FF7 Remake "Multi part series"

[Tetsujin]

As a gaming experience, each entry will have the volume of content equal to a full-sized game.

Since there is no universal standard as to what constitutes a "full-sized game" this can literally mean anything...

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Seems like 7 episodes is the obvious number to expect.

 

[Flintlock]

If they're going to be full-priced games, I could accept two parts: disc one on its own, discs two and three together. Any more than that and I'd have to consider delaying my purchase until there's a "complete edition" or some decent discounts (which are pretty rare when it comes to Square Enix).

 

[trash panda]

I wouldn't mind this so long as subsequent releases didn't take longer than a year. I especially wouldn't mind if each release had new promotional/collectible material. If I had to guess, I'd say there'd be three parts, I mean...the OG game had three discs.

 

[Theozilla]

Now, the complete Midgar mission as eps one isn't unreasonable. It ranges from 4-8 hours depending on how fast and complete you play it. That's a good chunk. But then you take that amount of time into account for ongoing episodes... others in the thread have stated optimism for 3-5 episodes of the whole game. Really? You don't think it would be a whole lot bigger?

For SE who is worried about completeness in one single entity, I doubt they would then split it into just 3-5 parts. I think the likelihood of 5-8 parts is greater. And this isn't a bad thing, by any means, but it does increase waiting time for a complete game, a limited edition, etc, etc. But the more, bigger parts you have, I think it lends itself even more for a fully complete game, as stated by SE.

If the number of episodes do end being more in the 5-8 part range, do you still expect it all to be released within the PS4's generation time? Because most speculations I've seen estimate that the PS4's lifespan will at most last until 2020 (with the PS5 being released at either the end of 2020 or the beginning of 2021). So if there are 5-8 episodes made do you expect the development/release time between each one to be less than a year apart?

I am entirely unconvinced that the whole thing wouldn't fit on one BD, that's just silly.

I don't think they necessarily mean that they'd just be restricted by data limitations. I think what they mean is that to fully realize the scope of FFVII at the level they want to, it would take too long and cost too much money to try and fit it all into a single release.

I saw someone making comparisons to Witcher 3, but if we're talking about something approaching an open world game, that's kind of a ridiculous comparison. FFVII has three continents with about a dozen towns and cities, some of which are ridiculously large and filled with complex detail.


Now, I'm not convinced that Remake will be treated purely as an open world game, anyway, because like I said the scope would be kind of ridiculous even if it were broken up into multiple episodes. Midgar, Kalm, and the surrounding environments would be similar in size and scale to the entirety of GTAV, if not larger, and that's only a portion of the Eastern Continent.

I mean, look at it. And that's less than 1/16th of Midgar. Even if you can't access the entire city, building a flyable open world to that scale, and thus needing that environment to exist at scale, is probably impossible. So, if they ever do implement the airship, I'm sure it'll operate with a differently scaled world map.

However, if their goal is to create a game where something approaching that scale is possible, like making several sectors of Midgar explorable, in addition to the Wastelands and an expanded, full-sized Kalm...? I can completely understand the desire to break it up into parts if that's the case.

Yeah, that's what I've been saying. Regardless of being Episodic or not there's no way they can do a to-scale open-world of a entire planet without it either being segmented into different regions (that would be separated by loading screens) or being an obviously really small planet/globe.
And the flyable airship/Highwind sections would either be limited to only flying in the different sectioned regions (then transitioning to others will a loading screen) or have its own not-to-scale world map of the entire planet/globe.

 

[wayfarer]

I'm curious as to what this supplemental new content is going to be. I know everyone else was worrying about an overabundance of nods to the Compilation entries, but I don't THINK that that's going to be the cases. I think this more likely means more enemies, more missions, more side characters type of thing. If there's going to be a 12 hour gaming experience JUST taking place in Midgar (and I hope this isn't the case), what's that even going to look like?

 

[clowd]

Same here, this is my first foray into this thread and it's already on its fourth page (eighth for those of you who haven't changed your forum display settings).

10th actually.

The only thing that causes trepidation in my mind is something a friend brought up while texting. He laughed, menacingly as he typed "You're a fool if you think you're getting out of Midgar in the first episode."

Now, the complete Midgar mission as eps one isn't unreasonable. It ranges from 4-8 hours depending on how fast and complete you play it. That's a good chunk. But then you take that amount of time into account for ongoing episodes... others in the thread have stated optimism for 3-5 episodes of the whole game. Really? You don't think it would be a whole lot bigger?

For SE who is worried about completeness in one single entity, I doubt they would then split it into just 3-5 parts. I think the likelihood of 5-8 parts is greater. And this isn't a bad thing, by any means, but it does increase waiting time for a complete game, a limited edition, etc, etc. But the more, bigger parts you have, I think it lends itself even more for a fully complete game, as stated by SE.

The issue I see with more then 3 parts is how do you sell it? Are people really going to want to buy 4-8 episodes of the game for $30 each? And how do you release it all in a reasonable time timeframe (before PS5).

FF7 takes about 30 hours to beat if you play it straight through without rushing but also without doing any of the side missions, grinding etc. Even if this new game had more and new content to push that towards 40 hours, splitting it up into 8 parts would mean just 5 hours of gameplay per episode. With just 5 hours of gameplay people will want more pretty quick, so do they release a new episode every few months? It would be kind of weird having to go to the store every few months to buy the latest installment of the game. I know theres digital distribution but most console people still buy their games on disc.

Personally IMO I just think they're better off splitting the game into 2 or 3 parts. Maybe Midgar to Kalm can be expanded and take 10-12 hours as one episode, then Kalm to the Forgotten City 13-15 hours of core gamepaly, then the Forgotten City to the end 13-15 hours of core gamepaly. Maybe one episode released every 12 months, perhaps at something of a discount, $40 or $50 instead of full price.

In the end I really dont care too much, as long as the completed product is seamless and they make good on their promise that everything will be highly detailed along with extra story/content.

I imagine by the time it's all done too, a full and complete version will be sold for the PS5.

Hopefully with 4K visuals and 60fps

Day 1

 

[Mayo Master]

If FF7 is remade to full scale with the ambition to expand on the contents accordingly (and it seems Nomura and Kitase have that intention), then IMO it doesn't make sense to try to evaluate the gameplay duration of each "episode" by referring to the corresponding duration in the OG.
For instance, if the first episode is self-contained in Midgar (6 hours in the OG - many people have smaller times estimate because they already know the game by heart IMO), but if it's upscaled to a large open-world structure in the remake, I can see how you'd get more than 40 hours of gameplay in Midgar's episode alone.

I imagine by the time it's all done too, a full and complete version will be sold for the PS5.

It will be called Final Fantasy VII: Remake: Remaster

 

[Obsidian Fire]

Currently in the cautious optimistic camp. It makes a lot of sense (both economically and artistically) for SE to split up VII this way.

I also like exploring everything and it takes me a really long time to finish "open-world" games because of how much content there is in them. Splitting up VII into smaller parts would help with that as I would have a set amount of time to explore the same area as everyone else without having to rush off to finish the game.

The fact that they're advertising it as being on PS4 "first" also makes me cautiously optimistic that there might be a PC port release planned, 'cause that's the only way I game now. Everything else get's YouTubed and I'd really like to not have to do that with FFVII Remake...

 

[X-SOLDIER]

I'd like to think that Midgar will end up being detailed to the level that it's like Arkham City on crack. Really give us a feeling for every little piece of the city and how the destruction of the Reactors affects things both on and off the plate in ways that the OG couldn't. Make both the plate and the slums extra detailed, so that it feels like you're in a megalopolis like Midgar, and that every other location pales in comparison to the crown jewel of ShinRa. Give more time with AVALANCHE and let that bond grow closer, and build up the desperation and attitudes of ShinRa, so that when they finally drop the whole plate -- just to stop you, you can feel the scope of what that means in a whole new way.

If you get that, there's PLENTY to explore, and wander that'll justify it as a standalone episode, and I think that'll get at what they want for a "fully realized" FFVII.




X

 

[Aya Lee]

Wow, it took me FOREVER to read all the new posts through this thread after sleeping. This forum is AMAZING! I always like to really read through posts before posting my own opinions. Basically... I feel like this:

We could have not gotten the remake at all. Yeah, I know-- we've heard this a billion times but it's true. The amount of fans that are waiting for this, it is impossible to please every single one of them. So yeah, some of us are gonna be angry (Splintered comes to mind, haha. Your name is like, the definition of how you feel right now), and some will be secretly ecstatic that they'll be getting their hands on it sooner rather than later. Some fans will hate that the name Genesis might even be spoken in the Remake, others might be hoping for it.

So something about the game will disappoint, but I BET that every fan can find something to be happy about despite the dislikes. This game WILL be released, and we WILL get to play it. I'm happy it's made me look forward to something fanatical again because frankly, not many series can grab me any more. The Last of Us was the last game that really got me hooked on characters, but yeah.

DAMMIT I'M JUST HAPPY I CAN EVEN TYPE ABOUT IT AGAIN.

 

[cold_spirit]

Wow, it took me FOREVER to read all the new posts through this thread after sleeping. This forum is AMAZING!

I'd like to echo this statement. This amount of levelheadedness on this forum surrounding this announcement is far above what I'm seeing in other places around the web. Even those who aren't happy are still being respectful and everybody is voicing their opinions while listening to others. Thank you so much.

 

[Wolf_]

Now that I've calmed down a bit... I suppose it won't be too bad as long as each episode was 40+ hours long. But when it's done I want it all in one shiny steel book. If that case contains 3 disks or a usb drive with the game on, I don't care, but I want a start to to finish version eventually. I also don't see them bringing out a limited edition ps4 with a 'demo' for lack of a better word.

 

[Shademp]

This amount of levelheadedness on this forum surrounding this announcement is far above what I'm seeing in other places around the web. Even those who aren't happy are still being respectful and everybody is voicing their opinions while listening to others.

I agree that TLS is a very levelheaded place. If I was to point out a negative with the forum it is that popular and unpopular opinions can (sometimes) be easily sorted by seeing which posts get Thanked and which don't. This can make me feel bad for posters who have to write in an uphill situation when only or mostly the opposing side gets Thanked, even when I disagree with said posters. ...But I'm addicted to the Thanks system so please don't remove it .

/off-topic

 

[Pixel]

One thing I really wonder about is character levelling. Surely if you have part 1 for months before part 2, everyone is going to max everything out. Would they put a cap on the level?

 

[Claymore]

I assume so, as that is what happened with FF Dimensions. As long as there isn't a cap on say, Materia levelling, then I'd be ok with that and it would make the wait bearable for a lot of people so that they can at least max that out, but future battles will remain on a steady and challenging level.

 

[Aya Lee]

https://youtu.be/yka4WOxTrzc?t=11m

 

[Pixel]

This guy says everything I'm thinking

 

[Lex]

OK so they've confirmed that each part is going to be the length of a full game - by SE's standards that's a big thing to say. This is good news.

The only sticking point now is this "individual story" business. They keep talking about "individual story" and "own unique way" and all that - that's not episodic. Look again:

Each entry will have its own unique story.

What does this mean?

EDIT: Can I just ask, have Square Enix at any point used the word "episode" or "episodic", or has the gaming media applied that label and we've all jumped on the bandwagon?

 

[Aya Lee]

OK so they've confirmed that each part is going to be the length of a full game - by SE's standards that's a big thing to say. This is good news.

The only sticking point now is this "individual story" business. They keep talking about "individual story" and "own unique way" and all that - that's not episodic. Look again:

Each entry will have its own unique story.

What does this mean?

EDIT: Can I just ask, have Square Enix at any point used the word "episode" or "episodic", or has the gaming media applied that label and we've all jumped on the bandwagon?

Maybe it's just a translation thing? Maybe we can't really know until an official English announcement is made? These are all translations, correct? Because I've seen "unique experience" and now you're saying "unique story", etc.

 

[Pixel]

Episodic is definitely a misleading, negative term. I think of it more like the LOTR books/movies. They all thread into one continuous narrative, but each has its own feel. I presume thats what they mean by each having a unique experience.

 

[clowd]

This guy says everything I'm thinking

There is a good chance the game could exceed a 50GB dual-layered bluray disc. Grand Theft Auto V on the PC as a digital download is 65GBs. NBA 2K16, a sports game, is 45GBs

Final Fantasy XIII PC version is 60GBs

If we want all these massive worlds, over an hour worth of high quality cutscenes, fully voiced NPCs, high quality sound effects for every character, creature and weapon, etc etc its gonna take up alot of data.

and just fyi 100GB quadlayer bluray discs wont be here until PS5, but of course they can just ship the game on 2 discs

 

[Lex]

What I'm getting at is that the closest thing we've had to "episodes" is SE's official statement that they're releasing the game in "multiple parts". That's all we've had.

"Multiple parts" could mean anything. To me "multiple parts" just means a game and its sequels, rather than "it's being split into episodes a la Telltale". Where has anyone said this?

And on the back of that, the only thing I'm now confused by is the "unique story" or "each part will be its own unique experience". I'm just wondering what they mean here. Are they changing the gameplay and shifting character focus for each part or something? Again that doesn't sound like "episodic" to me. Episodic is like five or so parts of the same whole. What they're describing is... well they're describing Final Fantasy in general, since each one is its own unique experience.

 

[Lord Noctis]

I'm gonna level with you all, I'm not entirely sure why people are mad over this. Like, whats the downside here?

From what I can tell based on the available information all this means is that we will start getting to play sooner than expected, and the developers can take more time to make each part of the game as good as possible.

I feel like maybe we're having a bit of a knee jerk reaction here simply because its different from what we expected. I'm not trying to judge anyone for feeling negative about this mind you. Perhaps some of you see something about this that I don't, and if so I'd be open to hearing it.

Because from previous experience, episodic games aren't about more content and openness, it lends itself to linearity. And while VII is fairly linear, there are some things that can be accomplished throughout the game (Yuffies mission for example can be done as with Aerith as soon as you get travel on water, after Aerith, with Tifa, with Cid, or after you get Cloud back).

You've got to rework the entire game around segmenting the episodes. Square Enix has also a terrible reputation when talking about fair pricing models. We've never seen an action JRPG that changes with episodes either, and we can easily see how it can fail.

I'm okay with them to take longer so they can make one fully immersive game that I can play in one swoop. Time doesn't bother me, I was fully expecting them to take their time, unnecessary decisions that breakup story does.

I don't think it's a knee jerk reaction. And I think Squeenix for the past couple of years have been searching for the golden goose, if this really works, I don't see them not trying this with newer mainlined titles.

I acknowledge that these are valid concerns, and could very well make for a bad experience, but I still don't feel a need to be worried just yet.

If pricing models are a concern I'd point to Life Is Strange, which was a square game iirc. The pricing model on that game was very reasonable, and as long as square does something like that here then there should be no problem.

You are correct in noting that most episodic games tend to be very linear. But as you also point out, we've never seen an action jrpg done as an episodic game before. In my experience most episodic games are in the style of point and click adventures, a completely different genre from FFVII. Just because they end up linear does not mean or imply that the same would happen with a game in a different genre, such as FFVII.

I'll grant you that this could easily fail, but I can also see how it could turn out very well. Really, at this point I don't think there is enough info to really know how its going to turn out, but I see enough to stay optimistic for the time being.

EDIT: And now Lex is bringing up a good point. Wouldn't it be hilarious if we all spent so much time and energy debating this so passionately, and then it turned out that we all just completely misunderstood the situation and the remake was never going to be episodic in style? I'd laugh.

 

[Tashasaurous]

What I'm getting at is that the closest thing we've had to "episodes" is SE's official statement that they're releasing the game in "multiple parts". That's all we've had.

"Multiple parts" could mean anything. To me "multiple parts" just means a game and its sequels, rather than "it's being split into episodes a la Telltale". Where has anyone said this?

And on the back of that, the only thing I'm now confused by is the "unique story" or "each part will be its own unique experience". I'm just wondering what they mean here. Are they changing the gameplay and shifting character focus for each part or something? Again that doesn't sound like "episodic" to me. Episodic is like five or so parts of the same whole. What they're describing is... well they're describing Final Fantasy in general, since each one is its own unique experience.

I think they're gonna do the downloaded content episodic thing like they did with FFXIII-2 due to it's size.

If you ask me, they would've been better of-and I know I've said this millions of times this year, so feel free to tell me to stop-doing a brand new title of the FFVII Compilation series all together.

But then again, they're adding new scenes, and as much as I'm probably wrong about this as usual, I think those scenes are connected to the other titles of the Compilation-Before Crisis, Crisis Core, Advent Children, and Dirge of Cerberus, but not including Episode of Denzel or Last Order because those two are their own universes-ect, and maybe a bit from "Lateral TURKS Final Fantasy VII: The Kids Are Alright" novel, though the latter is very unlikely.

But like I said, I'm most likely wrong.