Sakaguchi: Tabata Adopted the Spirit I Had While Creating FF; FFVII Remake Will Be Quite Challenging

Hironobu Sakaguchi praised Tabata-san's way of adopting for FFXV the same spirit he had when creating Final Fantasy in the first place.

He also talked about FFVII Remake stating that it's going to be difficult and challenging to completely rework both graphics and combat. It's going to be basically a new game.

[Imp0ssibl3]

I think this remake will take almost as long as Final Fantasy XV...But I hope they can prove me wrong.

[FallenAngel1984]

They took long with FFXV because much of the staff had halt much production on it to help FFXIII with its development. FFVIIR has no comparable obstacle in the way

[KaiPow]

I'm sure developing Crystal Tools and the Luminous Engine ate up a lot of the development/training time. Now that the team is more experienced, hopefully that will streamline the process.

[Robert777]

agreed, they should have just used the unreal engine, could have got it done faster

[FallenAngel1984]

FFVIIR, along with KH3 & DQXI, being developed on UE4. So that experience with the Luminous Engine isn't going to help much, especially since it's a mostly different team than that of FFXV that is working on the remake.

[Ranma1]

@FallenAngel

The luminous engine was a total waste. I bet they wont even use it for their future games. They could use it for FF15-2 if they did make that

[FallenAngel1984]

@ Ranma

The only titles using the Luminous Engine are FFXIV: ARR(albeit a scaled down version) and FFXV.

The UE4 seems likes its the more effective engine in producing games in a more timely manner.

[_-EDMIX-_]

Final Fantasy 7 also started development with cyber connect

[Omnislashver36]

@Edmix CyberConnect2 is only helping. It's Square Enix Business Division 1 who's making the game. It's got members from the Dissidia team and is working closely with the KH teams to build FFVIIR.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wi...

All those teams, and I can only imagine Business Division 2 members are getting moved to Business Division 1 now that FFXV is complete. They're going to have a massive team working on FFVIIR, paired with the fact it's on UE4 means it'll finish way faster than XV. I think the first part may even be out by the end of next year. 2018 the latest.

[Ranma1]

FF15 is a mess.

They should not have removed the kingsglave content from FF15 and put it in a movie.

Now they are releasing a patch to fix the story.

Square Enix messed up

[Robert777]

sakaguchi said he created the chatacters first, then the emotions they will feel, then the story.

naughty dog said they could not make last of us 2 until they had a good story to tell and that it took them years to think of 1.

why cant SE put story first and center like they used to? This primarily is reason newer FF games have a bad story.

[Big_Game_Hunters]

@Roberts
Thats ironic considering TLOU's characters carry the otherwise weak story.

[Irishguy95]

Jeez, FFXV storytelling is close to the last of us, instead of FF storytelling. TLOU story is not even...there...its good because the characters and their journey, the plot is barely present in the game. FFXV is similar. Its a story about the 4 guys, mainly Noctis and how they fit in the world, just so happens Noctis is heir to the throne and etc worlds events follow. And it did that amazingly well, maybe one of the best in the industry. People are annoyed about the story because it didn't tell it from every angle like FF normally does.

[PapaBop]

One of the few positive benefits to gamers with it's episodic release schedule, it'll allow them to bring the first part out much much sooner. If they focus on Midgar for example in Episode 1, I can see how they'd be able to release it next year in time for FF7's 20th anniversary.

[Ranma1]

RPG games are not meant to be played episodically. I don't see it working. Do you?

[PapaBop]

It's not ideal no but if they plan on remaking FF7 on the same scale as FF15, I can see the logic behind the episodic release, the development costs of that would far eclipse what they'd likely recoup in a single £45/$60 retail game. After playing FF15 though, as a long term FF fan, I'm more concerned that they will water down the story/dialogue in favour of these "first-timers" than I am with how they plan on releasing it.

[CrimsonWing69]

@Ranma1

I do agree with you but it becomes perspective based at this point. No doubt recreating every scenario, every asset, every animation, etc. will take an incredible amount of time to do. Like if you take a look at all content in FF15 and compare it to FF7, FF7 is a much more beefier game.

So if they give us the game in chunks I can see it working because I'm hoping it will legit be a recreation with added content. Obviously new cutscenes and perhaps entirely new sequences? Not sure but if the first episode is indeed Disk 1 I can totally see this working episodically.

Now, if it isn't like that and we get just like a 3 hour game and have to wait an unholy amount of time for episode 2 then no you are right in it won't work.

[Omnislashver36]

I agree with this. If the game wasn't episodic we'd be missing out on alot of content. Not only that, but we'd have to wait until 2019-2020 to play the game. The episodic release allows the game to be released with more content, as it's made. The way I see it is I am paying to play as it develops. If they don't want to play that way, they can always wait until it's fully released in ~2020 and maybe get a discount. That's all fine and dandy, but we're paying to play it as it comes, with more content than the original. Perfect.

[UnSelf]

As long as it isn't Turn based they can have my money.

And to all the disagreers coming, suck these nuts.

ARPG ftw

[Ranma1]

Have you even played any of the turn based FF's? And if so did you like them?

[Rippcity]

Uhg I upvoted this on accident. Someone please downvote me to make me feel bad about myself. Turn based all day.

[UnSelf]

@Ranma

Yes, I've played plenty. I liked them for what they were at the time. But i always knew that the creators simply used turn base as a way to simulate real time action. Now that we have the technology to realize their original dream, it makes sense that they would make the rest of their games ARPG's from now on

[Omnislashver36]

I'm all for ARPG as long as it uses a system with magic menus similar to the KH-system. FFXV was anemic in that respect, but FFVIIR will still have tons of magic, now with pages for shortcuts to use them all. This will keep alot of strategy from the original but allow us to fight in real-time. Best of both worlds.

[NecoTehSergal]

FF13, Kingdom Hearts, FF15 and many other titles were being worked on, and no doubt the engine problems they had - they swapped Kingdom Hearts from using their engine (Luminous Engine) to Unreal Engine, so I mean - it wasn't really optimized nor up to 'Final standards'. Doubt Luminous Engine is as easy to use as Kojima's Fox Engine for instance.

Since Luminous Engine 2.0 is used in FF15, FF7 Remake will be using it, if not 2.5 whenever they keep optimizing and upgrading it - as a person who played the FF15 Demo with the Type-0 Pre order, and the Platinum demo? I can EASILY say that the improvements in the location in the DEMO and Chapter 3's location (Being the same area), there is a HUUUGE upgrade in performance and how robust and deep the forestation is. Huge change, lots of optimization.

[FallenAngel1984]

When I saw Sakaguchi, Spirit, and FF in the title I got horrible flashbacks to Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. *shudders

[Ranma1]

Spirits Within actually had a positve critical reception (check IMDB).

The issue was it wasnt Final Fantasy and it wasnt commercially successful.

I think a lot of people lost their jobs and left Square Enix because of Sakaguchi almost bankrupting the company

[Alexious]

Agreed, it had barely anything to do with Final Fantasy.

[MRMagoo123]

it had as much to do with final fantasy as ff15 does in my option 😂

[FallenAngel1984]

That story is very dull and unwatchable. It's not a movie even a lot of people unfamiliar with Final Fantasy would enjoy.

The only thing it has going for it are the visuals.

[Robert777]

what about ff7 advent children? i thought that was a good movie

[FallenAngel1984]

That was a much better movie than Spirits Within. It was so great that Square Enix has been doing their best to replicate that style of action in Advent Children into the gameplay of their later titles such as KH2, FFXIII, Dissidia, FFXV, KH3, & FFVIIR. Not to mention many review sites gave the movie awards.

That type of recognition is a lot better than Spirits Within will ever get, well outside of a hipster reference in Life is Strange

[ccgr]

Been getting teased with a FF VII remake so long I hope it happens, it's an amazing game

[Ranma1]

I just hope its not episodic. What about you?

[Omnislashver36]

I think it should be episodic actually. If it's not, we'll get parts of the game cut out, rather than expanded. All those extra sectors in Midgar for instance, you won't get to explore unless the game is episodic. And we wouldn't get the game until 2019-2020, with anemic content. It would suck.

[Alexious]

It's definitely happening, the only problem is when.

[Ranma1]

If the remake is Episodic I dont think I will buy it.

Just to give a middle finger to greedy corporations

[Dasteru]

They are adding a ton of extra content to the game that was not in the original. It will not all fit on a single disk. They could delay it and release it all at once but that will mean atleast 4 more years of waiting, and it will be on multiple disks regardless. Being episodic, we do not have to wait for it. Episodic does not have to be a bad thing anyway. Depending on how it is done, it could be benefitial.

Personally i just see this as a guarantee that it will be a massive game.

[Ranma1]

I dont believe for a second that the FF7 remake wont fit into 1 single disk. Do you really believe that, and if so why?

[Robert777]

if FFXV can fit into half a blu ray disk. Then FFVII remake can definitely fit into a full blu ray disk. We are being played by Square Enix guys...

[Pathogenic]

I don't know if you are aware but Square-Enix confirmed that FFVII will be on shelves for the 30th Anniversary which means that it will be episodic. That being said I believe it will be Disk 1 out of 4 because if you go back and play it, disk 1 had a lot on that specific disk alone. So I believe that with the remake it will max out at 47gb's which will hold the story and exploration with side quests. That's good enough for the 30th Anniversary Celebration which takes place in 2017.

With that said I hope everything goes to plan because they know how much pressure is riding on them to make a solid remake, especially from veterans of the original game.

[Omnislashver36]

I think it would make sense that FFVIIR would fit on two discs, but they'll separate it into 3 discs anyway.

The reasoning is because it's longer than FFXV, and they're adding more content. Secondly I like the idea of episodic because it means I'll be playing this game with more content, and more importantly, before 2020. You get what you pay for IMO. You can either pay to play the game early, or you can wait and save.

I'm playing it early. Regardless, if they did it in one disc they would cut content. Even if it could fit on the disc, they need to make a good enough return on investment, so they'd cut content anyway. I want to play the full game, and I want to play the game as it's completed. It's a choice you can make on your own. The way I see it is, I'm getting the game early for a higher price, which is worth it.

[TC731]

@Pathogenic you mean 20th anniversary. :^)

[Irishguy95]

Depends on the price.

Maybe, wait for all 3 eps then buy a bundle

[ninsigma]

It seems each release will be a full fledged game. If ff7 had never existed and this was brand new, then we'd never really no the difference. That's what I got from what they said anyway. If they can release each part as a full game with the same amount of content as you would expect from a full game and it release 1 year after the next, I'd be happy enough with that. Obviously I'd prefer it all in one go but that doesn't seem to be happening.

[_-EDMIX-_]

.... or you could just wait until it's released in its entirety.

no one's forcing you to play it episodically

[Robert777]

SE needs to do what activision does. Have 3 developers working on the next 3 FF games. So they can release them yearly

[ninsigma]

They aren't as reliant on one franchise being a mega hit year in year out I think. While ff15 has been worked on so has ff7, kh 3 and DQ11 by 3 different teams. Hoping for kh 3 and ff7 next year!!

[Ron_Danger]

Good call Robert... Cause every Call of Duty got so much better year after year doing that since the first Modern Warfare...

/s

[firelogic]

FFXV doesn't feel like it has any spirit from FFs of old.

[masterfox]

2026 released date!! can't wait! :D

[hot4play]

Really loving FF 15. Feels like a mashup of 7,8,9, and 12, which I all loved (9 and 12 especially).

[Zabatsu]

I think they will ruin FF VII too, sorry to say it. It's the most hyped game for me personally this gen, but I think the expectations will be way to high. I hope I'm wrong though and that it will have that classic FF feel over it. I will be so dissapointed if they manage to ruin the key elements of the game.

[Ogygian]

No, they won't ruin it. I expect they'll produce a great game, taking from the lessons learned with FFXV.

But fans won't receive it well because nostalgia is a powerful force, and nobody is EVER going to be able to provide them with the same experience they had when they were 10 years old, because that's physically impossible.

So it'll probably be an exceptional game. It'll get low reviews from all the die-hard FF7 fans who will say it's been "ruined" due to the changes they'll make.

But you know what? Despite the low reviews, youngsters from 2016 will play the game and it'll be as magical for them as FF7 was for those who enjoyed it at the time it originally came out.

[DivineAssault]

Im glad its being created but the wait time is a killer.. I really hope they dont remove parts of the game that were funny and enjoyable..