Is this true about FF7?

PhantomLimb

Is it true that Final Fantasy 7 is being remade for a modern day console?

thorbarry

PhantomLimb wrote: »

Is it true that Final Fantasy 7 is being remade for a modern day console?

Dude that rumour has been going around for years

PhantomLimb

I know that............!
But is it just a rumour?

thorbarry

yea it looks to be just a rumour, first i heard of it was in 03/04 when they released the opening scene done with the ps3 engine.. I doubt it will happen, but hears hoping it does

PhantomLimb

I second that!

nix

The short answer is no, however I'm pretty sure they are gonna do it at some stage.

This is the only recent nod to it i can find;

http://www.videogamer.com/news/square_enix_maybe_news_on_ffvii_remake_soon.html

The FFVII team are currently working on another project but if they dont do it after their current project it will probably be a long ways away.

tbh i think they are only gonna do it when sales go down, as lets face it everybody will go nuts for it. Even the people that dont want it

Inso Maniac

wherent they planning to do it for the DS??

thorbarry

Inso Maniac wrote: »

wherent they planning to do it for the DS??

i dont think so, if anything it would have been a straight port... they did remake ff3 i think for the ds

Retr0gamer

It's not going to happen anytime soon. They would have to pump an lot of resources into it which is pointless when they can make even more money on the PSN version. Also a remake would kind of show up all the problems with the game.

Kiith

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Also a remake would kind of show up all the problems with the game.

While i agree with you, it wouldnt matter. It would sell like ****ing crazy.

Retr0gamer

But it wouldn't be as profitable as something like a PSN release though with little overheads other than licensing fees and rudimentary QA.

noodler

Retr0gamer wrote: »

It's not going to happen anytime soon. They would have to pump an lot of resources into it which is pointless when they can make even more money on the PSN version. Also a remake would kind of show up all the problems with the game.

You think they'd pump resources into a remake but not change some dialogue here and there?

this-guy-are-sick

eamonpendergast

The rumours were rekindled with that tech demo they did for the PS3. But it did cause a fair uproar. I'd say, if they weren't thinking of it before they'd have to be at least concidering it now.

I did hear that the creator said he would only do it if he could have his original team and that they are all far too busy with FFXIII at the moment, he did say that after that 'who knows'.

Judgeing buy the length of time FFXIII is taking...it will be years.

Retr0gamer

noodler wrote: »

You think they'd pump resources into a remake but not change some dialogue here and there?

this-guy-are-sick

It's more than the dialogue. The battle system is severely lacking and simplistic and the story isn't all that, although a re-translation and more unified art style could sort that out to some degree.

thorbarry

Retr0gamer wrote: »

It's more than the dialogue. The battle system is severely lacking and simplistic and the story isn't all that, although a re-translation and more unified art style could sort that out to some degree.

Thats a matter of opinion really. I recently played through the game again, and quite enjoyed the battle system, its not over complex, it just works. I think the story is great, but the dialogue needs to be tightened up

noodler

Retr0gamer wrote: »

It's more than the dialogue. The battle system is severely lacking and simplistic and the story isn't all that, although a re-translation and more unified art style could sort that out to some degree.

Yet you love Persona depsite its even more simplistic battle system.

In what specific way did the art style retract from your experience? I mean its hard to say they are drawing from too many sources or that they are all over the place when its a fictional world.

Retr0gamer

noodler wrote: »

Yet you love Persona depsite its even more simplistic battle system.

You're joking right? Persona 3 has probably one of the best battle systems in any JRPG. You have to use weaknesses and strenghts heavily to your advantage, one mistake can easily see your party wiped out by a standard enemy, mp conservation is a huge concern since the dungeons are so long and then there's the excellent fusion system. It's way more complicated than most RPGs and probably only less complicated than other games in the Shin Megami Tensei series.

My problems with FFVII's battle system is that it's far too simplistic even within the final fantasy series. The materia system is really bad since your characters lose personality since they are just blank slates. Also there's really very little strategy to any of the fights. You rarely have to use elemental weaknesses because the game is an absolute cake walk if you don't run away from battles.

noodler wrote: »

In what specific way did the art style retract from your experience? I mean its hard to say they are drawing from too many sources or that they are all over the place when its a fictional world.

A lot of the cutscenes use different models for different characters and locations vary widely in style and render quality. It's no mystery that Squaresoft tendered out the pre-rendered artwork out to multiple third party companies during the development of the game which is why the art style swings wildly from location to locatio and cutscene to cutscene.

noodler

Retr0gamer wrote: »

You're joking right? Persona 3 has probably one of the best battle systems in any JRPG. You have to use weaknesses and strenghts heavily to your advantage, one mistake can easily see your party wiped out by a standard enemy, mp conservation is a huge concern since the dungeons are so long and then there's the excellent fusion system. It's way more complicated than most RPGs and probably only less complicated than other games in the Shin Megami Tensei series.

My problems with FFVII's battle system is that it's far too simplistic even within the final fantasy series. The materia system is really bad since your characters lose personality since they are just blank slates. Also there's really very little strategy to any of the fights. You rarely have to use elemental weaknesses because the game is an absolute cake walk if you don't run away from battles.

Are you confusing battle systems with the actual difficulties of the respective games?

I think Persona's battles are certainly tougher and have a nice difficulty curve which is well-maintained as you progress but that does not mean it is not simplistic. The use of one of the 4 elements to find a weak spot usually signals the end of the battle because it knows you down. This is pretty much THE tactic, along with guard, which is used all throughout P4 anyway.

Weapons, armour and accessories also add very little to the battles.

Persona uses a very limited set of tools for its various fights and it uses them well in so far as difficulty is concerned but it is still a very limited set of tools.

Retr0gamer

Isn't the fact that Persona's battle system is simple to understand and master yet still manages to have a lot of intricacies and strategy not a sign of how good it is?

FFVII on the otherhand is simple but there's really no strategy involved in the game with mashing attack being the best way to kill most enemies.

Just because the battle system is simple doesn't mean it's bad. A simple battle system is easier to understand, it's when you add extra strategy elements to the system while keeping it simple when a simple battle system becomes an excellent one. Sure using the correct element in Persona will win you the battle but later in Persona 3 I was more concerned with MP conservation so had to decide between taking the enemy out quick or sacrificing HP to take the enemy out.

For example Final Fantasy's ATB system is pretty simplistic but the way it is utilised adds no strategy to the preceedings, only making it faux real time. On the other hand there's Grandia which uses an evolution of ATB but adds a lot of strategy due to how ATB is implemented in the game.

Sblakepcs

I loved the FF7 game. In my opinion, I thought it had a good story line (it was made in 1997 after all)
In fact I loved it so much i brought the PC version of the game - Its a shame it ran from a midi port for sound cos it sounds like a bag of pants and the music did give it its finishing touch.

Any one else played the game recently? haven't played it in two years myself.

That rumour has been around for yonks! if only it was true..Time will tell.

Thoughts?

Memnoch

FF7's battle system is one of my favourites. I don't care how easy you say it was or how much of a cake walk you think it was. I loved the materia system, it was just cool. Though I agree that some slight modifications could make it better, like certain characters have an affinity for certain types of materia, and so get 100% effect from it, while others would only get 75% or something (the actual numbers could be tweaked for balance). This would solve the blank slate problem, though it was never really an issue for me.

I loved the ATB and I loved the limit breaks, especially Aeris's. So cool and so much fun.

I haven't bought a PS3 yet, but would buy one tomorrow even the only upgrade was to PS3 graphics. I'm sure there are countless other fans like me who also would.

TBH if they were going to put in the work to do a full upgrade, I can't imagine it being hard for them to add another 10-15 hours of content via optional side quests and mega bosses that you only stand a chance of beating after taking down the weapons. Maybe implement the aeris revival quest that was speculated about in some form.

Personally, I'm severely dissapointed by the takeover of the action-rpg genre and the death of turn based console rpgs. It was my favourite genre of games, and I don't think a single half decent one has been released on the next gen consoles. Sad really. I hope the genre recovers some day but I doubt it will.

Playing FF7, X (and yes I went back and played 1-6 on the snes - they were fun too) , Breath of Fire 3, Suikoden V and other turn based RPGs is the most gaming fun I've ever had.

Come to think of it, hell, I'd settle for just a final fantasy game with a turn based system. 12 was a major dissapointment and I'm not sure I'm going to bother with 13 at all.

Retr0gamer

It doesn't look like we will see many turn based RPGs on the 3 big consoles unfortunately other than Dragon Quest X on the Wii. JRPGs have moved to the DS. I suggest you get one if you haven't got one yet since there's loads of great turn based JRPGs on the system like Etrian Odyssey and loads more to come like the latest entries in the Shin Megami Tensei series. It's a shame that some really good ones haven't made it outside japan. There's some really good JRPGs like 7th dragon from sega that look like they will never get a western release. We just have to look to the fan translation community.

Memnoch

Yeah the DS is tempting, but it's a big step back from the lush graphics of X and hoping of HD graphics on RPGs. But damn kids these days and their x-factor and instant gratification and stupid action rpgs means that that will probably never happen.

What's needed is a next-gen title LIKE ff7, that really captures the imagination of gamers to catapult the genre back into the mainstream. Sadly, with the world economy in the state that it is, and the amount of funding required to make an AAA title, no one is going to "risk" that kind of investment.

Square-enix have the power to do it. If they made it it would sell and would draw back a lot of the fans that were dissillusioned after 12. I love square for giving me FF, and now I'm starting to hate them for taking it away from me.

I feel like there's this base of gamers that's just ITCHING for a good turn based JRPG, and with no real competition out there, it could do really well, but the suits with money don't see that.

Surely I can't be the only one out there who would buy a good PS1 style rpg in a heartbeat.

Retr0gamer

Japanese developers seem to be having a hard time adapting to next gen consoles unfortunately which means western RPGs are starting to get a foothold where JRPGs used to dominate. Mass Effect and Dragon Age are the new Final Fantasy but thats not a good thig for some one like me that can't stand bioware RPGs.

Square Enix certainly have the money to make a big impact next gen JRPG but for me they lack the talent to do it. They lost a lot of their talent years ago and are now a horrible corporate machine making games to appeal to the japanese teen market. They are over saturating the market with serviceable up ultimately soulless games that feel like they are designed by commitee to appeal to the Shibuya teens.

I've been looking to other devleopers to get my JRPG kicks. Atlus seem to be taking a lot of chances are are churning out plenty of quality titles. Their Shin Megami Tensei series is far and away the best JRPG series and Persona 3 and 4 are now the new JRPGs that future games will be measured against. Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne also seems to be a really good game from the little I played. You really should try these games out, they will change your mind about JRPGs. Also Level 5 seem to be making nothing but quality titles and are one watch.

Japanese developers should take a leaf out of Capcoms book since they seem to be the only developer that has been able to transition to this gen.

Also a DS is pretty much essential. I think I can now feel confident in saying that the DS has overtaken the SNES for me as the best console ever made.

noodler

Wow, had no idea you held the DS in such high regard.

I have trouble giving handhelds the time they need.

By the way I loved the last boss fight in MGO-PO if you ever get round to it.

DixonBainbridge

I doubt they will. It might just be a waste of time for them when they could release a new final fantasy. I know I wouldn't want them to re-release it.

The game is a classic, I have it on PS3, bought it off the PS3 shop. It's fine the way it is. I understand the graphics are dated now but that doesnt matter, it's like gaming history. It also underlines just how great the game is when you play it, the story and gameplay were that engrossing that you didn't need HD graphics.

I remember playing it for the first time back in 97/98 and was blown away by the graphics of the cut scenes.

Siegfried

I really think that will release a FF VII remake in the future, with awesome graphics, and not jus the graphics will change, i think they will improve the battle system.

And mates, you're forgettin something, like someone said, it was released on 1997! At the time the battle system was amazing, if you see the advertising at the time too, they say " A new incredible battle system using materia"

Another good proof is: They are realsing some reamkes, they've released the FFIV for DS.

They know how strong the FF VII brand is.

Retr0gamer

noodler wrote: »

Wow, had no idea you held the DS in such high regard.

I have trouble giving handhelds the time they need.

By the way I loved the last boss fight in MGO-PO if you ever get round to it.

Yep the DS really is a fantastic console. I love it.

I tried playing MGS PO a while ago but it just didn't grab me. It seems really bare bones compared to the other games and the controls are horrible. I must get back to it because I heard it picks up a good bit in and I also have to give it back to the person I took a lend of it from.

Siegfried wrote: »

And mates, you're forgettin something, like someone said, it was released on 1997! At the time the battle system was amazing, if you see the advertising at the time too, they say " A new incredible battle system using materia"

The problem with that statement is that in 1997 you had much better battle systems. It definitely wasn't the best of it's time when it came out, it was poor compared to games that had come out before it. FFV, FFVI Phantasy Star 4, Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, Shin Megami Tensei etc. were out well before it and all those games made FFVII's battle system simplistic.

Siegfried

okay, because a battle system is simple doesn't necessarily imply that is bad. It can be simples and good, it is just a matter o taste.

I do like a lot earthbound system and chrono trigger, BUT, i do not think they are better than the FF VII one. I don't even compare them, i just analyse it alone, and to me, it is a nice well done battle system. The materia makes the fun go for long, so as the combos you can do with them. There is the limit break, a intersting element. Special attack, items, like all other games.

it's not a crappy system.

Thornography

I have seen a 3-4 minutes PS3 CGI cut scene to suggest the rumour is true, It featured cloud and tiffa and was wwaaaaaaay to professional to be a fan vid. Ill try find it later if i can.

johnny_ultimate

Thornography wrote: »

I have seen a 3-4 minutes PS3 CGI cut scene to suggest the rumour is true, It featured cloud and tiffa and was wwaaaaaaay to professional to be a fan vid. Ill try find it later if i can.

Probably the E3 tech demo released four or five years ago - a remake of the opening CGI cutscene rendered on PS3 technology by Squenix themselves. It got everyone all a fluster, but nothing has been heard since.

I also think Retrogamer is being too harsh on the game. The battle system may be relatively simplistic, but it works - the search for better limit breaks and rare materia was a constant drive forward. I prefer it to the system in place in other Final Fantasy games I've played - FF6 suffers from ridiculous levels of random battles (which for me made it unplayable at times), FF8 overcomplicated things, and FF12..well... needed to play less Bioware game (turn based ftw). FF9 and FF10 were decent as far as I recall (been quite some time since I played them, so don't recall all the subtleties of their battle systems) but FF7's battle system was very pure and fun.

I also think just focusing on the battle system is missing the point. The appeal for me anyway of FF7 was the other stuff. The story was epic - set pieces such as Weapon crossing the sea or Cloud and Tifa sitting by the Highwind before the final battle were extremely effective (not to mention a certain bouncing materia ball). The level of variety was huge - the constant simple but fun minigames were a revolution at the time. Elements such as the Gold Saucer, the disguise sequences or the gold Chocobo hunt (no other FF game has come anywhere near the addictive level of tracking down those elusive breeding nuts) provided varied gameplay, and while the mechanics weren't always perfect (Chocobo racing) they were always done with tongue firmly in cheek. And the world itself was a joy to experience - from small villages to huge cities to freezing mountaintops, the FF7 world map felt like a true adventure. (Plus, it constantly surprised - I remember during a third playthrough finally being allowed into that weird and hilarious brothel in Midgar, which for some reason had constantly refused me beforehand).

Retr0gamer

The battle system isn't great though. It adds nothing to the game. The only thing it has going for it is that it isn't so bad that it gets in the way. The game is nicely paced and keeps you wanting to see whats next and the battle system doesn't offer any challenge other than spamming attack for normal enemies that it doesn't get in the way. Only a few bosses require any strategy but they have all been ripped from previous FF games.

As for FFVI having too many random battles, you obviously have been playing the dreadful PS1 version which had horrendous load times. The SNES game is a much different and better experience with no load times between scenes and battles and was much more fluid like Suikoden for example. FFVI is basically a better materia system but with characters that had personality in combat, there were more of them and also 4 player parties compared to 3 in FFVII.

I'm not being that harsh on the game, it's certainly a great game just not the best JRPG, it's not even the best FF game. The battle system is simplistic but never frustrating. Thats a good thing but it would have been better if it was interesting. At least it never descends to the awful depths of Legend of Dragoons battle system. The Storyline is epic and very well paced but when you think about it it's pretty much nonsense once you step out of midgar with some great ideas that were unfortunately wrapped up messily thanks to a nightmare development. It still managed to be very compelling though and really kept you playing til the end. The soundtrack is one of the best written for a game but almost ruined by some rotten sound programming, the SNES FF games sounded better.

Gold chocobo raising was a nightmare. Hated doing chocobo races.

johnny_ultimate

Retr0gamer wrote: »

The battle system isn't great though. It adds nothing to the game. The only thing it has going for it is that it isn't so bad that it gets in the way. The game is nicely paced and keeps you wanting to see whats next and the battle system doesn't offer any challenge other than spamming attack for normal enemies that it doesn't get in the way. Only a few bosses require any strategy but they have all been ripped from previous FF games.

I'll be honest, it has been a long time since I last played the game (probably 5 years or so) so I only vaguely remember elements of the system (I recall the materia management screen and the general command interface). I shall hopefully revisit it at some point and be able to judge it with a wider variety of JRPG experiences (as you say, the Persona 3-4 battle system is pure gold - while the standard enemies often come down to rock-paper-scissors esque tactics, the bosses are old school fantastic).

As for FFVI having too many random battles, you obviously have been playing the dreadful PS1 version which had horrendous load times. The SNES game is a much different and better experience with no load times between scenes and battles and was much more fluid like Suikoden for example. FFVI is basically a better materia system but with characters that had personality in combat, there were more of them and also 4 player parties compared to 3 in FFVII.

Yeah I only have the PS1 version (our house was a Sega house up until PS1, and I finally realised there was more to gaming than mediocre platformers). It is pretty close to unplayable though - I think I got as far as

some sort of mini apocalypse

before the constant onslaught of random battles became too much to handle. Oh well, at least it had a FFX demo, which was a big deal at the time (for me anyway - that and the MGS2 demo were serious business).

I'm not being that harsh on the game, it's certainly a great game just not the best JRPG, it's not even the best FF game. The battle system is simplistic but never frustrating. Thats a good thing but it would have been better if it was interesting. At least it never descends to the awful depths of Legend of Dragoons battle system. The Storyline is epic and very well paced but when you think about it it's pretty much nonsense once you step out of midgar with some great ideas that were unfortunately wrapped up messily thanks to a nightmare development. It still managed to be very compelling though and really kept you playing til the end. The soundtrack is one of the best written for a game but almost ruined by some rotten sound programming, the SNES FF games sounded better.

I've certainly come out of the mindset that FF7 is the best game ever, but I think it will always have that nostalgia factor of being on scale far greater than anything I'd played before. And an awful lot of it holds up still. It may be nonsense, but it is entertaining nonsense

Gold chocobo raising was a nightmare. Hated doing chocobo races.

Yes. Yes it was. The only good thing about it was finally breeding a gold chocobo. When you raced it, it was basically the equivalent of pressing an instant win button. Good for raking in the gil, but it was a long ass slog there. A racing game where you can't even get your vehicle to go in a straight line isn't a good idea.

Kiith

I think Retr0gamer's harsh on the game because a lot of us, including me, give it more praise then it maybe should get from a purely gaming point of view. When i think about FFVII, its definitely with rose tinted glasses. It was what first introduced me to RPG's, and was the first 'blockbuster' of a game that i ever played. Hell, i played the first 6 or 7 hours about 20 times, as i didnt even have a memory card for the PS1 at the time, and i kept dying after meeting Aeris. Still nothing but fond memories, even though thats the kind of thing that would result in a smashed joypad these days.

I still think the remake will happen at some stage. Its too much of an opportunity for Square to build upon an already existing fanbase. Yes, they'd quite possibly wreck it, but i'd still love to see what they could do with it in a modern engine. I'm sure i'll bitch and moan when they do release it though.

I'm also sorry to say that i loved the Legend of Dragoon :P

gramlab

Thought FF7 was making a PSP appearance myself when I saw this.(no. 12)

http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/171608/the-31-best-psp-games-page-3-of-4/

Doesnt seem to exist though

Gummy Panda

gramlab wrote: »

Thought FF7 was making a PSP appearance myself when I saw this.(no. 12)

http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/171608/the-31-best-psp-games-page-3-of-4/

Doesnt seem to exist though

read the text under it. You can download the psone FFVII from psn to play on your psp.

Retr0gamer

Kiith wrote: »

I'm also sorry to say that i loved the Legend of Dragoon :P

Liking FFVII: More than acceptable
Liking Legend of Dragoon: Sick and wrong.