Can FFXIV 2.0 top Final Fantasy VII?

[Andrien]

No Final Fantasy VII Remake Until Original Has Been Topped -- Square Enix CEO

Wada admits that current FF games aren't up to VII's quality.


Square Enix CEO Yoichi Wada gave today a specific condition on when we'll get a remake of Final Fantasy VII.

During the Q&A session of the company's annual shareholder's briefing (transcribed here), Wada was asked the expected question about the much wanted remake. His response was something to the effect of, we'll make a Final Fantasy VII remake once we've made a Final Fantasy game that exceeds the quality of FFVII.

If you get the feeling that this statement belittles Square Enix's current development prowess, you're pretty much spot on. Wada admitted that at present, the company is not making Final Fantasy games that exceed the quality of FFVII. If they were to release a 7 remake right now, the FF franchise would be done with, he said.

While the staff would happily make an FFVII remake, this is something that if they decided to do, they'd have to give it their full effort.

source: andriasang
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It is just my opinion, but I have to agree with the boss.

I really hope FFXIV can actually top FFVII. What can the dev team do to top FFVII?

[Doho]

i honestly feel like FF7 is waaay over sensationalized. and don't get me wrong I LOVE FF7.. FF7: Crisis Core, Advent Children. the entire fabulosa crystallis mumbo jumbaliya. i love it.

but I just don't think I agree with wada on this one :|

[Skies]

It's not hard to make something better than FFVII.
Look at X, or hell X-2 but I can consider that to be true only for me. I still prefer the story of IX over VII's.

'topping' VII is merely a matter of time, when VII is some old that the nostalgia moves to another game. I s'pose XI will probably be the one to take it's place over time, it's newer and just as ridiculously nostalgia-ridden.

[Colino]

i honestly feel like FF7 is waaay over sensationalized.

It is. It's a fantastic game but to this day it is unbelievably overrated.

[Doho]

It's not hard to make something better than FFVII.
Look at X, or hell X-2 but I can consider that to be true only for me. I still prefer the story of IX over VII's.

'topping' VII is merely a matter of time, when VII is some old that the nostalgia moves to another game. I s'pose XI will probably be the one to take it's place over time, it's newer and just as ridiculously nostalgia-ridden.

thanks for saying what I was afraid to say, specifically about FF9. Hell, I prefer FF12 and FF9 over FF7 (casts barfire on self). But I still have mad respect for FF7. I think beauty is in the eye of the beholder with this series, and quality sometimes can be purely subjective.

[Malakhim]

You really think he thinks FFVII is the pinnacle of Square-Enix quality? Think again. This is just the same PR spin they've been using to keep interest up without straight up saying that they aren't doing it. Ever.

[Chardrizard]

Yea its definitely just one way to shut people up about VII remakes.

[Orca]

I feel like how 'good' a game is, its obviously going to be different for everyone. I think the thing he's trying to do here isn't make a game thats better than FF7 as far as gameplay/story goes, but rather make something that is critically acclaimed outside of its niche. I mean FF7 is famous, even gamers who dont touch the RPG genre and non gamers alike have atleast heard of it, its just iconic. I feel like he's looking to create a new icon for the company.

FF7 struck a note for many reasons. Its manga/anime style was gaining popularity in the west at the time of its release, as was the PS1, the console it released on. There werent many 3D rpgs around, and the characters and the story found the right balance with the people. It was something very different. These days, its hard to make something different because everything has been done, so you end up making things that arent as good for the sake of being different (and these are the things no one has done because they werent good enough to do.) So finding something unique and amazing is a very rare occurance.

To achieve this, SE will need to make something truly ground breaking and revolutionary that will cause the gaming world to stop and take notice of it. To praise it, recommend it, talk about it with everyone they meet. If its truly good, it will still be here in 10 years and then it will have that nostalgia factor. Another hurdle they face is that this generation of gamer is much harder to impress and has much higher standards than 10 years ago. The only thing people seem to love more now than a good game, is a bad game that tried to be good, so they can rip on it.

[Onisake]

IIRC FFXI is the most lucrative FF game to date. I'm not sure what they mean by 'topping' but I think FFXI is their best game as far as depth, content, and how much cash it made them.

Overall my favorite FF games are 12 and tactics (lion war, not that advance crap).

FFXIV is not likely to top 7, if it gets anywhere near it i will be surprised and impressed. if XIV lasts as long as XI, i would expect it to start making money around the 5 year mark. all of the development is expensive, and to add in re-development, and of course the work of the live team. XIV is very expensive. I hope it succeeds and makes a big come-back. but it's going to need an absolutely amazing 2.0 launch to really make a dent.

but back on topic. we really dont' know what they are quantifying quality as. i'm still seeing artifacts of the enix merger. I'm still waiting on a new Valkyrie Profile. One was anounced for xbox 360, but i haven't heard anything about it since it was announced. i'm thinking the project was scrapped and the development team repurposed. I personally thought 13 was crap. so yeah, i'd agree. i think they need to make the next one way better before they consider a remake of 7. at that point it just feels like a gimmick.

[Malakhim]

I feel like how 'good' a game is, its obviously going to be different for everyone. I think the thing he's trying to do here isn't make a game thats better than FF7 as far as gameplay/story goes, but rather make something that is critically acclaimed outside of its niche. I mean FF7 is famous, even gamers who dont touch the RPG genre and non gamers alike have atleast heard of it, its just iconic. I feel like he's looking to create a new icon for the company.

FF7 struck a note for many reasons. Its manga/anime style was gaining popularity in the west at the time of its release, as was the PS1, the console it released on. There werent many 3D rpgs around, and the characters and the story found the right balance with the people. It was something very different. These days, its hard to make something different because everything has been done, so you end up making things that arent as good for the sake of being different (and these are the things no one has done because they werent good enough to do.) So finding something unique and amazing is a very rare occurance.

To achieve this, SE will need to make something truly ground breaking and revolutionary that will cause the gaming world to stop and take notice of it. To praise it, recommend it, talk about it with everyone they meet. If its truly good, it will still be here in 10 years and then it will have that nostalgia factor. Another hurdle they face is that this generation of gamer is much harder to impress and has much higher standards than 10 years ago. The only thing people seem to love more now than a good game, is a bad game that tried to be good, so they can rip on it.

I can only like a post once, so I'll just repost it. :P

But really, Final Fantasy VII just hit the gaming world at a very pivotal moment. Cinematic experiences in gaming hadn't taken off yet, and CD media was becoming a huge factor for a multitude of reasons, and Final Fantasy VII just managed to hit a bunch of people's "on" buttons all at the same time and at the right time.

Honestly, Final Fantasy X had the exact same shot during the PS2 days(and apparently it has quite a large fanbase), and Final Fantasy XIII would have had the exact same shot this generation if its development cycle wasn't riddled with huge problems from day one.