Final Fantasy VII: Remake

[danholo]

So much for a good morning. The game was looking excellent. Now this.

I don't know what to think. It could be cool but the point of an RPG is scope. This just sounds weird. I do know that developing the game fully would take years, so maybe they're trying to avoid another FFXIII Versus.

[MartyG]

Ah, episodic. Sounds great.

Now waiting for the announcement of random Bronze, Silver and Gold Materia chest microtransactions - get a random common Materia drop for 99p, or a rare for ?3.99.

[danholo]

Yeah, say no more. I really don't know what to make of this right now. I really don't mind it as long as the spirit of the original is still intact and that there's a huge world to explore, optional dungeons/bosses and other stuff that I expect. I guess they know what they're doing but considering a)they've lost their touch (FFXIII and sequels nobody asked for (anyone know how they sold)) b) game development and games have changed drastically over the years, it's difficult to say anything as of yet. We really demand more from games and development takes much more time so who knows.

[Daragon]

I can sort of see episodic content working, so long as each episode worked like each disc did on the original. No more than 4 episodes and the same length and content on each. I would like to hope though, that episodic content is a case of mistranslation. And in a worse case scenario, a spokesperson can always claim that when the company backtrack.

Square Enix don't want to **** with this too much or their share value will really tank.

[Adam]

Looks like CyberConnect2 (Naruto action games) are working on this along with Square-Enix.

[danholo]

I can sort of see episodic content working, so long as each episode worked like each disc did on the original. No more than 4 episodes and the same length and content on each. I would like to hope though, that episodic content is a case of mistranslation. And in a worse case scenario, a spokesperson can always claim that when the company backtrack.

Despite the news, I'm hopeful. I'm sure they know they can't afford to ruin this... Or do they?

[Dogg Thang]

I'm not massively surprised. Consider the reason we didn't think this would ever really come - the sheer amount of content in FFVII to remake is insane. It is a mammoth undertaking and more so now that we see it certainly is not just a polish of what is there already. The cost of making everything in that game would be incredible. And so with episodic content, they can sell it as they make it to and extent, and keep revenue coming in.

But it makes me wonder about the structure of the game. The early parts of FFVII are very linear but it then opens out significantly and I have to wonder how that would work in episodes. If I was to guess (and with a little bit of scepticism), I would say what it will turn out to be is an episodic combat game that follows the main plot of FFVII in locations and cut scenes but loses most of the exploration and extra bits.

[danholo]

Yeah, spot on there Dogg. That is my main fear as well, and the exploration and extra bits is what makes these games for me usually. FF7's story is quite good though. For FF7, Midgar itself could be a game.

An update:

Why the Final Fantasy VII Remake Will Be Split Up

Square Enix is doing more than just remaking Final Fantasy VII. It sounds like FFVII will be episodic. You might have questions about this. Square Enix might even have answers.
“From the beginning, we thought a Final Fantasy VII remake would be bigger than a single release,” the game’s original director Yoshinori Kitase told Dengeki Online.
“If you did get it into a single release, there would be things we’d have to put into a shortened compilation,” Tetsuya Nomura, FFVII’s character designer, added. “Since we thought there would be stuff we would probably have to pare down and supplemental things we probably couldn’t add, we decided to divide it up, concluding that we have to do a remake that’s fully packed with content.”

Kitase added that with the Sector 1 and Sector 8 areas shown in the mostrecent trailer are quite dense. “If we took everything that’s in the original game and remade it at that quality, we couldn’t get it all on a single release,” said Kitase.
The Final Fantasy VII director explained that since they won’t be dividing up the game, the substance of the original won’t be cut, and Square Enix can then take that substance and do a full-on remake.
Earlier this year, Square Enix said that the Final Fantasy VII remake would not be exactly the same as the original game. Square Enix wasn’t kidding.
Top image: Square Enix

To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on

[Darwock]

Err what? That contradicts itself.

"We decided to divide it up."

"Since they won't be dividing up the game..."

[Neon Ignition]

I get the intention but the aimed for scop seems big which to me makes this an instant wait till it's done job. Despite how big this could be, I'd still be wary it ever gets a closing episode

[eastyy]

Trouble i have with episodic games i have seen so far is the pacing and consistency, each episode has to end a certain way and the tone would change through out episodes.

I would much rather them take the time they need and release a full game.

I have a feeling the decision for episodes was purely for money to get something out as quickly as possible

[Decider-VT]

?From the beginning, we thought a Final Fantasy VII remake would be bigger than a single release,? the game?s original director Yoshinori Kitase told Dengeki Online.
?If you did get it into a single release, there would be things we?d have to put into a shortened compilation,? Tetsuya Nomura, FFVII?s character designer, added. ?Since we thought there would be stuff we would probably have to pare down and supplemental things we probably couldn?t add, we decided to divide it up, concluding that we have to do a remake that?s fully packed with content.?

Why do they keep banging on about a "single" release? The original was on multiple discs. Just take your time and do the same thing again across Blu-rays that hold a vast quantity of data in comparison, unless milking fans is the real strategy at work here. I'll bet each part is at least ?15-20, given insane Japanese digital pricing.

[nakamura]

The problem is, developers don't seem to bother with any compression anymore, given the insane sudden jump in update sizes.

As for FFVII, should have remade it for PS3 using the same static cameras and battle engine. Updated music and script. Now they have made their task insanely hard.

[dataDave]

I think it could be great if they made a trilogy out of it. Part 1 could be purely Midgar, Part 2 exploration of the world, and Part 3 being endgame stuff with battle system maturity and lots of optional bosses.

[djtickle]

Feels like what they are doing with this what they are doing with the new hitman, which leads me to believe that most of that article is BS.

The collector in me has a problem with this as it screams digital release when I want a disk in a case....

I also guess this is down to money as hitman and tomb raider have under sold in SE's eyes.