Just in case you needed any additional proof to properly understand that Square Enix never had any intention of faithfully recreating their most popular and well received Final Fantasy title.
Square Enix is a company that continues to hemorrhage funds as they desperately clutch at straws with their beloved and tired golden goose in the form of the Final Fantasy franchise which has been waning for years now, if we’re being honest nobody has generally given a single fuck about the franchise since Final Fantasy X.
The suits behind Square are entirely out of touch with their actual audience that they’ve deemed it fit to bastardize the only franchise they’ve got remaining by desperately trying to entice new “modern audiences” with action oriented renditions of Final Fantasy, away from turn based combat.
And it’s in regards to the shift towards the action genre that has seen the biggest divergence between fanbases old and new when Final Fantasy is brought up into the conversation.
Beginning with Final Fantasy XV in 2016, the publisher has introduced several modern Final Fantasy games featuring action-oriented combat. This trend includes the remake of Final Fantasy VII, or should we say “remakes” in the plural form, as attempting to transform such a vast and intricate game into the 3D action genre proved impractical.
Instead, Square Enix devised an elaborate strategy to divide the remake of Final Fantasy VII into three distinct installments, with each subsequent iteration deviating even further from the original script.
Basically, pay $70 three separate times to gain the full experience, and Square wonders why they’re losing so much money.
Regardless, “Yoshi-P” or rather Naoki Yoshida as he is known by was the producer behind Final Fantasy XVI, spoke during an interview with Game Maker’s Notebook singing the praises of Square Enix and their revitalization of the Final Fantasy franchise as he wishes they’d continue to “innovate in the action genre” moving forward.
“But having come this far, I’d like to see Square Enix use this gained experience to continue challenging ourselves in the action genre, to make what we haven’t made yet, with even greater storytelling, emotion, and impact.
This serves as yet another glaring illustration of inept leadership, where bosses display a complete lack of understanding regarding the capabilities and limitations of their own workforce.
Regardless of the numerous setbacks they encounter, the immense losses of revenue each and every quarter, Square Enix remains adamant in their conviction that “no one wants turn-based anymore,” steadfastly believing that the path forward is through action-oriented gameplay.
It appears they are unwilling to learn from their mistakes, refusing to make necessary corrections. The Final Fantasy franchise seems destined to meet its demise on the hill of action focused gameplay, with no chance of returning to the turn-based glory of yesteryears.
And now? The producer of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Yoshinori Kitase is bitching about how embarrassing the original game was when it came to understanding and conveying “problematic” social issues.
Yoshinori Kitase has an extensive history with Square Enix and the Final Fantasy franchise, having worked on the original Final Fantasy VII title as an event planner, he is now at the helm of a producer role with the remakes.
Some key figures involved in the development of Final Fantasy VII recently shared insights with Game Informer’s Brian Shea. Tetsuya Nomura and Kazushige Nojima collaborated as the director and writer, respectively, with the game’s story originating from series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi and Tetsuya Nomura.
The team delved into how Final Fantasy VII marked the shift toward a more modern approach in the creation of Final Fantasy titles. While previous titles like Final Fantasy VI allowed individuals to introduce elements spontaneously, it was Final Fantasy VIII that initiated a more structured planning process and compartmentalization.
Nomura highlighted that Final Fantasy VII represented a balance between the two extremes, where team members could subtly incorporate lines into the script without drawing immediate attention. Kitase added that Nojima served as the “final reviewer” for the game’s story content, even though the creative environment at the time was somewhat of an “anything goes” scenario.
Kitase also explored how the game addressed real-world concerns in 1997, with Shea citing examples such as corporate greed, environmentalism, and mental health. “In Final Fantasy VII, we were able to depict these types of issues, like the cycle of life, through the concept of Lifestream.”
He continued, “If we were to portray it exactly as we experience it in the real world, it would not be very interesting. With Nojima-san’s ideas, we were able to center this around Lifestream and the planet within the worldview of Final Fantasy VII. In this way, I believe the game and its themes remain relevant and withstand the test of time,” praised Kitase.
https://www.hd.square-enix.com/eng/ir/library/pdf/ar_2020_07governance.pdf
Despite recently stating that the game was “withstanding the test of time,” Kitase acknowledged his disappointment with Final Fantasy VII. He expressed, “Considering the way to depict social problems, social issues, and cultural depictions, in some ways, I am a bit embarrassed by the original title.”
He continued, “In its expression, in some ways, it was very young and naive in itself. That is a learning for us, but at the same time, I do believe that perhaps that is one of the reasons why it was so widely accepted,” Kitase conceded. “It’s not perfect, and it’s kind of uneven and jagged in its young and naive nature of its depiction. Of course, after [more than] 25 years, there is a lot of personal learning, changes, and growth.”
“But looking back on it, some parts of it, I am a bit embarrassed,” he admitted.
Kitase did not provide specific details about the elements in Final Fantasy VII that he finds disappointing, but it can be speculated that modern mainstream media is typically subject to intense scrutiny to avoid offense and adhere to ESG political correctness with the Final Fantasy VII Remake, where Tifa Lockhart’s breasts were downsized by the “ethics department” alongside any noticeable jiggle physics being removed.
The company later clarified that the department’s role was to ensure the game met the “expected age ratings in various nations”, effectively serving as a form of localization to avoid content that could be considered “discriminatory, prejudicial, or offensive” in any nation, right from the initial development stage in Japan.
But that’s bullshit.
Initially, the social problems depicted in the game might seem acceptable. The plot’s pro-environmental, anti-capitalist, anti-oligarchy, and anti-expansionist ideals could be embraced by the typically left-leaning major gaming press and media critics.
Those seeking offense might incorrectly perceive the characters Barret Wallace and Tifa as mere racist stereotypes and fan service, respectively. However, such assumptions would require an extreme overreach of definitions and the overlooking of both characters’ rich story arcs.
While Barret may exhibit some characteristics shared by other black characters in ’80s and ’90s action media, such as being short-tempered and boastful, he is portrayed as a loving father who comes to realize that his actions as a terrorist have unintended consequences, hurting innocent people more than his intended target, Shinra. Similarly, Tifa is portrayed as more than a stereotypical “bimbo,” as she is characterized as caring and independent even when burdened with guilt.
Instead, the scenes most likely to cause offense are those of a sexual nature and depictions of women. Beyond Tifa’s adjusted appearance, Final Fantasy VII includes a brothel, flirtatious and suggestive comments, and scenes where female characters engage in a cat-fight with slapping.
There are also scenes portraying female characters in distress, because of course progressive individuals seemingly hate the whole ‘damsel in distress’ trope. Because it’s somehow sexist for women to be victims and constantly need rescuing, rather they need to be strong but they certainly cannot be beautiful.
The scenes most likely to be deemed offensive are those that were censored in Final Fantasy VII Remake, particularly events during and after the Honey Bee Inn brothel, which were altered to adopt a “gender-free perspective.”
Considering how Square Enix subverted the whole concept of the Honybee Inn brothel and turned it into some homo-erotic cabaret club instead.
In the original game, players witnessed cross-dressing, stereotypically gay men portrayed as persistent, and crime boss Don Corneo exploiting his position to select nightly “brides” who were disposed of afterward.
In consideration of “modern sensibilities,” the brothel is transformed into a nightclub, the portrayal of muscular men is adjusted to be less predatory and more focused on fitness, and the cross-dressing sequence is framed as a matter of pride and gender-free beauty.
Square Enix continues its trend of censoring sexual / problematic content in remakes evident in games like Dragon Quest Monsters 3 and Chrono Cross. This trend is reflected in the upcoming Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, as suggested by the release date trailer.
The Honey Bee Inn dancers and owner are now seemingly at the Gold Saucer, presenting a crotch-grabbing dance routine that aligns with the owner’s vision of beauty and identity-positivity.
In response to Kitase’s statement about Final Fantasy VII being embarrassing, Event Planner Motomu Toriyama expressed no regrets, stating, “At any given era or time, we always strive to put our best foot forward, and we had utilized the best game specs at any given time, whether it had to be the original or today.” Toriyama defended the original Final Fantasy VII, emphasizing that they put in their best efforts with no regrets or unfulfilled desires.
We already know that Square have been immensely unfaithful with their remake of Final Fantasy VII, dumbing it down for inclusive “modern audiences”. It’s an entire genre shift and they’ve gone above and beyond in terms of modifying the original game to be non-transgressive and as inoffensive as possible while injecting “safe and wholesome” progressive themes and values.
The original Final Fantasy VII remains a classic for a reason, it’s still a fantastic game that unflinchingly depicted reality. There was no valid reason to alter aspects in the remake other than to ensure no ESG points were lost and to appease the modern audiences of action orientated homo-erotic Final Fantasy fans.
However, considering Square Enix’s current trajectory, what with Final Fantasy 16 featuring man-on man lip locking action, the company continues their decline since the Squaresoft era.
