Why Square Enix Decided To Finally Make The Final Fantasy VII Remake

Posted June 19, 201510 yr

Ever since Square Enix revealed the Final Fantasy VII Technical Demo for PlayStation 3 back in 2005, fans have waited for the past 10 years to see a proper remake come to fruition, and one was finally announced in this year’s E3. Tetsuya Nomura spoke with 4Gamer about how they decided to finally make Final Fantasy VII Remake happen.

During the interview, 4Gamer mentions that we’ve already seen plenty of ports of Final Fantasy VII, and that we’re even getting one for the PS4. They ask if there’s ever been plans for a proper remake in the midst of all these ports.

“Actually, we’ve had plans for a remake on several occasions,” Nomura says. “Up until now, it’s been a cycle of having plans come and go, but this time, we’ve finally decided ‘let’s do it’.”

Next, 4Gamer asks how did the remake get the green light.

“To put it simply, one of main reasons is the timing for the staff members that are developing the game, and how it worked out in our favor,” Nomura elaborates. “Also, as we’ve seen, Square Enix now has more PlayStation 4 titles, so we felt that we could increase the console’s popularity, and make an announcement before those games release. And there’s one more thing—we’re hitting that age.”

“Of all the staff that worked on the original Final Fantasy VII, and those who are working on the remake, I’m the youngest one,” Nomura explains. “I’m 45 years old now. If we continued on without doing a remake, [Yoshinori] Kitase and [Kazushige] Nojima are well older than me… so, yeah,” Nomura explains with a laugh. “With this timing and opportunity in mind, we decided to just got for it.”

4Gamer points out that Final Fantasy VII is a title that’s immensely popular and loved around the world, and asks Nomura if he feels any pressure working on Final Fantasy VII Remake.

“Kitase-san and Nojima-san felt a lot of it, but I’m the type that doesn’t really feel any pressure at all,” says Nomura.

Finally, 4Gamer asks him to share a little more on what a “full remake” involves.

“I often hear from fans that simply giving it better graphics alone would be fine, but if that’s all you want, then the previously mentioned Final Fantasy VII for PS4 would suffice, and with that, we’d have a ‘slightly better-looking Final Fantasy VII’ and a ‘much better-looking Final Fantasy VII,”says Nomura.

He continues, “I think if it came down to that, then there’d be no reason in doing a remake, and while it may be difficult, we’re already prepared to doing it right if we’re going to do it at all. I’m sure some of you may feel uneasy about this, but one thing I can say, is that it won’t be boring, and we’d like you to wait and look forward to what it will turn out to be.”
Read more at http://www.siliconera.com/2015/06/19/why-square-enix-decided-to-finally-make-the-final-fantasy-vii-remake/#32xuMphauIABFhTw.99

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June 19, 201510 yr

That reason is actually kinda depressing...

hatok
1

Agreed.

"Racing against the clock, because we're all getting old" is one of the strangest, yet understandable reasons for completing a project ever. Fans everywhere should be truly grateful!