Remakes, Remasters, Remixes and Galore

[Eva]

This has been bugging me for a while now, and for the life of me I don't get it, and I apologize if this has already been said. A lot of people seem to have this obsession with having their favorite game remade. You get videos, blogs, posts and the like demanding that their Final Fantasy should be getting a remake already. I fully admit to being guilty, too, though not to the extent of threatening the team if my favorite Final Fantasy game doesn't get remade.

Still, as much as I would love to see it remade, I would rather the team focus on a new game rather then divert all their resources into recreating yet another version of a game that's already come out. The entire Final Fantasy X + Final Fantasy X-2 HD Remaster already has fanboys and fangirls howling with rage that it was X and not their favorite. And then apparently (not saying this is a fact, but something I read) that if the Remaster is successful, there could be a chance of a Final Fantasy XII remaster as well.

Of course, this brings up more people howling that it should be another Final Fantasy, but for the sake of argument I may as well agree seeing as Final Fantasy XII is relatively recent. I can even go as far as admitting I would have preferred to see pretty much any other Final Fantasy be remade besides X, as bringing them up to date would not only be wonderful but using today's graphics technology would be incredible to see for games such as VI and VIII, but overall I have to ask, what is the point?

By that I mean I feel like these remakes and remasters are relatively just not needed right now. Sure, celebrating an anniversary by rereleasing an old game may seem like a good idea, but really, why is it that everyone insists on the next Final Fantasy project to be a remake of Final Fantasy VII, or a demand that VI comes to the 3D era, or that IX deserves some attention? And don't get me wrong, I have original copies of most Final Fantasy games and I have bought their rereleases on PSN and the handheld remakes as well, so it's not like I wouldn't buy them. It's just that I see these things as, well, a waste of time. Sure you can spiff them up and make them look pretty, but then you get complaints about things changing and 'why wasn't it a complete remake' and so on and so forth, and I admit this is my BIGGEST issue with the Kingdom Hearts 1.5 and 2.5 (although these two I admit are a complete waste but this topic I want to focus on the Final Fantasy Series).

I'd like to know your opinion, and I want to see what exactly drives you to want to see your game either remade or remaster (remember, these are two COMPLETELY DIFFERENT things!)?

 

[Chaser]

Still, as much as I would love to see it remade, I would rather the team focus on a new game rather then divert all their resources into recreating yet another version of a game that's already come out.

They are. There's a team who just finished the latest Final Fantasy XIII game, Final Fantasy XIV, and Final Fantasy XV in development, all new games. Not to mention any other things that may be in secret development right now.

The entire Final Fantasy X + Final Fantasy X-2 HD Remaster already has fanboys and fangirls howling with rage that it was X and not their favorite. And then apparently (not saying this is a fact, but something I read) that if the Remaster is successful, there could be a chance of a Final Fantasy XII remaster as well.

That XII seems like it was just a toss away thing in order to get some more sales; "Buy this and we may consider another one". They did the same after KH 1.5 was released. (also about the X|X-2 thing, it wasn't remastered by a team at Square Enix. It was outsourced to another company, therefore no team at Square Enix had knuckled down to work on it.)

Of course, this brings up more people howling that it should be another Final Fantasy, but for the sake of argument I may as well agree seeing as Final Fantasy XII is relatively recent. I can even go as far as admitting I would have preferred to see pretty much any other Final Fantasy be remade besides X, as bringing them up to date would not only be wonderful but using today's graphics technology would be incredible to see for games such as VI and VIII, but overall I have to ask, what is the point?

People want to experience their childhood in new and shiny ways. I'm not sure why it has to be in full 3D with a remastered soundtrack and voice over and proper cutscenes since they can just buy the original version and experience that, but I guess to them, if there's the option to have a greater version of it, they want to have it despite it never living up to the expectations.

So many people were devestated when they heard the new soundtrack for X|X-2. Some even cancelled their preorders of it completely. This reaction was caused by changing songs. If Square Enix tinkered with even the littlest thing, the same fans who want this remaster will rage at it.

Sure you can spiff them up and make them look pretty, but then you get complaints about things changing and 'why wasn't it a complete remake' and so on and so forth

Case in point with the soundtrack.

and I admit this is my BIGGEST issue with the Kingdom Hearts 1.5 and 2.5 (although these two I admit are a complete waste but this topic I want to focus on the Final Fantasy Series).

They didn't change anything though (they only added in gameplay things and new character models to make it flow better with KH2) and I've not seen people complain about how the remasters are a complete waste.

I'd like to know your opinion, and I want to see what exactly drives you to want to see your game either remade or remaster (remember, these are two COMPLETELY DIFFERENT things!)?

I'd like remakes of the older games, mostly because I love the english voice overs. Getting to hear the characters say those lines, to me that's really awesome. With additions like trophy support, the game is more appealing to me. Also there's something in the music of the older games (specifically VII) that really hurt my ears. Some kind of high pitched key constantly being pressed. If they remasted and fixed that, might make for a better experience.

 

[Rydgea]

Not that I don't appreciate it or get excited about it, but I generally have less desire than most to see things remastered of titles I've played.

I've definitely avoided the "What sequel do you want?" thread, because I feel like in the coarse of my lifetime MOST sequels (about every 9 out of 10 times) have felt lackluster in comparison, and if endgame experience concludes on a high note, I am willing to treasure the ending for what it is and revisit my experience later. The same applies to the technology of the game. If I truly enjoyed it, I will revisit that world, and it won't matter what system it was for. In that regard though, I can understand the reason why people would want to reinvent the wheel and keep their favorites feeling fresh without the aid of sequels, and shiny new graphics certainly can help.

Like Disney re-releasing their classics on Blu-Ray for people who want to keep the format of their media library up with the times. You'll notice playing a copy of your PS1-era FFIX that it does not look the same as it once did on your PS3 and smoothing the textures only does so much. That being said, I don't mind retro gaming - and clunky, lo-fi graphics/systems are kindof charming to me personally. So revisiting these games as they are can be a nice, periodic break from current gen gaming.

I will say HD remasters seem especially appropriate anytime there is content that was previously unreleased to other regions. In the cases of X/X-2 (Last Mission) and XII (International Zodiac Job System), and Kingdom Hearts (Final Mix), I can understand why people want the definitive editions.

There are also some reasons I prefer to see remakes versus re-releases. In the cases of FFIII and FFIV (DS), for example, titles I had previously not experienced, they just seemed to have so much heart and effort put into them with amazing results, that a white washing of sprites on the PSP (FFIV: Complete Collection) almost seemed lazy in comparison. It made me hopeful for the same treatment of any other future remakes for games I haven't played yet, which I think is the main reason to remake, mix, or master any game - to draw in a new audience, a new generation.

In the end though, I would rather my favorite FF NOT get remade, and instead I would prefer it if Square moved on and concentrated on other projects. The urgency isn't there. Or at least make another 10 great Final Fantasies before backpedaling.

 

[Magnus]

It boggles my mind that there are people out there who still don't know the difference between a remaster and a remake. Figuring out why it's easy for the company to upscale and update an already finished game and why a) they don't remake the old games from scratch or even b) remaster the PS1 trilogy should not be too hard.

While I do agree that the company should focus on making new games, I think mobile games and recycling game engines for direct sequels is a much bigger issue than having old games remastered to modern standards such as widescreen display and a higher resolution.

 

[Jackstin]

I don't see why mobile is an issue. Its no worse than handheld.

On ios and android we have great versions of FF1-6 (nearly) which have none of the negative trappings associated with mobile games such as innapp purchases.

We've also had access to great games like FFDimensions which we would never have seen otherwise.

 

[Magnus]

For me, the most annoying part about mobile gaming is the lack of physical game copies. If they were all sold on small game cards, at least as an alternative for those of us who don't want to go all digital, then I wouldn't mind as much.

I couldn't care less if I come off as untraditional, but I want my consoles. I like things the way they are/have always been in this particular regard. I also don't care for sharing my gamer space with people who love Angry Birds. To clarify, I don't mind if the same games are also available for mobiles, but I don't want the industry to abandon dedicated game consoles and physical games as the main priority. For the same reason, I want to be able to buy my music on CD. I don't want the future to be digital only, even though I don't mind it as being an alternative for people who aren't audiophiles.

 

[Gexus]

On the contrary, these remasters are actually kinda needed. First and foremost because they look like crap on modern televisions.

There is also a big difference in remaking an older game like VII compared to just remastering X. With X, they can just use the base game and update the visuals and tweak a few things here and there. With a game like VII, they would need to make everything from the ground up again, in order for the game to look and play well enough on modern machines. This will take a lot of years and resources which would be better spent at making new games, which is exactly what SE's focus has been, according to Nomura at least.

 

[Magnus]

That's exactly what I meant. Lots of people don't get that though and think that Square Enix are deliberately remaking and remastering every game but VII. Anyone with the slightest interest in would know that the Squaresoft threw away all of the raw game assets after finishing the game. And that VII and VIII have been released on Steam only because they were previously released on PC. Yet there are people wishing for Square Enix to also release IX. Sure, VII and VIII on Steam have improved graphics. The real-time graphics are smoother because they now have more polygons. That's really nice, but on the other hand the original backgrounds are still low-res because higher quality versions are not available.

 

[Jackstin]

See I'm the opposite. I don't want a physical copy I cant play when I've replaced all my systems.

My dream would be electronic versions I can download on my ps4 and my ps5 6 7 8 whatever. And to be honest my android tablet having excellent versions of ff1-6 makes me very happy.

 

[FudgemintGuardian]

See I'm the opposite. I don't want a physical copy I cant play when I've replaced all my systems.

If you didn't replace your systems you wouldn't have that problem. XD


As for Remakes/Remasters/Rewhatevers, I'm fine with SquareEnix (and any company, really) doing that. Because I understand it from a business standpoint, and I think it's a decent way for a franchise to gain new fans.

 

[Narukami]

Remasters are simple, easy money for game developers; you take what you already know is good, make it a little better and BOOM. It doesn't take too much effort (KH1.5 may be an exception to this because of the issues with Final Mix but still...) and you know that a majority of the fans from before are going to buy it again. Also, I personally like the idea of these remasters because not only are we getting the full experience in HD, we're also getting all of the content fans outside of Japan were lacking because of the Final Mixes and International versions. While it may not be an entirely new experience, it's a refreshing revisit into the games that we already love.

That being said, I'm becoming less and less keen about the smartphone ports of games. To me, I don't consider smartphones a gaming platform. It's not something I'm going to spend hours in front of playing. Smartphones as a majority don't have good battery life, so after an hour of playtime you're going to kill at least half of your battery. Final Fantasy, at least to me, is a series that I want to play for hours on end, and phones cannot really handle extended play times, they're built for more casual gaming.

 

[Recon]

This thread's title should be changed to: Rant, Rant, Rant, and Rant

I don't see why mobile is an issue. Its no worse than handheld.

On ios and android we have great versions of FF1-6 (nearly) which have none of the negative trappings associated with mobile games such as innapp purchases.

We've also had access to great games like FFDimensions which we would never have seen otherwise.

First of all, according to my research (and I could be wrong), Square Enix did not recognize microtransaction trends in the smartphone market until around 2009 (I'd say). Now before they recognized this, they had released multiple Final Fantasy titles on the iTunes Store by that time. However, it wasn't until many changes occurred within the company where their business model was to focus more on smartphone and mobile titles. While I acknowledge Square Enix and Co. has now started to shift focus on other franchises/titles than those on its mobile platforms, it is still apparent that microtransactions are still a trend in the market. More importantly, microtransactions are still implemented by Square Enix.

("True") Gamers have become annoyed by this notion because it deters the ease of enjoying the game. Instead, they have to worry about how much they spend and balance their book records. As a fan of the franchise, this is the last thing I want to happen. While it's a trend in the market, many would prefer to have a game without microtransactions.

Final Fantasy Dimensions, to me honestly, seemed like one of Square Enix's real test for microtranactions. Maybe a bit carried away with that statement, but it challenged users to continue buying chapters ONLY if they chose to by their own means. After that, things started to get really weird. I say this because Square Enix decided to continue using microtransactions with the Final Fantasy franchise.

Final Fantasy All the Bravest is yet another title released for mobile platforms. This game was yet another test for microtransactions, and people had negative comments to say about it. Matt Miller, GameInformer writer and editor, wrote this article to explain just how bad the game/idea really was. At this point, fans were exclaiming: "Has Square Enix finally lost it? Has Square Enix finally destroyed one of their most popular franchises?"

Well, in case you haven't caught up with the world, it's still happening. Pictologica Final Fantasy is yet another titled that takes advantages of microtransactions. And you know what? It's not even close to the quality of real Final Fantasy titles we used to know! The best part? It's on the U.S iTunes App Store, where the game is in Japanese. So, now you have a mobile Final Fantasy title, with microtransactions, in Japanese, released to an audience where English is their primary language.

So, when you say, "I don't see why mobile is an issue," now you will know why.

 

[morgancb35]

I would much rather they make a new game. though I do like the idea of getting content that only japan got.

 

[FangirlfromHell]

The problem with remaking anything before X is that they would have to essentially remake literally every little thing. They would have to create modern cg renders, updated soundtracks, redo the battle systems. This is part of the reason that VII has not gotten a full-blown remake. The amount of time it takes for a game to be remade from scratch is about the time it takes to finish an animated movie. That's about two to four or more years. While it would be nice, that would take far more resources than a remaster.

I personally love XII and look forward to a remaster. Imagining the soundtrack with an actual orchestra and not the computerized filtered orchestra would be wonderful. The renders just need a bit of touch up and some actual pigmentation added to the eyes, maybe some smoothing in areas and the full CG scenes are already there just needing a good touch up to fit the PS3 format. I've mentally completed a good 24 trophy titles for the series even if the remaster does not occur.

It would not break my heart if they didn't do the remaster. Fans just need to learn that the companies are not here to cater to their every whim, they are in this to see what will bring the greatest profit while producing a sellable product. That is how all companies function. They need the profit in order to fund other projects and pay workers.

To answer another question, yes a remaster and a remake are two ENTIRELY different things. With a remaster you are working with what is already available and making it better without changing too much of the content. A remake requires you to often work from scratch while referencing the original work.

 

[nxtgarnett5]

I think the one I would want Remade/mastered (because the obviously of VIII) is 8, idk there was just something about 8 that was special to me, and I think it would be look and be incredible if it got a remake

 

[kuraudoVII]

I have absolutely no problem with remastered games, especially if they happen to have content that we never had to begin with in the vanilla versions (Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix and Final Fantasy XII International Edition come to mind). The remastering allows for better graphics, real instruments for an updated soundtrack (the HD version of "Fight With Seymour" was actually pretty good), and it provides an outlet for those that have never played the original game before while those that did have incentives to get the remaster.

Remakes, on the other hand, are infinitely thornier as a subject. While it is clear that remakes are undoubtedly wanted by many - I myself will freely admit that in a perfect world, we would have had a Final Fantasy VII remake a good four or five years ago in conjunction with Final Fantasy XV - they also require far too many resources and man-hours due to having to build it from the ground up as many on here have already noted. Compounding this issue are the fan demands and decisions that will most likely never satisfy anyone and you have the formula for a possible backlash.

I would love to see a remake myself, but I am no longer certain whether it could be done adequately. In all brutal honesty, Square Enix's track record has been very hit and miss over the past decade.