Five Reasons Why a Final Fantasy VII Remake or Sequel WILL Happen

3. They never said “no.”

Reread Kitase’s statement in the introduction above. Did you notice how he never actually said the word “no” anywhere?. In other words, he never once states “there are no plans to do a Final Fantasy VII remake.”

In fact, the only thing he does say on the subject is that the project of turning one of the older era Final Fantasy’s into a current gen game would be “challenging” and take much longer to make. This shouldn’t be taken as a no, but more of a roundabout way of saying it’s going to be awhile.

Another interesting note is the part where he says they’d have issues about whether or not to change things about the mechanics due to fan’s reactions. At the same time, he brings up a good point by asking what the point of a remake is if it’s just the same exact game…aside from the millions of dollars they’d make, of course. From this, you can conclude he has been thinking about it a lot. So much so that development is probably in progress as we speak.

2. Square Enix needs a hit

Good times.

It’s been a long time before we had an epic Final Fantasy. IV, VI, VII, VIII, IX, and X all fit that bill for me and provided some really memorable and emotional stories. When I was a kid, time stopped when news was released that the next Final Fantasy was coming. From VII to X we had hit after hit until it just…stopped. Final Fantasy XI came out, which c’mon. Final Fantasy XII was okay, but it never felt like any of the hits from the past. Then came Final Fantasy XIII and my childhood promptly died.

I’m not alone in this feeling. The American audience’s love of the series has been declining for some time. Some of it is thanks to the decline in quality of the series, but most of it is due to the changing times. I’m not saying a series like FF can’t be great today, but players like having the choice that games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age offer them, and the fact that it’s a JRPG does hurt it. As much as I get into it with Joe on the PS Uni podcast, he’s not in the minority. People see the funny clothes, the teen drama, and the utter Japanese-ness of the series and get spooked. Which is why if you have anything less that an epic game, they’re in trouble.

A remake or sequel to Final Fantasy VII would be a very easy out for Square Enix. Most would buy it simply because of their attachment to FFVII, but if it’s even half of the game FFVII was then Square is set. It’s been too long since Square has had a Final Fantasy that really stuck with us. FFVII would be an easy solution.

1. They’ve hinted at something twice

This is the big reason that I believe we’re going to get something FFVII-related, and I’m shocked that no one has ever brought this up to Square Enix in any interviews. In at least two instances, there have been teasers for Final Fantasy VII-2. So while a remake maybe out, we should still be getting a sequel.

The antagonist of the inevitable FFVII-2

Don’t understand what I’m talking about? I’ll get right into it. Spoilers ahead, so watch out!

A) Dirge of Cerberus

Dirge of Cerberus was an RPG/Shooter starring FFVII cast member Vincent Valentine, and it saw him taking on a terrorist group known as Deepground, a forgotten military unit of Shinra. There is a secret ending that comes after the ending credits. A warrior, at the time known simply as G,  is revived and picks up the body of the Weiss, the final boss. G tells Weiss there is no time for slumber and that there is much work for them to do. He then sprouts one wing (just like a certain other “One-Winged Angel”) and flies off.

And that’s it. There is no secret boss fight or anything like that. G is out there, and plotting something. As for what, we have yet to find out. Seems like a pretty giant loose end, no?

B) Crisis Core

We don’t hear much more from G till Crisis Core, the prequel that finally explains why many of the events of FFVII occur. It’s hands down one of my favorite PSP games, and tells the incredible rise and fall story of Zack Fair, and does a fantastic job of making you really care for him. The ending is one of the few times I’ve cried during a game; it’s heart-breaking stuff.

Back on topic, Crisis Core fully introduces G as a man named Genesis, one of three soldiers with skills on par with Sephiroth. He also ends up being the final boss, which Zack takes out in a pretty awe-inspiring final fight. During the ending scene, Genesis’s body is picked up by Weiss and Nero from Dirge of Cerberus. They comment that they’ve finally found a brother, and walk off with him.

This completely sets up Genesis to be the antagonist in Final Fantasy VII-2. Crisis Core completely introduces us to the man, while Dirge of Cerberus introduces Deepground. Dirge also revives Genesis from the dead, a problem that has yet to be brought up since. I really doubt Square did all this for shits and giggles.

Finally, I’ll end with a quote from Sephiroth from Advent Children. As Sephiroth is in the air dying after an incredible fight against Cloud, Cloud begs him to stay in his memories forever. Sephiroth responds by saying: “I…will never remain a memory.” Could the same be true for Cloud and Final Fantasy VII? Only time will tell.

Readers Comments (19)

  1. Good article. I will forever kick myself for passing up on Playstation and RPGs back in the day. I saw the commercial for VII and when I tried the demo at Walmart it was nothing like it. Chibi characters and turn-based battles. To top it off, my mom was in a hurry so I couldn’t stay to finish the demo. I wrote off all RPGs as being “stupid turn-based games with little characters on them”. I was a big Nintendo dork at the time and didn’t know any friends with a Playstation.

    It wasn’t till years later when I played Super Mario RPG that I saw RPGs could be different. Even later I played the demo to Skies of Arcadia on the ODCM demo and thus was born my new love for the best genre of games out there. Never looked back since then and have loved every JRPG I’ve played (except Silver…my God, Silver is the worst game in history).

    I said all that to say that I passed up on VII, XIII and IX. It wasn’t till X and my PS2 that I experienced FF and I kicked myself for passing it up so long. I later did the same with the Metal Gear series with MG4 on PS3 but that’s another story.

    • Malcolm Spinedi February 17, 2012 @ 01:23

      You ever think about getting it on PSN? I believe its only 9.99

      • I played the PS1 rom on my PSP with CFW back in the day. I got like 20 hours in and my save corrupted, I believe. I got it off PSN years later and got like 8 hours into it and just couldn’t do it. The game looks horrible blown up on a big screen yet gorgeous on the PSP. I think if they went the halfway route and made the game a Vita exclusive that would be the best of many worlds. It would cause Vita sales to skyrocket, they would only need to render the game in half the resolution of a console port, fans could have several different control schemes available for hardcores and casuals and perhaps even some nice features like recognizing your Crisis Core save data and doing something special with that.

        Throw in some trophies and 3G leaderboards on a FFX-type boss arena and you’ve got a sure-fire seller right there.

  2. great article. youve given me hope my friend.

  3. speaking as a fan, the game would be terrible. You know very well that it isn’t just like a PS2 upgraded game (in which they just add a few more polygons and update lighting) they would have to recreate the whole game from scratch.
    In doing so, they can change whatever they want. Change the fighting system, ax the materia, lock away summons as DLC or one time use codes. ditto with side missions. Can’t access half the game without a code or paying another 10 bucks.

    so if you want a re-skined ff13/13-2 with FF7 characters, then you don’t appreciate FF7 for what it is.

    Don’t say they WILL NOT Change anything, the industry has changed, the focus isn’t on the hardcore anymore, they will change anything they want (it’s THEIR game) to go for the casual gamer. even if that means dumbing down the gameplay so your 4 year old sister can play it. By saying you want a remake, you’re saying destroy my childhood.I HOPE THEY NEVER MAKE IT

    • Lol NOSTALGIA ALERT! XD

      They have the long-time FFVII fans as well as the casual gamer to impress. Whatever they change it won’t be beyond recognition. These people at Square are cunning, you watch them bypass even the most cynical gamer’s expectations.

  4. Excellent article, the closing sentence seriously gave me chills.

    While Square-Enix hasn’t been on top of things lately, I’m almost certain they will never mess up FF7. If they sequel it, they’ll do it right. They’re not stupid enough to ruin the game with microtransactions, and if they do include them, it’ll be for extra content, not what should be regular content; the latter is a rookie mistake that flash game developers make.

    I think you’re right about the sequel, and I’d love to see it. Perhaps an early PS4 title, wouldn’t that sell the system like hot cakes?

    • voice of reason February 17, 2012 @ 18:40

      What are you talking about? just because it’s FF7 or a sequel doesn’t make it good. look at dragon age 2, way different from the first, the fans of the first hated the second, and this is Bioware. it’s THEIR property and they can do what they see fit. look at mario, he’s done typing games and teaching history games. they can do whatever they want, regardless of what the fans want.

  5. Crisis was “decent” but Cerberus and Advent Children were complete garbage. I’d rather see a remake of FFVII than another pointless and below average sequel or prequel. =/

  6. This honestly sounds less like a list of reasons Square could be making a Final Fantasy VII remake undercover and more like a list of blindly wishful thinking.

    You’ve denounced every reason that this is confirmed to NOT be happening and gone to extreme lengths to justify your reasoning.

    If through some chance you’re actually right, well then awesome. You get what you’ve always wanted and I don’t resent that in any way.

    However, I belive that, realistically, Square Enix meant what they said and don’t plan on developing a remake to VII. It sounds to me as if the tech they’ve developed at their in house studios doesn’t support the kind of game FF VII was, they could likely develop a sequel, I won’t argue that. However, the only way I see FF VII coming to PS3 is if Square Enix falls so far deep in the crap that they need a saving grace, as was the case with the first Final Fantasy, in which case it’d be a last minute ditch effort with far less of the care and effort than you’ve been dreaming of.

    At the latest, the PS4 will launch in 2014. So AT MOST Square Enix has two years to disappoint or please you;. I’ll come back here then. 🙂

  7. everytime i see something like this it sends chills down my spine
    and now im about to play crisis core and ff7 again
    i hope they do actually make it

  8. They already said “no” lot of times. They said was going to tike like..10 years to “rebuild” the FF7 world in HD, get over it guys…

  9. genesis or new character will be new enemy..but dont forget sephoroth….he is the ereall things…probably he is the real boss…he is or not..butin the nd cloud main enemies will be sephiroth…who could gues..ffvii-3?

  10. I have come to accept that FFVII is more likely over. It was once stated that something was planned for the 20th anniversary of the title but that won’t be until 2017. Square Enix may not exist by then if they don’t get their act together.

    I must say that your Reason #1 is flimsy at best. “G is out there, and plotting something.” He really isn’t. Crisis Core shows that Deepground is taking Genesis to be used as the base cell model for the Deepground members. Their powers and abilities are based off of genetic manipulation. However, at this point, Genesis has seen the Goddess, Minerva and been rejected by her. This would normally cause anger and agony but Genesis has figured out what the Gift of the Goddess is and accepts it. Genesis asks Zack if it tastes good. Zack says yeah. Genesis asks “the gift of the goddess?” and Zack thinks it’s the apple. Genesis shakes his head. Meaning there is another “gift”. To further show Genesis’ redemption, his part in FFVIICC ends with the final act of LOVELESS which is “To spare the sands, the seas, the skies/ I offer thee this silent sacrifice.” Genesis is ready to go quietly into that goodnight.

    In Dirge of Cerberus, G merely states that there is still work to be done. This game came out before Crisis Core so we really don’t know the meaning, until now. Genesis has changed, whether or not it is to be accepted by Minerva, that I can’t say. However, if we bring all factors of the game, We also no include GACKT portraying G. There are two original songs created by GACKT for this title (both performed dressed as G). REDEMPTION and LONGING. You can’t get more inspired than that. “Feel as though you are reborn now” (Redemption) and “Atone for all your sins and be reborn” (Longing) demonstrates G has changed.

    Genesis cannot be an antagonist anymore. At least if Square Enix makes a game that takes place after Dirge of Cerberus.

    I’m sorry to say but I will dismiss your #1 Reason. This doesn’t mean I am against a sequel. However, I am against a remake. The game is going to lose the allure it had. The classic polygonal look is something that makes us smile and remember good times. To remake that game with enhanced visuals and does nothing to help people understand the story better is a game that should not be made. The point of telling a story is to get it across to an audience and that has been done. I know you will say “it’s a business thing” and it is unfortunate that this is a reality faced.

    I have suggested to others on Square Enix Members in the past, a prequel depicting the story of JENOVA’s origins might be a good place to continue the story. We don’t know much as to where JENOVA is from or how JENOVA was even sealed. This may be the one missing piece of the story we need to see.

    I think perhaps Square Enix will face a brighter future by focusing their talent elsewhere.

  11. Sequel? Wat.

    Advent Children and Dirge of Cerebus are sequels, and are already out.

    Silly article.

  12. Honestly I wouldn’t mind seeing a remake but you know they will add a bunch of retarded content and completely rape the game from what it was originally. SE is horrible at that, they think they know what they’re doing but apparently their market research is for shit. Look at Final Fantasy 14… You would think that they learned from the mistakes they made in FFXI, but they didn’t. They made the old ones and then added even more. But the one thing you can count of from SE is great updates to MMO’s, everyone is generally happy with them. As long as they just updated the graphics, made the mini-games a little more fun, and added some extra CG scenes the game would be great. But we all know that’s not all they would change, I garuntee they would change the battle system to the point where it’s un-recognizable.

  13. I’m pretty much new to this conversation, but let’s face it, Final Fantasy VII remake(how beautiful that would be) won’t happen what-so-ever. A new sequel set after Dirge of Cerberus is more likely the suitable candidate for the company, the age of PS3 will be long gone after the end of 2014. I have a feeling that they’ll work on the Compilation after the release of Final Fantasy XV(retitle of Versus XIII) and Kingdom Hearts 3(hopefully next year in 2015). Besides, I’m more keen on Genesis’s new role, Cloud’s new heroic role and the roles of his friends, Rufus Shinra and the Turks.

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