'No Part' Controversy

Claymore

3x3 Eyes
https://kotaku.com/final-fantasy-vi...cialflow_Kotaku_Twitter&utm_medium=Socialflow

This is the box art, released this morning, for the upcoming Final Fantasy VII Remake, which is out March 3, 2020. It’s killer art. But if you saw it on a store shelf, you would have absolutely no idea that it’s actually just part one of the remake.

The story is expanded, the gameplay is completely overhauled, and there are a ton of changes both big and small. But it’s still just a fraction of Final Fantasy VII’s complete story. So why is there no indication anywhere on this box that this is just part one?
 

NibelFire

Lv. 25 Adventurer
AKA
Blaze
They've been beating the "multiple games" drum loud and clear for years now. Anyone who remotely pay attention to what's going on shouldn't be misled by a box art. If I'm just picking up FF7 for the first time, then I won't know what to expect from the story anyway, so what's the issue?
 

X-SOLDIER

Harbinger O Great Justice
AKA
X
While I get the sentiment, this is also largely just Kotaku outrage clickbaiting, because the game as-is is already two bluray discs of content that's the size of another Final Fantasy on its own, even if it isn't covering the entire of the entirety of the content of the original game. Newcomers are still getting a full game, and existing players are still getting a full game, even if it's only just a part of the full story.

The new God of War game just being called God of War wasn't an issue despite the fact that it's only telling the first part of the Norse Mythology story that they're set on telling AND that it was reusing the name of the first game. While it's a bit different in the context of a remake, I don't really see any title it could have, and most "first chapter" entries still don't come with subtitles until the second part. I don't have any issues with it.

I don't think that anyone's gonna feel robbed of content unless the game is somehow doesn't have nearly the amount of content that they're stating that it is.

Tl;dr – Yeah it's unfortunate that it only goes to here:
ty1rlkexmcwk5zrz0lbd.png

– but if it's got enough content, I don't think that there's anything wrong with just calling the series what they're calling it to start off (especially since they've done the same thing with Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII-2, and Final Fantasy XIII: Lightning Returns). Additionally, you don't want to confuse people that they're looking at a Compilation title or something different by messing around with subtitles. Get the Remake out, and THEN build off of the established title.





X:neo:
 

X-SOLDIER

Harbinger O Great Justice
AKA
X
I mean, I think it depends on how you're looking at it because the game is also is expanded to be larger than the scope of the original game's story, and has vastly more content for the section of the original game's First Disc. I get how it's potentially misleading, but it's also one of the most heavily publicized and highly anticipated games ever, and they've stated that what the game contains numerous times, so I am genuinely curious:

Who do you think is being confused by this that's interested in the game, but isn't aware of any of the information about the game, such that upon completion of the game that's the size of a regular Final Fantasy game, but not the completion of the original game's story content, that they'll feed that they've been mislead?




X :neo:
 

NibelFire

Lv. 25 Adventurer
AKA
Blaze
God of War and Final Fantasy XIII are not even close to the same situation.

This game is being called "Final Fantasy VII Remake" despite being a remake of a fraction of the original game. It's stupid and misleading.

Why is it not the same situation? Is FFXIII the first game not a fraction of the Fabula Nova Crystallis series? The subtitled/numbered games only appears on the subsequent titles, and I see no reason why FF7R should be any different.

The only way this could be misleading is if it turns out to not be a full length game as advertised.
 

Cannon_Fodder

Pro Adventurer
I think putting "Part 1" or something similar on the box would have caused more confusion, honestly. I mean, some people still believe the game is episodic like Life is Strange or something similar. I think the bigger hurdle SE faces is getting people to believe this is a complete game, and prominently calling it "Part 1" is going to make that much harder.

That said, they should clearly state that it's just Midgar on the back of the box. And assuming they do that, I really don't see who is going to be misled. Who buys a game based on only the front of a box and then gets mad when a game isn't what they think it is? I don't get it.
 

JBedford

Pro Adventurer
AKA
JBed
Why is it not the same situation? Is FFXIII the first game not a fraction of the Fabula Nova Crystallis series? The subtitled/numbered games only appears on the subsequent titles, and I see no reason why FF7R should be any different.
Yes, both the XIII trilogy and the VII Remake series will have multiple parts. No one has a problem with this. It's all in the titling. "Final Fantasy XIII" wasn't a bad title because even if it wasn't a complete story (although it was, XIII-2 required retcons), Final Fantasy XIII was only ever Final Fantasy XIII. It wasn't adapted from anything, whatever they put it in it was what Final Fantasy XIII is.

Reboots using the original title aren't really the problem here. Well, I can't say I like when it happens, but God of War, Tomb Raider, and Twisted Metal were series reboots that were entirely different from their original same-named games.

Dividing stories that was once one thing into multiple parts isn't the problem here. There was no problem with The Hobbit because they used subtitles.

Saven just brought up IT which I was going to mention as a similar situation. And it is similar, but the VII situation is slightly worse because this game isn't just called "Final Fantasy VII" (which would definitely still find terrible--I think IT is different because it's adapting to a different medium but I don't have any investment in IT so I don't care), but "Final Fantasy VII Remake". It's not a remake of Final Fantasy VII. It's stupid and deceiving.

I think putting "Part 1" or something similar on the box would have caused more confusion, honestly. I mean, some people still believe the game is episodic like Life is Strange or something similar. I think the bigger hurdle SE faces is getting people to believe this is a complete game, and prominently calling it "Part 1" is going to make that much harder.
They're still going to have to add "Part 2" or a subtitle onto the second part. Why would it cause more confusion to have one on the first? They should clearly state it's a full-size game on the back of the box.
 
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Pizzachu

SOLDIER Fan
I think a lot of people nowadays look up games online whether it be game reviews or player feedback. Unless someone grabs the game without researching it, I think it would be fairly difficult to not know that this is the first part of FFVII Remake.

Some people in the comments were mentioning a Class Action lawsuit? Would they be able to go through with that over the game's cover not having "Part 1" slapped onto it?
 

Clean Cut Chaos

Pro Adventurer
AKA
Cub Chaos
Some people in the comments were mentioning a Class Action lawsuit? Would they be able to go through with that over the game's cover not having "Part 1" slapped onto it?
Class action lawsuit?? lol, wtf? Lazy people just think the world is their own personal gold mine.

It's a massive 2 disk game that has been described as "a solid stand alone game in it's own right." I can't image convincing a judge that a game that big was a rip off at the normal price of $59.99.

I'd love for it to be called FF7: Midgar or something, but that could be interpenetrated as some kind of spin-off or something I imagine.
 

Tetsujin

he/they
AKA
Tets
Why is it not the same situation? Is FFXIII the first game not a fraction of the Fabula Nova Crystallis series? The subtitled/numbered games only appears on the subsequent titles, and I see no reason why FF7R should be any different.

The only way this could be misleading is if it turns out to not be a full length game as advertised.

FFVII was a single game with a complete story so if you name the game "Final Fantasy VII Remake" it indicates that it is a complete remake of that story...not a partial (if expanded) one. So I can kinda see the issue. There is a precedent for what "FFVII" is supposed to be.
FFXIII doesn't work as an example because a) there was no expectation for whether it's one part or a trilogy since it's not adapted from anything existing and b) FFXIII isn't even a fraction of a story to begin with, it's a complete and standalone story as well.
 

NibelFire

Lv. 25 Adventurer
AKA
Blaze
FFVII was a single game with a complete story so if you name the game "Final Fantasy VII Remake" it indicates that it is a complete remake of that story...not a partial (if expanded) one. So I can kinda see the issue. There is a precedent for what "FFVII" is supposed to be.
FFXIII doesn't work as an example because a) there was no expectation for whether it's one part or a trilogy since it's not adapted from anything existing and b) FFXIII isn't even a fraction of a story to begin with, it's a complete and standalone story as well.

Right, I get where you and @JBedford is coming from. Technically speaking you aren't wrong, but the question being asked here is "Who exactly is going to be misled by this seemingly vague naming convention?"

Is it us, people who've played the OG and is dissecting every bits and pieces of information that get released? Quite frankly not.

Is is going to be the kid who walk into a game store, and get intrigued by a box art featuring a peculiar blonde, spiky hair dude with a giant ass buster sword (like little me back in 1997)? Well, no, because he wouldn't know anything about the game to go "Wait, that's it!?!? Where the hell is my Chocobo Farm? Where is my Gold Saucer? What a scam!"

So really, it just comes down to us, the fans who know the game so well to be able to set that precedent in the first place. It just becomes nitpicking with technicality at that point.
 

mandelbrot86

Lv. 25 Adventurer
I'm pretty sure that by the end of FF7R, (Part 1) you will feel like you've completed a story Arc. Even for newbies who don't know what comes next. They are structuring it so you will feel accomplished at the end. Saying it's not a full story is like saying that The Fellowship of the Ring is not a full movie. (Or book for that matter). I totally think this outrage is stupid. I agree with the above post that says anyone who knows the original game has already heard this won't be the full story and anyone who is new will feel like they finished something.
 

Odysseus

Ninja Potato
AKA
Ody
I understand where this concern is coming from; I also think it's weird that there isn't any sort of subtitle for part 1 of the remake. At the same time, though, there's really only a limited group of people who could be deceived by this. Brand new players wouldn't have the familiarity with the original necessary for betrayed expectations, and die-hard fans of FFVII are likely already well aware of how the remake is being handled (square hasn't exactly been hiding it,) so the only group who could be misled are people who played the original back in the day who decide to pick up the remake without looking into it at all first.
 

rimavelle

Pro Adventurer
AKA
rima
I think it's misleading in the same way Final Fantasy [number] is misleading - if you didn't know FF and liked say, VII you would expect VIII to be a sequel and VI a prequel. But nah, they are different games! Nobody told me that!
Ofc you could read what the box says, but why, right?
The game description mentiones it's part1 so for sure this is what's gonna end up at the back.
Oh and another thing. Digital copies aren't titled "part1" either. Where all those people were when preorders started?
 

Roundhouse

Pro Adventurer
Even if we put aside thinking about other people unfortunately buying it and not realising the truth, there is also the point that it just doesn't make any sense. FFVII Remake implies a remake of Final Fantasy VII, which was, and still is, a complete game with a complete story. This is the first part/chapter. What is the point in avoiding putting 'Part One' on there? It's not exactly hard. It feels like they know it's potentially misleading, but did it anyway to avoid hurting their sales.
 

Solordinn

Lv. 25 Adventurer
there is really no controversy to be had here folks. square is not making this game for us who have played it multiple times, it's for newcomers who would have no interest in playing the original game due to the graphics and primitive gameplay (cause you know there'll be those who would think like that).

they have for the last five years constantly called this game the first in the ff7 series in press reports, psn online game description and no doubt in the physical box so whatever lawsuit case someone would try to take on this is flimsy at best.

let's face it, for the past several years, they have been ridiculed over the remake ever coming out, the battle system, barret's skin tone, tifa's tit ol biggies, ethics department etc. This is just another in a line of puff pieces to stir up controversy and get clicks. While i applaud Jason for his reports on the game developers side, this just reeks of click baiting.
 
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