Remake Retake

[Fox12]

As someone who never played FF7 I don't quite get this comic. What's up with that reaction?

I think the joke is that the company Squaresoft who made FF7 back in the day and the company Square-Enix as it stands today are very different. So the reaction is "yay, the games being remade! All my childhood nostalgia and joy!" and then the realisation "wait a minute, weren't they the guys who also made FF13, FF13-2, FF13 bloody 3 and messed up FF14 the first time they tried it? Ah shit! All my childhood nostalgia and joy!"

The slide in quality started much sooner, after FFVI.

...

You mean when Xenogears, Parasite Eve, FF7, Vagrant Story, Dragon Quest 8, and Kingdom Hearts came out? Their golden age was during the ps1, early ps2 era. They increased in both critical and financial success. Honestly, I think people remember FF6 with a nice heavy dose of nostalgia, because while it was good for the time, it doesn't hold up by modern standards at all. Especially the writing.

People remember FF7 with a nice heavy dose of nostalgia it doesn't hold up by modern standards at all. Especially the writing.

This is true, but at least it was a massive improvement on 6. As we're the above titles.

To be frank, I don't think square was bad until 13.

 

[Atmos Duality]

As someone who never played FF7 I don't quite get this comic. What's up with that reaction?

I think the joke is that the company Squaresoft who made FF7 back in the day and the company Square-Enix as it stands today are very different. So the reaction is "yay, the games being remade! All my childhood nostalgia and joy!" and then the realisation "wait a minute, weren't they the guys who also made FF13, FF13-2, FF13 bloody 3 and messed up FF14 the first time they tried it? Ah shit! All my childhood nostalgia and joy!"

Yup. For years, I've pushed the "Be careful what you wish for" line on a FF7 remake.

Mainly because I actually remember what Squeenix has already, HAPPILY published under the FF7 Compilation brand. At absolute best, the it reached the heights of "Decent, but flawed", while most of it plumbed the depths of "Batshit insane stupid".

In one way, I welcome this remake, because I have to see how Squeenix handles remaking its pride and joy without virtually any of the talent the company had when it made FF7.

Which isn't to say the game has aged well (it really hasn't), but FF7 has character in spades compared to damn near any game made by Squeenix in the past 15 years, and that's ignoring nostalgia.

I'm hoping for another trainwreck of anime logic, like Dirge of Cerberus or that hilariously stupid Advent Children movie, because the only realistic alternative I see from the company (now having well over a decade of experience with "Square-Enix's" work) is bland, by-the-book mediocrity.

 

[The Deadpool]

I should be the first to admit, it took a little longer than usual to get this. Silly brain! Stop doing all those anti-brain activities!
So FFVII is really that good then?

It isn't.

It's not a BAD JRPG but any means. It's just not great either.

It was the first one off Nintendo, the first on CD, the first with 3D cutscenes everywhere, the first with a major and extremely successful ad campaign. It sold Playstations. Lots of people who didn't know what an RPG was bought it. It is a LOT of people's first FF and first RPG ever.

There is a LOT of nostalgia tied into it. It's a fine game, but not an amazing game.

 

[Ukomba]

The SQUARE ENIX in the second panel should be even more bold, it's hard to tell it's being emphasized.

 

[Schadrach]

To be honest this was EXACTLY my reaction to the news. The issue is SE has only internally developed garbage since FF10 and most of the people from square soft are gone. I don't trust square enix to remake this game... They probably will end up shoving Lightning in it or some stupid crap. I can also see them trying to "innovate" the battle system by ruining what made it fun. SE is just a company that makes one bad choice after another.

You mean walking into Ruby Weapon with everyone alive and with something like Final Attack->Phoenix and enough mana? I always found it amusing to kill Ruby without pressing a button.

Or doing a quad summon of Knights of the Round and grabbing lunch while the fight resolves itself? Stupid fantastic 5 minute summoning animation.

 

[Vlado]

Brilliant strip.

 

[Blazing Hero]

To be honest this was EXACTLY my reaction to the news. The issue is SE has only internally developed garbage since FF10 and most of the people from square soft are gone. I don't trust square enix to remake this game... They probably will end up shoving Lightning in it or some stupid crap. I can also see them trying to "innovate" the battle system by ruining what made it fun. SE is just a company that makes one bad choice after another.

You mean walking into Ruby Weapon with everyone alive and with something like Final Attack->Phoenix and enough mana? I always found it amusing to kill Ruby without pressing a button.

Or doing a quad summon of Knights of the Round and grabbing lunch while the fight resolves itself? Stupid fantastic 5 minute summoning animation.

Hey they better keep Knights of the Round at 5 mins and I'll be pissed if they don't. If they put a skip animation button into the summons it would be all gravy.

 

[Qvar]

I should be the first to admit, it took a little longer than usual to get this. Silly brain! Stop doing all those anti-brain activities!
So FFVII is really that good then? I never experienced it, so the nostalgia isn't there. Only more modern angsty teen games are what I know. Is 7 like,that?

As somebody who didn't play any post-VI Final Fantasy until last year... It's the most over-rated piece of garbage that I've ever had the disgrace to pay for. Followed closely by 7 days to die.