Square-Enix asks for fans’ opinions about a Final Fantasy VII remake

Well here’s what I think.

A FFVII remake is a stupendous idea. I’m behind you 9999999999999%

(Cue song “The Order That Must be Protected” from DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY)

Ideas to address:

1. What texico11 says is good. Have the ability to switch between old sckool and new school. The camera angles, voice dialogue to text, and so on.

(Equipped Flame Shield)

2. The Story. Most dialogue stays the same but a lot needs to be changed to integrate the stories from Dirge of Cerberus + Lost Episode, Crisis Core, Last Order, Before Crisis, Advent Children + Complete, On The Way To A Smile, and so on. (Tell me if I’ve missed anything out.) There are now a lot of blind spots in the original thanks to the Compilation of FFVII. I won’t bother with examples as you most probably know several of them already.

(Cue song For the Reunion from FFAC)

3. The Music. What texico11 says goes for this as well. The option of switching between the MIDI soundtrack and a modern, AC styled soundtrack. Lets talk about the remixed version. While some songs need to be orchestrated, some others, like battle themes, could do with a little AC remixing. Some hard rock mixed into orchestrated tracks. Awesome! However I’m sure not everyone would agree that having hard rock music would be a good thing so have the option to choose between orchestrated or orchestrated with several hybrid tracks for certain situations.

(Cue song Lifestream from DoC: FFVII)

4. The Graphics. Obviously for a next-gen console game, the graphics need to be as good as possible, while still retaining a fantasy feel to it. Can’t have people looking like the guys in The Spirits Within. (What! No uber spiky hair?!) Remember people that this is a FANTASY game. Can’t have the characters look too akin to real life. The backgrounds, however, the creators can go all out. From small rooms to grand views of Midgar, or Cosmo Canyon, these need all the attention they can get. And the summons need a lot of love too.

[Cue song Those Who Fight (FFVII AC Version)]

5. The Battle System. Yep, you were waiting to hear what I was going to say about this one, weren’t you. (That wasn’t a question) The debate to make it 3rd person like in Kingdom Hearts and Crisis Core. With this one I think that there can only be one or the other with this. There can’t be both as that would take up too much space and branch the game onto two, or even three BluRay disks. Very expensive. The old sckool version is already good. You may think, ‘Why change it?’ Well with 3rd Person you can swing your giant sword all you want. Plus there’s the possibility of quicktime events to pull off impossible moves that deify gravity and reason. However, something that can be used on both sides is the inclusion of combination attacks, like with Sora and Riku in the final battle in KH2. Just think, a combination attack with Cloud and Vincent, or Yuffie and Nanaki (Red XIII), or Cid and Barret. Think of all the possibilities…

(Cue song Genius Scientist Cid from FF: Unlimited)

6. Downloadable Content off PSN. This would be a great addition to the game. The ability to change the clothes your characters are wearing just for good laughs. I mean, come on! Cloud in his dress and wig unleashing Omnislash on some poor soul has got to be funny. That;’s like Naruto in his pajama costume in Naruto: Storm. Aside from character mods, things like weapon packs, special armor, dare I say, Super Ultimate Weapons for each character. the list goes on and on.

7. Language Choice. This is a big one I think. If there’s one thing we hate, it’s crappy English Dubbing. In the past SE have done a reasonable job in not messing up the dialogue. But mostly the voice acting just sounds better in Japanese. But it also depends on which side you played first. Most cases the people who played the English version first think that its the better job and vice versa. This is more apparent with Anime series. So which to choose? English? or Japanese? ……We choose… both. That’s right! Make the first version that comes out an International version.

8. Leveling Up. This is a good one. Should we change the leveling up system to something more personalized? In the original Aeris was always going to be good with White Magic, Cloud was always going to be good as an all-rounder, and Vincent was always going to be one of the weakest characters, even when at level 99. (No stat boosting. Also assume he’s the same level as everyone else.) Maybe introduce something akin to the sphere system in FFX and XIII. Just a thought.

9. Extras. Despite mostly being covered already in point 6, what about a little something for those people who haven’t got the power of internet coursing through their PS3’s veins. Things like unlockables, ranging from music, to character mods. Artwork from Yoshitaka Amano would be a good Extra to add in, As well as the pre-rendered images of all the characters that was shown at the FFVII 10th Anniversary show. And the ability to re-watch any FMV unlocked in the game like in FFX and X-2.

(Cue song “FINAL FANTASY” from DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY)

I’m sure that I’ve covered all the basics but there are still many things that either have to be changed or added to accommodate the rest of the Compilation. That being said, if SE decided to go ahead with this, know that most FFVII fans will be behind you every step of the way.