HD Kills Final Fantasy VII PS3 Remake
Such challenges are the reason we're not seeing towns in FFXIII.
This is Snow. He's hard, too.
Every time Square Enix opens its collective mouth, passionate Final Fantasy fans slap it in the metaphorical face and squeal, “We don't care about that WHERE'S FFVII REMAKE?”. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your viewpoint) the company has resisted the urge to recreate Midgar in HD, and chief of the reasons why is because it would be too hard to do.
That's according to a recent interview with Ultimania magazine (via Lost Gamer), where Final Fantasy XIII producer Yoshinori Kitase and director Motomu Toriyama spoke of the challenges in realising the world of Pulse.
“It's very hard to make games on the PlayStation 3 in the same style as the games in that era had. Making graphics will take enormous time,” explained Kitase on the lack of a Final Fantasy VII remake.
This workload was the reason why Final Fantasy XIII lacks many town areas, according to Toriyama. “Considering the amount of work to make graphics that deserve HD, it is hard to make towns in the conventional style. In the limited period of development time, to convey the great story that deserves the name of Final Fantasy, and to convey the battles that entertain players enough, we condensed each element.”
Maybe when HD game development becomes less challenging, we can start to see Final Fantasy games take more creative liberties with towns and other explorable areas. Until then however, we've got the streamlined Final Fantasy XIII to look forward to, in March.
SPOnG spoke to Kitase-san and Toriyama-san at an exclusive Final Fantasy XIII event last month too. Many words were said. You'll be able to read it in full next week. Stay tuned.
That's according to a recent interview with Ultimania magazine (via Lost Gamer), where Final Fantasy XIII producer Yoshinori Kitase and director Motomu Toriyama spoke of the challenges in realising the world of Pulse.
“It's very hard to make games on the PlayStation 3 in the same style as the games in that era had. Making graphics will take enormous time,” explained Kitase on the lack of a Final Fantasy VII remake.
This workload was the reason why Final Fantasy XIII lacks many town areas, according to Toriyama. “Considering the amount of work to make graphics that deserve HD, it is hard to make towns in the conventional style. In the limited period of development time, to convey the great story that deserves the name of Final Fantasy, and to convey the battles that entertain players enough, we condensed each element.”
Maybe when HD game development becomes less challenging, we can start to see Final Fantasy games take more creative liberties with towns and other explorable areas. Until then however, we've got the streamlined Final Fantasy XIII to look forward to, in March.
SPOnG spoke to Kitase-san and Toriyama-san at an exclusive Final Fantasy XIII event last month too. Many words were said. You'll be able to read it in full next week. Stay tuned.
Read More Like This
Comments
Showing the 20 most recent comments. Read all 38.
squal 12 Jul 2010 14:09
19/38
@realvictory no way bro.... squre enix will eventually make it.... jus relax
Guisifu 25 Jul 2010 22:01
20/38
They're doing the game. If you are not doing it because they are fools.
more comments below our sponsor's message
far8 19 Aug 2010 16:25
21/38
how about this...make this s**t in sequel..ff7a,ff7b,ff7c and so on..think about marketing strategy, the storyline, system and characters are already there..ff7 is not a game, it is more on 'passion vs madness'..think about it..
BobbleEinstein 30 Sep 2010 04:29
22/38
I'm sure they will remake the game. The only downside...it won't be made for a long time. It's going to be a loooong wait.
staker 6 Nov 2010 01:40
23/38
they already made a mint off ff7 on ps1 why not use some of that money and remake it and then they will get triple the profit cos everyone will go out n buy it i truely believe they are stupid if they don't re make it
Beanyboy 20 Dec 2010 15:31
24/38
I personally would be more than happy to have a down looking, higher graphics version of the original - true to the old game, but with enhanced graphics and THATS IT... Using the "top-down" method, there are no massively complex 3D worlds for them to make, its just a graphical upgrade that is well within the abilities of the average game designer... A bit of play on the camera would be great (and relatively easy to achieve), but for the most part the whole game could be remade using the same techniques used to create the original - just replace the blocky characters, and revamp the 2D images that make up the game world. Allow LIMITED player controlled movement in the battle screen (so people cant run away from an enemy attack), and keep the battle and materia systems as they are... Obviously, the break in the "keep it the same" rule has to be the FMVs and the summons - FMVs should be made to at least the quality of the tech demo, and summons should be improved to the same amount as the characters in the battle screen...
Almost everything Ive suggested is easily achievable, and (for me personally) would be more than enough to say "this is a great game" all over again - just like i can do with the original...
On a side note, having everything to the degree of detail used in 13 is impractical because of time and money constraints - im sure at one point i read somewhere that it would take 14 years to make, and thats after they start (when the team is back together)... My suggestion would take far less time and money, and is easilly achievable before the original games 20th anniversary in 2018... It may not be enough to satisfy the fans of advanced graphics, but it should more than please the fans of the game - lets face it: if you put the graphics before the game, they youre not a fan of the game, are you? I hate it when I hear/read someone saying "I love this game, the graphics are amazing!!!" -.-
But dont take all this the wrong way - I would be ecstatic if they did make a full HD (or dare I say - 3D) version, I just dont think its going to happen...
Almost everything Ive suggested is easily achievable, and (for me personally) would be more than enough to say "this is a great game" all over again - just like i can do with the original...
On a side note, having everything to the degree of detail used in 13 is impractical because of time and money constraints - im sure at one point i read somewhere that it would take 14 years to make, and thats after they start (when the team is back together)... My suggestion would take far less time and money, and is easilly achievable before the original games 20th anniversary in 2018... It may not be enough to satisfy the fans of advanced graphics, but it should more than please the fans of the game - lets face it: if you put the graphics before the game, they youre not a fan of the game, are you? I hate it when I hear/read someone saying "I love this game, the graphics are amazing!!!" -.-
But dont take all this the wrong way - I would be ecstatic if they did make a full HD (or dare I say - 3D) version, I just dont think its going to happen...
grandfinal7@gmial.com 10 Jan 2011 17:57
25/38
FF7 was the most epic story ever. many gaming magazines consider it to be the best game of all time. Now about square enix, they are not doing so high right now, their sells have gone down, and money is a bit tight right now for them, so u got to understand that there is simply not enough money in the bu jet to make a FF7 remake. thrust me im a huge FF7 fan, greatest game i ever play. but we got to stop asking 4 childish things. I truly believe a remake will happened, just not now because there is simply not enough money k. trust me as soon as they have enough money and the necessary time they will jump on it like a free buffet. FF7 ween it comes out probably for the ps4 :) will be the greatest game ever. the November of fans that play the original back in the 19th is just 2 big, and new fans are just discovering the amazing saga thanks to manga, and anima. We will have our dream people, just give it time.
PTTY 24 Feb 2011 21:28
26/38
@staker
you the one is stupid!!... you have no respect for square enix at all
you the one is stupid!!... you have no respect for square enix at all
Droolin 20 Mar 2011 05:28
27/38
Hey just to let you drool a little more here http://www.toy-tma.com/electronic-toys/video-games/final-fantasy-vii-remake/
Derpy 16 Apr 2011 00:33
28/38
I originally bought FF7 on the PSN store because of the fact that cloud looked so damn cool in Kingdom Hearts. I played it, it was awesome and I immediately wanted a remake, but that desire will be the death of me. I will probly go to every E3 every year, and I won't stop until I hear an orchestrated version of one winged angel accompanying a teaser for Final Fantasy 7. and when I don't hear it year after year, I will cry. and I will cry the year they do. for THOSE tears will be tears of JOY!
Victoria 27 Apr 2011 18:18
29/38
I agree 100% if they can create final fantasy versus 13 which takes place in a simmlar landscape as Midgar and many of the other places viewed in final fantasy 7! plus they have already created Midgar once in Final Fantasy 7 Advent Children!@Kian
FF7 hd is actually easy to make 5 Jun 2011 23:07
30/38
The year is 2011. There is no reason that Enix cant redo FF7. As a developer, i can say that their excuses are poorly supported. They claim its too hard. But what they mean is, theyd have to invest more money than it takes to throwing a couple hundred grand at some scab developers to shell out a linear waste of a game. In this day and age, its ALL about money and NOTHING to do with quality of games.. Ive worked for video game publishers - they are only interested in BARELY passing the standards as cheaply as possible and fast... Hey Enix, wanna know why youre losing money each year? For not listening to your ex-fans.
Leonheart 7 Jun 2011 23:19
31/38
@Liam
I would have to agree. Plus if the issue is just the fact it would be so time consuming do to the fact its to complex why not try working on it as a side project. See what you can do and at least make the effort to TRY and make it work. Hell if it looks a lot better and maintains the same story plot I am sure the people will be pleased.
I would have to agree. Plus if the issue is just the fact it would be so time consuming do to the fact its to complex why not try working on it as a side project. See what you can do and at least make the effort to TRY and make it work. Hell if it looks a lot better and maintains the same story plot I am sure the people will be pleased.
Takaikioi 31 Aug 2011 10:34
32/38
Gee, that's a real pity in my opinion, if square enix were to make a remake of final fantasy 7 i'm sure that there would be thousands of copies sold no matter what price they put it up for, i agree that it would be difficult but in all honesty i think that it would be worth the effort, both for the fans and for the company. I personally have played through the original game twice despite its ageing graphics, and i know many others that have played through the game recently as well as myself using either an old ps1 or an emulator, which is proof of the games continued popularity despite its age. While I agree with all that i say here, i highly disagree with those people saying that they should put all other projects on hold and focus on making a remake of ffvii, that would simply be impractical, there are also a massive amount of fans of the series itself who are eagerly awaiting the next game in the series and by stopping the production of the next games in the series, square enix would be damaging their profits quite considerably. All the same, the fact that Square Enix has the time and money to make multiple spinoff games of ffvii as well as make an hour and a half pre-rendered movie and even an anime is rather ridiculous in my opinion (don't get me wrong, i quite enjoyed these extras), they would be far better off spending their time and money on making an actual sequel to the original game like all the fans are asking for.
Rygads 8 Sep 2011 08:21
33/38
@phantasyguy
If a game company isn't making games that everybody wants to play, what on earth is their use? You think they should just continue to make games that fans don't care about? S-E is suffering financially and for some reason, they feel that making deluded, over-hyped, clones of the same dead horse (anything after ff9) will somehow work for the better. This game would easily be the biggest selling game in their sales history, yet they insist on making games that we, the consumers, don't want to play. Why would I ever buy something that I don't want to use?
If a game company isn't making games that everybody wants to play, what on earth is their use? You think they should just continue to make games that fans don't care about? S-E is suffering financially and for some reason, they feel that making deluded, over-hyped, clones of the same dead horse (anything after ff9) will somehow work for the better. This game would easily be the biggest selling game in their sales history, yet they insist on making games that we, the consumers, don't want to play. Why would I ever buy something that I don't want to use?
gamer 25 Sep 2011 02:15
34/38
@phantasyguy
You can't say someone is selfish when they pay money for a good game and get let down. When you pay for quality and do not receive it. I reserved ffxiii and was so disappointed in the game I threw it away. Why? Companies like Square have become too consumed with HD and pretty characters that they stopped making games with good game play. Even the article stated that "Maybe when HD game development becomes less challenging, we can start to see Final Fantasy games take more creative liberties with towns and other explorable areas." This statement alone shows that their concern is on appearance and not game play. I desire a remake of ff7 because the classics had something that the new developers can not seem to capture. And I do not say this as someone reliving a childhood game; I did not play my first final fantasy game till I was in college. It is plain and simple; Final Fantasy will continue to go downhill until the developer change their priorities.
You can't say someone is selfish when they pay money for a good game and get let down. When you pay for quality and do not receive it. I reserved ffxiii and was so disappointed in the game I threw it away. Why? Companies like Square have become too consumed with HD and pretty characters that they stopped making games with good game play. Even the article stated that "Maybe when HD game development becomes less challenging, we can start to see Final Fantasy games take more creative liberties with towns and other explorable areas." This statement alone shows that their concern is on appearance and not game play. I desire a remake of ff7 because the classics had something that the new developers can not seem to capture. And I do not say this as someone reliving a childhood game; I did not play my first final fantasy game till I was in college. It is plain and simple; Final Fantasy will continue to go downhill until the developer change their priorities.
Kyle 11 Jan 2012 06:36
35/38
Even though saying it will take a huge chunk of time to make ffvii again would it not be epic? Beside that everyone would just love the game, thus bringing in money. Come on. Seriously I really want the saga of ffvii to continue!
Dan 4 Mar 2012 18:09
36/38
I would buy the remake... on day 1... along with everyone else! Please make it square!
Prediction 28 May 2012 15:26
37/38
PS4 Final Fantasy 7
Matty 30 May 2012 20:32
38/38
As if there not going to remake the BEST EVER game (imo) lol FF7 is still so huge now and its been like 15 years since its initial release....trust me they will remake it, it would be ludicrous not to after all that game alone changed ALOT in the gaming world not just for Square just goes to show how a single game can be so overpowering :)