. I have my own voices for each character in my head. I mean, AC's weren't bad but most were nothing like how I imagined, especially Cloud's, Tifa's and Cait Sith's (Scottish? WTF?). Vincent was fairly spot on, though. I always imagined Cloud to have more of an arrogant tone and a deeper voice - this wasn't reflected in the film. And yes, while I would allow the original tracks to be re-recorded, under no circumstances should they be tampered with. FFVII has one of the best tracks in gaming history. So, remake it, but keep it exactly the same.
I definately think the Final fantasy VII should be a remake on PS3 it is a wicked game on ps1, yet it will be a magnificent game on PS3 format, as the fight scenes etc would be much more faster and in more detail, which will capture a hell of a lot more people. I have not got a PS3 and i have not even considered getting one, however i will go out an buy one if this game came out on PS3 even if i had no money to spare id buy it, cause i have been dreaming of it since playing the old one. and the movie is absolutely awesome, i neva tire of watching it. we shuld make a petition i thinks lol : D
New graphics, everything else the same. I disagree that FFVII's combat is 'archaic'- it by far outclasses most modern battle systems. It was deep, tactical, suspenseful and exciting all at once. If they did change it, then it would be like a big middle finger to most of us fans. Also, no voice acting. I have my own voices for each character in my head. I mean, AC's weren't bad but most were nothing like how I imagined, especially Cloud's, Tifa's and Cait Sith's (Scottish? WTF?). Vincent was fairly spot on, though. I always imagined Cloud to have more of an arrogant tone and a deeper voice - this wasn't reflected in the film. And yes, while I would allow the original tracks to be re-recorded, under no circumstances should they be tampered with. FFVII has one of the best tracks in gaming history. So, remake it, but keep it exactly the same.
Lordirongut, its like you just spoke my mind mate Your 100% spot on, to the people that said it was slow. Just turn the speed up i the menu. I thought it was a perfect battle system.
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Other than they should leave it as it is.
