Remake Interviews: Catch-all Thread

[Tetsujin]

Square Enix: "Releasing Dirge of Cerberus before the remake is complete doesn't make sense!"
Also Square Enix: *re-released Advent Children on 4K Blu-ray a few months earlier*

sound logic at work here

 

[Odysseus]

That logic is confusing lol. What about Dirge specifically spoils the ending that Advent Children didn't.
Could it be... Genesis?

But no really, I wonder if that means even Dirge's Ever Crisis version will be postponed until after the remake is done?

Either way, this seems like a big win for "Remake will lead into the Compilation" lol

 

[Eerie]

It's definitely postponed for after the trilogy, he implies as much; although I personally do not rule out a totally different ending to get rid permanently of Sephiroth, for example. I'm 50-50 on the fence about it, either the end of Remake will leave us where FFVII OG ended, or the ending will be wholly different, and ACC for example would not necessarily have to take place (if they get rid of Sephiroth, it means no Geostigma so no threat).

 

[Odysseus]

People ae already taking that as "The ending will be the same as the OG!"

Maybe, but they've been pretty careful not to spoil things in the past so just admitting that would be strange.

I'm honestly more thinking that the main plot of Dirge is so disconnected from what the remake is doing (besides Weiss and Nero appearing) that it'd just be confusing for new audiences to do it now. Vincent hasn't even appeared in the Re- series yet lol. Nomura's way of communicating that just sounds like it plays into everyone's theories lol.

Edit:
Alternatively, it's actually DIRGE'S ending he is worried people will see, seeing as they've already encouraged people to play the OG after Remake and he's unconcerned with Crisis Core spoiling the Zack twist.

 

[LNK]

So this is why they have looked at numbers for a DoC Remaster but haven't decided on anything yet. Seems logical, but they have had and asked a lot of new players to play the OG and they did, so they know the ending already lol.

I'm wondering what ending they're talking about though? They talking about the Hojo stuff that happens at the beginning of Dirge, which is pretty close to the ending of the OG. Or if they're talking about the ending of Dirge. If it is that, I don't really see how that could spoil the ending to the trilogy. Unless, we're getting a totally different ending from what happened in OG.

Alternatively, it's actually DIRGE'S ending he is worried people will see,

I wonder what would that ending spoil, for the ending of this trilogy. It's been over 15 years since I played dirge, so the ending is pretty fuzzy for me. I just remember some of the Vincent/Shelke stuff

 

[Odysseus]

The other alternative is that anything that could confirm anything about the remake series's ending is off-limits and releasing Dirge would give the wrong idea?

 

[Eerie]

OK, I'm still hazy due to covid, but to me it looks like this:

- they want players to play the OG, to watch ACC

- they have no trouble releasing a CC Remaster and link it directly to both the OG and Remake

- they looked at numbers to remake BC too but aren't going to do anything with it yet (which shows IMHO that they consider CC more important to know the real Zack and don't want to mess around too much Zack's character, since this game wasn't Nojima-signed)

- they say a DoC Remaster (because that's the question) is off limits for now as it would spoil the ending (that would mean ending of Remake)

- there is no mention of a possible "Remake" ACC (honestly deserved, the film is now kind of low quality and they can do so much better in terms of storytelling)

What I can feel is that there is a certain will to "Remake" or "Remaster" games that brings something to the Compilation and link it to FFVIIR, kind of like a galaxy on its own - some would even say their own timeline, however they also have linked CCR to the OG, so that's more complicated than this.

They have no trouble regarding what happens before Remake but will take their time regarding what happens after; it's clear they want to use characters from DoC IMHO at least cameos. They also introduced us to characters from The Kids are Alright in part 1 and that's not for nothing: they are expanding their FFVII universe into Remake and al. They want us to feel that universe, those NPC who matter, who know Cloud and the gang, that give the feeling that our little gang is not nearly alone on this Planet.

It means that IF the ending of Remake is truly changed compared to the OG, the trajectory will remain the same except maybe for ACC; we would still get DoC and the Kids are Alright, what they are doing either don't truly disturb those works, either they do on a minimum scale and a Remaster can take care of that for DoC for example.

However it can also means that as a lot of us expected it from the start, the ending is not changing at all and there are so many games that are being worked on at the moment by the team that they rather wait and focus on those before talking about DoC.

I personally feel that in terms of general idea, we are going to be left where the OG left us (even though, I'd like some clips from On the Way to a Smile to be included in the credits for example, that would be nice...). Mostly, Aerith and Zack are going to be dead, Cloud and the others alive, the Planet saved, but to me the big mystery is with Sephiroth, if they can get rid of him completely or if he'll creep back in ACC. The general feeling of Remake makes me say that the rest will globally remain unchanged.

 

[Odysseus]

My question is still "Why DoC Specifically?"

We have them suggest people play the original after Remake. We have them re-release ACC in the same month as Intergrade coming out. Sephiroth's stage in Smash Bros straight up depicts the ending of FF7 in full, and now we have Nomura saying he doesn't mind that CCR will spoil Cloud's mental issues by showing what really happened. Spoiling how FF7 ends is of no concern to this man. Dirge only loosely mentions the events of the original to begin with anyway.

Really, I'm guessing they just don't want to commit to the project right now and wanted a nice-sounding reason lol. They're still very cagey about spoiling what will actually happen in Rebirth and 3rd game, so I doubt they're giving up the goat here lol.

 

[Limestone]

Wouldn't Ever Crisis be a decent alternative to remaking Before Crisis (+Lost Episode) as a standalone title? They could bundle a few BC episodes into one EC episode. I know EC isn't meant to replace any of the games, but there isn't even a way to play BC, and it's not like the game was complex story-wise. I'm not very familiar with how companies go about re-releasing early 2000s mobile games. Is there a good way to remaster something like BC? Or would they have to remake the whole thing from scratch?

Really, I'm guessing they just don't want to commit to the project right now and wanted a nice-sounding reason lol. They're still very cagey about spoiling what will actually happen in Rebirth and 3rd game, so I doubt they're giving up the goat here lol.

I think that's more likely the reason. Any person could just read the plot description on Wikipedia if they want. Even if SE does wind up releasing it before the trilogy is out, this explanation tempers people's expectations and an announcement becomes a fun surprise.

 

[Eerie]

Ody, I know I'm going to shock you but... there's only so much we can guess, as outsiders xD

I'm going to say though, that a decision has been taken regarding the handling of spoilers after Intergrade for Rebirth and part 3, as well as everything that happens after: the big mysteries defined in Remake are to stay as "spoilers". Even EC they're doing it in chronological order to avoid giving out spoilers, even though it follows the OG and the Compilation - interesting, uh?

Clearly to me the way they're speaking in interviews, but also EC treatment as well as Rebirth's teaser/trailer show a distinct difference compared to up until now. Right now they want us to theorise, especially about Zack; that's why they're giving us CCR, because CC is very important to understand Zack's character, his importance to Cloud and Aerith, gives us glimpses about a younger Sephiroth when he was sane too. They don't want to give spoilers because all the big spoilers like Aerith's death and Cloud's mental problems are already out of the window - everyone knows about them. So they're holding onto the new ones they've created, and refusing a Remaster for DoC is also a way to keep those mysteries and the way they influence FFVIIR project, and how DoC would have to get changed *or not* following them.

 

[Kain424]

It's actually highly likely the mystery will be more focused on whether or not Cloud is even a real person. In the event Zack is actually alive and running around, even he would have to admit the guy he's been dragging around the world after Nibelheim was literally a dude he pulled from a test tube. Is it possible Cloud is a literal clone? Something Hojo made in a wacky experiment? This is probably the route they will take, after revealing the deal with Zack's existence in Rebirth.

there isn't even a way to play BC, and it's not like the game was complex story-wise. I'm not very familiar with how companies go about re-releasing early 2000s mobile games. Is there a good way to remaster something like BC? Or would they have to remake the whole thing from scratch?

It's actually quite convoluted. But yeah, they'd probably have to simply remake the whole thing. And presents its own issues.

 

[Limestone]

It's actually quite convoluted. But yeah, they'd probably have to simply remake the whole thing. And presents its own issues.

Oh it's definitely convoluted. Perhaps complex wasn't the best word. I meant more in the sense that, by virtue of it being released in episodic segments, its story could more easily translate to another phone release. They could essentially keep the same general layouts and dialogue if they wanted, just with improved visuals and a better battle system. Versus the alternative of adapting a more simplified version of the game. They wont be creating a 30 hour EC experience of the OG, but they could more reasonably adapt all of BC.

If they reuse assets, I suppose they could make another mobile version of BC... I don't know if BC would be worth all the resources to make a PC/console game happen. Not sure if they want a third FFVII mobile game either, though.

 

[Kain424]

If they reuse assets, I suppose they could make another mobile version of BC... I don't know if BC would be worth all the resources to make a PC/console game happen. Not sure if they want a third FFVII mobile game either, though.

That's probably EXACTLY what they'd want. Their mobile games division is their primary moneymaker these days.

...for whatever that's worth.

 

[cold_spirit]

So they're holding onto the new ones they've created, and refusing a Remaster for DoC is also a way to keep those mysteries and the way they influence FFVIIR project, and how DoC would have to get changed *or not* following them.

This is basically where I'm at.

I woke up this morning saying to myself "I am done hyper-analyzing interviews!" Yet here I am.

Seeing as Nomura was talking about remasters in the context of CCR, perhaps what he meant was that if they remaster Dirge like CCR (i.e., update Dirge so that it takes place in Remake's timeline), then it would spoil whatever major deviations they have planned for the Remake Project.

Admittedly I'm incredibly biased on this front. I want Remake's ending to have a payoff. Meaning, I want something to drastically change. That's where the fun of this project is for me personally.

Either way, this seems like a big win for "Remake will lead into the Compilation" lol

Indeed it is. Since the announcement that this will be a trilogy, I've scaled back how many major deviations I expect. There was a lot more room for changes in my mind when I thought they had a fourth game to work with. Now with these interviews I've tempered my expectations even more. Make no mistake though, I still think Rebirth's ending will be as controversial as Remake's, it just won't be as controversial as how I would've done it haha.

 

[TurquoiseHammer]

"What is fact and what is fiction?"

Remember this line from the trailer? Well the twist is that it's actually referring to the game's marketing!

 

[Eerie]

Well we also may have the only pictures of "fact" right before tho, with Aerith praying for Holy and the White Materia in the water ^^' And on the other side, Zack and Cloud in front of Midgar... With the tech as it is, the devs are going to, as we say in French, turn inside out our brains xD

@cold_spirit I've always been of the opinion that they'd follow the OG and only the ending would differ if there was some deviation, just as they always said (well at least for the similar part) xD

 

[KindOfBlue]

Either way, this seems like a big win for "Remake will lead into the Compilation" lol

I’m not convinced any more or less, what was said amounts to “just wait until we deliver our story our way”.

But also, it would be pretty confusing for general audiences who may presume that they should play the remaster of DoC as it’s coming out instead of waiting for the remake project to be done. The story would be all over the place, while at least CC takes place before the remake’s events.

If they actually were going to remaster DoC, I highly doubt they’d announce it so off-handedly in an interview. I imagine they’d do what they did with CCR and wait until the appropriate time relative to where the remake’s story is at. You’d think they’d make much more of a big deal marketing ACC being upscaled if it mattered as much as remastering CC, but it kinda just came and went.

And let’s say they did decide that the remake wouldn’t lead into AC and DoC. Technically the first part of the remake already addressed AC material especially with the ending while we’ve scratched the surface on DoC stuff. But the main takeaway here I think is “all will be answered in due time.” Priority #1 for them appears to be not spoiling the remake, even more so than not spoiling the OG.

 

[Kain424]

I think it would be cool to see them rewrite DC to better fit in all of the characters. Make it a proper sequel, and less of a spin-off. But I dunno. The main game has always been where it's at for me, so I will certainly care less for whatever they do after.

 

[Rindo Kanade]

The recent bout of interviews has me really excited.
I know their job is to sell the game, but Nomura doesn't usually oversell stuff. Kitase and Nomura saying (paraphrasing): "Players will be surprised with how much content we managed to create in 3 years...that sense of 'where should I go now?' after leaving Midgar will be present" makes me feel the fuzzies for Rebirth.

 

[Tetsujin]

Briana White did an interview/Q&A with John Bentley and Suzie Yeung on her Twitch channel today

 

[ultima786]

Briana White did an interview/Q&A with John Bentley and Suzie Yeung on her Twitch channel today

Anything noteworthy?

 

[Roundhouse]

Spoiler

 

[cold_spirit]

Final Fantasy 7 at 26: Kitase on being inspired by Nintendo, discarded concepts, and Rebirth changes to come

Final Fantasy 7 at 26: Kitase on being inspired by Nintendo, discarded concepts, and Rebirth changes to come

In an exclusive interview, Yoshinori Kitase sheds some light Final Fantasy 7's development – and hints at changes to come in the Remake series' future.

www.vg247.com

Some good stuff:

VG247: Something I love about FF7 is the feeling that, at that time, the team were just adding and adding ideas, and not necessarily worrying about how something might fit in. The result is a world with amazing breadth – when you're in Midgar, it seems hard to even imagine a more traditional RPG location like Kalm would even exist in the same world. And when you're at Kalm, the idea of a place like the Gold Saucer feels outright futuristic. Then, suddenly, you're snowboarding! Was this a conscious idea during development, or was it something that just happened as artists got to grips with the 3D tools?

Yoshinori Kitase: During development, we had a policy of putting in as many of the interesting ideas that the team brought to the table as we could. Our thinking was not to worry too much about alignment or consistency and to treat it like a child’s toybox.

We felt that stuffing in as much cool and interesting stuff as possible would create an even bigger feeling of wonder and excitement. This was not so much a deliberate approach though, but more like the spirit that the Final Fantasy team had from the start.

VG247: In an interview a few years ago, Nomura-san recalled a draft of the story where you had everybody but the three characters the player chooses for their party die when the cast parachutes into Midgar. You didn't remember this, he reminded you! But let me ask – if the game were like that, and it were you playing, which three characters would you have saved by having them in your party?

Yoshinori Kitase: I would pick Cloud because he is the protagonist of the story, Vincent because he was a character that I personally came up with and had a horror vibe that is quite rare in FF games, and Yuffie because she is so annoying but so difficult to hate.

 

[Ite]

Spoiler: Full Chat

VG247: I want to start by just going all the way back to 1994. The team finishes Final Fantasy 6, and you're thinking about the next game. You've said in the past that initially, the plan was to create another 2D project for the Super Famicom. What are your memories of the thinking and direction of the project at that early time?

Yoshinori Kitase: The plan to make a 2D Final Fantasy 7 began right after we released Final Fantasy 6, but it was cancelled after only two or three planning proposal meetings.

This was because me, Nomura, and many of the other project staff went to join the Chrono Trigger team. The re-launch of the cancelled Final Fantasy 7 project then happened after Chrono Trigger came out, but we had forgotten most of the discussions in those earlier planning meetings by then.

However, there was one idea proposed in them that was actually used for Final Fantasy 8 later. It was an illustration centring around a witch character that Nomura had drawn. [Editor’s Note: This concept became FF8’s Sorceress Edea.]


VG247: Okay, let’s get nerdy – in the FF 25th anniversary Ultimania books, an image was printed which showed a town from an isometric viewpoint, noted as an early concept for FF7 but using Locke from FF6 as a placeholder. Was this just a concept visual, or was it a prototype actively worked on?

Yoshinori Kitase: Moving to the PlayStation hardware that was capable of rendering in 3D CG, we had to think about how to evolve the visuals for the next FF game, without being held back by the logic that had gone before, and proposed a number of different visual styles.

That image was one of the proposed styles and represented the concept of an “orthodox evolution” that continued with a similar style to what was in Final Fantasy 6.

We continued looking into proposals for both pixel sprite graphics and 3D CG in parallel for a while, but ultimately settled on the 3D style that you see today.

VG247: You next have the 'SGI' demo, again featuring FF6 characters, and then the decision was taken to develop for PlayStation. The reasons for the switch from Nintendo have been well documented over the years – so rather than ask about that, I'm curious about how that felt at the time? Was there a concern that by leaving Nintendo, FF could be leaving its fanbase behind? Or was it invigorating to be on a new platform still building its identity and audience?

Yoshinori Kitase: At the time I was a fan of Nintendo’s hardware and games, and I still am, so it was a conflicted feeling. However, we were so busy working with new innovations in all aspects of game creation, such as 3DCG, the CD media and selling through convenience stores (in Japan), so I did not really have time to worry about it and just pushed on with the development.

Once the development on Final Fantasy 7 had progressed a certain way, I saw Mario 64 on the Nintendo 64 and its ushering in of new generation of 3D action games, and honestly, I was blown away by it.

However, it was a big motivation for us to create our own unique visual style, while still respecting such an amazing style of game.

VG247: Starting development on PlayStation, a 3D game like this was obviously a new unknown experience for the team. From your perspective, were there any specific inspirations you were looking towards to help navigate this new technology and style?

Yoshinori Kitase: We were stimulated by lots of PC games from Europe and America at the time.

In that era there were more and more games that utilised 3D coming out, such as 4D Sports Boxing, Alone in the Dark, Wing Commander, Ultima Underworld, and Heart of Darkness – these provided a lot of inspiration in establishing the visual style for Final Fantasy 7.

VG247: A unique thing about FF7 compared to later games is that it has different art styles – characters look very different on the field and in battle, and both styles of design are even used in pre-rendered CG scenes interchangeably. What was the thinking behind that decision, and why did you ultimately reverse it in FF8?

Yoshinori Kitase: This was a response to issues with memory limits and rendering speeds.

In exploration areas, such as the scenes in cities, we needed to have lots of characters on screen at once and the camera does not often move close up to them, so we had to keep the main character models down to under 400 polygons each.

On the other hand, the number of characters that appear in battle scenes is more limited and there are many times when the camera does a close-up of their faces as part of the presentation for the moves they do, so we were able to use 1000 polygons each here.

Accordingly, we created character designs that were optimised for the number of polygons available in each type of scene.

VG247: The FF7 International Bonus CD contained an interesting video of in-development footage of FF7, including some quite different CG backgrounds to the final, like a very different looking version of what I assume is Nibelheim. How iterative was development – was there a lot of redoing and significantly changing things as you went along? Do you have any specific memories about early builds, making changes, and improving the game?

Yoshinori Kitase: At the time, making the shift from 2D to 3D was very challenging so it was more a case of spending a long time and slowly but surely building up each location, rather than re-doing them over and over. The image you are referring to is a work-in-progress snapshot of that process.

Accordingly, if you look at it from the opposite direction, it was not easy to re-work things because of the amount of work we needed to roll-back in doing so, so I don’t remember changing the original story or specs for the game that we originally decided on.

VG247: Something I love about FF7 is the feeling that, at that time, the team were just adding and adding ideas, and not necessarily worrying about how something might fit in. The result is a world with amazing breadth – when you're in Midgar, it seems hard to even imagine a more traditional RPG location like Kalm would even exist in the same world. And when you're at Kalm, the idea of a place like the Gold Saucer feels outright futuristic. Then, suddenly, you're snowboarding! Was this a conscious idea during development, or was it something that just happened as artists got to grips with the 3D tools?

Yoshinori Kitase: During development, we had a policy of putting in as many of the interesting ideas that the team brought to the table as we could. Our thinking was not to worry too much about alignment or consistency and to treat it like a child’s toybox.

We felt that stuffing in as much cool and interesting stuff as possible would create an even bigger feeling of wonder and excitement. This was not so much a deliberate approach though, but more like the spirit that the Final Fantasy team had from the start.

VG247: In an interview a few years ago, Nomura-san recalled a draft of the story where you had everybody but the three characters the player chooses for their party die when the cast parachutes into Midgar. You didn't remember this, he reminded you! But let me ask – if the game were like that, and it were you playing, which three characters would you have saved by having them in your party?

Yoshinori Kitase: I would pick Cloud because he is the protagonist of the story, Vincent because he was a character that I personally came up with and had a horror vibe that is quite rare in FF games, and Yuffie because she is so annoying but so difficult to hate.

VG247: I’m wondering if you’d be willing to solve an age-old mystery. If you follow certain side quests, you can get the key to re-enter Midgar in the late game. At this stage, if you enter the Sector 5 church, you see Aerith tending to the flowers – but when you step closer, she flickers and disappears, like a ghost. Strangely, talking to an unrelated NPC in a different area prevents this event from happening. For years, fans have debated the intended meaning of this event, or even if it is a glitch. Can you comment on it from the development side?

Yoshinori Kitase: I will leave this to the players' imaginations.

VG247: Going into the Compilation, you and the team had a chance to change, reveal, or 'retcon' elements of the story if you wanted to. For instance, Rufus and Tseng appear to die in FF7 – but then being revealed as alive in Advent Children, and even outright revealing that humans did survive Holy at the end. What was it like making story decisions like this; changing story elements and revealing new information without changing the impact of the original game?

Yoshinori Kitase: We approached the FF7 Remake project with the aim to make it something that could be enjoyed by both fans of the original game and people who did not know it.

I have also had experiences where a game that I loved and had a lot of fun with in the past was remade, and I bought it and played it out of the overwhelming nostalgia. It is enjoyable for a while, but the fun from that nostalgia only really lasts through the first sections. I realised this halfway through and didn’t carry on playing.

Because of this, I decided that Final Fantasy 7 Remake would not just appeal to nostalgia, but would include a new story as well to feel both nostalgic and fresh at the same time.

The result of this is that, for Part 2 and Part 3, we are able to give fans the excitement of wondering which parts will be 100% faithful to the original – and where the new elements will be added.

VG247: How has your relationship with the game changed over the years, in particular as you've returned to the universe with the Compilation and Remake? Has how you feel about the game changed over the years, with a retrospective eye?

Yoshinori Kitase: Ever since I joined the games industry, I have always set myself the theme of “creating drama through games”. With the original Final Fantasy 7, the shift from the style of the previous 16-bit hardware to the latest 3D CG allowed for massive increases in the power to depict characters and stories and became the origin of the dramatic storytelling style that is still used in the latest FF titles today.

On the other hand, when I looked back at that game, the original model for Cloud was only made of 400 polygons and looked a bit like a doll carved out of wood, so the older I got, the more I wanted to update him.

The original Final Fantasy 7 has been loved by the fans for over 20 years, but I started to feel that I didn’t want it to finish up as something in an archive, and wanted to make it a title that continues to be loved for another 100 years to come. That is what Final Fantasy 7 Remake is.

 

[ForceStealer]

VG247: I’m wondering if you’d be willing to solve an age-old mystery. If you follow certain side quests, you can get the key to re-enter Midgar in the late game. At this stage, if you enter the Sector 5 church, you see Aerith tending to the flowers – but when you step closer, she flickers and disappears, like a ghost. Strangely, talking to an unrelated NPC in a different area prevents this event from happening. For years, fans have debated the intended meaning of this event, or even if it is a glitch. Can you comment on it from the development side?

Yoshinori Kitase: I will leave this to the players' imaginations.

I have also had experiences where a game that I loved and had a lot of fun with in the past was remade, and I bought it and played it out of the overwhelming nostalgia. It is enjoyable for a while, but the fun from that nostalgia only really lasts through the first sections. I realised this halfway through and didn’t carry on playing.

While I won't say this rationale is incorrect, and indeed may be broadly correct: I can confidently say that as someone who replays the original on the regular, this would not have been me. I'd have relished the last moment as much as the first.

The result of this is that, for Part 2 and Part 3, we are able to give fans the excitement of wondering which parts will be 100% faithful to the original – and where the new elements will be added.

That's a funny way to spell "dread."