Old news is also new news, apparently. Famitsu is running a special feature in honor of Final Fantasy VII's fifteenth anniversary, and in it, Tetsuya Nomura comments that while he understand fan desire to see a remake, he's busy working on new games, and newer titles are a higher priority. So not really much in the way of new commentary there.

What is new to me, however, and what may be new to a lot of you, are some other bits about Final Fantasy VII's development as listed in the Famitsu article:

• From the start of development, Aerith was meant to die, and so Tifa was created to give the game a heroine.
• Yuffie was to appear on wanted posters found throughout the game, each one with a different face. Yuffie's actual appearance when you met her would have been based on the last poster you looked at before the encounter.
• Aerith and Sephiroth were originally meant to be sisters. Yep.

@Hailinel said:

• Yuffie was to appear on wanted posters found throughout the game, each one with a different face. Yuffie's actual appearance when you met her would have been based on the last poster you looked at before the encounter.

That would have been awesome, wonder why it never happened (though not like characters had much in the way of faces in that game, I guess).

@Hailinel said:

• Aerith and Sephiroth were originally meant to be sisters. Yep.

Sounds about right. Not even joking.

Interesting. The one about Yuffie is confusing, though. Not that I don't understand it, but why?

Sisters.....? Mind=scared.

@Zenaxzd said:

@Hailinel said:

• Yuffie was to appear on wanted posters found throughout the game, each one with a different face. Yuffie's actual appearance when you met her would have been based on the last poster you looked at before the encounter.

That would have been awesome, wonder why it never happened (though not like characters had much in the way of faces in that game, I guess).

Probably the technical issues involved. It would have required designing different faces and making sure that they all appeared right in the right circumstances. Obviously, they took the easier route.

@mandude said:

Interesting. The one about Yuffie is confusing, though. Not that I don't understand it, but why?

Just to include as a fun easter egg or gag, I imagine.

@Hailinel said:

• From the start of development, Aerith was meant to die, and so Tifa was created to give the game a heroine.

Originally, Aeris was also going to be resurrected. In the FMV sequence that succeeds the final battle, the hand reaching from offscreen actually belonged to Aeris, as part of the game's scrapped ending.

Yes give higher priority to games that few of your fans want over a remake that everyone has been demanding for years. Good thinking. :P

Seems that they had an interest to do a female villain for a while but then pushed it back to FF8.

That Yuffie bit is super interesting. A shame it didn't make it.

@Legend said:

Yes give higher priority to games that few of your fans want over a remake that everyone has been demanding for years. Good thinking. :P

I don't blame them. Fans of 90% of games just want remakes of their favorite ones because they cling to nostalgia too much. Look at what's going on around Max Payne 3 or Diablo III. The fact that more people want a new version of FF7 instead of new games says less about Squeenix's products and more about the people that buy them.

And it's not even about the whole "FF7 is not as good as you think" discussions people are throwing around. Remakes are fun and I embrace them, but if they are unexpected and actually bring something new to the table, like the Baldur's Gate EE.

This game does not need a remake. Make a new Final Fantasy and I will be intrigued. Or at least if they're going to do remakes, remake VI.

@Catarrhal said:

@Hailinel said:

• From the start of development, Aerith was meant to die, and so Tifa was created to give the game a heroine.

Originally, Aeris was also going to be resurrected. In the FMV sequence that succeeds the final battle, the hand reaching from offscreen actually belonged to Aeris, as part of the game's scrapped ending.

In actuality, this was always a rumour that she was to be resurrected. The contrary has actually been stated by Kitase in interviews, "The world was expecting us to bring her back to life as this is the classic convention. But we did not. We had decided this from the beginning. There was a lot of reaction from Japanese users. Some were very sad about it while others were angry. We even received a lengthly petition addressed to our scenario writer asking for Aerith's revival. But there are many meanings in Aerith's death and this could never happen."

I do not think FF7 should be remade. It is a timeless piece of work that is better left as-is to experience again or even for the first time. With the expectations that everyone has regarding a potential remake, none of the fans would ever be truly happy. I think something like Advent Children is the proper nod to fans regarding a beloved project like FF7. Square needs to focus on making good games again rather than expending their resources on things that should be left in their glory.

@Hailinel said:

• Yuffie was to appear on wanted posters found throughout the game, each one with a different face. Yuffie's actual appearance when you met her would have been based on the last poster you looked at before the encounter.

Huh that would've been awesome. Also the game DOES NOT NEED A REMAKE!

EDIT: Sweet my 1000th post and it was FF7 related! Yay!!!!

I would like to see some concept art for a female sephiroth. I wonder what look that were going for and why they changed Sephiroth into a male.

@Zenaxzd said:

@Hailinel said:

• Aerith and Sephiroth were originally meant to be sisters. Yep.

Sounds about right. Not even joking.

Yeah that might have fleshed things out in a good way for those characters.

@Hailinel said:

• From the start of development, Aerith was meant to die, and so Tifa was created to give the game a heroine.

I think that was revealed LONG ago in EGM. I think the logic was "killing off Barret would be too obvious, and Fire Emblem 4 makes Cloud too obvious for that, too".

@Hailinel said:

• Aerith and Sephiroth were originally meant to be sisters. Yep.

I imagine the question immediately following that response was, "Was it always your plan to troll the fuck out of the JRPG community?"

I always thought Aerith was kinda shallow, all she did was grow flowers in some broken church, and follow a guy with wacky hair for no good reason. Then she dies. Even Yuffie was more fleshed out and she was optional.

female sephiroth would've been coo. it's not like she would've looked that different anyway, his hair is already down to his waist.

FF7 is alright an all but I don't get people's adoration for it besides it being the first JRPG they ever played. I don't much like chrono trigger either but I get the adoration of it.

They should, you know, make another relevant Final Fantasy game that doesn't have Tactics in its name.

Focusing on new titles...what new titles? They(Nomura and his crew) have been working on Versus 13 for nearly 8 years now. Instead of going to, at the time, a minor artist in Final Fantasy 7 why not approach the dude that actually headed the project (Sakaguchi). Oh that's right he's actually busy putting out games. BAM!!!!

I've tried to give Nomura the benefit of the doubt as long as I could but jeez dude put out a damn game.

If there ever were to be a remake I just can't imagine the amount of bitching there would be because there would be no way in hell it would meet the expectations people would have for it.

At this point I wish they would just stop mentioning it. Not that fans won't keep whining about it, and I guess it's appropriate for the 15 year anniversary, but at this point they're trolling their fans by commenting on it.

The thing is, you can kinda tell that the development team behind Final Fantasy wanted to make a new final fantasy game, even while making FFXIII-2. The story has very little to do with FFXIII, they straight up made new main characters, the story is short, they didn't want to make this game.

@Dagbiker: I got a message saying this was a reply to my post. So I'll respond.

Nomura's team didn't do FFXIII-2 though. Sure, Nomura did the character design for XIII-2(and XIII) but I'm sure that doesn't take up all his time(especially considering 2-3 of the characters assets were already generated from XIII). And even then,I think the fact that the game was developed in a year and a half is more to blame for the lame story than them actually wanting to make something new. I mean think about it these guys are so used to being able to take their time with games but when you throw a deadline on them they crumble. I mean there are several other examples of this in Japanese game development community(The Last Guardian, etc.). Also FFXIII's story wasn't all that great to begin with. As for the new characters, I suspect that has to do with the fact that none of the characters in XIII were likable or memorable.

@Hailinel said:

Tetsuya Nomura comments that while he understand fan desire to see a remake, he's busy working on new games, and newer titles are a higher priority.

Good.

let FFVii be, nothing Suare can do will ever recapture the zeitgeist it had at the moment. Right game at the right time.

I much rather they try to make the next Final Fantasy that can have the same impact as Vii did, but I don't ever need to see Vii again.

@Jazzycola said:

Focusing on new titles...what new titles? They(Nomura and his crew) have been working on Versus 13 for nearly 8 years now. Instead of going to, at the time, a minor artist in Final Fantasy 7 why not approach the dude that actually headed the project (Sakaguchi). Oh that's right he's actually busy putting out games. BAM!!!!

I've tried to give Nomura the benefit of the doubt as long as I could but jeez dude put out a damn game.

Nomura himself has been working on Versus XIII, but he's also served as producer on several Kingdom Hearts games in that time as well as The World Ends With You, along with his more traditional duties as a character designer for various games he has little to no other involvement in. As for Square Enix in general, they've produced new games ranging from new Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest entries to odd fair like Theatrhythm, the Dissidia series, and The 3rd Birthday.

So in short, they've been putting out a lot of new games.

@Zenaxzd said:

• Aerith and Sephiroth were originally meant to be sisters. Yep.

Sounds about right. Not even joking.

Yeah, that actually makes total sense.

@Jazzycola said:

@Dagbiker: I got a message saying this was a reply to my post. So I'll respond.

Nomura's team didn't do FFXIII-2 though. Sure, Nomura did the character design for XIII-2(and XIII) but I'm sure that doesn't take up all his time(especially considering 2-3 of the characters assets were already generated from XIII). And even then,I think the fact that the game was developed in a year and a half is more to blame for the lame story than them actually wanting to make something new. I mean think about it these guys are so used to being able to take their time with games but when you throw a deadline on them they crumble. I mean there are several other examples of this in Japanese game development community(The Last Guardian, etc.). Also FFXIII's story wasn't all that great to begin with. As for the new characters, I suspect that has to do with the fact that none of the characters in XIII were likable or memorable.

I was talking more generally about final fantasy, don't get me wrong, I liked FFXIII-2 but, it just lacked emotion, and what emotion it did have felt jumbled together.

@Dagbiker said:

The thing is, you can kinda tell that the development team behind Final Fantasy wanted to make a new final fantasy game, even while making FFXIII-2. The story has very little to do with FFXIII, they straight up made new main characters, the story is short, they didn't want to make this game.

How is creating new main characters a sign that they wanted to make a new game? They did the same thing for Final Fantasy X-2, Dirge of Cerberus, Crisis Core, Before Crisis, Revenant Wings, and The After Years. All of those games are sequels or spin-offs of existing Final Fantasy games that give completely new characters prominent roles.

The story's length has more to do with the scope of the game and the time that they had to develop it. Were they originally planning to make the game? No, they weren't. It was produced directly as a reaction to the response FFXIII received, but if they didn't want to make this game, then they wouldn't have made it.

Fifteen years? They grow up so fast...

Also, fuck a FFVII remake. Considering how Cloud has been characterized in every game he's been in since FFVII, he'd be completely insufferable in the remake.

@Hailinel said:

@Jazzycola said:

Focusing on new titles...what new titles? They(Nomura and his crew) have been working on Versus 13 for nearly 8 years now. Instead of going to, at the time, a minor artist in Final Fantasy 7 why not approach the dude that actually headed the project (Sakaguchi). Oh that's right he's actually busy putting out games. BAM!!!!

I've tried to give Nomura the benefit of the doubt as long as I could but jeez dude put out a damn game.

Nomura himself has been working on Versus XIII, but he's also served as producer on several Kingdom Hearts games in that time as well as The World Ends With You, along with his more traditional duties as a character designer for various games he has little to no other involvement in. As for Square Enix in general, they've produced new games ranging from new Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest entries to odd fair like Theatrhythm, the Dissidia series, and The 3rd Birthday.

So in short, they've been putting out a lot of new games.

Read my post again. I was talking about Nomura's development time for HIS game, not SquareEnix in general. Sure he's been a producer on other games but that's hardly being IN control of a games direction which he is for Versus XIII. James Cameron was a producer of Sanctum(the movie) but that doesn't mean that he thought of the idea or physically made the film. And if that's not good enough... I'll rephrase my last post "I've tried to give Nomura the benefit of the doubt as long as I could but jeez dude put out the game that was announced 7 years ago."

@Jazzycola said:

@Hailinel said:

@Jazzycola said:

Focusing on new titles...what new titles? They(Nomura and his crew) have been working on Versus 13 for nearly 8 years now. Instead of going to, at the time, a minor artist in Final Fantasy 7 why not approach the dude that actually headed the project (Sakaguchi). Oh that's right he's actually busy putting out games. BAM!!!!

I've tried to give Nomura the benefit of the doubt as long as I could but jeez dude put out a damn game.

Nomura himself has been working on Versus XIII, but he's also served as producer on several Kingdom Hearts games in that time as well as The World Ends With You, along with his more traditional duties as a character designer for various games he has little to no other involvement in. As for Square Enix in general, they've produced new games ranging from new Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest entries to odd fair like Theatrhythm, the Dissidia series, and The 3rd Birthday.

So in short, they've been putting out a lot of new games.

Read my post again. I was talking about Nomura's development time for HIS game, not SquareEnix in general. Sure he's been a producer on other games but that's hardly being IN control of a games direction which he is for Versus XIII. James Cameron was a producer of Sanctum(the movie) but that doesn't mean that he thought of the idea or physically made the film. And if that's not good enough... I'll rephrase my last post "I've tried to give Nomura the benefit of the doubt as long as I could but jeez dude put out the game that was announced 7 years ago."

Without all of the details of when the project actually started development (as opposed to merely being announced), how large the team has been for the duration of the development, how large the game is, and all of the other details, it's impossible to judge.

Square Enix will release a Final Fantasy VII remake when they are at the brink of ruin and have no other choice. Their track record has not been good for the last six years. All the formerly Eidos games they have acquired are not selling hot cakes. I was content with Advent Children movie. Not so much with the spin-offs like Dirge Of Cerberus or those cell phone games.

@Zleunamme said:

Square Enix will release a Final Fantasy VII remake when they are at the brink of ruin and have no other choice. Their track record has not been good for the last six years. All the formerly Eidos games they have acquired are not selling hot cakes. I was content with Advent Children movie. Not so much with the spin-offs like Dirge Of Cerberus or those cell phone games.

I never expected much out of Kane & Lynch 2, but didn't Deus Ex sell respectable numbers?

Just add analog control to the game and clean up the battle menu. That's all I want. (Oh, and fix the translation errors.)

Hm...my preference for Tifa just got awesomer. So awesome, it doesn't need proper words.

The PC guys made one already.

@NegativeCero said:

At this point I wish they would just stop mentioning it. Not that fans won't keep whining about it, and I guess it's appropriate for the 15 year anniversary, but at this point they're trolling their fans by commenting on it.

2017 it will happen PS4

@Seroth said:

(Oh, and fix the translation errors.)

Hell no, man. That's like taking the "You spoony bard!" out of FFIV. Why would you take away half of the game's character like that?

Yo, Square Enix: Screw VII, where's my handheld remake of V?

@Devoid said:

@Seroth said:

(Oh, and fix the translation errors.)

Yo, Square Enix: Screw VII, where's my handheld remake of V?

Being quietly ignored because I think Square secretly hates FFV, even though I think the job system is totally bitchin and the story is... totally forgettable. But dude. Blue Mages. Stat Munchkining. Making everyone master Ninja so they have access to dual wield as a passive when they switch over to mime. Also, Final Fantasy VI will get its due long before V, because at least that game has an insane clown god as the final boss. Exdeath? What.

On topic: Dude should really finish Versus XIII. Considering that game has been in development since BEFORE THE PS3 CAME OUT, and it is the only (modern) thing with Final Fantasy in the name that remotely interests me, I am fine with him (once again) explaining that people should really get over the whole "Remake VII thing", for as much sense as it makes.

Relevant.

I just bought my little sister, the game on the PSP version a few weeks ago. Those are some interesting points especially with Aerith and Sephiroth. They both have similar bangs in their hair.

A remake of the game would be awesome. I did noticed translation errors especially during the first boss fight between Cloud and Barrett. The game says to attack it with its tail "up." Yet, it's supposed to be "down."

@Legend said:

Yes give higher priority to games that few of your fans want over a remake that everyone has been demanding for years. Good thinking. :P

I was actually kind of thinking this too. Weird how in an age where most companies will do anything for profits, Square seems to ignore the fact that a FFVII remake would probably sell more copies than recent final fantasy games, and take less work to create.

This is, what -- the thousandth time they've said they're not doing a remake? They should really stop commenting on it. We get it already.

@DoctorWelch said:

@Legend said:

Yes give higher priority to games that few of your fans want over a remake that everyone has been demanding for years. Good thinking. :P

I was actually kind of thinking this too. Weird how in an age where most companies will do anything for profits, Square seems to ignore the fact that a FFVII remake would probably sell more copies than recent final fantasy games, and take less work to create.

Yeah. You'd think they'd be all for it if only for the potential buckets of money to be made from it. Maybe they just don't want to risk screwing it up in some way, big or small, and having to deal with the fallout for not delivering on something as huge as that.

@Hailinel said:

@Zleunamme said:

Square Enix will release a Final Fantasy VII remake when they are at the brink of ruin and have no other choice. Their track record has not been good for the last six years. All the formerly Eidos games they have acquired are not selling hot cakes. I was content with Advent Children movie. Not so much with the spin-offs like Dirge Of Cerberus or those cell phone games.

I never expected much out of Kane & Lynch 2, but didn't Deus Ex sell respectable numbers?

Yes, SE turned a profit this past year thanks to 13-2, Deus Ex, and their expanding social stuff. Deus Ex did great for them.

@ArbitraryWater: vs13 has not been in development since before the PS3 came out. There was a trailer, it was a concept. Nomura said himself that the game had just entered full production around a year or two ago max (and if you want to slog through the internet you can find plenty of other interviews and such about it). The thing to keep in mind is Nomura does not have a "team". He works on the same "team" that made 13, Type-0, and 13-2 (of course he has his other stuff as well, but Vs13 is being "made" by the team that brought us the other FNC games). His project got shelved to give the spotlight to other games for the time being. Vs13 will probably rear its head soonish as it is quite literally the only unreleased game developed by Square that we've seen gameplay for. Maybe they will give this holiday season to the FFX HD remake, but Versus 13 would be after that at the latest (frankly I think we'll get info about it this year, but we will see).