Final Fantasy 7 Remake "is this the real life..."

[KHCast]

Some good points made by Jim here. Honestly, knowing current square, and especially with Nomura on board, I do kinda worry about the story not doing as good a job as the original with all the underlying “political” themes and being able to talk about those issues(that are still relevant just sayin). It was a whole world of lore and characters, not just cloud and Sephiroth, and hopefully that dynamic doesn’t overshadow everything else

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

5 hours ago, Teoskaven said:

EDIT: the remake is confirmed to still be episodic https://gematsu.com/2019/05/final-fantasy-vii-remake-still-a-multi-part-series

I'm guessing we're just getting Midgar for now.

And with that news has come a notable amount of dread for good reasons. Oy vey, Square.

[Eurisko]

Still episodic? Thats killed my buzz for this again. It rubbed many fans up the wrong way last time this was uttered a few years back.

[Bobnik]

I'm kinda double-minded on the "episodic" structure. On one hand, sure, they're gonna ask for quite a fortune to get the whole FF7 experience remade, even if it's 3 parts. And of course there's a possibility of them just not finishing the game coughHalf-Life 

On the other hand, Square did state that each episode is gonna be like a full-scale game, akin to the XIII trilogy, which iirc are pretty lengthy (like, 40 or so hours apparently). If they'd not do that, the released product would either have a lot of stuff cut compared to the original, or it just wouldn't release till at least PS6, and people wouldn't forgive that.

I'm just kinda glad the remake exists, especially as someone who just can't get into the original mostly because how outdated and unpleasant it looks.

[Perkilator]

…No. Fucking. Way.

 

[KHCast]

Quite the touch up.

Also games (part 1) releasing 2020 March 3rd

 

[Meta77]

Wondering how Tifa will look. Still sad they split this game up instead of just one game but lord knows when we would see it then so I understand.

[Teoskaven]

This new trailer confirms what i thought about the Sony State of Play one, the voice actors for that were placeholders. Biggs and Barret definetly sound different, Cloud doesn't talk much for me to say if he's Steve Burton or not. Wedge still has the goofy VA from Breaking Bad.
Heidegger's new look is fine, but i wish they kept the big russian beard, he looks more like his Before Crisis appearance here.

[KHCast]

Burton removed from his Twitter profile bio that he was the official voice of Cloud. And that was after the last trailer. I don’t think he’s coming back guys. Apparently it’s not uncommon over at square for characters to get new voice actors without the originals even getting news of the change. So wouldn’t be shocked if Square was that disrespectful with burton and just dropped him like he was nothing 

[JayRaR]

16 hours ago, Perkilator said:

…No. Fucking. Way.

 

Not gonna lie, I attended that concert last night and felt a bit gipped I had to sit through several minute breaks of watching playthroughs and amvs of FF7 and not watching the orchestra do anything. I thought I was getting dizzy from being slightly inebriated when the audience clapped after a scene from the game or amv scene ended. At least with the KH concert I didn't have to wait between stretches of videos to see an orchestra actually perform but I guess I'll stay away from FF concerts in the future (and Dolby Theatre is a pain in the ass to get to and park by).

And while I was expecting an FF7R trailer, I was immensely disappointed at the lack of no Tifa. Maybe that changes tonight idk.

[Detective Kaito]

This game looks freaking amazing.

I really love how Tifa looks in the remake, but I think there's enough differences between the original and new designs that it would be cool if they gave us the option for the original costume.

[Meta77]

She still looks amazing and gorgeous. Battletoads could learn a thing or two.

[KHCast]

If they interview Square regarding this game, I hope they ask about the voice actor change(though not that that’ll probably give much clarity to the situation since as evidenced by fucks like randy pitchford, they are not above lying or embellishing to make it seem nicer or in their favor). I’m sure a lot of fans are extremely curious/upset about the change. You don’t just do that and casually move on when this is a life long voice for the character near since inception.

[Badnik Mechanic]

So I wish people were talking more about this.

Several summons are gated behind a £80 collectors edition, and another is gated behind a £300 collectors edition.

Yeah summons are pre-order and collectors edition bonuses.

[KHCast]

Oh, and this is all just for Midgar. Don’t worry they’ll be another 300 dollar collectors edition for the next part

[KHCast]

I just started thinking. How’re they gonna tie each game? Like am I gonna be able to visit midgar in part 2? Is all my save data gonna carry over? What if someone for whatever reason, buys part 2 first and not part 1? Are they not gonna be able to play their 60 dollar purchased game unless they spend another amount for the first? 

Also new voice actors confirmed:

No word on why. But pretty sure it has to do with actor recognition to the more mainstream audience. Companies do this constantly, look at what happened to David Hayter as Snake. Even more of a salt in the wound situation since the original trailer back in 2015 HAD Burtons voice.

[Waveshocker Sigma]

Eh, I really don't care. These new voices all sounds WAY better than the ones we used to have, aside from Sephiroth, ans I'd still say he's on par with good ol' Superman without being as deep. He honestly sounds the way I alwasy thought he'd sound.

[Teoskaven]

I'm ok with the recast; while i tend to prefer consistency in how a character gets to have for his/her VA, in this case it's a retelling, a fresh new start, it's not damaging a prequel or something so it makes sense for Square to get a new generation of people for the key roles (and if there is something that time proves is that not-popular VAs who pass through Square's offices tend to have their careers spring).
Plus Steve Burton and George Newborne are still tied to Cloud and Sephiroth for Dissidia NT (i.e. their contract states that if Square patches in a new cutscene involving the characters they still have to voice them), so it's not like it's an abrupt send-off. Though i can understand it feeling still a bit sudden.

Still, Badger as Wedge's VA baffles me a lot.

As for everything else, i'm not too happy that the first episode is still just about Midgar: while i have no doubt they can expand the story there to make it feel more like a complete game, at the same time this means Square is asking the audience to wait a good chunk of more years to have the remake being completed. The advantage is that the more the episodes will progress, the less new stuff to code will have to be implemented, so it shouldn't take too long, but still.
Tifa's redesign is fine with me. Stockings are just as hot as uncovered legs and the breast size while toned down still feels fanservicy enough for me.
Also, similar with Lighting and Aranea, Square is keeping the tradition of pandering towards armpit fetishists. Bah.

The combat feels fine too, a good compromise between action and strategy and the most important thing for me (switching playable characters with each having his/her own style) is in full force, so i'm all for it.
I guess when it comes to this remake project the key word will be patience. I have it still, but i can only hope Square can repay this trust.

[Meta77]

I could have swore way before this they told everyone it would be just midgar for this game

[KHCast]

 

There it is. Not even just for the remake I guess, so if Cloud were to show up in KH again, don’t expect Burton.:( 

Cant help but find it especially sad that despite voicing Cloud for 17 years, he never actually voiced him in the one game that actually mattered. And while I’ll get used to the new actors, it annoys me how they initially had him set to voice for this game. While the recasting isn’t the end of the world, the actual treatment voice actors typically get in these instances is apparent and I won’t get over. This, “drop this guy, for more famous guy” attitude publishers have is the fucking worse and shows a lack of reverence and respect to the mark certain actors bring. And sorry, but I can’t totally buy the “it’s a reinterpretation” defense when square and the industry do this quite casually and commonly. I’ll get over it, but I’d prefer they not paint it as something else when we all know why they’re really doing it.

I’m happy at least the new voice actor responded with respect and knows he’s got shoes to fill.

[Teoskaven]

Famitsu's recap of the stuff shown at E3 contains a partial clear version of the Guardian Scorpion boss fight theme, wich mix the traditional boss theme (Still More Fighting/Those Who Fight Further) with the one used for the original game's fight (Bombing Mission):

 

Sounds very Michael Giacchino-esque.

[KHCast]

Orchestral/mashups are great and all, but I do hope that isn’t the entirety of the remakes soundtrack.

[Teoskaven]

Maximilian with his wife and friends got to play the game at E3 (i'll post the impressions as well, it's a good report of the presentation and gameplay of the demo) and they reported that the Mako Reactor theme sounds basically the same just more haunting, and that one uses a lot of modern instruments, so it's most likely there is variety in the remixes.
Wish we knew who is the main composer, we only know so far that Nobuo Uematsu is giving consulting work.
 

 

[Perkilator]

The next trailer is tomorrow at TGS at 7am PST.

…Not very well timed, I’d say.

[Celestia]

New trailer. I don't go here (tho' I've always been somewhat interested in checking out the franchise), but it continues to look cool.

The only thing I keep feeling weird about every time I remember it's a thing is the episodic structure, especially since the game's producer admitted they haven't planned out how many there will be yet. I guess it kind of makes sense since they're treating them as full games but I still had to raise an eyebrow at that.