Thanks to GM_for_Life for the inspiration!

GM_for_Life has a pretty interesting theory about the Final Fantasy VII remake. But it’s not about the mechanics or lore; it’s about the development of the game itself.

So are more behind the scenes development theories allowed? Because I had a bit of a theory as to whats going on with Final Fantasy VII remake.

Ok, so I’ve been thinking this for the last few weeks or so and my theory is that Final Fantasy VII remake is gonna end up being one game unlike the multiple parts approach that we had been told it would have been when it was first announced.

My main reason for this is that a few months back there was a Japanese interview that Final Fantasy VII remake would use technology that would surpass Final Fantasy XV which they had claimed at the time was pushing the PS4 to its limits and was a nightmare to get working correctly. Around this same time Tabata (director of XV) announced that his was working on a new project that was bigger than Final Fantasy XV (this doesn’t necessarily mean that he is working on the VII remake, simply that they are working with some technology that would allow for a bigger game than XV and in my opinion it’s likely that VII remake will probably also be making use of this technology) and this was around the same time that Cyber Connect 2 (originally they were doing a majority of the development) was fired from the VII remake project due to the game not living up to expectations under their development and it was all brought in-house at Square Enix.

This leads me to one of two conclusions. One is that this will end up on whatever the next generation of consoles is because it’s been heavily rumored that we won’t even hear about VII remake until after KH3 is released in 2018, which would put the VII remake next being shown around the main end of 2018 (that is if KH3 even releases in 2018) at the earliest and that it won’t even release until 2019 or 2020 which would put it pretty late into the PS4’s lifecycle if not early into the PS5’s lifecycle.

TL;DR Final Fantasy VII Remake was fucked, they are in the process of un-fucking it.

And I think this is completely plausible. CyberConnect2 worked on the design, but their product became useless. In a sense, Square Enix may now just be working overtime to save the remake. They can’t afford to lose it, and apparently, they can’t salvage any of the previous work.

What could Tabata be working on? Final Fantasy XVI? Well, if they need him to, but I think he’s going to concentrate on his own project. It may not even be a Final Fantasy. Didn’t Tabata say he was looking to work on a title other than Final Fantasy? Agni’s Philosophy might be that title. Sad too, I wanted it to be Final Fantasy XVI. But who knows, they could repurpose the IP into Final Fantasy XVI, if desperate enough. And the title was inspired by Final Fantasy, so it seems like a perfect fit.

Anyways, the tech demo we’ve seen in the Witch episode is phenomenally beautiful. Realistic skins and facial features, it’s a treat to see. The work looks so much better than what CyberConnect2 prepared, and I’m almost certain this is what Square Enix is going for. Once again, Tabata’s smart moves are saving the company

One user is really concerned about this being true. If it is, couldn’t it be bad news? They’re struggling to make one of the most notable games in history passably good. Even with the trend happening, a delay is inevitable. As this deleted user explains, “I’d take it, but I bet the more like move will be that we wait longer AND it’s still in parts!” How does GM_For_Life explain this?

I could easily see them breaking and just doing it on multiple discs but releasing at the same time. My only big worry with VII remake if they break it up into parts, is that it will KILL the pacing of VII. They have claimed each part will be akin to a full sized game, but the original VII is only like 35-40 hours long. I love VII as much as the next person, but there isn’t enough content there to stretch it out 80-120 hours.

Good point. Final Fantasy VII on the PlayStation is longer, in terms of story, than Final Fantasy XV. But the latter seems longer because they padded the game with a large open space. Players didn’t need to traverse this barren area. I hope they aren’t doing this with the remake. Just have a mostly open game. No need to make it expansive. The game’s epic nature makes it expansive enough.

The deleted user remarks that this is the “games as a service”, something they wouldn’t want and could lead to padding. With all of the DLC Final Fantasy XV spawned, along with the Final Fantasy VII compilation, I agree. This could be a real problem that could quickly spiral out of control. How does GM_For_Life respond?

I think it’s possible they just release the base game then giant expansions every 6 months to a year. I believe the whole world will be in the base game just like the original and like the original, the discs mainly are just for storing content for the story. I have no clue why they can’t just make 3 big continents and each one is the size of the open world segment of XV, hell XV already had two giant open world segments and one of them had to be cut down due to time constraints. And it’s been proven that a game can look beautiful and have 3 or 4 giant area’s work on the PS4, just look at The Witcher 3.

Oh. Kind of like they did with Final Fantasy IV: The After Years? That could work, but I’d say maybe we’d see a new giant expansion every year. Only time will tell. Hopefully, they’ll release the game soon.