Final Fantasy VII: Remake (Discussion and Speculation)
 

After much deliberation, I feel this subject deserves its own thread. I know plenty of people are rolling their eyes, convinced an FFVII remake shouldn't come to life, while just as many people are hoping such a project does happen.

But either way it doesn't matter, because it's bound to happen. There are far too many signs, including blatant near-confirmations from SE's top brass, along with the recent rumors about Nomura's next project surfacing in E3. While early signs point to FFXIII, recent rumblings hint that the mystery project may be an FFVII remake.

But mark my words, I'm definetely certain one of these two projects is going to be unveiled very soon, so in order to cover my bases, I'm devoting a thread to the other possible unveiling. Even if it does prove to be FFXIII (or something else entirely), I still feel like discussing what I would like to see in a remake of FFVII, and I'm sure other members have some ideas worth sharing as well.

I only ask not to turn this into a debate on whether the remake is a good idea or not, because as I said, it's inevitable. Sick of FFVII's popularity and spin-offs? Go elsewhere then. The rest of you, speculate away.

One feature I'd like to see in the remake is a soundtrack that changes along with the location. Let's use the standard battle theme for example. When you're in Midgar, fighting in a Shinra Reactor or escorting Aerith to her house, you get a techno type mix of the regular battle theme, to match with the urban setting. But once you step outside and start fighting in a more FF-natural setting, the battle theme changes to a more contemporary, orchestral-style mix. Considering the multiple locations, I would love a diverse soundtrack that plays on each setting.

I like that multiple battle theme version idea. It'll definitely help keep the pace going, and prevents the battle theme from going old real quick.

Though I'm sure many fans will be against this, I'd actually like for an action RPG style, much like KH (perhaps the option to select who you'd like to play as, or switch on the fly). If that doesn't happen though, and the standard 3 character party system is retained, then incorporating the ability to switch in/out characters in the party during battle (FFX's idea) would be a good idea. Maybe adding dual/team/party attacks/Limit-Breaks (kinda like the Chrono series tech attacks). Also, I'd like to see a mode/option where Cloud can dual wield for combat.

As for the mini games. I'd love for a much more indepth action element with the motocycle chase sequence. Especially aftering seeing AC, I'm sure they could definitely improve this little game. Maybe even a little motorcycle race game as well? Of course, the return of the snowboarding game is a must.

Oh and for a bonus weapon, perhaps toss in Cloud's AC weapon as a bonus. Maybe make it into a quest where the player has to find items/material to forge it (and each sword), or perhaps a quest to find each sword seperately.

Other bonuses, maybe they could do alternate costumes. Adding replay value? Like AC outfits, KH outifts, and perhaps turk Vincent.

Obviously VA is a necessity for the remake, hopefully bringing back the same cast from AC for continuity (maybe replace Mena, seeing as I've heard nothing but bad things). And maybe giving us the option for the Japanese dub track as well. If a Japanese dub track is a no go, then I demand a reanimation of mouth movements to fit the english dub (common, stop being lazy SE).

Cut scenes... maybe adding action sequences that are. Perhaps a climatic FMV duel/sequence when Cloud confronts Sephiroth, ending it with switching to the battle screen and Cloud finishing him with Omnislash.

I'm expecting the graphics to be as good as AC's. Quality stuff is demanded for this remake.

As you can see, AC is influencing much of what I'd like to see in the remake. Ahh, that's all I can think of for now.

[01:39] <@Miles|work> I wish SOLDIER would play a non-Square Enix game for once
[01:39] <@Miles|work> or talk about something other than final fantasy for once

This thread fails for massive fanboyism. And if it's allowed to exist, can I have a thread about discussing a remake of BUBSY 3D? Fuck knows it might happen.

[01:53] <@Miles|work> Hey CS. I also like how SOLDIER compliments OBVIOUS flaws in Square-Enix games.

<Miles|work> Did I get you in a hate SOLDIER mood tonight?
<Zeal> the user should not be harassed for simply supporting square enix.
<Zeal> whatever. kill him.

Oh come on now. Stop being so cynical. What's so wrong about speculating about an FFVII remake? The game is immensely popular (Unlike BUBSY) and there have been rumblings about it's remake for a good while now. (Also unlike BUBSY so your sarcastic analogy fails)


Anyway, I really like the area sensitive soundtrack idea. I'd like it if they just made all general aspects of the game more in-depth with lots of extra features. Make summon intros interactive, have more FMVs and feature Cid & Yuffie this time, make the Cloud cross dressing part into a full out, dating minigame!

But I heard a rumour on these here INTERNETS that Bubsy 3D is totally gonna be remade. It MIGHT HAPPEN. There have been RUMBLINGS and such. YOU NEVER KNOW. And I could make the thread way before any official announcement is made so if/when it does happen I have the only claim to it! Because I'm a huge Bubsy fanboy faggot.

Wait a minute, up until this point I thought you were being serious. Since no one can be stupid crazy enough to honestly suggest that, I'll assume the rest of your post was a joke too.

http://www.gamingforce.com/forums/mu...iscussion.html

Such as....?

Well like I said, there's bound to be people against the idea in general (and anyone who supports it). But like someone else mentioned, if I didn't make this thread, someone else would eventually.

OK good. You assume that. Maybe then you'll stop gracing shittifying the thread with your hilarious wit douche-baggetry.


Honestly now, what's so wrong with a bunch of people speculating about some rumors? Or have you always, really had a deep seeded desire to start a BUBSY 3D FOR TEH 360 thread but never found an adequate scapegoat till this very thread?

God, I hope not. that game gave me fucking motion sickness.

They should remake FF7, but all you do is parkour-style jumps all over Midgar or Junon.

I think it'd be cool to backflip off the plate and plumet for two minutes to your grisly demise, that's all.

I hope that Square updates the graphics on Arieth's death sequence.

But wait-a-sec, are we all talking about a remake for PS2 or is it pretty much granted this will be a PS3 project?

A game remade for the PS3 would prove to be pretty awesome since there is the obvious mega-improvements in graphics and such. They'll probably also change on screen characters to non-SD figures which would also improve the visuals, but playing a movie would definitely sell it for me.

Plus the fact that it is most likely already in development and with the PS3 due out in November, will we see a remake FFVII as a launch title?


:beer:

I've got mixed feelings about this really. In a way, i don't want them to remake the game atal 'cause i think it's perfect just the way it is (FFVII fangirl in the house). I don't trust them not to completely redo it and take away all my favourite elements.

However, i wouldn't mind seeing it remade just to give it some good graphics and a voice over in the cut scenes (only in Japanese though, i wouldn't want to hear it in English) Also altering the soundtrack a little bit as SOLDIER mentioned wouldn't be a bad idea in my opinion. I would enjoy new music in the game and would definitely buy the new OST if they did so

Some of the things i have seen you commenting about above to add to the game would put me off. Such as using the similar battle system to FFX. I was never too keen on the whole swapping characters in thing. That would annoy the hell out of me if they put that into FFVII. The costumes also wouldn't be a bad idea but obviously only as bonuses once you've played through the game once.

I wouldn't want them adding anything in or taking anything away. I just was subtle improvements if they were to do it

Oh come on. These "rumblings" are just fanboys saying that they heard about it from bla bla bla. SE has said time and again, IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. If it does, woop dee doo, SE has another super mega blockbuster hit.

If anything, they should remake VI and Chrono Trigger.

Multiple battle themes in a game as big as FF7 are practically a must. Sure there was the Jenova theme and a few other times when danger music carried over into battles, but the traditional battle theme was still prevalent throughout, and it got tiresome (as good as it was) after a while. Look to SMT Nocturne or the much-maligned Shadow Madness for examples. Nocturne varied its battle music by area (world map, dungeon, town, Labyrinth of Amala), and it seems like the SM composer decided to pretty much have a different battle theme for each dungeon you were in.

One need only look at Xenosaga to see that variety is the spice of life. Games need more than one battle theme.

As for the visuals, it'd be neat to see it in HD, mostly because so many environments looked like the designers wanted to go into insane detail but couldn't for lack of GPU muscle and the constraints of SD output. I hope they bring back their old character designer, though, as I really dislike Nomura's style. His obsession with blurring gender lines irritates the living piss out of me, and Gackt has no fucking place in the post-apocalyptic FF7verse. Long hair or not, Sephiroth still looked distinctively masculine. The same cannot be said for more recent *cough*Vaan*cough* characters.

Gameplay-wise, FF7 remains a very mechanically easy-to-play game. The battle engine is straightforward (but lose the fake realtime bullshit), and the menus are easy to navigate. It kept things simple while still allowing for flexibility.

As for sound, I demand English voice-overs, as well as facial reanimations. I don't care what kind of fandom you have; you're marketing a product to an English-speaking audience, ergo you record dialogue in English. Not everyone who buys your product is an anime fan. Of those who are, not all of them are subtitle fans. Throw in an option, fine. If you're using Blu-ray/HD-DVD then you're going to have the space for it anyway. But do NOT force your customers to experience the game in a foreign language. While some consider it authentic, others WILL see it as a barrier to immersion and/or believability. And as for facial reanimation: again, look at Xenosaga. The dialogue and VO quality were good, but there is no excuse for that kind of sloppiness. People's mouths moved a good 2 seconds after they finished talking in that game. You have the technology to relatively easily change facial animations. Use it.

Personal nitpick: if FF7 is supposed to be such a dark and mature game, which it definitely feels like they tried for with the profanity, creepy bloody-floor scenes, and death of you-know-who, would it be too much to ask for some real-time blood in battles? Might as well go for broke, and I'd love to see a more realistic portrayal of the results of Omnislash. I'm not saying you have to achieve "Soldier of Fortune" gore levels, but at least something like RE/SH blood pools on dead enemies. And don't tell me that's "Not the J-RPG style." Shadow Hearts FTW.

Yes well, I don't think for a second it's going to happen, nor is it an actually good idea. If they are going to remake it, they'll remake it for PSP because.. well everything is being ported or remade for the PSP. But PS3 remake, no.

First of all, people will want voice acting, which is an awful idea right there. One of the reasons FFVII's atmosphere worked so well was because despite the heavily cinematic cut-scenes, it felt like following an engaging book instead of a badly acted movie. Adding voice acting will immediately make it a badly acted movie.

"Oh, but how do you know the voice acting will be bad??!" I don't, and neither do you. I'm just looking at Square's trackrecord, and despite what zealous Kingdom Hearts fans might warble, they've not done too well.

It's probable the original voices might work well, FFXII and Advent Children had a good Japanese cast, but this is Square and they will naturally dub their titles in english for the foreign market, meaning gone is that atmosphere.

Secondly, no one supporting a remake seems to acknowledge how old FFVII is. Old meaning old designs, conventions and compromises. Clumsy dialogue, clumsy story exposition, clumsy gameplay (in parts). This was entirely forgivable on the PS1 because the game was simply so enjoyable, but that won't work on PS3.

This would mean Square would basically need to rebuild the game from the ground up (battle systems, graphics, music, sound, story flow, narration, dialogue, map design, backgrounds, cutscenes, controls, gameplay), which is not only a whole lot of work, but also a recipe for disaster. Why? Because Square no longer has any idea what made FFVII so appealing. No, they honestly don't. I thought they did, but they really don't. Advent Children was hugely entertaining, but it was really nothing to do with FFVII. You need only look at the new characters in AC and Dirge of Cerberus to see how far off the road SE's gone.

It's not so much that it's unlikely, it's that it's a bad idea. Just because it will obviously sell a lot, doesn't mean it should happen. It'll be the Rollerball of J-RPGs.

Errr, no. Whatever amount of work is required to bring this remake kicking and screaming onto the next generation consoles, it would be a lot less than creating a whole new sequel (i.e. FFXIII) to the franchise because the music, character designs, story and overall game design in general could be re-used (with a little tweaking). The majority of effort would be the graphics and cut scenes which, however, would be the same case for FFXIII. If I was the head of SE then I would insist on the next project being a FFVII remake, because the demand is there for it. You know it makes financial sense...

I know I said I didn't want a debate on whether a remake should happen or not, but I guess there's no way to avoid the conversation.

It's a little bit deeper than that. Square's president stated that the chances of a remake were "likely", as well as confirming that SE was "examining the possibility" of a remake. Unless you think he counts as a fanboy (and I kind of hope he would be).

Not very likely, since they already have Crisis Core for the PSP.

Lines like "This guy are sick" and "Off course" don't exactly make for an engaging book. Voice acting is and always will be a matter of preference, but as it stands I've yet to hear a bad dub from SE. KH2's is fantastic, Suvari aside, and I've heard AC follows the same kind of quality.

And that's exactly why a remake feels so necessary now. In my opinion, FFVII is currently the ugliest FF title currently available. The previous FF's were all sprite-based (and FFI-II have been given makeovers, with FFIII getting a full 3D makeover), which have a timeless quality to it, but when you compare FFVII to the later 3D incarnations like FFVIII and IX, the game sticks out like a sore thumb. Lego models, crappy FMV, midi tunes, badly translated dialogue, and a story that could've been more coherently narrated make up the flaws. Make no mistake, FFVII was fantastic and ground-breaking at the time, but with the increasing standards in graphics and presentation (especially from Square themselves), it doesn't look so hot nowadays.

The short of it is that FFVII is currently hot again. All these spinoffs are bound to draw in newbies to experience the original game. That's why a fresh new remake is so necessary.

Actually, the fact of whether it's necessary or not isn't even the point; it would just be cool, and that should be enough incentive as any. Was that MGS remake for GC necessary? Of course not. Was it still cool? Absolutely.

Another feature I want to see is a bit of an update on the old outfits and designs. I could do without Barret resembling Mr T this time, and I especially can't imagine Tifa in her old outfit. Not unless they wanted to incorporate a bunch of panty shots and bounce physics. I don't want a complete overhaual, just a few subtle touches to help modernize the old designs, just like the Cloud in the PS3 demo (a darker top, and a more AC-quality face and hairstyle).

Exactly. There is so much to fix and expand upon! At the time of it's release, FFVII was as close to perfect as you can get with an RPG. Now, it's a diamond in the rough with a lot of potential but filled with glaring flaws.

And fuck the PSP. If the PS3's as powerful as Sony's suggesting then that's definately where the remake needs to be. It needs to get the full monsterous power/mega-face lift treatment.

Given FFVII's popularity and name recognition (due to the fact that it was such a huge milestone for the series) I think Square had planned a remake for it a long time ago. Simply because such a project would be incredibly profitable. However I think they wanted to milk it for it's worth with all these spin offs and the movie before they hit us with the grand finale: FFVII remake for the PS3. (Which would be the definitive cashcow for SE but you know, gotta save the biggest gun of them all for the very last)

I don't know if anyone recalls but at some point they even announced their own made up term for milking franchises like this. It was polysomething... (I don't exactly remember). But they went on to explain about how it's a new strategy they're adopting that entails extending existing franchices into new titles and mediums. A full blown FFVII remake would be the epitome of this new strategy of their's.

Nah, the grand finale would be FFVII-2, or whatever they want to call the final chapter of the spin-offs. In the end, I'd probably prefer that to a remake, but I don't think the last chapter will be made for quite a while (not just to milk the series, but also because it would be like creating a whole new FF RPG, and they're already busy with FFXIII).

Polymorphic Content. And I think the term is referring to other venues of distributing their franchises, including movies, books, and so on.

Don't get me wrong, a brand spanking new 3D remake would be awesome, but I personally would be happy if they just re-released the original PSOne game.

The could put it onto DVD, remake the music score and maybe include an artbook and a bonus DVD or something.

I'd buy it ^_^

From the AC thread...

A full-fledged remake would make for a very profitable reinterpretation of this title. I'm certain it would provide a satisfying improvement - especially on the aesthetic side (graphics and sound).

Content-wise, some parts could also be reworked and expanded. For instance, I'd like to see further documentation about Cetra's history and Shinra's evolution.

That said, it's also true that I've sampled little to nothing from their Polymorphic Compilation. I don't know how well the other Compilation games complement the original story - but, no matter what, a reasonable overhaul of the initial product should represent a very welcome addition, indeed.

Here's one story alteration I'd like to see. In the first flashback with Sephiroth, it establishes that Sephiroth discovers that he is a Cetra, and how he will liberate the planet from the humans in the name of his Cetra mother.

However, later in the story, they then establish that Jenova wasn't a Cetra, but the enemy of them. This of course means Sephiroth isn't a Cetra either, but he still carries on his plans, fully aware he isn't a Cetra.

The whole thing felt like a pointless plot point that only served to confuse people. It didn't matter whether Sephiroth was a Cetra or not, since his plans remained the same. What's more, we aren't even told how he finds out that he wasn't one to begin with.

I say erase the whole Cetra bit from the flashback and just have Sephiroth learn that he's a child of Jenova, and destined to rule the planet.

If there were to be an FFVII remake, this is what I would want:

- Redone cutscenes
- Redone graphics
- Redone music(but the notes kept exactly the same)
- Sephiroth as a playable character as a secret

I don't want any new additions to the game. To me FFVII was perfect, and I don't want anything changed or added except the things above. No storyline changes, no voice overs, no new characters, no new weapons, etc.

I think that idea about having Cloud's AC sword and gathering all the pieces as a side quest would be awesome. I know it wouldn't fit in the timeline, but just as a cool extra.

Ruby and Emerald Weapon were extras in the US FF7. And awesome ones at that.

I guess that would be cool.

But what I mean is I don't want the weapon names redone, and the weapons changed in general.

The AC weapon as badass.

You're absolutely right, and a lot of remake guys do seem to forget that. Look, the reason FF4 + Minor Graphical Update sells is because it's cheap, it's on a portable system and it's sprites. People have a certain expectation for spritey games, and that hasn't changed very much in the last eight years or so because not many new ones are coming out.

But a remake on a next-gen system for a game many think is overhyped to begin with? Nigger, you better expect that people will demand modern gameplay and narration.

Also, you guys forget that they tried a lot of new and radical things in FF7. There were a lot of goofy mini-games that were essentially pressing a couple of buttons in rhythm - don't you remember giving Pricilla (dolphin girl) CPR? Those things aren't so new anymore. Some of them worked, some of them didn't. Would you keep those in there, even if some of them detracted from gameplay?

The people who think all Square needs to do is updated graphics and voiceover work are hilariously mistaken.

I also like how it apparently took 6 months to dub a two hour movie in english, not including any work done prior to is's release in Japan, but no one seems to think this could happen again for FF7. Christ, you guys.

hey, look everybody. It's SOLDIER.
http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-imag...ickpony300.jpg

What'cha doin', buddy?

http://nefariouslabs.r30.net/Dead%20Horse.jpg

Oh, dead horse beating again. Gotcha. Cool.

I would like to see a remake of final fantasy 7 with awsome updated graphics because i have never played the orignal final fantasy 7 much due to the shitty graphics. Everything was far too pixalated and blurry since its the first attempt at a 3d FF game. Although I don't know much about the story line, they could just keep the main plot and everything and get rid of the pointless minigame crap mentioned above in place of something differant. There should be at least a couple minor twists added to keep old fans familiar to the game, but still feel as if its new. Maybe add alternete endings depending on things you do in the game. Also since many people want voice acting, why not have an option for text, english voicing, and japanese voicing with subtitles?

I agree with DragoonKain. I wouldn't want to see much (if any) of the core game altered unless it was optional. New sidequests and mini games would be fine but leave the main story plot. I would love though to see more impressive graphics and better quality music still using the same score.

Oh, you mean the old character designer for FFVII, who was... NOMURA (and if you mean Amano, then you have no reason to complain about blurring gender-lines)! And Vaan wasn't designed by Nomura, nor has any main FF character been since FFX.

As long as they fix all the fuck-ups, enhance the story to include in-game explanations for certain events/characters, and re-write the characters so they weren't blithering idiots I'd be happy.

Waitaminute...You're shitting me. Why did FF7's characters look so different from the more recent zipper-laden KH and FFX/X-2/XII characters then?

And hey, Amano could draw pretty characters well (Ayami Kojima of "Castlevania" fame, anyone?) He had the classical style down to a science. Nomura draws like a DeviantArt reject.

Either way, whoever the hell is responsible for Vaan and the unceremonious defiling of Setzer's design in KH2, keep him far the hell away from...well, anything, but at least far from this remake.

I think that it was one of Nomura's first projects, wich may explain the awful designs for all the VII characters, Setzer's design in KHII is also one of the disasters that he produced. FF XII's design is by a certain Yoshida, whom I'm not really familiar with.

he did Final fantasy III (the original jp FF3, I don't think he's the one re-designing it) and come on, how could anyone recognize the style of Vagrant Story! yep he did Vagran Story. He did also Final Fantasy Tactic ^^

for me, it almst everything it has already been said.

Good graphic (like the technical demo!)
good voice acting (yes I want cutscene with voice acting!)
Some little change in the story so that it's more coherent

and for me I don't want the FFXII battle system in FFVII, even if I like it, all ff had his own system (even if some are almost the same). For me if they could keep all the same system but with maybe more materia with more combination, and the battle like FFX-2. OK don't get me wrong I doN,t want all those transformation XD what I mean about FFX-2 it's because even if it's a ATB battle system, it's was extremely fast! this is what I want ^^

I like how the massive attraction of all things FFVII both attracted and repelled haters. LOL INTERNET.

*ahem*
Specific things I want to have fixed:

• Aeirth's death scene (At least a re-rendering)
• Non deformed characters (Including NPCs... like Biggs/Wedge/Jessie/Don Cornero :tpg: )
• Music of higher quality (Seriously the music was near-MIDI, while FFVIII was ZOMG ORCHESTRA).
• A fleshed out Escape from Midgar Bike Game
• Snowboarding Mini-Game
• Knights of the Fucking Round. They had better keep this.

Proceed to praise/bash me.

Nomura was instructed to keep the designs simple, since it was Square's first 3D effort. He even had to keep them semi-superdeformed. It wasn't until FFVIII when Square got a handle in rendering 3D characters, and Nomura was able to use his "true style".

The only FFVII design that came out the way he intended was Yuffie, since he had the most time to tinker with her look, adding the usual acessories that's become his trademark.

And for god's sake, stop whining about Setzer.

NOMURA RAPED SETZER
NOMURA RAPED SETZER
NOMURA RAPED SETZER
Nomura raped Setzer
NOMURA RAPED SETZER
Nomura raped Setzer

Nomura was the one who designed Setzer in the first place. I'm glad he doesn't look like a Sephiroth lookalike now. Yes, he came first, but Seph is far more recognizable, so a compromise had to be made.

Also, whoever it was that was bitching about Setzer's scars being missing, they're still there. All over the place. It's not that easy to miss.

Sorta...

From the Wikipedia Article:

A FF VII remake is definately opening up a can of worms. It would have to be designed to perfection in order to impress all the older fans. That being said, FFVII was revolutionary in it's time. That's why it was so great. A remake probabably won't be revolutionary.

However, some definate things I'd like to see:

-No story changes. (At all, don't care what some people say).
-Updated mini-games
-Good voice actors, none of this Aeris from KH2 bullshit (In fact, due away with celebrity voice actors entirely, they just suck.)
-Interesting menu. The FFVII menu was horrible, gradients are shitty.
-Spice up the battle system. I realize the FFVII materia system is pretty much integrated into the story, but it needs to be updated because it's old and dull now.

Also, whoever said they can reuse stuff from FFVII is out of their mind. Like Qwarky said, everything has to be remade from scratch for a remake. (The Twin Snakes anyone?) I'm also assuming that amazing graphics goes without saying.

He designed Setzer and then Amano reworked him entirely. The original designs looked almost nothing alike. Also, Seph is more recognizeable? Setzer is a Seph look-a-like? God, SOLDIER. You really are simple.

I think he meant that more people would recognize Sephiroth than Setzer. FFVII has a bigger fanbase than VI, hence all the spin-offs, and you never see people named Setzer089123 online. At least I never have. Hell I didn't even know Setzer was from VI until I heard about it here. (Haven't played much of VI)

Thank you, finally someone who gets it. People seem to think old designs and cg can be reused without any alteration needed and what little alteration is needed would be minimal because we're reusing old designs. It's the god damn PS3, of course they'd need to rebuild everything from the ground up. At best, they could use old character designs for reference, but you can bet Nomura would insist on redesigning them.

The amount of work that would need to go into it is one of the things that make a remake unlikely. What makes it a bad idea is how (again), Square no longer has any idea what people loved about the original. It certainly wasn't the pepsodent grins or the useless accessory covered characters.

A remake that requires a lot of effort can work. Twin Snakes was more or less a succesful remix (mostly thanks to Kitamura) and while I was sceptic about the Resident Evil remake, it turned out to be completely excellent. But the team behind it has to have an intricate understanding of the original title, what made it great and what didn't. I simply don't think any of Square's staff has any idea now at this point, least of all Nomura, who reminds me off those music video/commercial directors who then get a chance to make big budget movies.

back to the mini art desiger argument...
Amano is the illustrator for the FF series. He takes the FF desgins and makes them to fit his style of art, which is associated with the early art designs of the final fantasy... So far to my awareness, amano never designs what is to be found in the game. He simply takes from the game sprites and original sketches and makes them into 'art' form. He's taken alot of FF characters and altered them to appear more artistic. See the attached Vivi pic. All the ingame designs are based on the original sketches. So ingame Setzer would have Nomura's Setzer in sprite form.

I don't really think the minigames need that much tweaking, like you state. In the end, what are they? Simple button-mashing events that barely take up a minute of your time. I think the options are pretty simple; either modify them somewhat so they won't be as tedious, or just remove them entirely (not like anyone would miss that CPR bit, and I could do without the "press the three consoles at the same time" bit. Hated that shit).

As for whether Nomura still has a grasp on what makes FFVII great, well that's really a matter of opinion. I haven't played the later spin-offs yet (DoC), but judging from what I've seen in KH2 and AC, I'd say he still has an accurate portrayal of his characters. Square has said many times that they wouldn't do a remake unless Nomura was in charge, so it's not like they want to just market it in a hurry.

Have you even seen Setzer's concept design? Is it even available for viewing?

I played FFVI back when it was still FFIII in the US. I loved Setzer and every other character, and I still hold the game close to my heart even now. But I'm also fully aware that guys like Sephiroth are far more recognizable to the general public than Setzer. That's why anyone who began with FFVII would classify Setzer as a Seph look-a-like, and not vice versa. This isn't a matter of preference, it's just the way it is. Deal with it, for god's sake.

I thought you could change the colors? On the other hand, I don't think that made things much better. Yeah, the menu's colors were piss-poor.

EDIT: I never gave Amano's FFVII illustrations much viewing. Amano-Aerith looks pretty neat, the pink doesn't stick out as much.

Amano-Squall and Rinoa suck very hard though. :(

Hey, I wasn't knocking Amano; hell, the man's my favorite artist. It's just that I can't see how someone can accuse Nomura of drawing girly and then praise Amano for not doing so. As for Nomura, I'd worry less about the masculinity of his heroes and more about why in the hell he was allowed to get away with Nooj.

Edit: As well as why he gets away with retarded names like Nooj, but that might be the writer's fault.

My opinion.
 

I read everyone's posts and I agree with most of what you guys want, but one thing I would like to see myself is a new battle system. Something that resembles Final Fantasy XII or Kingdom Heats II.

I've been playing a lot of action adventure titles lately, like God of War, Devil May Cry 3, Ninja Gaiden, and I think it a remake should incorporate some of the elements from these games.

I first started wanting this after watching Advent Children and playing Dirge of Cerberus. Seeing what the battles should be like, I want a remake to be faster paced and more action oriented. Rather than just being purely strategic, I want the fights to be skill based.

Kingdom Hearts II was a big influence as well. When I fought Cloud, Tifa and Yuffie in the Underdrome I knew that SquareEnix could pull it off. It was really the moment where I decided that a turned based RPG wouldn't be as enjoyable.

Don't get me wrong, I love traditional RPGs. I've been playing them for most of life. But for FFVII I want a game that focuses as much on gameplay, as on story. But I know Square wouldn't do it, because it might alienate some of the original fans of the game, and thats really who it's for. But still, I think it would make it appeal to the more casual game player, and to me. ^_^

Anyways, the chances of a remake are pretty slim. I think instead of spending the amount of time and money remaking the game, they would make a sequel instead. Which they already hinted at in some of the other FFVII Complilation titles.

omg pix plz

I want nothing changed from the story or gameplay, just updated graphics and music. No voice acting. The more you change the more the game is bound to disappoint others.

It's a REMAKE after all. They should aim for 70% didn't change their opinion about FF VII, 30 % liked it better. How do they do that?

A pure remake without any significant CHANGES (not improvement) doesn't offer ground for attacks. Voice acting I would catergorize more as changes and not improvement, as it clearly can change the perception of the characters drastically. Updated graphics and music can be perceived as a change as well, when certain people actually like the outdated graphics or the midiish music, but I generally refer to them as improvements. The only risk I see lies in the character modelling, when you're presented with a character you don't expect to look like that at all, but I think this risk is rather small.

The people who didn't like FF VII will only have limited options, "yeah updated graphics and such, still a crappy game" or "now this game looks significantly better, which elevates it to average/good I guess".
The people who likes the game could say, "Improvement upon the old in terms of graphics and music + some fawning" or "I was a bit disappointed they didn't change anything, but I guess it's stays true to the name REMAKE".

If they try hard to alter elementary content there is always the option "The game was (already crap/fantastic), but now it's got (even worse/bad) because of...". It would give a lot of FF VII haters the chance for a backlash, they could even pretend to not like some of the new features just to spite the fans. Ok, maybe they really don't like the new features, but their way of expressing this dislike will be more extreme than the game deserves. Or certains fans could be in denial, saying they like the new features, but aren't really.

If they want to add anything new, they could add 2 or 3 additional sidequest, which gives more insight into the occasional confusing stpry. Adding 2 or 3 new materia along is fine as well.

What I basically want to say is, keep new ideas to a minimum. It saves time, costs and risk to lose fans. In addition, by doing this they could lower the selling price, which might be another incentive.

Apparently Game Informer dropped a rumor that FFVII is in development for the PS3 using FFXII's battle system. (I didn't see it mentioned earlier in the thread).

Your thoughts on this?

Personally, I hope the battle system doesn't resemble XII. I always wanted to see a remake where the battle system was completely action-oriented, kinda like Rogue Galaxy. If not that, at least something along the line of FFX-2, more stream-lined and faster.

I'll remain open-minded if the rumor becomes true, but as it stands now, a FFVII remake with a FFXII-like battle system is a tough rumor to entertain.

Yeah I read about that too. I dunno...

Anyway, I would argue against just simply giving the game a visual face-lift. I think some parts of the game should definately be changed. I mean when the game first came out, standards were a lot lower, so it got away with some really awkward and downright crappy parts. It'd be a joke if they left these parts as they were and just gave them better graphics and sound.

Also, new weaposn, summons, attacks and spells that DON'T replace the old ones are welcome! (as are additional side-quests, minigames, and backstories)

I'd really like to see a decent FFVII remake like the rest of you, but it would need a full treatment - everything from the ground up - reworked story, translation, dialogue, battle system, Materia, right down to how the materia system worked - after all, in the final stages of the game, you could make th3e characters virtually identical with Materia except for their Limit Breaks and ultimate weapons. I would dearly love to see voice-overs in this one, assuming they can get it right (I'm hoping Advent Children's dub isn't screwed up.) And finish the story in the game properly. And for those of you who don't want anything besides a graphical overhaul, understand that FFVII is a game that was great in it's own time, and that it would be insanely difficult to blow people's minds or make as great a leap from one generation to the next as was done from the SNES to the PS1 in 1997. And you will not get the same feeling of discovery from a remake as you likely did from the original.

I'll buy it if Rachael Leigh Cook voices Tifa.

After that choreographic orgasm they delivered in Advent Children I'd really like them to do something about the old battle system. Maybe expanding on this idea from Super Mario RPG, where players could archive criticals by pressing a button just when the character was about to strike. Getting Cloud's gang to engage in movie like battles that become more complex the farther the game progresses would be neat. I never played Shenmue, but I think it had something similar. After all, what have we been doing during 70% of the classic Final Fantasy battles? Plainly hitting "Attack". Of course, combining/balancing this out with the Materia system would be a neccesity.
One could also have heroes and foes move around dynamicly and benefit from/make use of the surroundings now and then. Flame me if any of this sounds to FF-twelvy but I honestly have no more than a faint idea how the new battle system works. All I know about is a 40/40 from Famitsu, which sounds promising.

Yes. Thank you. My thoughts exactly. Only if they rework everything over, will the remake be worth it.

i would pay $200 USD for a remade ps3/X360/Rev copy of this game with out even thinking about it lol. so Square-Enix needs to get on it if they arent already making one lol

Thank you techno, and as for whether or not theyr'e making one already, I have to wonder why SE made that trailer, even with the disclaimer that they weren't working on a remake if they didn't want to test the waters for interest. It's not the first time they've done this (FFX-2) and it just seems like they're setting themsleves up for it. Ah well. Only time (and hopefully E3) will tell. Though a reaction command based system would be nice, how would they make it different from Kingdom Hearts II? Many things to consider.

You can't base it on the existence of a technical demo alone, since they did the same thing for the PS2, with the FFVIII ball room scene. But Nomura supposedly confirmed that he would develop an FFVII remake after he was done with all of his current projects.

Also, they ain't gonna change shit, because it'll sell a billion copies just because you can count the strands of hair on Sephiroth's head.

Also, CELL will overheat when it tries to process Tifa's boobs.

That's it folks, heres the proof why no PS3 remake of Final Fantasy 7 will ever be made. Megalith just ended all speculations, you can now close the topic, Game Over man, GAME OVER.

:(

Could have sworn the PS2 was able to render Tifa's boobs in Dirge of Cerberus. Is that the PS3's achilles heel or something? Tifa's breasts?

That's because the Playstation two has a costum EMOTION ENGINE processor, designed to create emotions such as, but not limited to, a hard-on! The CELL in the Playstation 3 cannot do things like THAT.

Square-Enix told us before this project is look very difficult but is still allow to discussion about it.i think they can't do it because they told us before will make FFVII,FFVIII & FFIX on ps2.

Did you notice how she didn't fight or do anything to cause them to bounce? There is a good reason for this.

Enough. Let's try this again if/when this actually happens.