Surprised by the FFVII Remake announcement? So was Director Tetsuya Nomura.

[xaszatm]

Alright, I know its Kotaku but the actual source comes from a Japanese magazine and I thought you would want an English source. It appears that Nomura didn't know that he was going to direct FFVII Remake until before we knew it. And that kind of worries me. On one hand, the last two Smash games were built like that and both games turned out great. On the other hand, Sakurai wasn't working on things when the game can on and Nomura is still like 5 years behind on Kingdom Hearts III (not to mention FFXV disaster). So now I'm really worried about the state of this game and think it was revealed way to early.

Source: http://kotaku.com/how-the-final-fantasy-vii-remake-came-to-be-1713573146

 

[SmallHatLogan]

This doesn't surprise me whatsoever. Squenix announcing shit too early (especially where Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts are concerned, interestingly) is kind of their MO at this point.

 

[CritialGaming]

Also I do believe he was surprised to be the game director on FF7 because he didn't think it was a project that Square would ever commit on doing. Square has been ignoring outcries for a FF7 remakes for years and it was really beginging to look like a project that was nothing more than a pipe dream. So for them to finally pull the trigger on it is probably a surprise to Nomura as much as the fans. That doesn't mean he cant do the job, especially since this is already a project he has sunk his teeth into.

 

[Drathnoxis]

It appears that Nomura didn't know that he was going to direct FFVII Remake until before we knew it.

Typo? Even if he knew it right from the start he would know it "before we knew it."

Anyway, if you meant to say "just before we knew it" It's not clear how true that is. From the article:

"As preproduction went along and I offered my opinions on what I thought should be done, Mr. Kitase would asked me how the individual elements should be adjusted in fine detail.' Nomura recalled. "It was very perplexing. Then one day, as I was checking the internal company presentation video it said 'Director Tetsuya Nomura' at the end."

They don't say that this is exactly the same video that was shown at E3, nor do we know how long the E3 video was in production.

The "'I thought you were going to direct!' 'Well I thought YOU were going to direct!'" episode was something that happened in the initial stages of the project's inception and Nomura has stated that he is presently well aware of and well into his position as director.

Again, the article does not say how long ago that this happened, only that it happened. This could have happened years ago for all we know.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Wait wait wait... you mean Kitase could have been the director instead of Nomura? I love Nomura's character designs, but I do not love his directorial abilities. I've loved Kitase's abilities in that arena since I was a kid. Dammit, Squeenix, ya done goofed. Again.

 

[shrekfan246]

Wait wait wait... you mean Kitase could have been the director instead of Nomura? I love Nomura's character designs, but I do not love his directorial abilities. I've loved Kitase's abilities in that arena since I was a kid. Dammit, Squeenix, ya done goofed. Again.

I'm on the other side of the fence, really. When I compare Kingdom Hearts to Final Fantasy X, the former comes out on top every time. I mean, I know he did VII and VIII and Chrono Trigger as well, but X was the first time they had to actually take things like voice acting and major in-engine cutscenes into account, and, well... personally I always thought Kingdom Hearts handled it much better. Not to mention the gameplay design, but on that account I'll hold my tongue because I honestly don't know what I want to expect or hope for out of a VII remake. I'd be happy with seeing the return of a classic-style ATB system, but I'd also want to see what Nomura could do with a more Kingdom Hearts or XV-style combat system... provided we at least get to switch control between party members. And either way I'm sure there are going to be people who are mad about it.

EDIT: Okay, he did VI as well apparently, but I haven't played too much of that one yet myself. Also, IX takes the obligatory spot of "my favorite Final Fantasy" anyway.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Here's hoping FF7 goes the way of Half Life 3 and to some degree Duke Nukem Forever. Development limbo for decades and IF it ever comes out, its roundly beaten over the head with every broken dream and promise from a fandom so bitter they'd rather the game never even be announced.

 

[Chaos Isaac]

Here's hoping FF7 goes the way of Half Life 3 and to some degree Duke Nukem Forever. Development limbo for decades and IF it ever comes out, its roundly beaten over the head with every broken dream and promise from a fandom so bitter they'd rather the game never even be announced.

Whew, man. Isn't that negative.

 

[RJ 17]

I heard they were going to write Lightning into the story as Cloud's sister.

 

[Dreph]

I heard they were going to write Lightning into the story as Cloud's sister.

No... I had to make an account, because of how bad this idea is.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

I heard they were going to write Lightning into the story as Cloud's sister.

This made me laugh more than it should have.

To be honest, it would be a funny nod if the stuff you need to collect for Cloud's drag act in Don Corneo's Mansion makes him look exactly like Lightning. But I don't think we can count on Squenix to have that much sense of humor.

 

[RJ 17]

I heard they were going to write Lightning into the story as Cloud's sister.

No... I had to make an account, because of how bad this idea is.

Welcome to the forums, my friend. :3

I heard they were going to write Lightning into the story as Cloud's sister.

This made me laugh more than it should have.

To be honest, it would be a funny nod if the stuff you need to collect for Cloud's drag act in Don Corneo's Mansion makes him look exactly like Lightning. But I don't think we can count on Squenix to have that much sense of humor.

Actually a coworker of mine said that exact same thing: "They should make the drag outfit a cosplay of Lightning."

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Wait wait wait... you mean Kitase could have been the director instead of Nomura? I love Nomura's character designs, but I do not love his directorial abilities. I've loved Kitase's abilities in that arena since I was a kid. Dammit, Squeenix, ya done goofed. Again.

I'm on the other side of the fence, really. When I compare Kingdom Hearts to Final Fantasy X, the former comes out on top every time. I mean, I know he did VII and VIII and Chrono Trigger as well, but X was the first time they had to actually take things like voice acting and major in-engine cutscenes into account, and, well... personally I always thought Kingdom Hearts handled it much better. Not to mention the gameplay design, but on that account I'll hold my tongue because I honestly don't know what I want to expect or hope for out of a VII remake. I'd be happy with seeing the return of a classic-style ATB system, but I'd also want to see what Nomura could do with a more Kingdom Hearts or XV-style combat system... provided we at least get to switch control between party members. And either way I'm sure there are going to be people who are mad about it.

EDIT: Okay, he did VI as well apparently, but I haven't played too much of that one yet myself. Also, IX takes the obligatory spot of "my favorite Final Fantasy" anyway.

I actually thought X was Nomura. I *hated* X, for everything except the battle system and Blitzball. If they want to update the battle system, they could do worse with lifting the one in X. Right down to swapping out characters on the fly.

Edit: And VI is worth the playthrough. There's a reason its fanbase is rabid enough to make the FFVII fanbase look apathetic. FFVII will always be my favorite, but VI is on up there.