Nomura wants more Final Fantasy remakes from the SNES era

#1

During a group interview session yesterday at the ongoing Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, I talked with Square Enix’s Tetsuya Nomura. Not only is he directing the Final Fantasy VII remake, but he’s been involved with the series since 1992’s Final Fantasy V. I asked him if he had any interest in working on remakes for the series’ other installments on the original PlayStation, Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy IX.

But Nomura was thinking a bit further back than I was.

“Considering that we have remakes of Final Fantasy up to IV and then we have VII — I’ve been working with Mr. [Yoshinori] Kitase since Final Fantasy V, and we’ve noticed that V and VI are missing. That bothers me,” Nomura said. “How come we skipped over those two?”

He’s right. Final Fantasy I and Final Fantasy II had remakes on the Game Boy Advance and PSP, and Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy IV were on the Nintendo DS. Both the fifth and sixth installments of the franchise (which originally came out for the Super Nintendo) are beloved by fans. Final Fantasy VI is probably only behind VII in terms of popularity. And while they did have mobile releases, those only featured new art (that was arguably worse than the original). They have not received the same attention as their predecessors.

I’d love to see FFV and FFVI 3DS remakes.

#2

I dislike most of the remakes and I would rather see them working on new titles.

#3

I thought FFIII DS was stale, but FFIV DS was fun. Ideally, I would want FFVI on a current-gen console with Amano’s art style used, but that’s not possible right now, in light of the many current-gen game projects being worked on at one time: FFXV, KHIII, and the FFVII remake. But I would be content with an FFVI remake looking like FFIV DS.

#4

Just buy a damn SNES or a Wii goddamnit.

#5

If Nintendo would make it so you could easily transfer your purchased digital games to and from your Wii, Wii U, DSi, and 3DS, I would. Virtual Console is a mess.

#6

You also have most of the games available for Vita and Steam.

They need to change up the content more if they want me to buy yet another version of FF4-6.

#7

IN THE VEIN OF Chrono Trigger. Get rid of that 3D mess you did on the DS.

#8

I can’t carry those around with me.

#9

Additional scenarios, extra bosses, and party members would be awesome.

I’m still disappointed that nothing came about the Chrono Trigger tease.

#10

I’m not interested in more of the same. I would love if they rewrote the story from a different perspective or completely replaced the battle system. Comic books do that a lot. How many origin Batman stories are there? New artists and writers keep retelling the same old story.

#11

Replacing the battle system might be going too far. These games are defined as much by their mechanics as their stories.

#12

Not with that attitude!

#13

That’s bad news. FFVIII yo.

#14

Best card game ever.

#15

Comparing the two games, the end result of a current-gen tech HD remake would be substantially more breathtaking for FFVII because of how bad the in-game characters looked. FFVIII in-game characters were a major step up from FFVII, so it wouldn’t be as remarkable if it received a from-the-ground-up remake. Still, absolutely, it would be great to see an FFVIII remake with FFXV graphics. That goes for any older FF game, really.

FFVII was also the FF that resonated deeply with fans. For many, it was their first FF experience. Generally speaking, the game’s dark theme forever impacted its players. I think FFVII doesn’t get enough credit for how twisted and deep the characters and story actually are, regarding Jenova’s manipulation of many of the main characters, especially Cloud and Sephiroth. It also hit that sweet spot of being edgy, and it was made in a generation where everyone was trying to shock society, such as in music, movies, and this extended to games.

#16

I’m going to say it outright, that final fantasy 7 remake has a lot of things to do better, because in actual truth, Final Fantasy 7 isn’t that great of an rpg.

Like, it was amazing when you’re 10 and 3-d is new, but you probably thought highly of the Lost World as well back then because it had so many raptors.

#17

That said, I’m all aboard the Shenmue 3 hype train.

#18

Although I get what you’re getting at with both FFVI and FFVII deserving of having a remake, I think a bit differently about FFVIII. Remakes of FFVI and VII would be great too, no doubt about that. Going from 2D to 3D would be a big change for FFVI. Something I would like to see. With FFVII, the graphics weren’t up to par and the localization was laughable at times. When it gets a remake, it’s a much needed one.

On the other hand I also think of how FFVI’s 2D graphics gives the game a distinctive style. It doesn’t feel outdated, with 3D it’s just going to be different. FFVII is a loved one and that’s why many expect a remake for it just because. The fans get a special treatment with all the spin-offs and big emphasis of FFVII in other games.

With FFVIII it is the first and maybe the only FF that tried to blend realworld activities with fantasy. Its style, system and towns made it very unique. I would have loved to see the world fully realized with 3D graphics. The character models are pixelated now and the story could be fleshed out a bit more with better localization. It’s a shame how SE ignores FFVIII so much :pensive:

To me, it’s not this or that. Why can’t we have FFVI, VII and VIII remakes?!

#19

Imagine if they remade FFVI in HD 3D, with Amano-style character models in the game. That would be incredible looking.

FFVII’s localization was very much so bad. At one point, they completely botched the explanation of Jenova’s origin and how it was controlling characters in the game. If I’m not mistaken, the Japanese version explained that. Remember when Sephiroth broke into Shinra headquarters? I had no idea that that wasn’t the real Sephiroth, but Jenova’s cells replicating his body. The translation fucked that up.

Once FFXV is out, FFVIII won’t be the only FF based on reality, but obviously, FFXV goes even further into our reality. I’d like to see FFVIII being given a remake someday, though. I wouldn’t be opposed. You’re right. FFVI-VIII, and maybe even IX should all receive love.

#20

Yes, it would be amazing to see Terra and others in 3D. I honestly don’t know if they’re ever going to make a full on remake of VI with PS4 graphics.

As for FFXV…the more I see of it, the more I lose interest for it. I’m not sure if it’s the same place that they have been showing…it just feels like its focus lies elsewhere now. It doesn’t feel as dark, put emphasis on realism or have females that are normal…

Right now it puts too much emphasis on roadtrip with the bros, Cidney looks ridiculous, I was looking forward to Stella and the whole mythology being connected to l’cie etc. Not to mention the devs keep removing options that where promised (multiple playable characters).