So where is the Compilation going?

[Makoeyes987]

Because we need to get you mofos to start posting more...

What are your thoughts on where the Compilation is going in terms of its story and execution?

With the endings of Dirge of Cerberus and Crisis Core, it seems apparent that the Compilation is certainly not ending anytime soon. For now, it merely sleeps, gathering energy and waiting for its next opportunity to strike and consume our hearts and minds alike....

So what do you think? Your opinions, speculations, etc. Post them plz.

 

[Madame Mayor]

I'm getting a 'he's going to redeem himself' vibe from Genesis. There's nothing to really go on that... except that his only problem was his dying, and if he's alive in DoC I assume he's not degrading anymore. Plus I just like him and hope he gets to be a semi-good guy in things to come.
I hope and believe there will be more about the Turks. Does anyone know what they were suppose to be doing during DoC?
Also... I want a spikey haired baby in Tifa's arms

 

[Makoeyes987]

Genesis is going to do something....is all that we can accurately say. But yeah, he doesn't seem to be doing the whole "evil" thing now.

As for the Turks, I think they're just enjoying not having anymore ethical conundrums while trying to do their jobs for a megalomaniacal super corporation. After the help they did in evacuating the civilians of Midgar during the Meteor Crisis...we don't know what they've been up to.

Oh and a baby from Tifa? Honestly, I'd hope not. The last thing we need now is another child or more family. We need more from the actual original *main* characters before we saturate the Compilation with so many new characters that it essentially alienates the purpose of creating the Compilation to begin with. Namely, expanding the world and adventures of the main characters.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

I definitely think Square needs to wrap up the Compilation before they start digging themselves holes they can't get out of, and even for the sake of dignity as well (cash cow, milking a franchise, etc). A story has to end sometime, and it's kinda irresponsible to have it go on, and on, and on.

However, I do think the Compilation can keep going at least for one, maybe two more major entries before I think it should end. The whole deal with Genesis should be explored and resolved. I also think the post FF7 world of Gaia can be explored to see how people are coping and how people are going to make their futures. The main characters can be more explored, and to have their stories wrapped up. Sephiroth needs to be a thing of the past, for real this time. And Square should keep introducing new concepts to a minimum, while fleshing out concepts that they didn't before.

But most of all, the Compilation needs to resolve, and end. A story has a beginning and an end.

 

[Makoeyes987]

While I totally agree with you M.O.G. you make it sound like the Compilation is the only multi-platform franchise saga Square-Enix has going that's a "cash cow," which is essentially any successful multi-platform franchise.

The Ivalice Alliance has just as many games as the Compilation. FFVII, FFXII RW, FFT-War of the Lions, FFT Advance, and FFT Advance 2-Grimoire of the Rift.

There's the Crystal Chronicles saga.

There's also the Chocobo Tales saga.

And we have the upcoming FFXIII saga, which won't just end with Versus, Agito, and the main series.

And of course there's Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts CoM, Kingdom Hearts ReCoM, KH2, KH: Birth by Sleep, and KH: 358/2. Oh and of course KH3....

So milking a franchise? Not...really. They're treating it like any other successful franchise they have under their belt. Is it because FFVII is more popular, that its singled out, or because it was one of the firsts? Because this is how business works, and they're not "milking" their franchise anymore than Nintendo milks Mario, Sega milks Sonic, Capcom milks Resident Evil, Konami milks Silent Hill or any other video game developer continues to make games that are successful.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

Yeah but, the difference between most of those games and FF7 is that FF7, hell, all of the original numbered FF games were intended to be a standalone game with its own beginning, middle, and end. The ambiguous ending (and nature) of FF7 enabled Square to expand on the plotline a little bit, but you can only do so much with something that was intended to be it's own self contained narrative.

and they're not "milking" their franchise anymore than Nintendo milks Mario, Sega milks Sonic, Capcom milks Resident Evil, Konami milks Silent Hill or any other video game developer continues to make games that are successful.

Ugh, don't even get me started on every one of those franchises (especially Sonic), but I see what you mean. However, I never really believed in the 'It's not really milking since we're just selling a product to make money' line of thought in the videogame industry. While yes, everyone is in it to make money, one kinda trivializes the artistic, literary, and creative value of something when you justify making more of it endlessly as long as it makes money. Sometimes integrity of a piece of art (aka, not milking it) should take priority over making money with it.

 

[Makoeyes987]

Maybe that's originally what they were supposed to be, but clearly that's changed. Each Final Fantasy title can stand alone, but they're now open to taking the story beyond the whole "one story per game" formula. It's a consequence of their success, considering that now they have the financial and creative resources to do that. And if you could only do "so much" with a self contained narrative, how is it they're able to make sequels to previous FF's as well? It's not impossible or that awkward. FFVII is no diffferent; Kingdom Hearts was originally intended to be a stand alone title, as was FFIV, FF Tactics, FFXII, and most of the other games that ended up earning their own franchise.

And yeah, integrity is important, but who says it has to be "either/or?" Why is taking a franchise further inversely related to the quality and integrity to the franchise itself? It's possible that each installment can be good, and even if they aren't, it certainly doesn't kill the original, because nothing can change the original. It was already made.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

Oh! I'm not saying that the Compilation was a mistake, nor that Square shouldn't step out of the box and try to make sequels and prequels to titles. I'm just saying I don't want them to step on their toes and compromise the quality of a series as a whole by decided to keep making money on something for every last drop.

There's a certain admiration that comes with putting down the pen (metaphorically) and saying 'Okay, we're done.' when they could hypothetically make more money. A story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. If they want to expand the story when they feel they can, that's great, but every creative writer should definitely know when to end.

 

[Madame Mayor]

[quote author=The Notorious M.O.G. link=topic=92.msg1161#msg1161 date=1228788364]
Oh! I'm not saying that the Compilation was a mistake, nor that Square shouldn't step out of the box and try to make sequels and prequels to titles. I'm just saying I don't want them to step on their toes and compromise the quality of a series as a whole by decided to keep making money on something for every last drop.

There's a certain admiration that comes with putting down the pen (metaphorically) and saying 'Okay, we're done.' when they could hypothetically make more money. A story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. If they want to expand the story when they feel they can, that's great, but every creative writer should definitely know when to end.
[/quote]
I agree with what you're saying here. I'm not a person who instantly hates sequels/prequels to anything like some people are in fandoms, but there'sdefinitelya trend with them hurting the fandom if not done properly and with care. Then there's the fandoms that never end, and you get an uneasy sense with them. Your own imagination isn't really that fulfilling.

 

[ForceStealer]

I agree with MOG that Compilation could do with one or two more. In fact I'd go so far as to say it NEEDS one more due to the ending of Dirge of Cerberus. But that one more should be a full-fledged, full-partied epic. Close up everything that tastefully and beautifully closes out this franchise. No Sephiroth revivals, no Red XIII snubbing, but following the characters in a way that reveals how Gaia's going to pick itself back up and move forward.

Then, if you want to make another title, wrap it all up with a remake.

I agree with Mako, as we always have on this, that Square isn't wringing the life out of FF7, its a great story that I have enjoyed immensely. It absolutely has to end, but I've enjoyed the ride and look forward to continuing to do so.

 

[Kuraudo]

In my opinion, there are more stories to tell...but they want to keep the legacy of making new FF's. But I feel they left a lot open for many FF's. VII was the biggest one...but I forsee them doing something with 8 shortly. Or 6.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

[quote author=Kuraudo link=topic=92.msg1181#msg1181 date=1228796270]
In my opinion, there are more stories to tell...but they want to keep the legacy of making new FF's. But I feel they left a lot open for many FF's. VII was the biggest one...but I forsee them doing something with 8 shortly. Or 6.
[/quote]

There's a certain beauty in leaving a story as is. As in, no sequels.

 

[Dumb Apple]

The good thing about lack of sequels/prequels is that it enables fan speculation and theories. As much as I love most of the Compilation titles, I like being able to theorize and discuss what possibly could be without them giving a definitive answer.

Sure, I'd like to see what Genesis is up to, but I have my own ideas jotted down in fanfiction that may never leave my desktop because as soon as I do BOOM! the announce something that will destroy my creative process.

o.O And am I the first person in this thread to mention a remake? Because that's where I'd like the Compilation to go. That, and a sequel game of sorts to resolve Genesis. After that, I'd be quite content.

 

[Makoeyes987]

Honestly I like definitive answers more than speculation, because a lot of theories tend to suck, but end up being legitimate thanks to the "well we don't know for sure" factor, so....

But yeah, a story definitely has to end eventually, and FFVII certainly can't sustain itself forever and ever. Eventually a resolution has to be made. Hopefully a resolution that includes an FFVII remake, imo.

 

[Purple]

I think we'll probably get one more game to tie up all the loose ends. (Genesis etc.)

 

[OWA-2]

I think that the next game will be the last(in terms of presenting a new story, and expanding the plot), because we only have 9 years of Compilation. They take 4 or 5 years to create a game of quality, so... 4 or 5 years for the next PS3 game with Genesis, and 4 or 5 years for the remake of the original one. Then it's over.

About the Compilation in general, I like that FFVII's universe is being expanded, with new characters and new stories. But they have to be careful to not "saturate the Compilation with so many new characters that will essentially alienate the purpose of creating the Compilation", like Mako said. And unfortunately, this seems to be the direction the Compilation is going.
I mean...
First we had AC. Something that was connected with the original story, showing what happened with the original characters after Meteor, and Cloud's internal conflict, culminating with the Cloud-Sephiroth rivalry.
Then we had BC. A game that IMO, was connected with the original story, because it showed the beginning of Avalanche, and how it all started.

Until now, everything is fine.

But then, comes DoC. A game showing many new characters(the Tsviets, Shalua, Genesis, etc), and concepts(the Protomateria, Omega, DeepGround, etc), that have nothing to do with the original story. Hell, they even "replaced" Aerith with Shelke(the new member of Avalanche).
And then we have CC, a game created with the main purpose of explaining who is Genesis, and why he appeared in DoC's end. Yes, I know that CC is Zack's story, but that's just a bonus. Genesis' story happens in the past, and they needed a main character who lived and fought before FFVII's time. Zack was the perfect choice.

And finally wee will have the next game, where Genesis and Weiss will, probably, be very important to the plot. Weiss and Genesis... Two guys who have absolutely nothing to do with the original story of FFVII.

So IMO, the Compilation started to lose it's "roots" after DoC's release. Deep-Ground and Genesis' existence, started to carry the story to another direction, one that I'm liking until now... But I hope they don't lose themselves, by going by this new direction.


But anyway, this is just my opinion. Feel free to disagree.

 

[ForceStealer]

But, assuming Genesis and Weiss would be villains in some way, who would you prefer? We've already killed the villains that did have something to do with the original FF7 at least twice. I'd prefer that to Sephiroth again.

 

[Strangelove]

I think if they're going to carry on the story in any reasonable way, new characters are a given. Just reusing the original ones all the time makes it seem like a Saturday morning cartoon. The same characters doing slightly different but essentially the same things time after time.

If the next big thread was in some way related to Sephiroth and Jenova, I could accept that if they give a good enough reason. But another Sephiroth revival would be pushing it, definitely.

[quote author=Dumb Apple link=topic=92.msg1185#msg1185 date=1228801006]
The good thing about lack of sequels/prequels is that it enables fan speculation and theories. As much as I love most of the Compilation title, I like being able to theorize and discuss what possibly could be without them giving a definitive answer.[/quote]

As long as Nomura has some part in it (and even not, as with DC), there'll still be some things left open because Nomura likes to leave things for people to talk and think about among themselves.

 

[null.]

I'm with Mako. I'm sick of things being left open. "Use your imagination" only flies when I'm reading my daughter a bedtime story.

My opinion? Angst, ambiguity and flashy battle sequences have become predictable hallmarks of this franchise. It's time to switch gears. Before SE shuts FFVII down for good, I want them to do justice to the amazing world they've created - leave Cloud and co.'s stories for another day. What interests me is the FFVII world - I want to explore, to get lost in Midgar's ruined streets and beneath the crystalline underworld of the Forgotten City. I want to take on shady jobs as a Turk, smash the front lines as a SOLDIER, fly the skies as a Cid-like engineer. I want to know all about the Cetra before the Calamity, and what the filthy fuck Aerith's powers really are, and what happened to Red XIII's race.

There's so much left to explore, so much story to tell. There's no way to contain it all in the standard 30-40 hour, cutscene-driven episode. Give me a FFVII MMORPG.

 

[Makoeyes987]

An FFVII MMORPG....?

Wow...that...would be rather interesting. I don't know how long it could sustain itself though. That works in games like FFXI where the main character is *you* but...FFVII is clearly the story of Cloud and his friends. But then again, I should never say "never"...it could work. But I personally can't see it surviving long.

I don't want the stories to *just* be about Cloud and the others, but they certainly should be at least in it as important characters. New characters are definitely needed to keep a story fresh and away from stagnation, but the entire character lineup shouldn't be overhauled either. I guess a good medium, is whats important.

And LOL, most of what you said you wanted has been given through the Compilation, save for flying the sky as a Cid-like engineer and seeing the Cetra before the calamity. Now we can guess what's next

 

[looneymoon]

Obviously, his story has not yet ended and there are still questions left unanswered. If they don't, they'll pretty much be leaving it on a cliffhanger.

During Crisis Core I felt like sticking a rose between his teeth, and transporting him to the Sailor Moon universe. My main worry is that they're gonna start a Genesis-centric FF7 franchise =___=;

 

[null.]

[quote author=Makoeyes987 link=topic=92.msg1303#msg1303 date=1228873107]
An FFVII MMORPG....?

Wow...that...would be rather interesting. I don't know how long it could sustain itself though. That works in games like FFXI where the main character is *you* but...FFVII is clearly the story of Cloud and his friends. But then again, I should never say "never"...it could work. But I personally can't see it surviving long.

I don't want the stories to *just* be about Cloud and the others, but they certainly should be at least in it as important characters. New characters are definitely needed to keep a story fresh and away from stagnation, but the entire character lineup shouldn't be overhauled either. I guess a good medium, is whats important.

And LOL, most of what you said you wanted has been given through the Compilation, save for flying the sky as a Cid-like engineer and seeing the Cetra before the calamity. Now we can guess what's next
[/quote]

True, but we've seen those things without the full immersive quality that an MMORPG provides. If Blizzard can turn a handful of battle maps into a sprawling realm complete with history and culture, the possibilities for the FFVII world are endless. And I think WoW does a great job of finding ways to involve its primary characters, I'm sure SE could do the same.

Granted it's a wacked-out pipe dream, but I can't think of a better medium to expand on the potential FFVII's world has to offer.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

The problem with perpetually expanding on FF7's world is the fact that there are other Final Fantasy titles, and of course that would take away from Square making other games.

 

[Makoeyes987]

Actually....it wouldn't. There's no evidence at all that it would take away anything from any other game. Square has worked on several projects at once repeatedly. In fact, that's what they're doing right now.

 

[OWA-2]

I'm the only one who remembers that S-E already made a FFVII MMORPG(called "Dirge of Cerberus Online&quot, but it didn't work and they had to "close" it?

I doubt they will try it again.