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[Loudninja]

Fans have been asking for a FFVII remake for years. What about the gaming landscape makes now the right time?
The landscape was one thing, but it was more that we’d been working on the XIII series for the last 10 years. My team and I were mainly focused on that project. Final Fantasy VII Remake would be an equivalent – or even greater – project in terms of scale, and so it would have been hard to do both at the same time. After XIII ended, of course XV is currently being developed by [Hajime] Tabata-san’s team, so it presented a time when we can fully place our focus on the Final Fantasy VII Remake.

When the remake was first announced, there was some confusion among fans about its multi-part format. Is comparing it to the Final Fantasy XIII saga fair in that regard? Will each entry have that kind of scope?
It will essentially be a full-scale game for each part of the multi-part series. In XIII, each installment told the story from a different angle. It was kind of like approaching an unknown territory, in a sense. Whereas with Final Fantasy VII Remake, we already have a preexisting story, so it wouldn’t really make sense if that isn’t encompassed in the multi-part series, and it wouldn’t make sense to remake it if we don’t encompass that that entire story.

With regards to the current HD capacity and volume, the idea is that we wouldn’t be able to encompass it all in just one installment. So, if we’re just looking at each of these parts, one part should be on par with the scale of one Final Fantasy XIII game.

Have you decided how many installments there will be?
Yeah, we do have an idea on the project side in terms of how many installments it may consist of, but unfortunately, we can’t share that at the moment. Of course, as we’re creating and developing the scenario and the stories, these are things that move in real time. So, the plan may change along the way. But, that said, we do have a vision for how many installments it will consist of.

What drove the decision to move away from the traditional turn-based system toward action-focused combat?
We haven’t completely transitioned into action, but as our director [Tetsuya] Nomura-san says, Final Fantasy (in terms of action games) is best represented by Dissidia in the current landscape. In terms of the Final Fantasy action battles people have experienced themselves, that is most familiar to them these days. In terms of the image of the battle system, that’s where we’re getting the feel from. It won’t be as action-focused as Dissidia, of course, but the the visuals and how the gameplay feels in essence will be drawn from that Dissidia-esque style.

Not many creators have the chance to revisit a previous project like this. For you personally, is there any aspect of FFVII that you’re looking forward to bringing back to life?
That’s a difficult question. There are certain scenes that are ingrained in the memories of our fans – like Cloud dressing a female, or that impactful Aerith scene. At that time, that was the latest technology and the latest graphics, but now it does look a little bit cheap as far as how it looks graphically and how those scenes are staged. So, everyone’s probably wondering how those scenes will be brought back to life in current, realistic graphics and how they will be expressed. And I myself am interested in that, but it’s also a challenge. For all of those scenes that people remember, I’m wondering how we can meet expectations and express them properly in current-gen graphics.

I’m sure there are areas that our fans want to see how we can change, and areas that they don’t want changed. The opinions of our fans are probably split on a lot of those elements, so determining from a development standpoint where we’ll be more true to the original versus where we change is something we hope to grasp through communicating with our fans. Also, while we want to understand their concerns, we also want to get them excited for the story and seeing how it can be revamped and refreshed.

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/featu...ntasy-vii-remake-interview-game-informer.aspx

 

[Savantcore]

Occasionally I remember that a Final Fantasy VII Remake is being made and I'm just so happy. Can't wait.

 

[KZXcellent]

The Compilation of Final Fantasy VII added new wrinkles to the story and lore behind the game. How is the team approaching the integration of those new elements into the remake?

It’s not to say that all or some of the characters from the spin-offs or other Compilation works will appear in the remake, but if there are any areas where we can use the settings or the characters, we do want to try to incorporate it in there, so it gives off that sense of nuance and those other stories existing.

Can't wait for Genesis and Deepground.

 

[Acquiescence]

Will Aeris survive this time around?

Totes! We're defying expectations by letting her live on and killing off Cait Sith instead. Permanently this time.

Well there you have it folks.

 

[Soulflarz]

Can't wait for Genesis and Deepground.

The second FF7R got announced I was happy since it reopened the chance of the saga getting an ending.

For those of you that, you know, remember that DoC didn't end FF7 at all, but instead opened a bigger can of worms.

 

[KZXcellent]

The second FF7R got announced I was happy since it reopened the chance of the saga getting an ending.

For those of you that, you know, remember that DoC didn't end FF7 at all, but instead opened a bigger can of worms.

I'm in the camp that was excited at the idea of another FF7 game where Cloud, Vincent and co. take on Genesis and Weiss. I enjoyed most of the Compilation stuff.

 

[Asd202]

So it may have more then 3 parts. Also no way this will finish this generation.

 

[DKHF]

I wasn't expecting anything more than what was in the magazine so this is a pleasant surprise. Not much new in this interview but this is definitely one of my most anticipated games and I hope we see more at E3.

 

[CrimsonSquall]

I never fully beat FFVII so I'm not as attached to the smaller sections. But, Genesis will be dooooope if shown well

 

[Dame]

I cringe every time realizing it's a broken-up multi-part thing now. The fact that they can't disclose just how many makes my cynical outlook on square see the dollar signs in their eyes.

Please, please don't screw this up. Already a shame they were too scared to leave it turn based.

 

[AuthenticM]

Everything that is known about this game makes me believe that the stars are aligned. I love everything about it.

I pray that the first game is composed entirely of Midgar. The Shinra HQ invasion is begging to be the last dungeon of the game.

 

[ZombiePlatypus]

Man I can't freaking wait.

 

[synce]

The comparison to Dissidia worries me. I didn't find those games fun on any level and never finished them. Well, at least it'll be interesting to see the old cast in HD.

 

[ShowDog]

Wow it's episodic and they've moved to an action system? I've been out of the loop on this.

Stupid to go episodic, if the changes aren't well received they won't be able to sell the later parts.

 

[eggandI]

FFXV's combat is dogshit and going by that bit about Dissidia being the main influence for FFVIIR's combat I guess I should expect the same for this trilogy. Lol SE

 

[kennyamr]

cool stuff :0

I'm still hoping for the first part in the series to drop sometime around the end of 2017

 

[Sn4ke_911]

 

[A-V-B]

I don't mind compilation material being used as long as it's used... tastefully, and it's not shoved in our faces. Like, flavor text, that's great. But fully frontal Gackt? RUN.

 

[mysteriousmage09]

They really need to come out and say what the hell each episode will contain. The constant vague responses to the question don't do anything to ease ones uneasiness on the matter.

And with comparison to the FFXIII games in terms of episodes and game length just makes it more confusing. With say FFXIII to FFXIII-2, you have a full blown conclusion at the end of the first game and the second one picks up 3 years later. With that in mind, the only thing I can think of that would follow that formula for FFVII is making a game out of Advent Children.

 

[KZXcellent]

They really need to come out and say what the hell each episode will contain. The constant vague responses to the question don't do anything to ease ones uneasiness on the matter.

And with comparison to the FFXIII games in terms of episodes and game length just makes it more confusing. With say FFXIII to FFXIII-2, you have a full blown conclusion at the end of the first game and the second one picks up 3 years later. With that in mind, the only thing I can think of that would follow that formula for FFVII is making a game out of Advent Children.

They're comparing the remake to XIII in scope. The reference to "XIII told a story over 3 games" is just a way to say "FFVIIR will be told fully over X amount of games" Mainly this is to address concerns that we're getting full fledged games like each XIII game and not a series of bite-sized games. The sequences in Midgar for example will be much longer since most of FF7 was a series of screens you could run through in about 5-6 seconds as opposed to a large realized world. Of course this would probably be a lot easier if we just got to KNOW what at least the first title had in terms of content. Hopefully we'll learn something by TGS or E3 (though I doubt it since they'll want all attention to be on XV)

 

[mrhyderager]

If you don't think that's the tightest shit then gtfo

 

[ackl]

Good stuff. Keep on surprising us!

 

[Man Called Aerodynamics]

The landscape was one thing, but it was more that we’d been working on the XIII series for the last 10 years. My team and I were mainly focused on that project. Final Fantasy VII Remake would be an equivalent – or even greater – project in terms of scale, and so it would have been hard to do both at the same time. After XIII ended, of course XV is currently being developed by [Hajime] Tabata-san’s team, so it presented a time when we can fully place our focus on the Final Fantasy VII Remake.

Is there a completely different team that's concurrently working on Final Fantasy XVI, or what?

Comparing the remake project to the size and scope of the entire Lightning Saga makes me wonder what else at Square is being pushed out of the way to make room for it.

 

[rootbeerafloat]

We haven’t completely transitioned into action, but as our director [Tetsuya] Nomura-san says, Final Fantasy (in terms of action games) is best represented by Dissidia in the current landscape.

Barf

 

[Brandon F]

If you don't think that's the tightest shit then gtfo

I love dynasty warriors and this is the flashiest one yet!

 

[TheJollyCorner]

Thinking about the size/scope of Midgar, it's massive. Seven sectors + two levels, ton of side characters/side story possibility, etc. If they wanted they could easily make an entire game there... and I'd be fine with that. I've wanted to explore Midgar fully since '96 when I first played the demo.

It would make the transition to outside even more exciting than it was in the original. :}

I'm looking forward to hearing how things will break down, but I'm not in a terrible rush. Take your time, boys. Make it great.

 

[AuthenticM]

If you don't think that's the tightest shit then gtfo

hahahaha, indeed

I love everything about it.

 

[blackjaw]

I kind of liked Cait Sith

 

[dragonzdogma]

Those final words are true,
example: Stella

 

[Caronte]

FFXV's combat is dogshit and going by that bit about Dissidia being the main influence for FFVIIR's combat I guess I should expect the same for this trilogy. Lol SE

I think the combat is closer to Kingdom Hearts.

 

[The Lamp]

FFXV's combat is dogshit and going by that bit about Dissidia being the main influence for FFVIIR's combat I guess I should expect the same for this trilogy. Lol SE

Looks like an improvement to me over stale menu-based fighting.

 

[YankeeDonB]

I cringe every time realizing it's a broken-up multi-part thing now. The fact that they can't disclose just how many makes my cynical outlook on square see the dollar signs in their eyes.

Please, please don't screw this up. Already a shame they were too scared to leave it turn based.

I know what you mean. But it does put the pressure on them to do it right. You can do one cynical cash-grab playing on the nostalgia of a legion of aging fans. You can't do three or four in a row.

If VIIR-1 comes off as a cheap, underbaked, etc., it's going to hit the sales of the follow-ups hard.

The multi-part announcement convinced me that SE is giving this remake their all. Not that that means the game will be comfortably spread over three installments.

 

[Acorn]

Most important question is When? 2030?

 

[KZXcellent]

Most important question is When? 2030?

They recently said the development time for the Remake would be less than FFXV. Less than 10 years for the whole remake is pretty impressive. Not surprising since they have a lot of outside companies working on this.

 

[kirblar]

Well there you have it folks.

Cait Sith #1's death hit me harder than Aeris.

 

[wmlk]

"With regards to the current HD capacity and volume, the idea is that we wouldn’t be able to encompass it all in just one installment. So, if we’re just looking at each of these parts, one part should be on par with the scale of one Final Fantasy XIII game."

I'm tired of this HD is hard nonsense that they've been saying since FFXIII. Maybe Tabata is right in that a lot of people in SE think that HD in an insurmountable challenge. He had to force the team to make FFXV as ambitious as it is in one package.

True or not, it's dumb reasoning.

 

[antitrop]

I have never wanted any other piece of entertainment media as much as I want this Remake.

 

[gundamkyoukai]

Looks like an improvement to me over stale menu-based fighting.

Yep .
The new battle system is one of the reason i so hype for the game.

"With regards to the current HD capacity and volume, the idea is that we wouldn’t be able to encompass it all in just one installment. So, if we’re just looking at each of these parts, one part should be on par with the scale of one Final Fantasy XIII game."

I'm tired of this HD is hard nonsense that they've been saying since FFXIII. Maybe Tabata is right in that a lot of people in SE think that HD in an insurmountable challenge.

True or not, it's dumb reasoning.

It has nothing to do with HD is hard .
It had to do with FFVII with today GFX and standards is a ton of content to make .

 

[Boke1879]

FFXV's combat is dogshit and going by that bit about Dissidia being the main influence for FFVIIR's combat I guess I should expect the same for this trilogy. Lol SE

FFXV's combat is perfectly fine for me.

 

[flaxknuckles]

Man this and Cyberpunk 2077 are the only games I am about to have hype-induced heart attacks over. Just gimme gimme gimme gimme.

And do your thing with that action combat, Dissidia is how I've always really wanted this series to play even though I still enjoy them.

 

[SomeRandomWeirdGuy]

Yeah if there's one thing Nomura is good at its all flash and no substance so I can't wait for more action games from him. There's too many big budget turn based JRPGs today, while we dearly lack action RPGs. Keep on changing everything Square Enix you've never messed up a franchise before good job guys

 

[ST2K]

I will still hope this game is good, but almost nothing they said made me think they know what they're doing. They seem tone deaf.

I should probably just check out, but it will be absolutely crushing if they finally decide to make this and ruin it with their ineptitude.

 

[The Lamp]

Yeah if there's one thing Nomura is good at its all flash and no substance so I can't wait for more action games from him. There's too many big budget turn based JRPGs today, while we dearly lack action RPGs. Keep on changing everything Square Enix you've never messed up a franchise before good job guys

I know the salt is laid on thick in this post, but Nomura's combat has substance. Birth by Sleep had a fantastic combat system, most of KH's combat systems uniquely layer strategy and real-time decision making.

There's not many turn-based big budget RPGs these days because it's become niche and unwanted now that we have the technology to battle RPG characters in real-time, and now that real-time action is arguably considered more exciting and interactive by mainstream audiences.

If there's anyone at SE I trust to deliver fun gameplay, it's Nomura.

 

[badcrumble]

My main concern is that I want all of the games to basically interlink somehow - that is to say, I want to be able to import a game-cleared save from one game to the next and carry *everything* over - but I also want to be able to backtrack during the final game to every area from every previous game (except for areas that were destroyed during the story, obviously).

 

[Rymuth]

Well there you have it folks.

I knew it!

 

[Sub_Level]

If you don't think that's the tightest shit then gtfo

Going by the precedent set by XIII and XV trailers, the UI will be fairly different from those gifs when the actual thing comes out.

 

[Merc_]

Looks like an improvement to me over stale menu-based fighting.

Yes, FFVII is truly a stale game to play. That's why it was so successful!

Sometimes I wonder if the people who are hyped for this game even liked the original to start with.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

I can't frigging wait to see the full extent of the combat system.

Nomura Unleashed!

BELIEVE!

 

[The Lamp]

Yes, FFVII is truly a stale game to play. That's why it was so successful!

Sometimes I wonder if the people who are hyped for this game even liked the original to start with.

Stale literally means it has gotten old. Has nothing to do with original appeal/success.

 

[Joyful]

Yeah if there's one thing Nomura is good at its all flash and no substance so I can't wait for more action games from him. There's too many big budget turn based JRPGs today, while we dearly lack action RPGs. Keep on changing everything Square Enix you've never messed up a franchise before good job guys

lol