You know, now that I think about it, maybe a REmake-like makeover would be good enough, too. Re-render the backgrounds (imagine Visual Works doing them!), new realistically-proportioned character models, full-directional controls instead of 4-way (you could comfortably play it on iOS/Android this way, like Chaos Rings proves, which makes the investment more attractive for SE) and you're basically done.
Way less work and costs than a FFXV-like remake, though still no easy peasy effort as they practically would have to build everything from ground up with a new engine (not too complex for this kind of game with 2D-movement only and simple animations).
It really wouldn't be impossible and I can't imagine it being more work than FFX/X-2 HD, where they basically had to re-do/touch-up every single texture/model and all of the 3D environment for TWO big games, too, which must have been more work than a few fixed-camera backgrounds and models. They out-sourced that to Virtuos Games for FFX/X-2 HD, and they could do that again for FFVIIR, so it wouldn't take away resources from any of their main FF-teams.
On the other hand, who am I kidding, a full-blown remake with FFXV production values would obviously be more exciting and hype-inducing
