FF7 Remake "Multi part series"

[Dashell]

I see a lot of people saying, "Man this is sounding like Square just wants to make money off of this!" and stuff like that...


okay but why else would they remake FFVII?

 

[X-SOLDIER]

Something that they want to achieve before retiring and inevitably have someone else do it?




X

 

[micknutson9]

Or screw and muck it up beyond recognition if someone else beside the original creators/developers did it?

 

[Aya Lee]

Because I said so.

 

[Joe]

Something that they want to achieve before retiring and inevitably have someone else do it?

As much as I'd like to believe this I really struggle with the idea. Fan calling for a remake has been around for ages. Their approach to that widespread clamoring was to do everything but remake the game; creating sequels, spinoffs, movies and even trying to design another main FF character to be exactly like Cloud. They seemed way more comfortable and at ease giving the fans more FFVII as opposed to going back and doing it all again.

Honestly, with FFXIII's divisive reputation and all the failures of FFXV it almost seems like they were bullied into the remake as a reliable project.

None of this will matter one bit of they do a good job though, I'm damn happy they finally took this path.

 

[hian]

The way I see it the FFVII remake has always been a huge potential cash-in,
and so there has to be a reason why SE didn't do it for a really long time, despite that fact.

With that being considered, I really do think there have been some real concerns about how you'd remake one of the classic old-era FF games in a modern coat.
There is a reason not a single FF game, except the online ones, have exceeded the PS1 era games in terms of content and world size, and that's simply because graphics-whoring is a thing and it's forcing devs and publishers to their knees under the ridiculous costs associated with keeping up with those kind of gamers.

Making a 1:1 scale FFVII remake in the kind of graphics we saw in the trailer isn't feasible - at least not without a ridiculously huge budget, a huge team(s) and lots of time, non of which SE can afford to divert to the game when they've had FF15 on the table for 10 years without generating any revenue at all.
No share-holder in their right mind is going to float Nomura the cash for a project that's going to last 3-5+ years and cost just as much, if not more than FF15, before FF15 is even released.

In light of that, splitting the game up and testing the waters really is the only way. It's the only way to pay for, and thus enable, a project of this size to go forward.
I might be wrong though - and whether I am or not, will be apparent the moment we actually see how large they're making the world.
If they push out a couple of more game-play videos showing Midgar to be a huge, living metropolis akin the cities of Assassin's Creed and the Batman Arkham series, and we see this consistently presented in the world of the remake, both in other cities and in the areas between them, then I would be right.

If it just looks like another FF13 with action-based combat, then I'd be wrong.

 

[SomethingWithTheR]

This whole scenario just reminds me of the .hack games. I admit, I'd rather have it as a single release, and I get that people say that this is a cash grab. But, I'm honestly for it, especially considering how long they've been developing FFXV. I just hope that each part is reasonably priced....and I hope it's just two parts.

 

[Animexcel]

At first I was confused and sad about the game being divided, but as I read more info, it made more sense. I just hope it won't be more than 3 or 4 discs and that the waiting time isn't too far in between with each of them. A friend of mine mentioned they can't depend on a single game to make a huge return years later. It's a really expensive project and all the artists, developers, programmers, etc should be paid for all their hard work for doing this for the fans.

 

[micknutson9]

I'm going to be the random guy and toss the elephant in the room. Since this is a remake and both Yoshinori Kitase and Tetsuya Nomura said that not only will they keep it as the same, generally speaking, or adding new and more material while taking some out but also making it a multi-part, like some suggested here, similar to that of the .Hack series. But, having said that... Will they make references or connections to the FFX/X-2 world like someone mentioned years ago when X-2 came out? Thoughts?

 

[Mayo Master]

Will they make references or connections to the FFX/X-2 world like someone mentioned years ago when X-2 came out? Thoughts?

If these references are in the form of reports you can get here and there from something like "Dr. Gast's research on the Planet", I'd say why not? That being said, whether they make these references or not is anyone's guess. We could take bets and the winner gets a box of Timbits.

 

[Knuxson]

I'm really hoping, with the passion and determination Kitase and Nomura seem to have on making this Remake the best it can be, that all the characters get even more screentime and backstory and/or just extra info and characterization (yes we all know them, but more info is always fantastic).
Someone mentioned a few pages ago that they might make the Midgar part even longer, and have more time with Avalanche (Biggs, Wedge, Jessie, and 7th Heaven?), and I would love that. The time with them all seems fairly short when you consider you can play through that whole part in a few hours in the og and hardly get much time to interact with them.
I want to cry buckets and use up twenty tissues by the time the Midgar chapter is over. Like, just make me love all these guys a whole lot more.

And also.... I can't be the only one looking forward to playing as RED XIII? They've already said every character is playable and you can play as any of them or just only one of them if you'd like. A whole playthrough as Red XIII as soon as you get him? YES PLEASE!

I really like the idea of spending more time with Avalanche in Midgar. I actually was more shocked than maybe some when they died, because I personally spent a lot of time with them. My older brother had the Playstation in his room at the time, and I would play this borrowed copy of VII I had when he was gone. However, I didn't have a memory card, so I played the beginning of the game over and over for a couple of weeks, trying to get further each time before I would be kicked off by my brother. When I finally got a memory card and saw Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie die, I think it impacted me more than if I hadn't been playing the beginning over and over (even though it was the same each time lol).

Anyway, yeah, it would be interesting if they were more fleshed out than in the OG.

 

[Starling]

I'm going to be the random guy and toss the elephant in the room. Since this is a remake and both Yoshinori Kitase and Tetsuya Nomura said that not only will they keep it as the same, generally speaking, or adding new and more material while taking some out but also making it a multi-part, like some suggested here, similar to that of the .Hack series. But, having said that... Will they make references or connections to the FFX/X-2 world like someone mentioned years ago when X-2 came out? Thoughts?

I'd rather they didn't, as I've said on multiple occasions that 7 and 10's settings just don't add to each-other and trying to put the two together in that way would likely be a hindrance. Stuff like magic and summons working differently in the two games, the world building of FF7 carrying the implication that humans and Cetra are related, how unnecessary it would be for humans and/or Cetra to come from a different planet and how FF7 and FF10 should remain their own settings with their own way of doing things without having to fit with the other.

 

[wayfarer]

I'd rather they didn't, as I've said on multiple occasions that 7 and 10's settings just don't add to each-other and trying to put the two together in that way would likely be a hindrance.

the connection between X and VII is one of those things that I thought was cool when I first heard. Who wouldn't? It's arguably the series' two most successful entries... But the more I really try to think about it the more it bothers me. VII and X feel very different all around, there doesn't seem to be much consistency going on. To me, it just sounds more like a cute homage, with the same amount of weight to it that recurring character names like Biggs, Wedge, and Cid have.

 

[Channy]

Will they make references or connections to the FFX/X-2 world like someone mentioned years ago when X-2 came out? Thoughts?

If these references are in the form of reports you can get here and there from something like "Dr. Gast's research on the Planet", I'd say why not?

This would be awesome. Doesn't have to be huge or in your face, just nice and subtle.

That being said, whether they make these references or not is anyone's guess. We could take bets and the winner gets a box of Timbits.

A man after my own stomach heart. <3

 

[Jason Tandro]

This whole scenario just reminds me of the .hack games. I admit, I'd rather have it as a single release, and I get that people say that this is a cash grab. But, I'm honestly for it, especially considering how long they've been developing FFXV. I just hope that each part is reasonably priced....and I hope it's just two parts.

Dude, I loved the .hack games, but their division made sense. Considering the limitations of the PS2 hardware and considering how each game not only had its own batch of FMV cutscenes and content, you also had to factor in the timeline. Each game came with a roughly 30 minute anime which told that part of the story. The games featured an in-game desktop where you got emails from friends and read news stories based on what was going on in the world. The division was intentional, and necessary. It felt like you were really waiting for patches for "The World" so that you could continue on with the adventure. And, even though it was all procedural generation, it was still a simulated MMO with well over 10,000 different potential locations by the end of it all.

This doesn't feel the same. Whereas the division in .hack I felt actually helped with the immersion, the division here seems more like a cheap exploit. First off, I don't believe that it had to be split for the sake of "doing it justice". Looking at the scale of FFXV leads me to suspect that answer. But I am willing to give it a chance on the grounds that maybe they didn't have to do it, but maybe there was a good artistic grounds to do it that way. The argument about not condensing anything sounds a touch flat when they admit they're adding things, but perhaps the version we got on the PSOne was a condensed version of the story they really wanted to tell.

It sounds dangerously like the Special Edition argument from Star Wars, but again, despite my recent reaction video which was mostly for chuckles, I am not ready to completely despise Square for this decision. However three things better be true:

1) In the first part, we'd better see more than just Midgar. I don't care if we can explore every square inch of Midgar I don't want us to be locked there, waiting for another couple years before we can access the open world. I think if they want to go all high tech, a reasonable ending point for the first game would be Junon's Cargo Ship, and prefeerably much further than that.

2) The game better be reasonably priced. If the first part of this game is anything higher than $40 I am going to be highly irritated, and frankly I still think $40 is a touch steep but hey apparently people were willing to pay that for Ground Zeroes, so...

3) We'd better see shorter times between games than the rigamarole FF15 has been putting us through.

 

[Flare]

1) In the first part, we'd better see more than just Midgar. I don't care if we can explore every square inch of Midgar I don't want us to be locked there, waiting for another couple years before we can access the open world. I think if they want to go all high tech, a reasonable ending point for the first game would be Junon's Cargo Ship, and prefeerably much further than that.

I'm hoping they do let you explore outside of Midgar for the first installment. I wonder if they'll separate installments based on story points (as in if there's 3 installments and they make the story evenly split 3 ways) or if they'll do it based on 'world size'.

2) The game better be reasonably priced. If the first part of this game is anything higher than $40 I am going to be highly irritated, and frankly I still think $40 is a touch steep but hey apparently people were willing to pay that for Ground Zeroes, so...

Definitely agree. I think $40 would be the highest they should go for each installment, since it's not the full game, but we'll see.

3) We'd better see shorter times between games than the rigamarole FF15 has been putting us through.

I'm pretty certain this'll be developed a lot faster than XV. Or at least we'll get to play it sooner.

 

[Tetsujin]

Yeah I've seen some people argue for the first part to be Midgar only...how many parts would this game have then? =/
I honestly don't expect this or want this to be longer than three parts.

And I still wonder what they mean by "full-sized game". 5 hours can be full sized. Anything can be full-sized if that's how long you intended your game to be dammit! Do they mean specifically the full size of a Final Fantasy game? 30 - 40h? That would be the most logical comparison but I don't wanna jump to conclusions.

 

[Roger]

I'd rather it come out in parts then that we have to wait years to play anything at all like FFXV or that they release it before it's finished like Phantom Pain.

And that they expand on other places rather then comparatively skimp through the towns after Midgar just to get as much of the story on Part 1.

 

[Lex]

Well we need to be prepared that part 1 is going to be utterly dominated by Midgar for sure. Honestly I'd like to see all of the recruitment happen in Part 1 but since they said multiple (which suggests more than two) that seems unlikely. I could see Part One ending when they get the boat from Junon (first Jenova fight as a final boss followed by a visual of the boat crossing the ocean).

 

[aszach01]

I'd rather it come out in parts then that we have to wait years to play anything at all like FFXV or that they release it before it's finished like Phantom Pain.

And that they expand on other places rather then comparatively skimp through the towns after Midgar just to get as much of the story on Part 1.

People who wanted a remake had waited long enough. My point is that multi part release doesn't make sense for me I mean on a story or plot point most people know FFVII already so there's nothing really that SE can do to make people hype on the next release since people know the story already well this is just my point. But it's clear why SE want to make it a muti part release "Money" and hell if was put in their position I would do too but unfortunately I just play their game so the multi part release is kinda off to me I just don't like it.

 

[Roger]

People who wanted a remake had waited long enough.

Wouldn't have helped much if they started development years ago for the PS3, again, look at FFXV.

 

[aszach01]

People who wanted a remake had waited long enough.

Wouldn't have helped much if they started development years ago for the PS3, again, look at FFXV.

If they wanted Versus to be released early they can do that

 

[Obsidian Fire]

Keep in mind that it's been nearly 20 years since the OG. That's enough time for an entire generation of gamers to grow up with completely different expectations from a video game, who therefore never played FFVII.

Heck, I wasn't even 10 when the OG came out. I probably wouldn't be playing it except that I love Turn-Based combat enough that a good story is all that I need to enjoy a game nowadays. But the most constant complaints I see from younger players is that the graphics and the slow combat make the game a pain enough to play that they'd rather spend their time gaming in a different game. Namely one that's easier on the eyes, has a larger world and a more engaging combat system. For a lot of younger gamers, they know that FFVII went down in the history of video games, but they don't get why.

So yeah, I can easily buy that there's a lot of people who don't know the story of FFVII and will be playing it for the first time. And they won't mind waiting for a game of the scope that the devs want to make.

 

[Mayo Master]

I think that making a first episode in "just" Midgar is the way to go, in terms of game structure. In that case you have unity in both "setting/location" and narrative. I believe it is best to think of each installment as a game that can have its own closure. You present Shinra as the main villain and the "final dungeon" is the Shinra building. All that's about Sephiroth will be the epilogue of this part. If you make Midgar open-world, it would work. As an example, in terms of scope, I'd say that the equivalent of Hong Kong 's recreation in Sleeping Dogs would suffice (guys, have you ever thought about Cloud riding the Hardy Daytona as part of the regular gameplay mechanics?).
I think that if you make a game which is 3/4 Midgar, 1/4 some bit of story introducing Sephiroth, the structure is going to be very awkward.

 

[aszach01]

I think SE main reason why they remake the VII was to fullfill the fans who wished for a remake that has been the case and prior to the trailer released the reception among long time fans is huge so even without the younger gen the game would still sell although can't blame SE to target the younger ones since they would sell more higher.