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[Toth]

"On the right track" is probably the best way to describe FFXV. We're not quite where the series used to be, but it's a step in the right direction, and I think it will get better from here.

The 'series' never went anywhere. FF has always been about experimentation and even if you didn't like XIII, plenty of people did. I think people's (especially Westerners) tastes have changed drastically in the past decade with the influx of the Skyrims and Witchers into the RPG norms, meaning what always worked for FF became somewhat outdated. FF XIII tried to reconcile the two but its focus on a storyline too similar in style to past entries (being too 'anime') and linearity did not gel anymore. XV has successfully adopted the open world model but I do hope it does not become the norm. Something like FFVIII's 'open world' can work as well.

However, I agree that it did stumble with XIV 1.0 but, as we know, it recovered fantastically (pun intended).

BTW Aside from FF: ATB, the mobile FFs have been excellent as well.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

How many people made the first Final Fantasy?
By the end, probably 20 people. But at first there were only four of us.

The original four Warriors of Light...

Who were these four actually? Hironobu Sakaguchi, Kazuko Shibuya, Nobuo Uematsu, and Nasir Gebelli?

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

I bet most people on GAF can't even name the developers of DQXI.

Mistwalker?

Oh wait, it's SEGA. Now I remember.

 

[Telephone Man]

I really wish he would go into what he liked and didn't about XIII (and its sequels). And what he would change and prevent if he was producing it.

His issues with XII alone was very interesting.

 

[jett]

Oh, duh, I totally glossed over that part.



It's just reskinned Virtua Fighter so it's fine by default but it definitely doesn't feature Toriyama's finest character designs.

Tobal 2 doesn't play anything like Virtua Fighter.

 

[Fraxin]

The 'series' never went anywhere. FF has always been about experimentation and even if you didn't like XIII, plenty of people did. I think people's (especially Westerners) tastes have changed drastically in the past decade with the influx of the Skyrims and Witchers into the RPG norms, meaning what always worked for FF became somewhat outdated. FF XIII tried to reconcile the two but its focus on a storyline too similar in style to past entries (being too 'anime') and linearity did not gel anymore. XV has successfully adopted the open world model but I do hope it does not become the norm. Something like FFVIII's 'open world' can work as well.

However, I agree that it did stumble with XIV 1.0 but, as we know, it recovered fantastically (pun intended).

BTW Aside from FF: ATB, the mobile FFs have been excellent as well.

I don't think FFXIII being too anime was the issue that people had with it's plot and characters. Just like you said, some of the previous titles were anime influenced and people liked those games.I think that Anime has changed a lot from the 90s and FFXIII moved according with that change.

And I agree with you that FFXV open world preferably doesn't become the norm for the series going forward. FFVIII is a really good example of a good world map, I think DQVIII also has a well done world map.

 

[Inuhanyou]

Sakaguchi has the right idea on the remake. That's why it was good of Nomura to come out early and make it clear that this is a game that shares the basic lore of FF7. its based on FF7, but its not FF7 and should not be expected to follow nostalgia in that particular manner.

Also, the worst part of this thread is the people who give CC2 shit. They are the best of their craft at real time cinematic flair and movie like production. Combining that with Square Enix's real time combat skills and obvious advantages in cinematic flair already makes perfect sense.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

For me, it was probably Blade Runner [that had the biggest impact]. I didn’t know anything about the film before watching it. I was blown away. Nausicaa was another one. It's an anime so my expectations were super low. There was nothing else showing and we were bored, so my friend and I were like, “yeah, guess we’ll see a stupid anime movie,” but both of us were in tears by the end of the film.

Yoooooo

 

[DrunkShogun]

Agree with pretty much everything the man has said. Ffxv had a charming party which has always been the selling point for me in the franchise. Still think it had issues but have more hope for ff16 then I did for for ff15 when I finished ff13. Don't want an open world to this nature however. 3D open worlds on average tend to repeat or have lot of empty space. Give me moderate sized zones.

 

[Sgt. Kabukiman]

I really wish he would go into what he liked and didn't about XIII (and its sequels). And what he would change and prevent if he was producing it.

His issues with XII alone was very interesting.

What were his thoughts on XII?

 

[Telephone Man]

What were his thoughts on XII?

Too busy to look it up, but basically: He won't play XII because Matsuo didn't personally finish making it.

 

[DrunkShogun]

Too busy to look it up, but to sum it up: He won't play XII because Matsuo didn't personally finish making the game.

I wonder if he has a similar expectation from ffxv to ff12 as the direction changed during development. Won't stop feeling bad knowing matsuo didn't come back to lead a ff mainline game.

 

[Regulus Tera]

Tobal? Really? Toriyama worked on Chrono Trigger, why not make another one of those? Y'know, the game people actually liked?

My guess is that the Gooch and Horii got into some feud during the development of ChronoTrigger and that's why the dream team never got back together

 

[AAK]

Tobal or any new traditional 3D fighting IP with a decent budget would easily be my Shenmue 3 announcement.

 

[Regulus Tera]

SE is "middling" btw. People are underestimating CC2.

Did anyone complain that L5, at the time really a nobody, was given Dragon Quest? Turns out they were pretty good, well not at designing their own games. It's the same deal really.

Dragon Quest had a history of being handed around from one developer to another before VIII

 

[Isaccard]

Roflmao.



Probably because it's a lifestyle/retrospective interview where they're just chilling with Sakaguchi rather than asking him about his own work in particular. There's nothing in the interview about Mistwalker's current work. I like interviews like these, it's a nice break from people chasing scoops and news all the time. The human element in creative works tends to be overlooked.

Because no one cares? Kappa

 

[TheJollyCorner]

Yoooooo

Sakaguchi's friend was a mistake...

Tobal or any new traditional 3D fighting IP with a decent budget would easily be my Shenmue 3 announcement.

Does SFV not fit the bill?

 

[Omnistalgic]

I think FF7 will turn out great...

 

[lupinko]

Oh, duh, I totally glossed over that part.



It's just reskinned Virtua Fighter so it's fine by default but it definitely doesn't feature Toriyama's finest character designs.

Tobal doesn't play anything like VF or even Tekken for that matter. The grapple system alone already sets it far apart.

 

[Gai Murakumo]

Like Sakaguchi said the Remake of VII will be a tough challenge. I like the analogy with the Original Trilogy of Star Wars and George going back to add fancy CGI but people still preferred the original. I hope that is not the case when Remake comes out and old fans slam the new game because it is not exactly the Remake they wanted (there will still be those people however). Also everytime I read what Sakaguchi says I always get the impression he is such a nice chill guy. Gotta respect the "Guch"!

 

[thepenguin55]

Gimmie Tobal No.3! GIMMIE GIMMIE GIMMIE

 

[ZenTzen]

Well, one things for sure, theres a lot riding on the FFVII Remake, I just hope they dont duck up, and i have a lot of trust on Nomura as director

Also, CCC2 is only one of many studios helping in the Remakes development, they probably name dropped them because they are more well known

 

[Kanann]

My guess is that the Gooch and Horii got into some feud during the development of ChronoTrigger and that's why the dream team never got back together

Nah, they are close friend on facebook, and Gooch just video call Horii on DQ 30th event.

 

[AAK]

Does SFV not fit the bill?

My post explicitly says 3D.

 

[synce]

I really miss The Gooch, it was nice hearing from him again. Wish he'd get back to proper console games someday

 

[Freshmaker]

Tobal? Really? Toriyama worked on Chrono Trigger, why not make another one of those? Y'know, the game people actually liked?

Tobal 2 was amazing. I'd love to see what they could do with that with current hardware.

 

[FalsettoVibe]

I so hope FFVII turns out awesome.

 

[XANDER CAGE]

I'm kind of curious if he means FFXIII actual or Versus. XIII itself didn't really seem like that radical a departure aside from, y'know, quality, whereas the Versus counterpart back then was meant to be the dark, mean, new approach.

 

[mrlion]

When is he gonna make another JRPG? Cmon its been a while or at least port Lost Odyssey to platforms that care about it...

 

[DiipuSurotu]

Nah, they are close friend on facebook, and Gooch just video call Horii on DQ 30th event.

Really? Even if there was no "feud" I think they never sounded very excited at the idea of ever working together again, lol.

Sakaguchi: "Horii and I both work in the same field, so there were no real fights between us, but he has his own ideas about how a game should be made, and we clashed on a number of points. Those confrontations gave us the opportunity to think very deeply about the game, though, so I think it was probably a good thing."

Kitase: "We argued a lot with Yuji Horii over whether Chrono should speak or not. Horii said that the protagonist of an RPG must never speak. And at Square, opinions were divided on the issue. We eventually decided to go with a hero who doesn’t talk, but once that decision was made, it greatly changed the way we were constructing the event scenes."

Horii: "Since everything I would like to do can be done in a Dragon Quest title, the chances of me making a sequel to Chrono Trigger are unlikely."

Chrono Trigger had such a long and tortuous development history (almost half a decade), had multiple team changes, was almost canceled at least twice, etc. It must have been exhausting. I think it's telling that Sakaguchi brought back Toriyama and Uematsu for Blue Dragon but never ever discussed bringing back Yuji Horii.

 

[Toth]

I don't think FFXIII being too anime was the issue that people had with it's plot and characters. Just like you said, some of the previous titles were anime influenced and people liked those games.I think that Anime has changed a lot from the 90s and FFXIII moved according with that change.

And I agree with you that FFXV open world preferably doesn't become the norm for the series going forward. FFVIII is a really good example of a good world map, I think DQVIII also has a well done world map.

Well, it was definitely the melodramatic approach that Toriyama used and the lack of world building in game (too much was left in the Datalog and outside novels) in favor or a more fast paced story that hurt the game. Honestly, each game in the series does offer a pretty unique storyline (XIII being characters on the run, facing an inevitable death sentence regardless, XIII-2 about fixing time, and LR about escaping purgatory) but if it does not gel with you as a player from the start, it's hard to recover.

 

[Iscariot]

Tobal? Really? Toriyama worked on Chrono Trigger, why not make another one of those? Y'know, the game people actually liked?

The fuck? People liked Tobal No 1 and Tobal 2.

I recall Del the Funky Homosapien had a review up for Tobal 2 either on his website or as a guest review somewhere.

 

[Raven117]

"On the Right Track" seems just about right. Between FFXIV, even if you play it for just the single player...its a damn good Final Fantasy, and now FFXV, I think they have a great starting off point to making AAA games again.

The issue with Final Fantasy in the last 10 years is that fans themselves really don't know what they want...and Square was not in a position (ie creatively, developmentally, and just about everything else) to create something and say "this is awesome, you all will love it."

Instead, they stumbled all over the place creatively with FFXIII and progeny and truly lacked a specific vision for the series.

I feel with FFXV they are starting to find their vision again. Some talented people are starting to rise to the top...

Im excited to see what happens with the series.

 

[jimmypython]

I'm surprisingly in line with Sakaguchi's preference. I prefer the non-Kitase/Toriyama/Nomura direction (Dev division 1) back in the days when it comes to FF.

I liked the direction of IX, XII and XIV way more than X, XIII games.

However, unlike Sakaguchi's choice, Yoshida of FFXIV is the right guy for me for now, if Ito is not reappearing any time soon. Tabata was originally from division 1.

 

[duckroll]

The original four Warriors of Light...

Who were these four actually? Hironobu Sakaguchi, Kazuko Shibuya, Nobuo Uematsu, and Nasir Gebelli?

Speaking of Shibuya, Kitase and Shibuya got back together with Sakaguchi and collaborated on a bunch of Terra Battle event battles where she did new pixel art for Terra Battle monsters! It's awesome!

 

[Nerokis]

I'm kind of curious if he means FFXIII actual or Versus. XIII itself didn't really seem like that radical a departure aside from, y'know, quality, whereas the Versus counterpart back then was meant to be the dark, mean, new approach.

I feel like FFXIII was quite a departure. The basic template up to then included exploration of a world filled with towns, NPCs, and interesting diversions. It was conducive to a feeling of grand scope and adventure. FFXIII moved from that, and brought the series much closer to the usual linear Western game. As a fan, the core structure of the game was jarring to me.

Of course, some would argue FFXV brought the series closer to the usual open world Western game, and was also a departure in terms of narrative emphasis. But a lot of what it did was an attempt to recreate that old sense of adventure with modern tools - just did so very clumsily, it seems.

 

[Timeaisis]

I'll take a new Tobal game. Do it, Hiro.

 

[duckroll]

I'm kind of curious if he means FFXIII actual or Versus. XIII itself didn't really seem like that radical a departure aside from, y'know, quality, whereas the Versus counterpart back then was meant to be the dark, mean, new approach.

Keep in mind that he left the company in 2003. That's 3 years before FFXIII or Versus XIII were even announced, and before the PS3 was announced either. Toriyama and the team were messing around with very different concepts on PS2 hardware at that time for FFXIII. Sakaguchi also left before FFXII was done, and before Matsuno left the project. So his perspective on what all this pre-dates the public's understanding of these projects significantly.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

Kamen "Raider"

Glixel pls

Despite over 100 million sales and numerous successful sequels, including series high point Final Fantasy VII in 1996, he was eventually undone by his debut as a movie director. His disastrous all-CG movie Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within was a global flop that lost tens of millions of dollars at the box office and blew a hole in Square's finances so big it had to merge with rival Enix Corporation in 2003.

"Glixel pls" indeed.

 

[jimmypython]

Sakaguchi has the right idea on the remake. That's why it was good of Nomura to come out early and make it clear that this is a game that shares the basic lore of FF7. its based on FF7, but its not FF7 and should not be expected to follow nostalgia in that particular manner.

Indeed, FINAL FANTASY Versus VII

 

[ChamplooJones]

I'm totally down for a new Tobal after the greatness that was Tobal 2.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

Indeed, FINAL FANTASY Versus VII

That's Xenogears.

 

[Man Called Aerodynamics]

Easy for Sakaguchi to sit back now and say that FF13 was the "wrong direction" for the series. Remember when The Spirits Within was the direction that HE wanted to take the series? How did that work out?

 

[Inuhanyou]

Indeed, FINAL FANTASY Versus VII

They should have named FF7R that instead. Final Fantasy 7 Versus lol

 

[DiipuSurotu]

Easy for Sakaguchi to sit back now and say that FF13 was the "wrong direction" for the series. Remember when The Spirits Within was the direction that HE wanted to take the series? How did that work out?

The Spirits Within was a film adaptation though, not a mainline installment.

 

[Bolivar687]

They shouldn't have touched the battle system of FFVII. They should have challenged the preconception that the mainstream doesn't want turn based, instead of buckling before it and making a different game. We had plenty of real time platform erst and hack and slash but millions of people still played Final Fanrasy instead.

It's not a remake.

 

[Inuhanyou]

They shouldn't have touched the battle system of FFVII. They should have challenged the preconception that the mainstream doesn't want turn based, instead of buckling before it and making a different game. We had plenty of real time platform erst and hack and slash but millions of people still played Final Fanrasy instead.

It's not a remake.

On the contrary, they should do whatever they feel like doing with the project instead of listening to nostalgia fans. I think challenging those kinds of 'this is what things should be like' is a lot more risky and daring than doing what you say.

And its definitely a remake, its a more radical remake on the level of a reimagining, but it is indeed a remake.

 

[Man Called Aerodynamics]

The Spirits Within was a film adaptation though, not a mainline installment.

I know, and as a huge fan of the series I respect his work. I just really take issue with the "Gooch can do no wrong/always knows what's best" stance that you see with some fans. He's had his share of missteps and failures just like anyone else.

 

[Bolivar687]

On the contrary, they should do whatever they feel like doing with the project instead of listening to nostalgia fans. I think challenging those kinds of 'this is what things should be like' is a lot more risky and daring than doing what you say.

And its definitely a remake, its a more radical remake on the level of a reimagining, but it is indeed a remake.

There is zero reason whatsoever to remake a game if you're uninterested in nostalgic fans.

You really couldn't be more wrong about risk and expectations. There is nothing remotely risky in any sense of the word in taking an already-iconic story and grafting a free camera action game on it. If you genuinely believe devoting a AAA budget and productiom values to a turn based RPG in today's market is playing it safe, then I honestly don't know what to say.

This is just what I prefer personally but the reasoning in your response is overwhelmingly problematic, especially with the creators themselves admitting it's not a remake.

 

[ShadowSoldier89]

On the contrary, they should do whatever they feel like doing with the project instead of listening to nostalgia fans. I think challenging those kinds of 'this is what things should be like' is a lot more risky and daring than doing what you say.

And its definitely a remake, its a more radical remake on the level of a reimagining, but it is indeed a remake.

There are pretty clear expectations fans are going to have when you start calling something a remake. Putting a game in a different genre and then calling it a remake is pretty bullshit