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[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth director Naoki Hamaguchi and producer Yoshinori Kitase were recently interviewed by the YouTuber Julien Chièze. It’s a lengthy and informative 45-minute discussion in French, but fans have noted a significant comment and shared it in translations.

Kitase said that a potential Final Fantasy VI remake project would take double the time of the Final Fantasy VII Remake project, which is currently a roughly ten-year process. As a result, a Final Fantasy VI remake equivalent in quality to Final Fantasy VII Remake would be a far bigger and more ambitious process, especially given the vast playable cast and degree of playable content.

Kitase stated in a Final Fantasy reflection conversation with other notable team members that plenty of Square Enix staff desired a remake of Final Fantasy VI. Unfortunately, there is not currently any green light for it to occur, and this is reiterated in this new video interview.

Thanks to the Shinra Archeology Department Twitter account for sharing this news.

If you understand French, the full interview is worth a watch as it delves into several topics regarding the upcoming Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

A Final Fantasy VI Remake Would Take 20 Years, Speculates Kitase; Would Be Bigger Than Final Fantasy VII Remake Project - Noisy Pixel

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth director Naoki Hamaguchi and Final Fantasy series producer Yoshinori Kitase were recently interviewed, and Final Fantasy VI Remake was mentioned.

noisypixel.net

 

[Danjin44]

No matter what Square dose it will piss off some group fanboys….same way FFVII Remake triggered some people because of the changes they made.

 

[DeVeAn]

Yeah just like they couldn’t do towns in FF7 way back when was the quote.

 

[Gp1]

How's about stop with this bullshit and give us a real good Final fantasy 17.

So we can experience a NEW masterpiece like what Square used to give us in the in the late Snes/PS1 era.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

FFIX and FFX Remakes a sure thing at this point.

After this it would leave VI and VIII. I think both would be challenging to remake to VIIR's standard or even higher and so would be a massive committment as he says.

 

[March Climber]

How's about stop with this bullshit and give us a real good Final fantasy 17.

So we can experience a NEW masterpiece like what Square used to give us in the in the late Snes/PS1 era.

Choose one:

~20 years for what you’re wanting
~20 years for a remake of what you’re wanting

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Full interview in French here:

 

[March Climber]

FFIX and FFX Remakes a sure thing at this point.

FFX would look great with improved cinematic direction.

 

[bitbydeath]

FFIX and FFX Remakes a sure thing at this point.

After this it would leave VI and VIII. I think both would be challenging to remake to VIIR's standard or even higher and so would be a massive committment as he says.

FFVIII first, the others can get in line.

 

[cartman414]

FFIX and FFX Remakes a sure thing at this point.

After this it would leave VI and VIII. I think both would be challenging to remake to VIIR's standard or even higher and so would be a massive committment as he says.

You skipped V. For shame.

 

[Bernkastel]

Just port the GBA versions of FF V and VI with SNES music. No need for remakes. There are mods which already do that.

 

[Von Hugh]

FFIX and FFX Remakes a sure thing at this point.

After this it would leave VI and VIII. I think both would be challenging to remake to VIIR's standard or even higher and so would be a massive committment as he says.

I wouldn't be so sure about even FF9 at this point. But FF10 for sure.

 

[Killer8]

Sure if you go fully 3D. I don't think that's what most people are asking for FFVI though. Something like the HD-2D remaster of Live A Live, in a fifth of the time, makes more sense.

 

[Hudo]

If you change it like you did with FF7 remake, then please don't remake it.

 

[Companion Cube]

He can't be serious about taking 20 years to tell a story. Over four console generations more or less? GTFO

Are they even getting the kind of returns they need for all the time and effort of taking 10 years with FF7?

 

[elbourreau]

If you change it like you did with FF7 remake, then please don't remake it.

Can you elaborate please ?

 

[Krieger]

By the time they are done with all the VII, VIII, XI, X, XI, XII, XIII remakes, they can start remaking the VII remake for Playstation 10.

 

[AREYOUOKAY?]

That's a bunch of bull. They could have easily given 5 and 6 remakes in the style of 3 and 4 for DS / PSP but they wasted time doing other garbage instead on the 3DS.

In reality they think it would flop.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

You skipped V. For shame.

Working of popularity and demand.

I wouldn't be so sure about even FF9 at this point. But FF10 for sure.

9 remake doesn't sound like an ultra high budget endeavour like 7. I think if you connect all the various dots it's likely to be real.

 

[NightmareFarm]

Please no. Can we just focus on making original games.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

Please no. Can we just focus on making original games.

 

[K2D]

I'm going do that thing I hate people do..

Scale back visual production value

As long as we have:
-inventive gameplay and combat
-good writing
-brilliant music
-a visual style and art style that gels; we're good!

..and we have, what..? Three mainline FF's in a row with action based combat now. One of which maaybe reached greatness (7 remake, but I'm not entirely convinced).

Maybe switch it up more? I know 13's reception is partly why they steered away from turn-based, but that's all thanks to the lore-jargon and uninspired corridors in 13. ..and some seriously cringe-inducing characters.

 

[NightmareFarm]

Making remakes(and to a lesser extent, other spin off type content) massively delays original mainline titles from releasing. That's why the release cycle used to be 2-4 years but is now once every 7 years.

The old games hold up perfectly well, why don't we just bring the series back to form so that they resemble the old games more instead of spending every decade to remake a old FF game.

 

[mortal]

I get that AAA game development is increasingly taking more time and resources, but taking 20 years just sounds like the result of comical levels of mismanagement.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

Making remakes(and to a lesser extent, other spin off type content) massively delays original mainline titles from releasing. That's why the release cycle used to be 2-4 years but is now once every 7 years.

The old games hold up perfectly well, why don't we just bring the series back to form so that they resemble the old games more instead of spending every decade to remake a old FF game.

I disagree with the massively delay part. XVI and VIIR are made by completely different development teams, in different business divisions, using different engines and external support. The conceptualisation process for developing a new original entry is a lot longer than a remake. If you listen to Yoshida's talk recently he states it took them about 1-1.5 years to conceptualise and plan out XVI before any development actually began.

I agree that having a few less spin offs or b-tier games would help them though as they spread themselves too thin with so many b-tier games.

The reason why the full dev cycle was 2 years way back when and is now 4-7 years is because of the enormous jump in visual quality from polygon blocks running on 2d art vs essentially real-time CGI worlds and characters. The amount of assets needed to create a game world, or time spent doing motion capture/animation creation, or time needed to render a character model is a world apart from what it took on the PS1.

 

[NightmareFarm]

I disagree with the massively delay part. XVI and VIIR are made by completely different development teams, in different business divisions, using different engines and external support. I agree that having a few less spin offs or b-tier games would help them though as they spread themselves too thin with so many b-tier games.

The reason why the full dev cycle was 2 years way back when and is now 4-7 years is because of the enormous jump in visual quality from polygon blocks running on 2d art vs essentially real-time CGI worlds and characters.

If it wasn't for the remake, the dev team which was working on that could help pump XVI out faster or get a headstart on XVIII. We would get a new mainline FF every 4 years instead of a new remake every 4 years.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

If it wasn't for the remake, the dev team which was working on that could help pump XVI out faster or get a headstart on XVIII. We would get a new mainline FF every 4 years instead of a new remake every 4 years.

I think the fanbase wants both remakes and original entries in equal measure. So like what Capcom is doing with Resident Evil, it's the best of both worlds.

 

[NightmareFarm]

I think the fanbase wants both remakes and original entries in equal measure. So like what Capcom is doing with Resident Evil, it's the best of both worlds.

Remakes are killing originality nowadays, everything is either a remake, remaster or reboot. Like, Final Fantasy X is a huge part of my childhood and I still don't want a remake. It's tiring at this point when they are getting even more focus than the mainline series. That's just me I guess.

 

[Synless]

If you change it like you did with FF7 remake, then please don't remake it.

They didn’t change anything. It’s a sequel.

 

[RoboFu]

He is not wrong, 6 is much larger and has much more characters and content than 7.

 

[Moses85]

What a fucking

20 years

So better start

So it will be released before

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

Remakes are killing originality nowadays, everything is either a remake, remaster or reboot. Like, Final Fantasy X is a huge part of my childhood and I still don't want a remake. It's tiring at this point when they are getting even more focus than the mainline series. That's just me I guess.

Valid points, but from their perspective (Square, Capcom and others) they are sitting on previous franchise entries that are some of the most beloved in the industry and then you have millions of newer audiences born after the 2000s who didn't grow up with these games like we did. So there's a justifcation for recreating these games for that audience and also for the old audience who are generally excited by these remakes.

FFX is probably my fav game of all time, so I'd love jump into that world again. We have the opposite view!

 

[MagiusNecros]

If you change it like you did with FF7 remake, then please don't remake it.

They marketed FFVII-2 poorly by calling it a Remake. Game title is just a lure to draw people in when it's actually flavor text. Reunion, Remake, Rebirth, Rexxxxx

It's a Nomura thing.

On topic they say it would take 20 years to achieve the graphical fidelity Square would like to achieve because they still believe they are known more for their fidelity then great RPGs. Which I imagine people want great RPGs and not just pretty graphics.

They have great RPGs from time to time like Octopath or flukes like NieR Automata but Square these days lost a lot of their talent over the years and primarily relies on Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest and Kingdom Hearts.

Stuff like Mana series, Parasite Eve, Drakengard, Grandia, Valkyrie Profile, Star Ocean, Chrono Trigger/Cross, Front Mission, SaGa are either dead in the water or few and far between. PS1-PS2 era was their golden age. After the Enix merge they have been teeter tottering for a long time.

If they focused on AA projects instead of moneysinks maybe their playerbase would have a higher opinion of them? Thus far their most profitable product is FFXIV. With FFXV and XVI being middling in comparison just points to the brand diminishing. Hence the focus on success coasting on FFVII and maybe FFIX if that's happening.

On Parasite Eve I wouldn't get anyone's hopes up on anything ever happening with that IP ever again. Square actually made the first game as a unauthorized sequel to a Science Fiction horror novel of the same name. Hideaki Sena while upset initially approved of the first game but did not like the direction of the 2nd game and disavowed further use of the IP. Which is why 3rd Birthday is called what it is and no longer contained the elements that made PE 1 and 2 great. A husk of it's former self leading to it's death.

 

[Shadowplay1979]

ok...fine ill just remake it myself....and it would prob way truer to the original vision.

gimme a few months and ill get Narshe up and running ...but its gonna be in the style off amano

 

[Rickyiez]

Well kinda make sense because FF7 itself would be taking 15 years at least . FF7R first trailer dropped in 2015 , it could be very well a couple of years into development already . Fast forward until now , with the last game not coming out for another 4-5 years , so estimating a timeline from 2013 to 2028 , thats 15 years .

 

[UltimaKilo]

Better get started then…

In the meantime, FFV on Nintendo’s next platform please.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Do it! I'm 41. I'd like to play it before I'm in the nursing home. There's just enough time.

 

[dreamstation]

While I admire their commitment, that sort of time frame is ridiculous. If you can't make a good game in a couple years then don't bother.

 

[I Love Rock 'n' Roll]

- First, remake FFVI (and V) in the 2D PSP engine.

- Second, remake it in 3D in the 3D PSP engine, like 3.

- Third, remake it in full 3D like FFVII, because it would be glorious with VI!

This is your road map for the next 20 years, Square-Enix! Thank you.

 

[Shadowplay1979]

 

[Hypereides]

I really don't want them to touch FFVI. Call me a FF purist, but SE would find some way to "modernize" and sully it up.

 

[Punished Miku]

What is wrong with this company?

 

[Masterri]

They're still figuring out how to suplex a train in modern graphics.

 

[Von Hugh]

What is wrong with this company?

They like the smell of their own farts nowadays.

 

[Northeastmonk]

A remade version of Kefka would be cool to see. I wonder how many people bought that $15,000.00 FFVI statue.

 

[Werewolf Jones]

Game was amazing on release. Game is still amazing now. Not my favourite FF but it is nigh unmatched.

See my post 4 years ago for additional details:

Opinion - Spoilers - Game Dev - Final Fantasy 7 Remake Producer Yoshinori Kitase on What Comes Next

https://www.dualshockers.com/final-fantasy-7-remake-spoilers-kitase-famitsu/ Most of Nomura and Kitase’s comments mirror what we already covered in past interviews. They also confirm Kyrie Canaan is the “new” character from Final Fantasy VII The Kids Are Alright. Sumire Uesaka voices...

www.neogaf.com

 

[Sethbacca]

All I ever really wanted for remakes of the old games was to get them into the Octopath engine. I mean, 6 done full FF7R style would be fucking amazing tho. That would be a day one for me.

 

[Kumomeme]

Square is not Rockstar or Ubisoft with massive resource and they still new at developing modern large scale AAA game especially open world. i say they still learning and Kitase statement might be changed depend on how they progress in coming years.

now imagine FFV open world remake

that game has more asset due to the job system. the world design also heavily centered around traversal mechanic and there is two set of the world that later will merge into one that formed 3rd final world where everything like the continents and locations finally connected nicely.

FFVII Remake style of trilogy might be a prefect fit with this game. each of entry took place at different world.

 

[StereoVsn]

FFIX and FFX Remakes a sure thing at this point.

After this it would leave VI and VIII. I think both would be challenging to remake to VIIR's standard or even higher and so would be a massive committment as he says.

They could do FFVI remake in same manner as say Star Ocean one. That would be sufficient and wouldn’t take as many resources.

 

[JordiENP]

These people at Square are something else.