The 25th anniversary of Final Fantasy 8 has sparked discussions about a potential remake. This is despite the company seeming focused on FFVII’s remake and no official plans from Square Enix. In an interview with IGN, the game’s director, Yoshinori Kitase, acknowledged the divisive Junction system and expressed his desire to rework it in a hypothetical remake.
While praising the game’s story and characters, Kitase admitted the stat-heavy Junction system, which influenced both character stats and combat abilities, presented a steep learning curve for some players. He recognized the frustration it caused and emphasized the need for a more balanced and approachable combat system in a potential remake. I remember the combat system as the reason I stopped playing despite really enjoying the story.
“So I think I’d want to return to that and really rework the battle system on [Final Fantasy 8] and make it something where that level of difficulty and approachability for some fans was a lot better balanced. So I think that’s the thing I’d look at most if I was going to look at remaking it.”
Yoshinori Kitase
Kitase also highlighted the immense resources and time required to remake a classic RPG like Final Fantasy 8. He pointed out the challenges of recreating the vast content of these titles in today’s standards. It seems like every older Final Fantasy game would need some time, like when he said it would take 20 years to develop a Final Fantasy 6 remake.
Further emphasizing the scale of such an undertaking, Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth director Naoki Hamaguchi jokingly expressed his reluctance to lead another numbered Final Fantasy remake after completing the FF7 trilogy. This kind of thing isn’t just remaking everything in the same order. It’s almost like making a game with tons of restrictions but also trying to make it good.
“If after we’ve finished the three games in the [Final Fantasy 7] remake trilogy, Mr. Kitase then comes to me and says, ‘Right, we’re going to be remaking another numbered Final Fantasy game and you are on the project,’ I’ll just turn around and go, ‘No!’”
Naoki Hamaguchi
While Kitase’s openness to a reworked combat system in a hypothetical remake is intriguing, it’d be a huge task for anyone taking it on. With Square Enix currently focused on the Final Fantasy 7 project, a Final Fantasy 8 remake seems unlikely in the foreseeable future. Still, I’m glad that the combat would not be something returning; that was no fun, and I saw a lot of people abuse it.
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