Yesterday, I talked about how Square Enix is re-releasing FINAL FANTASIES I & II for the iPhone. Today, it looks like the company might be doing something similar with the series' popular seventh entry.
Nothing official’s been announced, yet… but there’s a strong possibility and some stated interest, from Yoshinori Kitase , the producer of the original game.
"For Final Fantasy VII of course it was released for the PSOne. The animation was a lot more simple and there was no voice acting involved at all… So as the hardware develops there's so much more that can be done for the game. Visual capabilities are up. The quality is so high right now. So in a sense I'm really interested to see this more complete form of a Final Fantasy VII portrayed more realistically with the voice and animation and all the subtle expressions there… Yes. I would like to work on [a FFVII remake] one day. Some day!"
I think this is just an inevitability. It might not happen this year, or next, but it’ll happen eventually.
Kitase gets questioned about doing a remake everywhere he goes, so there’s obviously demand. The release of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII being a hit, even coming out eight years after the original game’s release, sets a precedent of success for these still-popular characters. Square Enix even apparently released a “technical demo” in 2006 of how the game would look remade on the PS3, so the project is obviously on the company's mind.
-- Tom Pinchuk is the writer of UNIMAGINABLE for Arcana Comics and HYBRID BASTARDS! for Archaia Comics. Watch out for the HYBRID BASTARDS! hardcover collection this March - - available for pre-order now on Amazon.com.
