FF7 Remake: Should SE Rewrite it?

[Malacite]

DISCLAIMER: Please do not post here if you haven't already beaten FF7 and Crisis Core, as there will be spoilers and the general nature of this topic is about looking at FF7 in its entirety (Crisis Core, FF7, Advent Children and Dirge of Cerberus)


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Now then, there are a number of issues that have been raised thanks to Crisis Core. We now know Zack's story. He got the Buster Sword from Angeal, was forced to kill him and well basically everyone he knew ended up dead (eventually ) save for Cloud and Tifa.

In the final FMV, Zack specifically asks Cloud to tell Aerith that he said hi. Now, we know at this point Cloud is still recovering, but you think he'd at least be able to remember Zack upon meeting Aerith. It kinda screws up the whole interaction between them in FF7, unless SE decides to use the Mako Addiction as a cheap cop out.

They also changed how Cloud survived. Originally, the Shin-Ra soldiers just said to leave him because he'd die anyway. However in CC, Zack hid him behind a rock and after losing the battle (good as the guy was there were just too many of them; plus he was weakened by Jenova's cells. Poor guy ) Cloud crawled his way up to him, and drama ensued. So, assuming SE ever decides to remake FF7, wouldn't they have to incorporate all this?


Then there's the matter of Genisis. Now, I was under the impression that Zack, Sephiroth, Gensis and Angeal were the only SOLDIER 1st Class. But, in the ending we see what are clearly 2 SOLDIER 1st Class take Genesis away in a helicopter. This in itself is another huge mystery that bugs the crap out of me, since we've had 3 interconnected games and a movie. Just how much is SE trying to milk out of this? Anyway, we never really do find out what happens to him, or who takes over for Lazard and actually, SOLDIER just kind of disappeared in the aftermath of CC didn't it?

We never do find out what Cissnei's real name is either. Personally, I thought they were going to kill her (thus giving way to Elena) but that never happens. So why is she mysteriously absent in FF7? All the others were there, and remember that when you first meet Elena she says she joined recently (thus providing possible precedent for Cissnei's death) so what the hell? SE is having a very hard time with consistency and continuity here.

And what about all that crap underneath Benora (and Benora itself for that matter). Was that all just Cetra ruins, or something else entirely? At least we finally know what went on in Nibleheim now. Shin-Ra must have rebuilt the town during the 4 years that Zack and Cloud were in the basement of the mansion.



Okay, moving on to Dirge. We know for sure now that it is in fact Genisis in the secret ending:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3Z3B189cFE]YouTube - Dirge of Cerberus secret ending[/ame]


So, I'm assuming that SE plans to make yet another FF7 game. It's getting a bit ridiculous now, whatever. I want to discuss this more, but it's been a while since I went through Dirge (didn't care for it much but I did beat it) and all I can remember is that organization you defeated, Genesis taking off with their leader, Hojo being the mastermind behind all the shit in FF7 in the first place, and that crazy ass weapon you kill that was supposed to leave for another world with the planet's Lifestream.



Haven't watched Advent Children in a while either, so did they ever explain what that sickness was? Just how long does this go on for, because at the very end of FF7 it showed Nanaki and his kids looking over the ruins of Midgar (which begs the question: Does humanity eventually get wiped out?) .

Finally ('cause I want to do other things right now and discuss this more later) What the HELL is up with Sephiroth's reincarnation in AC? We find out in CC that his cells can not be passed on, thus they don't degrade the way Genisis' cells did (they didn't really explain how he fixed that problem either for that matter) so what the fuck? Doesn't CC kind of nix the entire premise for the plot of AC?

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: FF7 Remake: Should SE Rewrite it?

Yeah, but...

Also gotta remember Cloud's memories weren't 100% accuracte, in some cases, he remembered himself doing things instead of Zack. which can be attributed to Hojo screwing around with thier heads and genes after the Nibelhiem incident. So some of the things he might of been told to do by Zack are things he just assumed he should say for himself.

There never was a good explaination for Loz, Yazoo and Kadajo, but remember they referred to themselves as "remnants." When Cloud seemingly destroyed Sephiroth inside the Lifestream Sephiroth didn't die, he became the Geostigma and unable to reform himself completely, Loz, Yazoo and Kadaj were created instead and in essense, his carriers for the stigma. These remnants needed JENOVA to become whole. Kadaj knew, though he was a distinct personality from Sephiroth that deep down, Sephiroth was who he really was.

Remember Kadaj expressed a mild bit of frustration that Mother wanted Sephiroth more than him, but he would willingly become Sephiroth to please her? That whole chat he had with Rufus? Yeah, that.

Then Sephiroth later talks about the geostigma and how he was planning to use it to corrupt the lifestream to kill the planet. He had to know he was now three different people.

At least, this is how I get my head all around this.

As for FFVII: DoC. You're thinking of Deepground. Superhumans created to be an secret elite force and essentially a step up from SOLDIER that would enforce Shinra's agenda where SOLDIER might fail. With Shinra destroyed, Weiss, who was the baddest of the Deepground decided to take leadership and just wipe the planet of what he cosidered the "impure" but unbeknowst to him, Hojo had overtaken Weiss' conscious mind in a bit for his own immortality and desire to become Omega. Basically, Hojo wanted to do the same shit Sephiroth did, it was just that seeing Vincent as Chaos was his inspiration.

[LadyKiKi]

Re: FF7 Remake: Should SE Rewrite it?

Side note: Cloud was a retard for not taking Zack's Materia. Instead we started off with basic Bolt and Ice materias.

Anyways, Zack didn't tell that to Cloud, did he? About Aerith. It was only when Zack was flying away that he "said" it, but not specifically to Cloud. Cloud is in no way aware of the existence of Aerith at all (or is there a bit in the game I missed/forgotten?)

SOLDIER was also a huge organisation/group, but we get told at the beginning due to the mass disappearance of them is why there was a lack of missions (hence, only training for Zack). So it's safe to think there's a lot of SOLDIER around, but just captured/cloned on.

Also, what exactly did Sephiroth do that took Genesis's "glory" away? Genesis is absolutely jealous of him afterall, to a point where he's kinda hating him.

Still quite a bit of room for a sidestory, should they decide to make any.

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Another side note, I still think they need to make a prequel to FFX, with Braska, Auron and Jecht's adventures...

[Akashimo]

Re: FF7 Remake: Should SE Rewrite it?

Another side note, I still think they need to make a prequel to FFX, with Braska, Auron and Jecht's adventures...

Ehhh... After the reception to FFX-2.... I highly doubt it. Personally, I'd really rather see either a really massive CS update, or make a movie with details of Zilart vs Wyvrms up to the great meltdown.

Back to FF7. Given what has come out for it, what more could they make without it becoming repetitive? Another Shin-ra top secret group coming out to attack the life stream? A clone of Jenova made of materia?

Lets say for possible remakes/new additions to existing FF games I'd go for: FFVI, FFVIII and FFIX.

[LadyKiKi]

Re: FF7 Remake: Should SE Rewrite it?

I think it was explained in some novels, but how about the "blank period" between Crisis Core and FF7? All we see if Cloud on top of a train with half a shoulder pad missing. What went on (I think he met Tifa who convinced him into Avalanche) between that? There's still some possibility of stories there. Perhaps it would also tie up loose ends, especially with the Turks.

FFX-2 problem was the cheesy characters/music/environment. FFX was serious as shit really (with massive debates about the storyline), FFX-2 turned it all around with a shitty (kinda) ending to match, along with Tidus/Yuna clones (am I seeing a pattern?).

Unfortunately I'm unable to comment on DoC due to my dislike for the game's system. But I'm aware of the story, somewhat.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: FF7 Remake: Should SE Rewrite it?

I'd rather FFVI didn't get touched with sequelitis. There's really no need for it and the DS remake has already been announced. (we're talking FFIII/FFIV DS-style remake, which is bold enough and as far as it needs to go, touch Kefka's laugh and I'll kill you).

Additionally, FFX-2 was a success by sales numbers, so it was very well-recieved. It was just not well-recieved by the image-obsessed American teenage/pre-teen male with access to internet forums. As a game, it was a pretty good one. As a story it was mediocre, but then, so was FFVII and FFVIII and anything else Nomura and Kitase touch these days.

The Compilation of Final Fantasy VII - like many multimedia compilations - has been hit or miss. Storywise, its been an attempt to fill a lot of plot holes in FFVII, but the problem is - as with other similar compilations - is that it seems make more holes than it fixes.

Before Crisis was a episodic cell phone game. If that isn't a way to completely bypass your fanbase, I don't know what is. Yeah, yeah, cell phone games are popular in Japan, whatever. They're not popular elsewhere. It would have been better off as a Nintendo DS or PSP production to hit the widest audience possible. But that's a mistake SE clearly won't learn from, they're already working a FFXIII cellphone game nobody will ever play.

Advent Children had a lot going against it, but for the most part was a success in story, music and CG work. It far-exceeded Spirits Within even if it had just as many plot holes.

Dirge of Cerberus was an average game and a decent story. Did what it really needed to do - flesh out Vincent and Reeve's stories and the schemes of Hojo to an end. The whole Deepground thing was a bit much and Weiss didn't get a lot of character development, but in terms of telling Vincent's story they did fairly good.

Crisis Core seems to add excuses for more sequel material, as did Dirge of Cerberus, but really, I just say remake FFVII and answer any questions created through the other games there, and then close the compilation. There's no need to drag it on, no matter how popular the story is.

[DieselBoy09]

Re: FF7 Remake: Should SE Rewrite it?

I want them to remake FF7 with COMPLETELY the original story. I understand that Crisis Core was amazing, some people liked Dirge, and others loved Advent, but really, I want things left they way they were. While I enjoy these FF7 side stories and such, I just consider it Square's bastardization of the original story for profit.

[TheGrandMom]

Re: FF7 Remake: Should SE Rewrite it?

I would love to see FF7 UPDATED. I don't care for the term "remake" because to me that means they will add or delete things from the original to make it more appealing. If they want to update the graphics, thats fine but leave the game as it is and I'd love to see an updated version.

[Feba]

Re: FF7 Remake: Should SE Rewrite it?

As to FF7, I think it's pretty obvious that if it's ever remade it will be rewritten.


I mean srsly, that translation are bad.

As to FF spinoffs, I'd personally like to see (and think there's a lot of possibility in) Vana'diel-based adventures. Rise of the Zilart; as the present day instead of ancient history, anyone? Plus, I could totally see them linking it to FFXI (Beat the game, get a code, give the code to a moogle and get some token item, etc.)

Before Crisis was a episodic cell phone game. If that isn't a way to completely bypass your fanbase, I don't know what is. Yeah, yeah, cell phone games are popular in Japan, whatever. They're not popular elsewhere.

My opinion has always been that I have no problem with them releasing cell phone games, even though they're hugely unpopular in the US, as long as they release them for PC download and offer emulators to run them. I mean, seriously, cell phones aren't exactly powerful crap. It wouldn't take much to just allow NA players to use it like any other PC game.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: FF7 Remake: Should SE Rewrite it?

I would love to see FF7 UPDATED. I don't care for the term "remake" because to me that means they will add or delete things from the original to make it more appealing. If they want to update the graphics, thats fine but leave the game as it is and I'd love to see an updated version.

That would be quite pointless.

Additionally, I've never known SE to remove things that took place in a previous version of a game. There's really no harm to adding more content, areas and story to a new version of an old game. Expanding the cinematics and gameplay is more content, which is what I'd expect to be paying for, not just a simple gloss-over.

Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes was a complete gloss-over, and it didn't sell well for that reason.

[Malacite]

Re: FF7 Remake: Should SE Rewrite it?

Crisis Core seems to add excuses for more sequel material, as did Dirge of Cerberus, but really, I just say remake FFVII and answer any questions created through the other games there, and then close the compilation. There's no need to drag it on, no matter how popular the story is.

QFT. This is why I say they ought to rewrite it to stay consistent with the recent erratas set by Crisis Core. Get off your lazy asses and give us that PS3 remake SE. I seriously doubt they'd have to worry about not enough people owning PS3's. If anything would sell that system it'd be FF7.

Remake it, make it freaking epic, and for god's sake TIE UP ALL THE LOOSE ENDS! No more of this vague BS for once in your company's history, please SE.


Also I second the "don't touch Kefka" thing. Gonna have to disagree on you though on FFX-2. Yes, it sold very well, but that was all hype. X-2 was a crappy game with a really bad plot. People bought it in droves because it was the first sequel to an FF game (a very good one at that) but then like most people I've asked, buyer's remorse set in. You couldn't even play Blitzball... just manage the team. How lame was that?


Also gotta disagree with you on the story thing. I found the story in FF8 quite compelling. People seriously hate on FF8 for the wrong reasons. My guess is that people just weren't up for a good romance story. As for FF9, it was cheesy nostalgic goodness and can only be appreciated by someone who's played FF's 1-8.


EDIT: Didn't see that Feba beat me to it >.>

Square has been getting a lot better with their translations as of late. The recent remake of 6 was great, and Tactics made a hell of a lot more sense this time around. As long as they don't use the entire cast of AC I think we'll be fine (Cid's voice was TERRIBLE... and IMO, they should get Mr. T to do Barret >.>b)

[Feba]

Re: FF7 Remake: Should SE Rewrite it?

Voice acting?


Arrrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: FF7 Remake: Should SE Rewrite it?

FFVIII may have been a romance to some, but for me, it wasn't even that. It was just a bad story through and through, save for the Laguna subplots. People hate FFVIII for not being as braindead easy to play as FFVII. FFVIII was a RPG for advanced FF players, not newbies and it had a brutal learning curve to match. If you didn't master the Junction system, there was no real way for you to progress by the third disc.

FFX-2 was an extremely solid game on its gameplay merits, after that, to me, story can take a nosedive for all I care, gameplay was the saving grace of FFVIII for me, after all. FFX-2 was basically a hyper-active version of the FFV ATB system with real time job changes.

Blitzball sucked in FFX, I just skipped it in FFX-2, why experience the suck again? It wasn't even worth doing for Wakka's Ultimate weapon.

As for Cid... in most cases, he's been written with a southern accent. He always "reckons" this and that, I'd be disappointed if he didn't sound like redneck. The times he wasn't a hick, he was a foster parent, turned into a frog/oglop or you had to kill him.

[TheGrandMom]

Re: FF7 Remake: Should SE Rewrite it?

That would be quite pointless.

Additionally, I've never known SE to remove things that took place in a previous version of a game. There's really no harm to adding more content, areas and story to a new version of an old game. Expanding the cinematics and gameplay is more content, which is what I'd expect to be paying for, not just a simple gloss-over.

Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes was a complete gloss-over, and it didn't sell well for that reason.

I said updating the graphics (and this would include cutscenes) would be fine but I don't think there is any reason to add anything to a game that was so successful. And why would it be pointless? Its been 10 years since the game was released and there are a fresh batch of gamers out there that haven't touched it. They may have heard about it but most wouldn't put up with PS1 graphics in this day and age so they probably haven't played it. Add to that the faithful following of older gamers that would buy it again and a remake would be a hit. I personally think its a financial no-brainer for SE and I can't imagine wtf is taking them so long.

[Feba]

Re: FF7 Remake: Should SE Rewrite it?

Its been 10 years since the game was released and there are a fresh batch of gamers out there that haven't touched it.

The people who haven't already played FF7 aren't the ones asking for a remake, though. Quite honestly, anyone who would play a remake has probably already played the original. That's still a huge amount of gamers, but I don't think there are many people that would enjoy it at all that wouldn't play it because of the graphics.