Final Fantasy VII Remake Producer Shares It's Important To Not Be A "Yes-Man" To Nomura

During CEDEC+ Kyushu 2020 Online, Final Fantasy VII Remake producer Yoshinori Kitase and Co-Director Naoki Hamaguchi give an interview about the game's development.

[-Foxtrot]

Then who the hell said yes to changing so many things especially adding the stupid whispers with the lady part of the game feeling it was written for KH

[Nerdmaster]

Years ago I read an interview with a movie director (don't remember which movie, nor which director) about a movie based on a video game he directed, and that people complained about the many changes he made to the game plot, making the movie feel like a different story.
His answer was in the lines of "as a director I didn't want to just reproduce what people saw in the game, I wanted to make this movie my own".

Probably FFVII "Remake" directors felt the same. Instead of making the game fans wanted, they decided to change it to "make their own".
Unfortunately, just like it never works in movies, it didn't work in this game, either. Especially since control was given to Nomura.

Completely unrelated to FFVII, but I feel the same with the new Evangelion movies. They promised a series of movies following the events of the manga more closely, with better animation and with a less confusing plot than the anime. And then midway they decided to change so much stuff including silly things like "children who pilot Evas don't age" that it feels like a fan fiction to me.

[YourMommySpoils]

Sounds like Super Mario Bros lol

[Inverno]

Im no lover of the writing of KH since BBS, but (spoiler alert) Zack being alive in that one cutscene should make it pretty clear that this isn't really a remake even tho they titled it as such

[cogniveritas]

What? Isn't really a remake? Webster defines remake as "to make anew or in a different form". It's literally made anew and in a different form. It's a remake. But maybe what you mean is that it's not a remaster or a carbon copy of the original.

[Lore]

I truly hate to argue with you on this one because I feel like you do have genuine and valid opinions on certain topics/subjects. But I have to speak out because this game is near and dear to me.

I love everything about this game. I feel as though the original is still there for us to enjoy, but allowing (without spoiling anything) certain characters to be alive and others to potentially be alive is a great thing for many reasons. Also, the way they integrated the alternate realities and whispers was done in an elegant manner that didn’t come off as corny or cheap. The changes they’ve made now allow this universe to be fleshed out for even an upwards of 10+ games if they wanted. And to be honest i’m all for it so long as it’s continued to be done with care and quality. As far as other minor changes go (certain boss fights), there is nothing wrong with a minuscule showdown prior to the inevitable final battle. That final chapter/sequence made the finale of part I amazing. Haven’t enjoyed a game this much in a long ass time.

[Inverno]

It being set on an alternate timeline means the original is pretty much still untouched. Games far perfect but I enjoyed it a lot. I think people just don't see that its clearly not trying to be the same game

[Nerdmaster]

"I think people just don't see that its clearly not trying to be the same game"

Uhh... It has "Remake" in the name... A remake is the same game using modern engines, graphics and (sometimes) mechanics.
They shouldn't have called it "Remake" if they wanted this to be an alternate timeline/pseudo-sequel.

[-Foxtrot]

The Whispers were corny and cheap, it would have been 10 times better if they just stated from the beginning "By the way guys, we are doing a reimagining so this is an alternative timeline", rather than adding in such a silly side plot.

Everytime the story is going somewhere, they pop up and it's just totally out of nowhere, like I could understand if they built these guys up in the original or if they were entities which have had a place in every Final Fantasy game but they just seem totally out of place.

The whole game becomes a giant statement which screams "WE ARE CHANGING THINGS GUY, THIS IS WHAT THESE THINGS ARE FOR" rather than just stating before release it's an alternative timeline or sticking to the original.

"The changes they’ve made now allow this universe to be fleshed out for even an upwards of 10+ games if they wanted"

But why would anyone want 10 games or more of this? I like FFVII don't get me wrong but Jesus there's other Final Fantasy games which deserve as much love or if not more. The only thing they could have changed in the original was the ending, rather than "500 years later" they could have set up something which could have lead to Final Fantasy VII-2.

"As far as other minor changes go (certain boss fights), there is nothing wrong with a minuscule showdown prior to the inevitable final battle"

When it feels so out of place and feels like something from Kingdom Hearts yeah it does, it should have just ended with the bike mini game.

Fans have screamed for 20 years for a remake, they get a reimagining despite the word "REMAKE" in the title. Like, there would be nothing wrong if they just made the entire game as it was, NOTHING in this game side quest wise or things to expand the game felt worthy, nothing about them give me new knowledge of Midgard and even if it did, it's not "my" Midgard so does it count if it's an alternative reality?

[Nebaku]

Hearing about just how much Advent Children comes up in these interviews, I've had the theory that they intend to add a playable version of the events in that movie to a "Remake Part 3".

[RPGer]

The summon fight? Or midair fights? Thaaaaaat gonna rock.

[Thundercat77]

I just remembered aall the hate FF7 Remake received before launch and how it turned out to be a huge success both critically and commercially.

Let the haters hate. FF7 Remake part 2 is going to be awesome just like part 1 is.

[Gardenia]

There was not much hate before the release. But many did not like what they did with the story by changing it too much and turning it into some sort of Kingdom Hearts and leaving out a lot of key moments from the original.

[Eamon]

Hahaha, he literally said that!?

Goes to show that Nomura pretty much ruined the KH series because nobody held back his worst impulses.

Not saying Nomura is a bad videogame designer. On the contrary, he's definitely one of the best in the world - however every great creator needs someone to provide & enforce improvement and changes. Quentin Tarantino had a script editor who was critical to his early movies' status as legends. She died after Django which was why all his films after feel far too sketchy with numerous drawn out scenes that could have been shorter or less cumbersome.

Going back to FF7R. I personally am not fan of the whispers, but I am VERY interested in how they handle this alt-timeline aspect of the story. Clearly the team wanted to push even beyond the boundary of an orthodox remake. They wanted to surpass that. The expectations are stratospheric but I am confident that Kitase will able to manage this.

For people super worried about Square ruining the original story - Kitase has hinted that the changes in the next parts won't be signficant. I imagine the main aspects of the story will remain unchanged. It's more about the journey. The fact that Zack is alive (probably in another 3rd timeline) does not mean he is alive in Remake timeline. But it is significant. My theory is throughout parts of the game, we will play as Zack in Midgar for some story-related reason. Perhaps deja-vu-ing moments from the opening chapters of the game (e.g. Zack participating in Bombing Mission etc).

[-Foxtrot]

" (e.g. Zack participating in Bombing Mission etc) "

You know what...if they just said this was going to be an alternative timeline where Zack survived, I would have preferred this over the whisper bullshit.

They really should have just done that.

Least then you would know there was going to be changes and you wouldn't expect anything to go the same way, rather that the whispers storyline dragged out for the entire game.

[Eamon]

Well, at the very least, the whispers are now gone. Pretty sure Square have seen the reaction to whispers. The entire point was to make multiple timelines a thing. First Aerith knows way more than she did in OG FF7. We got AC Sephiroth time-travelling across the place. And now a universe where Zack survived.

The possibilities are endless.