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[TheJollyCorner]

So they are going to make us pay like 3 times for a remake of what 20 years ago was one single game.

How...what...I don't even.

No. What has been expressed is it's going to be three full games in the FFVIIverse that will tell a complete story of this 'revisioning' project.

Even if it's broken down in a way that only covers the events of the original game (which I doubt), there will likely be enough new stuff and story/character development added to make this a hell of a lot larger game than VII Original... in theory.

 

[OptimusLime]

A much shorter development cycle that FFXV? See you guys in 2021.

 

[Papacheeks]

A much shorter development cycle that FFXV? See you guys in 2021.

They are using Unreal 4 so I believe it.

 

[Ooccoo]

Spoiler

Aeris won't die

 

[TheJollyCorner]

A much shorter development cycle that FFXV? See you guys in 2021.

Maybe when it's all said and done, sure.

Three full-length AAA JRPGs in the span of three or four years (assuming the first part of the VII-R project releases in '17/'18) is pretty damn good in this day and age.

 

[antitrop]

Maybe when it's all said and done, sure.

Three full-length AAA JRPGs in the span of three or four years (assuming the first part of the VII-R project releases in '17/'18) is pretty damn good in this day and age.

I want the first part to hit that 20th anniversary so very badly.

It would be cool if we could get a battle system demo before the end of this year, too. Something like the original FF7 did with a short demo of the Battle Arena in the Gold Saucer (I think that was only for the PC version, but yeah).

 

[Chambers35]

Can't bloody wait! I don't mind that it's going to be in 3 parts, or the fact they might be changing some of the plot points. I'm sure whatever they do with the changes it'll be an improvement I have faith!!

 

[Pejo]

I dunno, I'm super skeptical still that this isn't going to turn into a dumpster fire and piss all over the fans of the original. None of what I've read has indicated otherwise.

The "I feel since we worked on the original, so we can screw with the story" line really has me doubting the fact that any of this will be good besides music/graphics. It's not even about the fact that FFVII's story was that special, but compared to Nomura's past stories, it was one of the few that I could actually understand.

Still, good for those of you that are genuinely excited about this information.

 

[Cindi Mayweather]

Maybe when it's all said and done, sure.

Three full-length AAA JRPGs in the span of three or four years (assuming the first part of the VII-R project releases in '17/'18) is pretty damn good in this day and age.

But it's also overkill and unnecessary, especially when FFVII is 40-70 hours at best.

It's just another example of SE prioritizing graphics and superficiality than pumping good games out. Peopled asked for FFVII remake for years. It's finally coming, but this likely won't be finished in this decade. I think that's pretty pathetic and given how much they have flubbed 13, 14 1.0, XV, and now this remake, I've honestly got enough ammo to get off the Final Fantasy train. FFXIV 2.0 is my final destination and my last Final Fantasy.

How they've handled this remake seals me turning in my FF jacket.

Who wants an FF jacket or do you just throw them in the corner, anyone know?

 

[TheJollyCorner]

I want the first part to hit that 20th anniversary so very badly.

It would be cool if we could get a battle system demo before the end of this year, too. Something like the original FF7 did with a short demo of the Battle Arena in the Gold Saucer (I think that was only for the PC version, but yeah).

I'm a sucker for meaningful anniversaries, antitrop.
A re-creation of the Tobal #1 FFVII demo releasing this fall to honor that particular 20-year milestone would be amazing. I mean, at the time it was phenomenal... and for those of us that were strictly console gamers new to the CD-based market, the very idea of getting to 'try' FFVII well over a year in advance was an exciting experience.

Next year will be interesting.
Do I believe the first part of VII-R could release next year to honor the 20th? I want to. All I hear about is how great Unreal 4 is, how smooth this production is going, seeing the progress even at PSX (everyone seemed legitimately surprised)... but then I remember Verendus saying something along the lines of they are not going to rush things just to get something out for an anniversary.
That's fine, but I hope S-E has something else up their sleeve to honor the 20th anniversary (and ultimately the series' 30th anniversary).

In my pie-in-the-sky dreams I'd like to see some kind of VII-20th Collector's set come out with Before Crisis, Crisis Core, PS4 FFVII Original, and Advent Children Complete + playable VII-R demo included on a couple PS4 Bluray discs. I'd likely spend more money than I'd like on that package.

 

[royox]

FF7 was a ~35 hour game (though it was many people's first RPG ever in the 90s, which kind of inflates the playtime for those people a bit).

What they're talking about here sounds like giving us three 30-hour games, I don't see it as a ripoff.

That's what is scaring me the most.

I beat FFVII in 20 hours (1st time playing , not 100% but killed all the Weapons). If they are going to make 3 30 hours games...that's 70 hours of content that the original didn't have. So either they will fill the games with hours and hours of cinematics or they are doing what Peter Jackson did with The Hobbit (x3 3 hours long movies from a 150 pages book).

 

[A-V-B]

I hope they don't fuck around with the Materia system.

Same here! Tweak it a little bit, but I love systems that have plug-in mix and match spell stuff.

 

[Papacheeks]

I'm a sucker for meaningful anniversaries, antitrop.
A re-creation of the Tobal #1 FFVII demo releasing this fall to honor that particular 20-year milestone would be amazing. I mean, at the time it was phenomenal... and for those of us that were strictly console gamers new to the CD-based market, the very idea of getting to 'try' FFVII well over a year in advance was an exciting experience.

Next year will be interesting.
Do I believe the first part of VII-R could release next year to honor the 20th? I want to. All I hear about is how great Unreal 4 is, how smooth this production is going, seeing the progress even at PSX (everyone seemed legitimately surprised)... but then I remember Verendus saying something along the lines of they are not going to rush things just to get something out for an anniversary.
That's fine, but I hope S-E has something else up their sleeve to honor the 20th anniversary (and ultimately the series' 30th anniversary).

In my pie-in-the-sky dreams I'd like to see some kind of VII-20th Collector's set come out with Before Crisis, Crisis Core, PS4 FFVII Original, and Advent Children Complete + playable VII-R demo included on a couple PS4 Bluray discs. I'd likely spend more money than I'd like on that package.

Give me a awesome FF7 steelcase and a statue of cloud on a chocobo and I will pay anything for it.

 

[antitrop]

I dunno, I'm super skeptical still that this isn't going to turn into a dumpster fire and piss all over the fans of the original. None of what I've read has indicated otherwise.

The "I feel since we worked on the original, so we can screw with the story" line really has me doubting the fact that any of this will be good besides music/graphics. It's not even about the fact that FFVII's story was that special, but compared to Nomura's past stories, it was one of the few that I could actually understand.

Still, good for those of you that are genuinely excited about this information.

Nomura's role in FF7 was mostly on the character design side. He had some input into the story, but Nojima and Kitase were the main writers of FF7.

 

[Koozek]

I dunno, I'm super skeptical still that this isn't going to turn into a dumpster fire and piss all over the fans of the original. None of what I've read has indicated otherwise.

The "I feel since we worked on the original, so we can screw with the story" line really has me doubting the fact that any of this will be good besides music/graphics. It's not even about the fact that FFVII's story was that special, but compared to Nomura's past stories, it was one of the few that I could actually understand.

Still, good for those of you that are genuinely excited about this information.

What. You should feel exactly the opposite. It's their own creation, they can do things they've wanted to do back then but couldn't or didn't have the time for. Admittedly, Nojima doesn't seem to respect his own stories at all (see Crisis Core, FFX-2 or FFX-2.5

Spoiler

LOL

), but maybe Kitase can keep him in check.

 

[meanspartan]

I like the three act idea.

Act 1 is the Opening until the team leaves Midgar.
Act 2 is exploring the world until Cloud

Spoiler

hands over the Black Materia and Aeris/Aerith is killed.

Act 3 is Cloud's

Spoiler

awakening

and the end of the game.

Simple, really.

They can cram so much into that. The Turks show up across all three games, Cid, Red XIII, Yuffie and Vincent don't arrive until game 2, the WEAPONS don't arrive until the end of game 2, the Golden Saucer and Costa Del Sol are relaxation points, etc., etc.

Hmmm. I was already excited before, but now I'm getting kinda hyped beyond what I should be.

I'm actually happy and relieved that it isn't episodic really but rather a trilogy of pretty long games. That said, Midgar being 40 hours long? That might be stretching it no? Maybe I''m not imaginative enough.

 

[Kintaro]

This reminds me of what Peter Jackson did to the Hobbit. Spread that mother thin over three movies, change some stuff, add pointless shit and count the money!

 

[A-V-B]

This reminds me of what Peter Jackson did to the Hobbit. Spread that mother thin over three movies, change some stuff, add pointless shit and count the money!

Of course, it went wrong because what came out of the Hobbit was tonally bonkers with the original material.

If Team FFVIIR expanded Midgar in a way that made sense, developed their characters more, and kept a consistent tone with the original, I could see it being pretty good. Potentially. But collectively it would take both the steady hand and the careful touch of a master craftsman.

 

[nelsonroyale]

This reminds me of what Peter Jackson did to the Hobbit. Spread that mother thin over three movies, change some stuff, add pointless shit and count the money!

We will see. FFVII is a momentously bigger project in size than the Hobbit.

 

[TheJollyCorner]

That's what is scaring me the most.

I beat FFVII in 20 hours (1st time playing , not 100% but killed all the Weapons). If they are going to make 3 30 hours games...that's 70 hours of content that the original didn't have. So either they will fill the games with hours and hours of cinematics or they are doing what Peter Jackson did with The Hobbit (x3 3 hours long movies from a 150 pages book).

The problem with the Hobbit is that it was a kid's book that was adapted into some big sweeping epic to connect more firmly into the much darker The Lord of the Rings saga. The creator of the book, Tolkien, likely would not have approved. Just a guess. Even Jackson seemed lethargic and seemingly disinterested in comparison to his amazing passion with LotR.

Here, you have the three primary figures (Kitase/Nojima/Nomura) that took a very basic idea that Sakaguchi created in the early/mid '90s, collaborated to make a sweeping epic out of it, and are now coming back to revisit it. They've made it clear that they don't simply want to make the same game with a new coat of paint, since where is the challenge in that?
Make no mistake, this will likely be a very divisive project. I don't envy any of these guys for being a part of it, as 20 years of love and expectations from a passionate fanbase will likely go at this project very hard regardless of what the end result is. Look at this thread. People are already "handing in their FF jackets".
The important thing is: these three guys were at the ground floor of the original. If it was gonna happen - and now we know it is - there's no one else's hands I'd rather this be in. Success or failure, let's see what the old guys can do.

 

[potatohead]

That's what is scaring me the most.

I beat FFVII in 20 hours (1st time playing , not 100% but killed all the Weapons). If they are going to make 3 30 hours games...that's 70 hours of content that the original didn't have. So either they will fill the games with hours and hours of cinematics or they are doing what Peter Jackson did with The Hobbit (x3 3 hours long movies from a 150 pages book).

Yea I don't like this absurd length.

I have a feel they will go too far on the exposition and make the game feel like a trainwreck in the narrative.

Simple is better a lot of the time..... but I'm not sure what kind of people are running SE anyway.

In the end the best part is they cannot take away the original from me, in case I don't like the remake at all.

Why couldn't they just do like RE1/RE0 remake? Oh well.

 

[Kintaro]

We will see. FFVII is a momentously bigger project in size than the Hobbit.

I...guess? FFVII wasn't THAT long of a game unless you insisted in doing all the side crap. <shrugs> We'll see. I'm happy in knowing that I never, ever wanted a remake (unless it was Resident Evil style graphic upgrade) so everything that occurs here is the fault of fans who just wouldn't stop. =) Be careful what you ask for and all.

Square's current talent isn't what it used to be.

 

[M-PG71C]

I think if they do it right, and I have faith they will, it can turn out into being something truly special. At worse, there is always the original. But at best, we could have something really shows the full focus and scope of FF VII.

I look forward to it.

 

[KingBroly]

I don't mind them splitting it up. I don't mind dialog changes. I mind plot and character changes, though. If you're not staying true to the original, you're really not embracing what made the game adored by many. I mind gameplay changes if they're getting rid of the open world aspect (which I'm assuming they're doing unless they make it like an MMO where you're just adding onto the base game).

 

[antitrop]

That's what is scaring me the most.

I beat FFVII in 20 hours (1st time playing , not 100% but killed all the Weapons). If they are going to make 3 30 hours games...that's 70 hours of content that the original didn't have. So either they will fill the games with hours and hours of cinematics or they are doing what Peter Jackson did with The Hobbit (x3 3 hours long movies from a 150 pages book).

A completely fair concern and one that I certainly share. But I just have to be optimistic about this project, I have been waiting for this for too damn long to start being doubtful of it now.

If I get burned, I get burned, but damnit, I'm gonna hope for the best.

 

[Sheriff_Battlesnake]

It's a long shot but I am expecting FFVII Remake Pt 1 this Holiday.

 

[diaspora]

Part of me is glad that I was disappointed with FF7 when it first came out because whatever they release with the remake will either meet my expectations or be a pleasant surprise.

 

[A-V-B]

I don't mind them splitting it up. I don't mind dialog changes. I mind plot and character changes, though. If you're not staying true to the original, you're really not embracing what made the game adored by many. I mind gameplay changes if they're getting rid of the open world aspect (which I'm assuming they're doing unless they make it like an MMO where you're just adding onto the base game).

I wouldn't mind getting to know the people in Midgar better, as well as the characters in Avalanche. And no doubt there has to be some focus on the effect of Avalanche's attacks on the city. It was sort of glossed over in the original to keep them looking like heroes, but Avalanche must've really wrecked some lives.

 

[raven777]

I am sure they will at least try to release part 1 in 20th anniversary year.

 

[DXLelouch153]

so 3 games confirmed
TAKE THAT! peoples that claimed it be 9 games+

 

[antitrop]

I wouldn't mind getting to know the people in Midgar better, as well as the characters in Avalanche. And no doubt there has to be some focus on the effect of Avalanche's attacks on the city. It was sort of glossed over in the original to keep them looking like heroes, but Avalanche must've really wrecked some lives.

As someone else in the thread said, I expect them to really beef up Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie as characters.

Their deaths had a pretty big impact on me when I played the game for the first time and I was 13 years old, but going back to it... they don't really have a lot of time in the original game to build that up. It just kinda happens and the game quickly moves past it, there's a LOT more they can do with those three characters.

After the first few hours of the game, those three are almost never mentioned again, except when Barrett is having a bit of an emotional moment. I feel like they should be more important characters to the story, overall.

 

[Saven]

I better not see or hear the word "Genesis" anywhere.

 

[potatohead]

It's a long shot but I am expecting FFVII Remake Pt 1 this Holiday.

I say Summer 2017 delayed to Winter 2017.

But we'll see this E3 maybe... if it doesn't show at E3 I'm saying 2018 lol.

I better not see or hear the word "Genesis" anywhere.

Yea that guy was a prick.

But knowing current SE he's going to be more important than Sephiroth somehow... >.>

 

[MatrixMan.EXE]

I wish people would stop quoting FFXV as if it's some gold standard for how long Square Enix take to make games. It's an anomaly, and the people who keep bringing it up are doing so while completely ignoring the context of the game's development cycle. Shit is so boring at this point.

I think we'll get part 1 next year, Part 2 in 2019 and Part 3 in 2020/2021 as the new console roll in. Just my thoughts.

 

[Koozek]

Nomura's role in FF7 was mostly on the character design side. He had some input into the story, but Nojima and Kitase were the main writers of FF7.

Yeah, Nomura had much more influence on FFVII's story than many think. The Aerith "scene" was his idea, for example. He's credited under "Based on the story by" next to Sakaguchi himself:

 

[A-V-B]

I better not see or hear the word "Genesis" anywhere.

Genesis does what Playstashouldn't

 

[potatohead]

I wish people would stop quoting FFXV as if it's some gold standard for how long Square Enix take to make games. It's an anomaly, and the people who keep bringing it up are doing so while completely ignoring the context of the game's development cycle. Shit is so boring at this point.

I think we'll get part 1 next year, Part 2 in 2019 and Part 3 in 2020/2021 as the new console roll in. Just my thoughts.

Unreal Engine 4 is the saviour.

Not even joking, I expect KH3/DQ/FF7RE to churn out way faster because of UE4.

 

[ZenTzen]

But each part is a full length game and they are changing things up, so it's not like you're buying the same game again at full price three times.

i dont think they'll change major things, the story will be the same, they'll just expand on things, one of them, which was already mentioned upon, was them developing Biggs, Wedge and jessie for example

another one for example, and which we kind of see in the PSX trailer, was when cloud was ambushed by the shinra grunts, and he has that episode with static and stuff, thats not in the original game in that section

 

[A-V-B]

Unreal Engine 4 is the saviour.

Not even joking, I expect KH3/DQ/FF7RE to churn out way faster because of UE4.

Why is FFXV's engine hard to develop for?

 

[TheJollyCorner]

I don't mind them splitting it up. I don't mind dialog changes. I mind plot and character changes, though. If you're not staying true to the original, you're really not embracing what made the game adored by many. I mind gameplay changes if they're getting rid of the open world aspect (which I'm assuming they're doing unless they make it like an MMO where you're just adding onto the base game).

I really don't see them mucking with any major character or story concepts. That would surprise me.
I mean, would people really be that pissed if Marlene becomes Barret's biological daughter as opposed to Dyne's? Obviously there would be some character beats that would change, but nothing too huge... unless you are one of the 6 diehard Dyne fans. In that case I apologize.
That's one basic example of something that could be seen as a somewhat big change, but not a catastrophic or insulting change, IMO. You would be subtracting one part of Barret's character development, but can easily replace it with another that could have even more direction to grow into.

On the flip-side, a major story change move that would not only piss a lot of fans off but also just be a poor decision would be preventing Aeris' death/resurrecting Aeris.
My imagination could work through a scenario where... mehhh... it could work, but to paraphrase/botch-quote Dr. Ian Malcolm, the big question is "should", not "could".
^ Just don't see that happening regardless, unless Nomura wants to completely erase his directorial debut, Advent Children, completely from FFVII canon. I don't want to live in a world where "DAT'S SOME CRAZY WATER!" doesn't exist as Cloud is splashing around with children in a pool.

 

[potatohead]

Why is FFXV's engine hard to develop for?

Not saying it is, in terms of FF XV engine.

But I imagine being a middleware provider by trade, Epic's focus is offering excellent developer support and ease of use.

Otherwise I imagine they would not be in the business, or be so successful as they are doing with UE4 so far.

They're clearly doing something right that even Japanese developers like CAPCOM and SE are using their products.

 

[muteki]

I don't have the article in front of me, but I could read the OP to mean that each installment is full length, not necessarily that precisely 3 games are confirmed. Unless I'm missing something.

 

[Koozek]

That's what is scaring me the most.

I beat FFVII in 20 hours (1st time playing , not 100% but killed all the Weapons). If they are going to make 3 30 hours games...that's 70 hours of content that the original didn't have. So either they will fill the games with hours and hours of cinematics or they are doing what Peter Jackson did with The Hobbit (x3 3 hours long movies from a 150 pages book).

Having fully-voiced cutscenes alone will increase the length, keep that in mind. Plus the longer traversal between locations on the world-map (if it's huge zones or "open-world").

 

[ZenTzen]

Nomura's role in FF7 was mostly on the character design side. He had some input into the story, but Nojima and Kitase were the main writers of FF7.

nomura came up with the story along with sakaguchi, he was also the character and monster designer, as well as the visual battle director, nomura literally did half the story, nojima and kitase were the main writers in that they wrote the story beats and pacing of it, with input from both nomura and sakaguchi.

Nomura was the one that came up with Aeriths death, Tifas character and story arc, also nomura, theres a reason why he considers cloud as like his son

 

[Hibiki Kurosawa]

i dont think they'll change major things, the story will be the same, they'll just expand on things, one of them, which was already mentioned upon, was them developing Biggs, Wedge and jessie for example

another one for example, and which we kind of see in the PSX trailer, was when cloud was ambushed by the shinra grunts, and he has that episode with static and stuff, thats not in the original game in that section

Yeah I know, Changing/adding, whichever. The point still remains that things will be different so 3 full games shouldn't be scoffed at just yet.

 

[Agent Gibbs]

So potentially instead of crying Cloud could just pop a Phoenix Down on Aerith

 

[Omadahl]

It all sounds good to me. Them stating that it should have a shorter development cycle kind of cracks me up though; how could the dev cycle possibly be any longer than FFXV? I would be dropping my now 3-year old daughter off at college and going to pick up part 3.

 

[laserlaser]

sounds better than episodic idea.

 

[ZenTzen]

Yeah I know, Changing/adding, whichever. The point still remains that things will be different so 3 full games shouldn't be scoffed at just yet.

yes, but theres no way they'll be making major plot changes, the only major changes i see happening is the story beats being reworked to accomodate the 3 part thing, and making yuffie and vincent more involved parts of the story instead of side characters, having more story elements in each town, and developing other underutilized characters, like the shinra group, the turks, or Reeve who is literally one of the main characters

Spoiler

even if hes mainly controlling a stuffed toy

 

[YankeeDonB]

The problem with the Hobbit is that it was a kid's book that was adapted into some big sweeping epic to connect more firmly into the much darker The Lord of the Rings saga. The creator of the book, Tolkien, likely would not have approved. Just a guess. Even Jackson seemed lethargic and seemingly disinterested in comparison to his amazing passion with LotR.

Here, you have the three primary figures (Kitase/Nojima/Nomura) that took a very basic idea that Sakaguchi created in the early/mid '90s, collaborated to make a sweeping epic out of it, and are now coming back to revisit it. They've made it clear that they don't simply want to make the same game with a new coat of paint, since where is the challenge in that?
Make no mistake, this will likely be a very divisive project. I don't envy any of these guys for being a part of it, as 20 years of love and expectations from a passionate fanbase will likely go at this project very hard regardless of what the end result is. Look at this thread. People are already "handing in their FF jackets".
The important thing is: these three guys were at the ground floor of the original. If it was gonna happen - and now we know it is - there's no one else's hands I'd rather this be in. Success or failure, let's see what the old guys can do.

Good points. This is much less an analog to Peter Jackson's Hobbit movies then to what would have happened if Tolkien had come back and decided to expand the Hobbit into three books. I don't know if that would've been a good idea, but at least we could trust that he has proper respect and appreciation for the original material, which I fully believe Kitase, Nomura, and Nojima do.