Final Fantasy VII Remake Development Is Starting to Sound Like a Nightmare

I expect the demo of it to be bundled with the release of FFXVI.

Not that this is all his fault but I really think its time Nomura didn't get put on big projects anymore. He can't handle it.

You forgot one crucial part - after being announced, we got treated to another great trailer (including gameplay) that following December which made some people (myself included) think the game was on its way. That's making this harder to take.

The one good thing out of this is maybe Kingdom hearts is releasing a little sooner because maybe it's in the earlier part of the next three years and this is in the latter part. Wishful thinking, I know.

@ztpayne7 At this point I think there's every chance that the finished game will look nothing like that trailer. It's all very disappointing.

Typical Nomura. Please God let Tabata be in charge of XVI from day 1.

Why even announce and show screenshots this early?

I must admit that I couldn't care less about FFvii - It wasn't a game I enjoyed back on the PS1 and not on my watch list at all.

It seems that FFvii is more a 'labour of love' for want of a description. By that I mean its something that the developers want to do and would do it in their 'spare' time. Obviously the Fans would want it too but from a 'publishers' perspective, its 'old' news. Maybe they want to shift resources to something New, something more immediate etc. Maybe they feel that fans will wait another 5-10yrs for FFvii but want to get new games, new stories, new content out.

FFvii could be a 'project' that has Square Enix are using to fill up the 'quiet' times between projects. Rather than layoff certain teams - like Animators or have them sat around waiting for the concept artists or storyboarders to finish their work. It might also be a simple case that a current project needs extra hands on deck to meet a deadline, get it finished to get it released to keep funds coming in whilst they work on long term projects. Its no secret that Deus Ex didn't sell as expected. Maybe they are just helping out to get some 'game-play' presentable for E3 - like the Avengers project and will return to FFvii soon...

From Ashcraft in Kotaku:
"Why is Square Enix no longer working with external studio CyberConnect2 on FFVII Remake? In a December 2015 interview with Famitsu, Square Enix producer Yoshinori Kitase said that Nomura complained about a CyberConnect2 trailer for FFVII Remake and wanted it done in a more Square Enix style. "

@Athrum Good lord.

Just put Nomura strictly on 2D art stuff. Nothing else.

My guess... PlayStation 6 will have this FF7 Remake as a launch title.

Final Fantasy XVI: Crisis Core 2

Let's hope this doesn't just drop off the face of the Earth for a decade like FFXV or The Last Guardian. Seriously disappointing how little they've apparently done in two years, though.

@Athrum Yikes! They sound horrible to work with!

So how long has it been now that the Square half of Squenix wasn't in development hell? DQ doesn't seem nearly as messed up as FF and KH. I think Square has been broken since they rushed out The Bouncer in 2000 as a PS2 launch title. They've been more miss than hit since Vagrant Story.

Square really needs to internally change to get games out faster.

These games are going to have problems due to such long development times.

I know I'm going to sound like such a jerk, but I seriously wonder why everyone wanted this remake. Everyone's upset it's nowhere in sight, and whatever has been revealed has been crapped on. After all the complaining about not getting it for years, it honestly takes a lot of willpower to not say "careful what you wish for". Screw development, this game was going to be a nightmare from reaction alone.

I don't even hate FF7, I've been enjoying what I've played of it so far, but I've honest to God never understood the desire for a remake. Was it just because of that PS3 tech demo from a decade ago? I get that it's the most loved entry in the series (which may not be saying much in hindsight), but people have been thirsty for this remake for a very long time and I never got why.

Just give it to platinum games, I heard they're quite good at action rpg game

@DerMeister Because people loved final fantasy 7? One of the best rpg ever, the game that made many playstation owners (like me) a fan of jrgp genre.

Being honest I had no idea cyberconnect were on this and question why square outsourced development at all. This is their crown jewel and a licence to print money for them. Not dissing cc at all, but this just surprises me. I would have thought they would have wanted full control of the project.

While I think some of the criticism levied at squenix over the past few years has been unfair, I do miss the good old squaresoft days! Really question what is going on where in house titles like ff15 and kh3 get stuck in development hell for so long ; and studios which are delivering like io get sold off..

Why don't they just kill two birds with one stone and just put FF7 skins in KH3? Based on that last trailer, it looked like that's where they were going with it anyways....

@sketchturner
That will sell some serious hardware, though..!

Defo not going to be a PS4 title, unless they make it compatible with old gen's. I suppose that mean's they will have to redo everything we've seen about the game so far (that's if they even use it) for the PS5.

I can't help but feel they'd have been better off just making a much prettier version of the existing game with some modern control schemes. This is meant to be in 3 parts isn't It? It seems like the first part is so far away that nobody will care long before they see a Ruby Weapon

I pray for their success for their teams working on this project. Hate to see a good developer disappear into the ether. Speedy and good progress Square Enix. Maybe a few smaller teams (20 or so in a team) should start producing smaller 16-bit rpgs/srpgs again. Turn around in 6 months charge under a £10... bread and butter theory. Keep earning with the fast turnaround rpgs that we love and build triple AAA blockbusters separately. Maybe these short adventures still take 20-30 hours just just without all the side games and extra activities 😄

@Tsurii Yeah, to me FFXV and the 7 remake both have similarities to KH combat, though obviously not full on hack and slash like KH games tend to be. I was just being sarcastic in the hopes that canceling one game would get the other out sooner

As long as developing it internally doesn't drag along their other projects (well, beyond the typical pace, that is), I'm more than fine with waiting. FFVII is a milestone JRPG in some ways and a really impressive one indeed, but it isn't even among my favourites in the series. I completed it with a level 99 main party and truckloads of materia as it is; I'm not even halfway through Crisis Core yet, not to mention the still inaccessible Dirge of Cerberus - and, of course, the other FF games I've yet to play. Like I often say, give me a FFXIII trilogy re-release, and I WILL play through it all again regardless of what games will have to share me with it. Among remakes, VIII, IX (my two other top faves in the flagship line) or at least V or VI. FFVII remake? Only time will tell if it lands in my backlog even when it's out.

And taking their time is not what developers can always afford, so let them make use of every such case. The "we want FFVII remake!" demand hype from fans has always been as dirt-cheap in value as bronies' demand hype for an EQ1-based MLPFiM movie, so when the game happens, it'll be mostly new audiences to fish for new sales among. And the core content remains solid enough to resonate with people, be it 20 years since the original release or 40.

It will come when it will come. In the meantime, play something else.

I've got a rather bad feeling about this.

@wiiware I understand that. But everyone is all "don't change it!", which is why I'm baffled by how everyone wants it. Changes are going to happen with remakes, it comes with the territory. Yet here's people asking for a remake of a game that is already perfect enough. If it's already perfect, why remake it, you know?

I guess I'm asking why because I'm, again, baffled at why people would want this remake so badly if they were just going to reject it so quickly. I can't remember a quicker 180 degree turn in critical reaction in recent memory. Everyone was happy and hype after the reveal, but once it was announced the combat was going to be changed (literally the first or second announcement after the game's reveal), everyone called time of death and said Square messed up again.

And for that matter, why was everyone wanting a remake of their beloved RPG when by all accounts Square is a massive punchline? People say all the time Square can't do anything right, yet they demand a remake and expect them to get it right? That in itself is almost laughable.

Wrll, looks like I was right about Nomura. Again.

@rjejr can claim this one though. Ive said fir ages Nomura should be left to make characters purely from belts and nothing more. At least it didnt take 6 years for them to kick him off this time.

@DerMeister From the beginning I always think the battle system will be changed to real-time combat since it will be ridiculous if the games with that realistic graphics still use turn-based combat.

I don't see that 180 degree turn in critical reaction, when I read the previews on gaming website people upset because the games is episodic, not because it's turn-based.

@wiiware I've seen plenty of tears spilt over the battle system. It's been a big sticking point for many. I can understand some points (potential lack of strategy for one), and turn based still has a place, but the reaction has been blown up a bit.

I don't know what to make of the episodic bit though. I immediately tend to compare it to how the original game had 3 discs, only just selling them separately, sort of. I'm just as confused on it as everyone else is.

My backlog consists of 2 piles of PS4 games both 2 feet high. One of them is Final Fantasy XV. Take as long as you need!

@FantasyMeister speaking of backlog I have 59 PS4 games only beat about 35 and every new game I still buy so I have it . At this point I will be playing PS4 literally rite up to the launch of PS5 lol

Clearly a lesson for all publishers. DON'T ANNOUNCE A GAME UNTIL CORE DEVELOPMENT IS NEARLY DONE.

Seriously though no way is this getting out till 2020. So of the 'big' E3 exclusive 2015 announcements, do we still only haven The Last Guardian to show for it?

@DerMeister
Well, you know how nostalgia works. For a lot of people, FF VII holds a special place because it was either their first RPG or it's just a game that takes them back to a simpler place and time. I get the desire, but this isn't like remaking an action game such as Resident Evil (still not an easy task but one much easier than remaking a massive RPG) and more importantly this isn't the old SquareSoft which was actually a great developer, this is SquareEnix which frankly has not been that great. I'm expecting a very mixed reaction when the game finally does hit shelves in 2027.

@Rudy_Manchego
Yup, and The Last Guardian isn't even what I would call a truly great game. Two years ago we witnessed what is easily one of the most overblown reactions to a press conference of all-time, right up there with grown men crying over the Zelda: Twilight Princess reveal trailer. Seriously pathetic. From a business perspective I get it because Sony certainly got people hyped and did what they had to do which was 'win' E3 by getting people excited over their product. From where I'm sitting though, there still isn't crap all to show for it especially if FF VII remake and Shenmue 3 only end up as decent at best which is a very real possibility.

@Gamer83 The fact that this isn't Square at it's prime was something I touched on in my second comment- All people say about Square is nothing but vitriolic jokes yet they demand a remake of FF7 and expect it to be how they want it to be. Then flip out on the web when it's not. I'm not so much surprised at people turning against the game as I am about them thinking it would be how they would like it (which general consensus is basically the same game with better graphics), despite disliking the modern Square.

These kind of reactions are what make me wonder why this remake should even be made.

@DerMeister
What I'll never understand is why people don't get that if there's going to be a remake it has to be modernized to some degree. People flipped their sh*t when they heard it would be an 'action-RPG.' They can say whatever they want, but turn-based combat in 2017 is simply not going to appeal like it would in 1997 so if you're a developer trying to reach the largest market possible it makes sense to make certain changes. Of course remakes are for the fans but I'm sure this one will cost a pretty penny, so you need to get younger gamers as well.

@Gamer83 That's kinda how I see it. A remake need to bring something new, if anything just to advance and keep up with modern times. I don't know how much you know about Fire Emblem, but I remember Shadow Dragon on DS, a 1 to 1 remake of the very first Fire Emblem, a 1990 Famicom game. Because it didn't add anything new, it can be a chore to play even if you do appreciate older games. I certainly can't imagine anyone else my age playing either Shadow Dragon or FF7. A remake is a good way to get a new audience.

I also see it as a way to give a different feel to original, and freshen up something old. When that's done right, I'm usually a fan of it.

@Gamer83 Yep, agree there. To me, E3 announcements are only validated with results. When everyone is crying about a reveal trailer when there is zero to reveal is mad. We might not even get the games this gen.

@Rudy_Manchego
Exactly. Which is why I put Sony's E3 last year above 2015. We're going to get Crash Bandicoot remastered, we're getting Spider-Man and God of War and these are likely to be at worst very good, at best they could be among the top 5 or 10 this gen. The Last Guardian does not fall into that category, and frankly, even if FF VII Remake and Shenmue 3 are PS4/Xbox One releases, I can't see them being upper tier.

You forgot the most important CyberConnect2 made .hack

@DerMeister I think ppl are afraid not because it will be different with the original, but afraid it will be too similar with KH or FFXV.

I thought "what the hell?!?" when I saw FFX for the first time and since then "what the hell?!?" is the only thing I can think about every new FF game...

@DerMeister I think it will be like final fantasy 13 / 13-2, and lightning return, or final fantasy x / x-2, a full game with a sequel set in the same world, not episodic like the walking dead or life is strange.

Maybe the first episodic is 30-40 hour game set in midgard, ending with their escape from the city. The sequel will tell their story until the first sephiroth boss, etc. I hope the game have kingdom heart combat rather than ff xv, I enjoyed kingdom heart combat system more.

New rule: stop talking about the game until it's ready for download/purchase.

Uh, get over it. Like, not to be blunt, but complaining won't make it come out any faster. Do you want the game now or do you want it to be good?