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.