Message from Yoshinori Kitase

[Lex]

Source

For many years, people around the world have asked me “Will you ever remake FINAL FANTASY VII?” For many years I gave the same answers and on a personal level, having made the original FINAL FANTASY VII, did I really want to spend so many years making the same game again?


With FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE, we have the opportunity to go beyond the story, world and experience of FINAL FANTASY VII in ways we’ve always dreamed of - from the depths of Midgar to the skies above the Planet. The multi-part format enables us to expand the original story and turn it into an epic experience for fans and new gamers alike.

This past weekend at PlayStation Experience we were thrilled to present more of FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE. It was great to see so much excitement when we surprised everyone with the first gameplay footage and it was a treat for us to show that development is going well, and further along than perhaps many had realised. Just like when we revealed the announcement trailer at E3 earlier this year, we like surprising you.

One thing that we wanted to be clear about during this weekend to accompany the new trailer was the scale of this project. We wanted to tell you this now and not in the future so that you’d share our vision for what we want to deliver. The biggest reason why we haven’t done a remake until now is because it’s a massive undertaking to reconstruct FINAL FANTASY VII from the ground up with the current technology. Producing a proper HD remake of FINAL FANTASY VII that maintains the same feeling of density of the original would result in a volume of content that couldn’t possibly fit into one instalment.

We’ve seen everyone’s comments and reactions to the news that FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE will be a multi-part series and many have speculated correctly as to the reason why we have made this decision. If we were to try to fit everything from the original into one remake instalment, we would have to cut various parts and create a condensed version of FINAL FANTASY VII. We knew none of you would have wanted that.

I hope that by explaining a little more about our design decisions that you can appreciate the size of this project and what we have planned for this remake. Going beyond the scale and depth of the world, narrative and gameplay from the original to deliver something that feels familiar yet new. As I said before, we like delivering surprises.

See you all soon and Happy Holidays!
Yoshinori Kitase

 

[X-SOLDIER]

The link to this was posted in the Remake Interviews thread earlier, Lex:

Yoshinori Kitase

http://na.square-enix.com/us/blog/final-fantasy-vii-remake-psx-2015-message-yoshinori-kitase

But still, it's a really nice clarification & message. I actually registered just to leave a comment.




X

 

[Tennyo]

Please Be Excited <3

 

[Lex]

The link to this was posted in the Remake Interviews thread earlier, Lex:

Yoshinori Kitase

http://na.square-enix.com/us/blog/final-fantasy-vii-remake-psx-2015-message-yoshinori-kitase

But still, it's a really nice clarification & message. I actually registered just to leave a comment.




X

I knew someone would have clocked it, I just didn't think to check there XD

 

[cold_spirit]

Should this be front paged?

I'm reading through the comments on their blog and a few people are suggesting that the game be sold as one package with multiple disks. I don't think these people realize that the amount of investment needed to complete VII in one go is far greater than what even SE is capable of, and they're on of the largest game makers in the world. Game development has only gotten more difficult since the 90's and they have to adapt to make their visions a reality.

Plus, receiving the game in parts is a short-term problem. Someday we'll have all the pieces and be happy that Square choose to cut corners.

 

[X-SOLDIER]

I think it's worth front-paging, even if just to provide extra clarity between the multi-part =/= episodes verbage being used.




X

 

[leadmyskeptic]

This is shocking (to me anyway), just as it was to see the gameplay footage recently. But, just like in that first case, the more I see and think about it, the more it makes sense. Assuming, that is, that we are talking about fully developed individual games rather than one of the many DLC scams going about these days, which does seem to be what everyone's trying to stress

 

[Tashasaurous]

I knew it. This a reboot. They're not continuing the Compilation at all, despite what they said. They're leaving the reason of Genesis's return in the dark and a cliff hanger.

Worse, this is like a new story trilogy that won't even lead up to Advent Children or have any connections with the other titles.

But that's just me not liking this at all.

 

[Flare]

Reading this just made my night and warmed my heart. This is really awesome and nice of him to tell all us fans this. It's made me feel even more excited and confident about this Remake and what the installments will look like.

With FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE, we have the opportunity to go beyond the story, world and experience of FINAL FANTASY VII in ways we&#8217;ve always dreamed of - from the depths of Midgar to the skies above the Planet. The multi-part format enables us to expand the original story and turn it into an epic experience for fans and new gamers alike.

So, 'the skies above the Planet', is that right there a confirmation of a flyable Highwind over the world? Or is that only referring to when you get launched into space briefly? He says 'depths of Midgar' in the same sentence, and they've already said they want a lot of Midgar to be explorable, so I'm really hoping this means the Highwind will be flyable across the entire Planet.

 

[paleofan]

Actually it really makes me disappointed in the majority of the "fans " out there that they HAD to explain their choice.
Even before the remake was announced I considered a multi-part series to be wise choice.
They showed us an amazing trailer at PSX. They PROVED to us that they were able to capture FF7's vibe and to stay faithful to the original while changing and adding things. But as soon as they announced it will be multi-part, it seems like everyone just forgot this trailer and insults has been raining from then. It is the internet, it was to be expected but it really sadden me that Kitase himself had to go out and explain himself to this kind of people.
They seem like they really want to make FF7 justice with this remake so I hope they'll keep doing it like they want and not change their plan for people like this.

 

[Lex]

I partially agree with the sentiment of what you just said there, but there is a strong feeling of distrust of SE amongst a great number of long-time fans of the franchise, and they haven't done much to win that trust back yet.

I'm not one of them because I like the XIII trilogy, but people are pissed about that still . (As well as the whole Versus XIII/XV/it taking ten years thing).

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

Looking at it from a creative point of view, this makes a lot of sense. Nobody enjoys simply re-doing something they have already done; nobody wants to draw the same picture or write the same story over and over. If they do avoid addressing the Compilation, that'll probably be a wise decision, since the Compilation is a mess and took the story off in a silly direction. About the only sensible thing in the Compilation is the fact that Shinra had more than three Turks at a time. Such a huge company would definitely need more than three corporate assassins/spies/kidnappers/heavies/yakuza. But if they don't include the BC Turks, I won't be bothered.

 

[Tashasaurous]

Looking at it from a creative point of view, this makes a lot of sense. Nobody enjoys simply re-doing something they have already done; nobody wants to draw the same picture or write the same story over and over. If they do avoid addressing the Compilation, that'll probably be a wise decision, since the Compilation is a mess and took the story off in a silly direction. About the only sensible thing in the Compilation is the fact that Shinra had more than three Turks at a time. Such a huge company would definitely need more than three corporate assassins/spies/kidnappers/heavies/yakuza. But if they don't include the BC Turks, I won't be bothered.

Despite the Compilation being a bit of a mess, I loved it none the less. But from what you're saying, this sounds more like I'm the only one who liked the compilation so much, since I like AC(ACC), BC, DOC and CC all together, and I was hoping they'd add or address these titles into the remake, but now that's not happening, because from my point of view, the Remake is not a Remake.

"Final Fantasy VII Reboot" is more like it, and to me, it sucks big time.

It's even worse when Square has admitted the failures of Agito and G-Bike and admit the cancellation of the english releases, but they're not saying anything about the Compilation or their future plans for the series at all, which is frustrating because they've been completely silent about it.

 

[Lex]

@Lic, Spoken like someone who is completely obsessed with the Turks

No I agree though. There are a few things I don't completely hate about the compilation. Like how Kalm is clearly a proper town and not eight or so buildings in a circular arrangement, and Zack. And Cissnei. Oh more Reeve in DoC was also not completely terrible. I quite like Shalua. I think that might be it.

 

[Roger]

@Lic, Spoken like someone who is completely obsessed with the Turks

No I agree though. There are a few things I don't completely hate about the compilation. Like how Kalm is clearly a proper town and not eight or so buildings in a circular arrangement, and Zack. And Cissnei. Oh more Reeve in DoC was also not completely terrible. I quite like Shalua. I think that might be it.

Was gonna say this. Main reason why I want Part 1 to be Midgar is cause I want Part 2 to feature a Kalm akin to the one from DoC and a Junon that is at that scale as well.

 

[X-SOLDIER]

@Tashasaurus: What are you going on about with your comments about this not being at all connected to the Compilation for, when that's nothing that's been explicitly stated anywhere?




X

 

[Lex]

I still think that if it's less than five parts the first game should not entirely be Midgar. Kalm was the right size in DoC, we don't need a massive town considering story-wise the only noteworthy thing that happens there is the party assembling at the Inn to hear about Cloud's past.

Given that Midgar is far and away the absolute largest location in the entire world of FFVII, I expect part one to be completely dominated by Midgar, but I would definitely like to leave it before the end of the game.

@Tashasaurus: What are you going on about with your comments about this not being at all connected to the Compilation for, when that's nothing that's been explicitly stated anywhere?

We've actually found a person who's disappointed that Genesis's face isn't plastered all over FFVII remake trailers XD.

 

[paleofan]

I partially agree with the sentiment of what you just said there, but there is a strong feeling of distrust of SE amongst a great number of long-time fans of the franchise, and they haven't done much to win that trust back yet.

I'm not one of them because I like the XIII trilogy, but people are pissed about that still . (As well as the whole Versus XIII/XV/it taking ten years thing).

I'll have you know I'm one of those who distrusted Square Enix. I've never bought a Square Enix game since the true scam that was Drakengard 3. I used to buy tons of Square Enix games but none of them could match FF7 in my heart. There are some games I like even more than FF7 but they are not from SE (it's Persona 4 and the Higurashi visual novel). Anyway, as strange as it can be I'm a harcore FF7 fan but not a SE fan and not even a FF fan, even though I played a lot of SE games, especially FF.

 

[Lex]

So why so quick to trust them now? I mean I'm happy with the direction they're going in, but if you're one of the people who was on the hate train what's caused the 180?

 

[Roger]

I still think that if it's less than five parts the first game should not entirely be Midgar. Kalm was the right size in DoC, we don't need a massive town considering story-wise the only noteworthy thing that happens there is the party assembling at the Inn to hear about Cloud's past.

Given that Midgar is far and away the absolute largest location in the entire world of FFVII, I expect part one to be completely dominated by Midgar, but I would definitely like to leave it before the end of the game.

Even if it's a 4 parter I dunno about that. If you go past Midgar then you are also gonna do most of the Sephiroth screentime in the game on Part 1. Part 2 would have to cover up to Aerith's death for equivalent storydevelopment and thus cover most of the gameworld.

 

[Theozilla]

I still think that if it's less than five parts the first game should not entirely be Midgar. Kalm was the right size in DoC, we don't need a massive town considering story-wise the only noteworthy thing that happens there is the party assembling at the Inn to hear about Cloud's past.

Given that Midgar is far and away the absolute largest location in the entire world of FFVII, I expect part one to be completely dominated by Midgar, but I would definitely like to leave it before the end of the game.

Yeah, I also hope the first parts allows some progression beyond Midgar before it gets to its end.
I've basically seen people speculating on three different points where a part 1 could potentially end, which are:
1) The entirety of part one taking place only in Midgar (it would have to be really big to justify this and might also imply that there will be upwards of 4+ parts)
2) Ending in Kalm after the Nibelheim flashback (if we're supposed to be looking at the different parts as their own entire game, I'm not sure how this could be structured to have a final boss though...)
3) Ending in Junon with the boat to Costa del Sol being like a final dungeon and the first Jenova fight being a final boss. Basically the entire first part taking place on the Eastern continent and the events in it.

I would personally be most inclined to the third scenario. Anyways, the only real anxiety I have remaining about the multi-part format is that if each part is supposed to be treated like its own game like the FFXIII trilogy, is that I worry about there not being a transfer of data or not being able to backtrack (at least less than you could in the OG, since some stuff did get cut off from returning for a while like Midgar). The existence of the .hack series allays some of that worry (since it offers up some idea of how it could work) as well as the fact that something like obtaining of the Highwind (which can't be cut) would open up the world no matter what. Anyways it will be really interesting to see how each part connects over to the next.

 

[Lex]

That's really the problem with FFVII's world though. Midgar is the only "huge" place. The second equivalent is Junon, and the rest are small towns. Wutai I suppose could be made far larger (and probably should, considering it's supposed to be a "nation").

The rest I'm not so sure about. Chocobo Farm is just a ranch, Fort Condor is a tower, Costa Del Sol is a resort, Corel is deprived and basically deserted... Cosmo Canyon could be made really big I suppose, that wouldn't be terrible. The thing is, even if all of the "small" locations were made DoC Kalm sized, none of them would even come close to Midgar.

 

[paleofan]

The two trailers are proof enough for me. At least they know what makes FF7 what it is and that's the more important to me. Moreover, like I said, I've never been too much of a Square Enix or Final Fantasy fan, I was just buying these games because I like them, but FF7 is another matter. You have to admit FF7 is pretty unique and no other games compares to it, SE or not. Seems FF7 stand out so much from the rest, there is no problem in loving it more than the other games from the same company.
As I'm writting this, there is a homemade, life-sized buster sword hanging on the wall behind me, Cloud and Sephiroth figures on my left, and my AC Cloud cosplay in a drawer on my right. I just love FF7, no wonder I love what they are doing with this remake.

 

[Flare]

We've actually found a person who's disappointed that Genesis's face isn't plastered all over FFVII remake trailers XD.

I'm happy his face isn't plastered all over the trailers, but even though I'm not a fan for Genesis's character, I actually liked what he brought to the story. if that makes sense?
I like the 'Sephiroth actually did have friends and was human at one time' part of the Compilation, it makes Sephiroth more complex/fleshed out and makes much more sense to me that one of his friends has a hand in his insanity.

I wouldn't mind some mention of Genesis, though he doesn't have to show up or anything. And I expect them to add Compilation things in the Remake here and there, I'd find it hard to believe they'd throw the entire Compilation away after creating all of it.

 

[Tashasaurous]

@Tashasaurus: What are you going on about with your comments about this not being at all connected to the Compilation for, when that's nothing that's been explicitly stated anywhere? X

I was hoping that the content from the Compilation titles would be placed into the remake to make the remake story more connected and hoping for a new secret ending similiar to DOC secret ending to give everyone hope(and Square Enix to desire) for at least one last title to the FFVII franchise to reveal what happened 500 years after the original game's(and the remake's) ending to complete the final gap, which also resolved Genesis's delimma with Weiss.

But as Nomura said, he has titles of many games(FFVIIR, KH3, ect.) to keep him "Busy until 2019", so meaning that he'll either quit Square Enix to do something else or he'll retire, meaning that he possibly doesn't want to continue working for the company anymore. Not to mention that the Compilation (possibly but very most likely) ends in less than two years now.

We've actually found a person who's disappointed that Genesis's face isn't plastered all over FFVII remake trailers XD.

I just want to know what happened to everyone after Dirge of Cerberus, the whereabouts of Rufus and the Turks who were absent from the game(their last canonical appearences was Advent Children/Complete), what Genesis has install for Weiss and the answer to humanity's fate 500 years into the future in the epilogue of the original game(and remake obviously).

I'm one of those people who wants to know what happens next in a story and for a good ending at least, and the Compilation has provided that for me until the secret ending of Dirge of Cerberus which has been put me on edge, and it doesn't help when they had ideas for the future of FFVII, yet they decided to do a remake/reboot instead of continuing the storyline.