Is the ff7 remake an ode to the fans or a revival of a dying series

Mod player 28

Rookie Adventurer
AKA
Dark horse
Hey guys I know that not everyone will agree and I'm not here to creat controversy but I feel like final fantasy is falling I've played every final fantasy game and completed them all some more times than others.
With that said I look at my hours that I have racked up on all games that I play and I dont put in nearly as much time with the new final fantasy games as what I did with the older generation games. More particularly after the squaresoft enix merger but with that said I also wracked up a few hours of super star wars also.
Is it just me as an old school gamer or is there something about the older generation of the final fantasy franchise that just makes you want to play more and more.
 

Arianna

Holy, Personified
AKA
Katie; Seta.
I would have to think about what you're saying more, but I do want to say I think you ask a good question. Personally, I think Dissidia was a good idea, but it's being repeated so much that it's running itself into the ground. I mention Dissidia as an example as it is Final Fantasy characters. I don't know if the Final Fantasy series is in its death throes or not; and I hope not. Still, you make a good point.
 

FFShinra

Sharp Shinra Shill
I think it's a revival. FF7R is, nostalgia and fan pressure aside, a complete retool of the final fantasy team after the chaos of the FFXIII white engine snafu that we and the company only just got over with the end of FFXV (with Luminous Engine basically being successor to the White Engine). KH3 was the guinea pig for using Unreal, and (other issues aside) they did very well from a mechanical perspective. FF7R will perfect the usage, the Luminous Engine has been spun off into its own studio to make more money off the engine and also to keep their ability to create such engines alive and evolve it.

Depending on how part one of 7R goes, and depending on how far along in planning (if at all) FFXVI is, they may start working on that (since the next parts of the 7R will not need nearly as much work) and have it ready as soon as 7R is done, as a way of resetting and staggering the release schedule to something like a final fantasy every 2 or 3 years.
 

jazzflower92

Pro Adventurer
AKA
The Girl With A Strong Opinion
Yeah, FF7 put Square on the map internationally. I mean Square was already famous country-wise, but internally FF7 introduced the RPG genre to many .
 

Mod player 28

Rookie Adventurer
AKA
Dark horse
See my biggest thing is i just dont think any of the newer stories hit you hard enough to leave an impact. I found with the earlier series it had more emotion put into the games and it didn't rely on gameplay and side quests they were a bonus to the story you were playing even fan based history on the games is amazing where as the newer games are story play based but the story itself doesn't make you want to know more as much their predecessors.
 
I don't know... I really loved FFXII. I never played XIII, it didn't grab me, but I found XV really engaging. That said, I don't play many games because I have so little time, so I don't have much to compare Final Fantasy to. I think they had a great story with XV, but mangled it with confused story-telling and too much DLC and add-ons. The thing is, if you want to make an impact you can't pull your punches, and SE really pulled FFXV's punch by allowing you to essentially ressurrect Noctis and continue on your road trip. I haven't played XIV but a lot of people seem very invested in it.
 

Mayo Master

Pro Adventurer
In my view, the low point of the franchise was around 2010, when they released XIII and the first iteration of XIV. This was magnified by the fact that western productions of the time (DA:O, Skyrim) really delivered on a higher level. While unable to regain the glory of old and despite its flaws (especially in the story-telling department), I think that FFXV was definitely a step in the right direction.
For FF7:R to be a success, it has to do a lot more than pulling the strings of nostalgia and evoking the good old days: it has to be compelling to a whole new audience. IMO, the idea is for Square to come back to their fundamentals: deliver a great story with engaging characters, supported by groundbreaking visuals, and the sales should follow.
 

Mod player 28

Rookie Adventurer
AKA
Dark horse
I rather think rumors of FInal Fantasy's demise are greatly exaggerated...
I didn't know about any rumours this is personal to me and I wanted opinions now I know that there are rumours maybe there is some truth to it because I am and always have been an avid final fantasy fan
 

Mod player 28

Rookie Adventurer
AKA
Dark horse
Ah my bad lol I dont even know who that is but I dont know much about American history. But I do know this ff10 was the peak of the series selling over 100 million before they made a hd revised copy of the game and ff7 is the only other final fantasy to sell over 10million hard copies and that's just the ones that have receipts
 

Roundhouse

Pro Adventurer
I lost interest in the series after FFX. I remember picking up XII and having no real connection to anything going on in the story. I was actually hopeful again when the reveal trailer for XV came out; it seemed engaging and dramatic for the first time since FFX. Apparently most of the stuff in that trailer never made it into the actual game, though...it was back when Nomura was involved, or something?

When I heard about the remake of VII, I was excited, but also dreading it. I thought they couldn't possibly do justice to it. So far, however, the trailers have actually been quite promising, so I'm pleasantly surprised. My only big issue is the way they split it into parts.

I do think people are more excited than they have been in a long time, in regard to the FF series. Like many people, I regard the PSX games as the golden era...VII, VIII and IX. Whether this is mainly nostalgia (as some argue) or if there is some weight to it is another question. Probably both.
 

Mod player 28

Rookie Adventurer
AKA
Dark horse
That's what I was looking for I feel exactly the same since the game has gone more into world war I feel like you have no conection to the big bad or what's actually going on in the game save the world and then that's the end of it this is exactly how I have felt when playing the newer series type Ø hd's story had good potential but the gameplay was slightly off for my liking
 

Mod player 28

Rookie Adventurer
AKA
Dark horse
While no other FFs have reached the peak of +10M sales outside of 7 and 10 that does not necesarilly mean the franchise is dying. The last game (XV) managed to moved an impressive 8.4M units in less than two years (more than any other FF in that same timeframe, the +10M from 7 and 10 sold over the course of over a decade) and it's the forth best selling FF just behind 7, 8 & 10.
But would you play the game over and over again see it re released as the same game on another platform and say yes I am going to buy it just to see what it's like on steam/ps4/xboxone is the name are you buying the name and I made a point of saying hard copies this doesn't include all the copies sold digitally and plus as bad as it sounds there are several pirate versions that can be downloaded on pc before they stopped making the game also by that's respect today it's not uncommon for a game to sell 8 million copies that quickly where as back then its was the number 2 selling game before playstation became obsolete
 

Clement Rage

Pro Adventurer
Nah, it's just a generation gap. There's all these needless factions that always form within a fandom-Late Resident Evil v Early Resident Evil, Late FF v Early FF, FF7 v compilation, it's just how fandom works.
.
You bond differently with games you grow up with, it's just a question of which mean most to you, most likely.
 

Ite

Save your valediction (she/her)
AKA
Ite
There’s a market for all these games, and plenty of folks like them all. Personally, I think FF6-9 are the apex of video game art, but lots of folks don’t share that opinion. I don’t need the game to be fun lol, I just need good characters, story, and music. Visuals help. Gameplay helps. But that’s not what I’m paying for. Perhaps that’s why I’m fine with stand-around-jrpg combat when most modern gamers find it unplayable.

For lots of folks, visuals and gameplay are what they are paying for. I lament that the FF series has shifted its priorities in that direction, but perhaps I’m even misguided in assuming that! FFXIV Shadowbringers is getting rave reviews as one of the best FF stories out there. And once I gave FFXII a proper try, it does have that same spark that FFT did.

Perhaps that’s why I’m cautiously optimistic for this Remake. A strong foundation of characters, story, and music, with the current team’s emphasis on thrilling gameplay, seems like a winning combo.
 

Mod player 28

Rookie Adventurer
AKA
Dark horse
There is some truth in that but I prefer re4 to re2 1998 and I grew up playing that I wont deny re2 1998 scares the shit out of me that was down to gameplay mechanics making it very difficult to move.. but what I'm getting at is gaming now has left final fantasy behind when you compare it to other games it's not as big even to rpg fans and why would they make a remake of 7 if that was the case ff7 cant be older generation thing if it hasn't warranted a remake on this scale they are literally doing everything they can to make it perfect for everyone otherwise it would already be released by now
 

Theozilla

Kaiju Member
I know it’s because they are not offline single-player games, but FFXI and FFXIV really shouldn’t be discounted when evaluating SE’s storytelling prowess both past and present. FFXI didn’t last for as long as it did if it didn’t connect with players.

And it cannot be understated how good FFXIV has gotten, with ShadowBringers just being further culmination and increase in quality. Also a game’s writing and gameplay aren’t exactly separate disparate elements, a significant aspect of them are interdependent upon each other.
 

Mod player 28

Rookie Adventurer
AKA
Dark horse
I know it’s because they are not offline single-player games, but FFXI and FFXIV really shouldn’t be discounted when evaluating SE’s storytelling prowess both past and present. FFXI didn’t last for as long as it did if it didn’t connect with players.

And it cannot be understated how good FFXIV has gotten, with ShadowBringers just being further culmination and increase in quality. Also a game’s writing and gameplay aren’t exactly separate disparate elements, a significant aspect of them are interdependent upon each other.
I think enix may not have ruined a good game but they will never be able to collaborate a final fantasy game nearly as good as original squaresoft team that's why there has been so many re releases and remastered of original games under square enix any online game has a limitless potential no game since ff10 has been able to break hearts ok when it was squaresoft final fantasy was always always top square enix modernized final fantasy for a bigger game bass and admittedly they wouldn't have come as far as they have if they didn't but it feels like they have kept the name final fantasy going just to make the games easier to sell... as I said I love final fantasy but they are not the best games anymore they used to be the top of my list and now I think they could make their games better than what they do rather than just bring out the next final fantasy.. with the older games they were that good they needed more newer games they are good but they need something I think it's the love aspect I know its cliche and a bit cheesy but a bit of romance doesn't go a miss with final fantasy the ff7 brought romance rivalry friendship and hatred together so did ff8 so did 9 but replaced friendship with brotherhood yes later games do to but not as big a focus making a game cool is alright but making a game iconic every game used to be iconic and I mean iconic ff12 was fantastic for being this bizarre world but it didn't touch your heart there are 2 heart breaking moment in the game which were just too early placed in the game to really break your hurt and leave an impact for you to feel.
 

Mod player 28

Rookie Adventurer
AKA
Dark horse
I'm sorry to anyone who feels like I'm degrading the final fantasy name but its just to inconsistant for me I cant believe that is as good as it once was everyone can agree with how good the originals are but there is too much grey area with the newer games in the franchise yeah it has something for everyone but doesn't bring everyone together the name seems to have been defended but theres no iconic moments or enemies or even interesting back stories that really make you wanna know more about these people nobody has made any points like that if this was someone saying ff9 or 8 or 7 or 6 was a bad games all those things would be mentioned not one or 2 those thing but every single one those meaning those games were for everyone and the it's the out dated graphics that puts new players off if it wasnt for that those would be mega hits
 

Obsidian Fire

Ahk Morn!
AKA
The Engineer
There is a huge difference between the different "eras" of FF games due to the technology that went into creating video games at the times of their making. So certain things were easier to do or take advantage of in different FF games.

Like... before voice-acting, it was a lot easier to cram in more text and have longer stories. Sprites require a lot less man-power to devleop and animate compared to modern 3D assets. The story needs to be developed far in advance in today's video-game creation pipeline so that all the assets can be created, while that wasn't as important back with the first FF games were made. So the way Final Fantasy can dazzle people has changed.

You also have the problem of getting new developers to create FF games. The older generation of FF devs don't seem to have made the jump to the scope of modern game development as well as some of the younger generation has. And at some point, we need different people making FF games then we used to, or the series will die.

One of the big problems all the Final Fantasy games have (I think) is that their developers are really bad at knowing when to stop creating ideas for the games. They have huge sprawling worlds and worldbuilding and plots. Back when creating assests wasn't as involved as it was today, that wasn't as much of a problem. Nowadays, it is though. Needing huge worlds and lots of exposition is a lot harder to do now whith all the 3D modeling and open-world type of gameplay. Back when the world map was represetational instead of literal, it wasn't as hard. And I don't think Final Fantasy has made that transition very well.

All you need to look at is FFVII's setting scope verses FFXII's (and the later titles after FFVII). FFVII's setting is huge. It's the entire world. FFXII is like... two continents on that world since the map isn't representational anymore. However, it doesn't feel like the story scope was adjusted to fit the smaller setting. There's good reason why FFVIIR is being made in three games. And I think it's largely that the kind of story told in FFVII can't be told over one game anymore.

There's reasons why I'd say FFXIV has the best story out of the Final Fantasy series in over ten years. And a lot of it is because it's a serial game. Instead of having to come up with the entire story all at once, the devs have been able to pace themselves and put ten years worth of story-telling in one game and then reference it all whenever they want. You've got plot lines from 1.0 that finally get tied up (or at lest explained) in 5.0 which is... ten years later. You can't do that kind of long drawn out stories in one game anymore, if only because the size would be imposible to do with today's gaming standards.

TLDR: Making complex stories in video games is harder then it used to be I think. At least when it comes to the type of stories Final Fantasy is used to telling. Final Fantasy has gone through a lot of growing pains figuring out how to tell the kind of stories it used to in today's video-game technology. I think they are finally getting the hang of it, but really, only a new Final Fantasy mainline title will prove if that has happened. FFVIIR is a great step in the right direction though, because it lets Square Enix take a story they know worked very well and see how it would work with today's video-game technology. That way, they are more experimenting with how to tell a story, rather then what kind of story they are all ready telling.

Unless we're talking about the Final Fantasy MMOs... which figured out what they should be doing in the modern era long before the single-player Final Fantasy games did. Which I think says something about the Final Fantasy series as a whole. The scope of Final Fantasy worldsp (at least in the modern era) fits the scope of MMOs far better then it does modern single-player games.
 
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