If there is a singular title throughout the history of the gaming industry that has been consistently, even relentlessly, called upon for a remake, it’s the illustrious and legendary Final Fantasy VII. We’ve anxiously awaited for such an announcement since 2005, and Square Enix has been intelligent enough to dance around the question for years, neither confirming nor denying the possibility of a remake.
Earlier today during a Q&A session of Square Enix’s annual shareholder’s briefing, CEO Yoichi Wada said that a remake of Final Fantasy VIIÂ will only happen if and when the developer somehow manages to surpass the renowned RPG in terms of sales and overall quality.
In other words, a Final Fantasy VII remake is either a long way off, or won’t be coming at all. Wada and the Square Enix team remain firm in their belief that the developer has the potential to create a new Final Fantasy installment with higher critical and commercial acclaim than VII. Wada articulately stated that if the developer were to commit to a Final Fantasy VII remake, they would also be acknowledging that their best developing days were behind them, i.e., Final Fantasy as a franchise would be done for. When put in this way, it’s difficult to blame them for trying and for indefinitely holding off on the remake of a lifetime.
However, as much as I respect Square Enix as a developer and publisher, there’s a fat chance of them ever replicating the success they had with VII.
In case you’ve been living under a rock since 1997, there was this game released for the PlayStation titled, Final Fantasy VII. It did alright, selling over 10 million copies worldwide as of May 2010. It is also often heralded as the sole RPG responsible for popularizing the RPG genre outside of Japan as well as a major factor in the success of the PlayStation as a console. In short, we all may want to see Final Fantasy VII with an updated graphics engine and perhaps even action-RPG style combat system, but if Square Enix needs a new Final Fantasy to top it before they commit to a remake, it’ll probably be something we’ll only continue to dream of.
For now, feast on what could be, but probably won’t:
