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Final Fantasy VII Remake: Disappointment in the (Re)Making -- CLS Side Quest

For nearly 20 years, Squaresoft -- and later Square Enix -- has toyed around with the idea of remaking Final Fantasy VII. In 2015, their plans were finally confirmed, but nearly three years after that, it seems like their vision has gotten absolutely nowhere. There’s no reason whatsoever to be optimistic about what the much-respected Japanese publisher is doing with one of the industry’s most beloved games. Here’s why. Colin's Last Stand: Side Quest is free of baked-in ads, product placement, and other obnoxious forms of advertising because of your support. Please consider subscribing to CLS' Patreon to show your support for independent content: http://www.patreon.com/colinslaststand Listen to the CLS interview podcast, Colin’s Last Stand: Fireside Chats (also available on podcast services): https://soundcloud.com/colinslaststand Listen to the CLS retro podcast, Colin’s Last Stand: KnockBack (also available on podcast services): http://soundcloud.com/clsknockback Twitter: @notaxation Instagram: @clsmoriarty Facebook: /colinslaststand Colin's Last Stand is a product of Colin's Last Stand, LLC PO Box 1233 | Santa Monica, CA 90406 Still imagery via DualShockers, Fandom, GameZone, IGN, Mess of Cords, MobyGames, SubScene, The Verge, Wikia, Wikimedia, and Wikipedia. The following videos were incorporated into this episode of Side Quest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3sBZ5Nr4hc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kznek1uNVsg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOUMiEbkZUM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNJ1y9YUiLY Bibliography/Reading List: https://kotaku.com/final-fantasy-vii-ps4-is-the-ultimate-troll-1667750675 http://rpgamer.com/news/Q4-2001/101401a.html http://www.siliconera.com/2018/03/11/final-fantasy-vii-remakes-progress-shared-new-recruitment-core-members/ https://kotaku.com/square-enix-is-now-doing-final-fantasy-vii-remake-in-ho-1795630436 https://kotaku.com/the-final-fantasy-vii-remake-is-looking-hot-1746403761 http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-06-17-it-seems-like-final-fantasy-7s-remake-wont-lose-so-much-of-the-crazy https://kotaku.com/how-the-final-fantasy-vii-remake-came-to-be-1713573146 http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-06-02-final-fantasy-7-retrospective https://gematsu.com/2015/12/final-fantasy-vii-remake-staff-discuss-voice-dating-scenes-mini-games-more http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2016/04/11/final-fantasy-vii-remake-interview-game-informer.aspx https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/gametalk-was-final-fantasy-xv-worth-the-10-year-wait-w453977 https://gematsu.com/2017/05/final-fantasy-vii-remake-kingdom-hearts-iii-launch-next-three-years https://www.gamespot.com/articles/final-fantasy-7-remake-director-didnt-know-he-was-/1100-6428460/ https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/final-fantasy-vii-remake-episodic/

Comments

Rob Laycock

I too hope it does not disappoint when it comes out.

Joey Finelli

My Monday now sucks even more... Thanks Square.

Anonymous

Square Enix clearly just has management issues, specifically to the Japanese side of FF-like games. Dragon Quest seems to be doing fine, and their North American offerings are also fine...but Final Fantasy, and Kingdom Hearts are just...so wack. We've only had four main entries since 2003. It's sad, what a great series that has fallen from grace, and the name "Final Fantasy" means dick compared to what it did in the late 90's-early 2000's.

Anthony Stewart

Yeah it sucks man all I wish they would do is make it ps4 graphics but keep the battle system of the original cause my fix what's not broken.

Markeus

I started following kindafunny and now cls because I was looking for anyone to talk about final fantasy . Greg and Colin had some news on final fantasy 7 and final fantasy vs 13 years ago when they both were still on beyond . The news was little , and I'm still waiting on the remake but atleast one thing was gained from it , I am now a full supporter of kf and cls . So atleast that's a plus .

Matthew Young

Colin, have you given Final Fantasy XV another try? Say what you will about the state that it was in at release but the sheer amount of major free updates that they have released since shows that they really care about the game. Yes, it should have been complete at release but it’s complete now and it’s honestly one of my favorite Final Fantasies along with VI and IX. Give it another go.

Anonymous

Have Japanese developers got worse at the time they take to create games or have we as consumers just come to expect games more quickly?

Philip Andersen

As of what I saw in the gameplay trailer, the combat system looks a lot more ATB than a Kingdom Hearts game (except for the free-roaming camera). It seems like the menu actions always complete the full animation and waits for enemy for next attack where in Kingdom Hearts you’re is still in control during attacks as you and enemies can cancel/break your action. If this is true, it could be a enhancement of the current ATB system, only if executed right. I think it's fine they split up in three parts as long your save just continues and hopefully each part of the game, story, characters etc. is flushed out more. I believe this remake could be Squares biggest hit or miss when it comes out.

John Quinn

I can’t find the quote but I vaguely remember them saying something at some point along the lines of “we will only remake ff7 when we’ve made another new ff game that is just as well received” or something. And then they did all this...

John Quinn

Actually it’s even better <a href="http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/06/26/square-enix-reveals-conditions-for-final-fantasy-vii-remake" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/06/26/square-enix-reveals-conditions-for-final-fantasy-vii-remake</a> I guess they feel ff15 “exceeds the quality” of ff7. That’s ridiculous

Peter Campbell

Looks like a corporate focused shitshow ala Metal Gear Survive or Mass Effect Andromeda (a game I liked but it needed a year or two more work). In other words, we're putting out a product, we've announced it, but we really don't know what we want. Only a company with smugness and insanity at the top tries this. The best you can hope for is vague competence and leaving the audience underwhelmed.

CTE

They don't have a Shigeru Miyamoto to reign people in. If you read about Nintendo and their process each idea is presented to him (and other old timers). While not involved in all aspects like the past they seem to enforce a discipline of refining the core mechanics and vision of the title, keeping the focus on gameplay, and avoid feature creep that is obviously ever present at SE. Sucks that SE got rid of Deus Ex, one of the few development titles that seemed to be able to hit some form of a deadline (although the last title was late and missing a lot, but compared to FF 15...).

CTE

I don't think you can group all Japanese developers like this. When development transitioned to HD it is true that it seemed to hurt their industry much more. SE, Capcom, Konami, and Nintendo has each struggled to maintain their quality and offer big production titles (much has been said about them being slower to pick up middleware vs building everything, etc). This led to some calling the Japanese industry dead and so forth. At this point it feels like many Japanese studios are at their best again. Nintendo and Capcom are doing well (Nintendo seemed less affected but I think even they admitted that HD initially slowed them down too much). Platinum has been creating some pretty amazing stuff. Konami shifted focus sadly. And part of SE (the FF side) seems to be still stuck in that post HD hangover where they just can't seem to cope with balancing high production values, good gameplay mechanics, and a realistic timelines.

Carson Smith

Can't wait for Final Fantasy VII x 2 + 2 = 16. Seriously though, I can't for the life of me understand how much wasteful spending goes on with this company.

CTE

Yeah, as game development has become 100's of millions in cost the corporate side has become far more involved. It makes sense given what is at stake but the results are often pretty terrible because no one is completely in charge (too many cooks in the kitchen...). Some studios like Bethesda still have clear leadership that gets the final say (Todd Howard) and generally you don't see these kinds of shit shows.

LastStandMedia

I haven't, no. I've honestly thought about it, but there's no time now. I spent these past couple of 'quiet months' Platinuming BioShock 2 and BioShock Infinite, and am driving towards the Dying Light and Secret of Mana Platinums, too. I'd like to get back to it, but with Ni No Kuni II and Far Cry 5 here... who has the time?!

LastStandMedia

I suppose, but playing on an active grid with a turn-based nature is pretty much just Final Fantasy XII and XIII, no? They're making it out to be a revolution. I say stick to the original script.

LastStandMedia

The emotional investment people have in Final Fantasy VII exceeds almost any game ever made (whether or not that's earned or not is another story). They need to tread lightly. And they aren't.

Will Hahn

“When the Final Fantasy VII remake comes out in... 100 years.” 😂😂😂

Theis Jensen

This video kind of makes me sad, because FFVII were my favorit game for many years, and I would have loved a remake that were done out of love and respect for the game, because some parts of the game could use a upgrade, like the translation, graphics, mini games and so on. Stil I really likes the episode, and I think you had some very good arguments for why we should be worried. Now I just might stop waiting for the remake, and instead play FFVII again when I am done with FFVI ;)

Jonah Gespacho

Who will really support this? Look at all the passion the fans have. Each checkpoint shown is a path to demise with this game. It’s rather silly, but I guess nostalgia sells. To contradict myself, the Final Fantasy Tactics “remake” granted you Cloud from Final Final VII as a playable character. That worked fantastic. Cross your fingers all you want, this is not what we hoped for. Maybe they will introduce multiplayer exclusive skins if we pre-order. “Well, at least Dragon Quest XI exists”

James Galos

Has any company copied the fallout method of hype and release??? I feel like that game really benefitted from riding the wave of hype from announcement to release.

a jeddy night in

A remake for FFVII should be an amazing celebration but Square Enid seem to be doing everything they can to drop the ball on this one. I’ve given up reading news stories at this point because I can’t see this being a good game. No idea why they’re changing the battle system but who am I. Excellent video as always Colin, keep up the wicked work.

Eric S

Have to say most stuff you said in the video hit the nail on the head about too long a dev cycle and then mixed messaging along with changing a battle system that already worked fine. I know for me I am looking forward to Ni No Kuni II right now.

strawhatninja

I honestly stopped caring about this game as soon as I saw it was no longer a turn-based battle system. I understand why they are doing what they are doing but that doesn't mean I have to like it. Good job as always!

Mikey 12

The output this company had in the 90s was insane compared to the present. FF7-9 was 3 years. Xenogears, Chrono Cross, parasite eve, brave fencer, Mana, vagrant story, all same time period.

LastStandMedia

I agree. And for how well that worked out sales-wise for Fallout 4, you'd think there'd be emulation of that all over the place. The only publisher I see doing that these days is Sony.

LastStandMedia

It's insane, though to be fair, those games were far "easier" to make. That said, they've lost the plot.

Lou & Rei Loper

I agree, they were on fire back then...since then, I almost ignore their 'existence' completely. We had some great times though, and the first time they gave a glimmer of hope for a FFVII remaster, man was I salivating...................now when they mention it however, I just kinda let out a sigh and a little tear. :(