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Square Enix’s Hajime Tabata Would Turn Down Final Fantasy VII Remake

Link.

GAMEREVOLUTION: Would you take over the Final Fantasy VII Remake if [Square Enix] offered that one to you?

TABATA: No.

GR: No, you wouldn't!?

TABATA: No I wouldn't.

GR: Can I ask why?

TABATA: It's something I couldn't make, myself. That's about it.

GR: Would that be a lot of pressure?

TABATA: Final Fantasy VII is a special game.

GR: It's the big one.

TABATA: It's such a special numbered game that I don't think I can remake that one. There's so many fans out there, if I were asked to satisfy all those fans, I don't think that's something I could do, 100%. If [Square Enix] asked me to make a new Final Fantasy and take it in a new direction, I'd be happy to accept that one, but if they asked me to remake Final Fantasy VII — to release as if it were a modern game, just released today -- no, I don't think that's something I can do. I think the only people who could do that are Mr. (Yoshinori) Kitase and Mr. (Tetsuya) Nomura.

GR: And you say that even though you did such a good job with Crisis Core?

TABATA: Well that wasn't VII itself.

GR: A spinoff... a prequel.

TABATA: Yeah, it wasn't the main game. Now, if they asked me to do Final Fantasy VII-2, that might be different.

GR: Which brings us back to your new project!

*Laughter in the room*

TABATA: We haven't got that planned!

The full interview will be published on GameRevolution later this month.
 

odhiex

Member
I like Tabata-san. Looking forward to see what his next project is going to be.

Hopefully, a new FF game.
 

Mifec

Member
But he'll head up the VI remake.

Please no.

Don't say disgusting things like this even as a joke.
329939727744630784.png
 

Plum

Member
To release it as if it were a modern game

When you see a remake as having to completely reinvent the wheel to modern FF gameplay then of course it's going to be difficult. I don't see why both Nomura and Tabata think that fans wouldn't have been pleased with a simple graphical overhaul with QoL changes.
 

Necron

Member
I agree with Tabata.

It seems like the most stressful remake ever envisioned which ultimately will make no one happy. So daunting a challenge that it'll probably take 10 years to complete it in its entirety.
 

Kyoufu

Member
When you see a remake as having to completely reinvent the wheel to modern FF gameplay then of course it's going to be difficult. I don't see why both Nomura and Tabata think that fans wouldn't have been pleased with a simple graphical overhaul with QoL changes.

I'm sure a lot of fans would have been pleased with just graphics and QoL updates but a lot of fans and potentially new fans would probaby be put off by the lack of any modern video game design values.

I dunno man, people are tough to please so either way you're going to have some dissatisfied customers. I don't think Nomura and Kitase are designing it with just fan desires in mind but I think they're also designing it with their own artistic vision. After all, they must have thought about, talked and drawn up many ideas for a potential remake in the past 15 years or so.
 
Because it's a special game?

I like Tabata but that's a lame excuse. He shouldn't care if some crying babies will hate the game no matter what because of "oh no, my nostalgic feeeeelings".

And that's gonna happen when we get the game by Nomura, if it gets released ever.

Edit: although tbf he says that only Tabata or Kitase could Remake the game, which is actually a fair and nice answer, he should have also mentioned Sakaguchi though.
 

Plum

Member
I'm sure a lot of fans would have been pleased with just graphics and QoL updates but a lot of fans and potentially new fans would probaby be put off by the lack of any modern video game design values.

I dunno man, people are tough to please so either way you're going to have some dissatisfied customers. I don't think Nomura and Kitase are designing it with just fan desires in mind but I think they're also designing it with their own artistic vision. After all, they must have thought about, talked and drawn up many ideas for a potential remake in the past 15 years or so.

I mean, it's not like turn based RPGs can't work in this day and age. Octopath Traveller, Bravely Default, FFX Remastered, Persona/SMT and even XCOM/Mario Rabbids games to an extent were all welcomed by the gaming community. The idea that people would turn their noses up at a turn-based, slightly improved version of FFVII is one I just can't see being widespread enough to care about. People weren't screaming and shouting at E3 2015 because FFVIIr might have KH/FFXV-style gameplay, they were doing so because it was FFVII.

It just seems like they're overcomplicating things when, really, peoppe just want to play FFVII without having to endure poorly aged PS1 graphics and sound.
 

sublimit

Banned
Because it's a special game?

I like Tabata but that's a lame excuse. He shouldn't care if some crying babies will hate the game no matter what because of "oh no, my nostalgic feeeeelings".

And that's gonna happen when we get the game by Nomura, if it gets released ever.

If the game fails to meet fan expectations (and it will most surely fail) Tabata would have been a much more easier target to blame just because he wasn't involved in the original game's development.

Fans will also give a hard time to Kitase and Nomura when they eventually fuck up their standards of what a FFVII Remake should have been but not as much as if the game was made by someone who had nothing to do with the original.
 

Kyoufu

Member
I mean, it's not like turn based RPGs can't work in this day and age. Octopath Traveller, Bravely Default, FFX Remastered, Persona/SMT and even XCOM/Mario Rabbids games to an extent were all welcomed by the gaming community. The idea that people would turn their noses up at a turn-based, slightly improved version of FFVII is one I just can't see being widespread enough to care about. People weren't screaming and shouting at E3 2015 because FFVIIr might have KH/FFXV-style gameplay, they were doing so because it was FFVII.

It just seems like they're overcomplicating things when, really, peoppe just want to play FFVII without having to endure poorly aged PS1 graphics and sound.

That's where Nomura and Kitase's artistic vision that I mentioned comes in. Nomura has always seen FFVII as an action game. He made Kingdom Hearts which is also an action game. Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus etc are all action.
 

Plum

Member
That's where Nomura and Kitase's artistic vision that I mentioned comes in. Nomura has always seen FFVII as an action game. He made Kingdom Hearts which is also an action game. Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus etc are all action.

So it's entirely on Nomura and Kitase? Why the talk of fan expectations, then? I think you could ask a million FFVII fans and the vast majority wouldn't see it as an action game.
 

Blobbers

Member
It would not be fair to Tabata if they stuck him on another remake. After doing stellar work with Crisis Core, Type-0 and FF XV, he deserves to make his new IP.
 

Dark_castle

Junior Member
He's just kidding. Next year Nomura will announce that he's stepping down from directing FFVII remake and Tabata will take over.
 

Kyoufu

Member
So it's entirely on Nomura and Kitase? Why the talk of fan expectations, then? I think you could ask a million FFVII fans and the vast majority wouldn't see it as an action game.

Because like I said, there are also a lot of fans and modern gamers in general who want to see it with "modern" game design elements, like an action-based battle system.
 

Go_Ly_Dow

Member
Tabatas's FFVII Remake.

-Midgar segment replaced with CGI film: Avalanche:FFVII
-only control Cloud
-Episode Barrett
-Episode Tifa
-Episode RedXIII
-Explorable Towns and Cities replaced with bandit camps on the world map
-Epic cutscenes left unfinished
-Unfinished 2nd half of the game patched together with an on the rails train and loading screens

Etc...
 

DKHF

Member
It's smart to avoid the inevitable controversy of the remake (that whoever makes it would face). Interested to see Tabata and business division 2's new IP eventually.
Guess he doesn't want to clean up Nomura's mess again when he bails on the remake like he did XV(Versus XIII).
It's obvious to anyone with over two brain cells who has followed the game that he didn't bail on it, he was forced off for whatever the reasons were.
 

Kyoufu

Member
Tabatas's FFVII Remake.

-Midgar segment replaced with CGI film: Avalanche:FFVII
-only control Cloud
-Episode Barrett
-Episode Tifa
-Episode RedXIII
-Explorable Towns and Cities replaced with bandit camps on the world map
-Epic cutscenes left unfinished
-Unfinished 2nd half of the game patched together with an on the rails train and loading screens

Etc...

This makes me shudder.
 

Toth

Member
.He's just not the right man for the job. He has clear visions for his games and, as we have seen, are not as popular with the fanbase as past directors. Him and Toriyama (as event director only!) though could be quite a tag team .
 

GoldStarz

Member
Do you think people will ever realize that Nomura isn't the sole person to blame for his games and that Square-Enix's piss-poor management plays a huge role in that?

i'm joking of course, people couldn't even figure that out even when it was revealed they put nomura's name on the remake before even telling him he'd be involved in it
 

Khalme

Neo Member
Him and Toriyama (as event director only!) though could be quite a tag team .

A cinematic action game starring Genesis and Lightning as a time-traveling duo fighting for the fate of the multiverse/lifestream against Bhunivelze.
Or something.
 
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