PS2 Final Fantasy 7 Spinoff

Bagels writes "Square Enix is finally answering the prayers of thousands of FF7 fans with a side-story PS2 game called "Dirge of Cereberus: Final Fantasy VII." Not much is known yet - the game focuses on the character Vincent, it's set one year after the upcoming movie, Advent Children, and it's early in development as of now - but this is sure to be a hot topic amongst fans and critics of the series alike."

A true sequel...?

Okay, we have a buggy cell phone game with shoddy scrolling, a CG movie, and now Vincent May Cry... when are we gonna get a TRUE sequel to FF7?

On a second thought, after playing FFX2, maybe it would be best NOT to have a sequel...

Re:A true sequel...?

On a second thought, after playing FFX2, maybe it would be best NOT to have a sequel...

Yes. It would be hard to make a sequel as good as FFX2, so why bother trying?

Rob

Should be good...

I used to hate final fantasy. But FFX changed my mind about final fantasy...as long as it follows suit in gameplay and style, I'm in.

What's going on with Square?

First FFX-2, now this.. are they running of ideas? Or are they just more adversive to taking risks?

Re:What's going on with Square?

No, I don't think that's it. I think FFX-2 was put out there to help calm the folks who didn't want to wait till FFXII but really didn't want to play FFXI Online. I really enjoyed the battle system in FFX-2, but was disappointed that so many of the backgrounds were recycled.

As for the sequels to VII: People have wanted one for a while. Then, added to that, was the response to the appearance of Cloud and Aeris in Kingdom Hearts. At that point, I think SE realized that they had to explore FFVII a bit more or risk alienating a ton of fans.

As for risk-taking: FFXI was a huge risk that has really paid off for them (the European service was just rolled out) and FFXII is supposedly going to feature quite a few changes that will continue to evolve the series.

I think SE are doing what any self-respecting company should do: find the popular product, continue to give the fans what they want, and continue evolving the product. If, at any point, SE releases an FF that just royally sucks (and I'm not talking mediocre, like some think of FFVIII and FFIX as being) then I'll be worried that they aren't pushing the envelope any longer...

Re:What's going on with Square?

A lot of people, including myself, lump FFX - to some extent - and FFX-2 definitely, into the category of "royally sucks".

I think FF has been going downhill since FF7. I'm used to the wacky changes in battle systems and completely disconnected stories and settings and I think that's great, I love seeing a company that isn't afraid to experiment. But one thing that has always tied the FF stories together is a rich and engrossing, and especially an epic story.

Anyway, I've found solace in Tales of Symphonia for GameCube. It's what the last bunch of FF games should've been, perhaps even better. It's an absolutely fantastic game, and I highly recommend it to any FF fan.

Re:What's going on with Square?

Can you imagine what the programmers at Square were thinking when they sat down to work on FFVIII?

"Let's make this game as boring as possible, and make the combat so annoying that it serves as little more than an interruption to your wandering around environments that look completely disconnected from one another."

That's what I imagined, anyway.

If it's going to have the girls from the FF series

it will obviously be a game I cannot play wearing pants.

Re:If it's going to have the girls from the FF ser

Who plays ANY game wearing pants? :)

Vincent was a cool character

My ex-girlfriend wanted me to start dressing like a vampire after that, which I declined :P

Proof of why God isn't proven [geocities.com]

final fantasy ports

My last two gaming system purchases were driven by "whatever platform the next Final Fantasy" would be delivered. And the game platform companies know this, which is why they hotly compete for Square's business.

I wish more of the older FFs were ported to newer platforms. (Heck, a generic SNES-on-PS2 emulator would be very cool.) I've never played FF7 but hear a lot about it. This could open a lot of past-their-prime games to a wider audience, much like the Atari classics movement.

Re:final fantasy ports

Exactly, every FF except the Japanese III is playable on the PS2. Most are PSone discs, but run fine. They are still being pressed today, so you shouldn't have much trouble finding them (online, most store don't get new PSone discs in anymore). Part I and II are actually the Wonder Swan Color remakes, which means the dialog is a better translation, the graphics are improved, and the music is quite a bit more resolute.

Re:final fantasy ports

erm.

most of them *have been*

Final Fantasy Origins = FF1 on the PSX
Final Fantasy Chronicles (FF4 (2 in the US) and Chrono Trigger)
Final Fantasy Anthology (FF5 and FF6 (3 in the US)

I own all three, gladly.

Times Have Changed

Since the original FF designer (I believe his last name is Sakaguchi) left Square a couple years ago, things have definitely changed in the FF world. Now we're getting sequels (FF-X, this new one), MMORPG versions, cell phone games...all things that never happened with the original designer running things. Was he holding back the franchise, or was he being smart by not letting things go hog wild?

Release date

From TFA:

While Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII is slated for release on the PlayStation 2 in 2005, Square Enix lists the game's genre as "undetermined," which suggests that the game is still in the early stages of development.

If it is early in development, NO WAY it will see a release in 2005. FFXII is has been delayed until 2005 in Japan and even later here, so I doubt they will overlap the releases, and I have a tough time believing they will have the resources to devote to the game to get it out by then. They royally screwed up the sequel to FFX, so let's hope they get this one right...

Hrm interesting

I'm not complaining about another FF game, but I'm starting to wonder something -- tell me what you think.

They talked about Advent Children coming out as a movie instead of a game, but now they have a game starting development. You think they decided to start the game development up because of the positive response from Advent Children? Or do you think that they are really just being that cool and pleasing us.

eor

so what your saying is...

square is actually working on two movies right now...

Dirge of Cereberus?

FF7 crossover with Hercules? Oh sorry, they already did that in Kingdom Hearts. =P

This is good news

I'm glad Square is finally listening to its fans! Last year they gave us an innovative sequel to one of the series best games (in X-2), and they're giving us more story for VII in the Advent Children project. Kudos!
I'm sure that most of use would prefer an RPG follow-up to it, but at least they're learning to capitalize on established characters (not just franchises). A game based around this very unique character could work out well. Sort of an updated Altered Beast type of thing? (for those that don't know, Vincent was a character who had the ability to change into various monsters during a battle). Of course, it could suck....kind of like Altered Beast :)

Squeenix games get a lot of flack from people, but it's mostly due to the raging fanboys that the games attract. If you can get past the fact that you're feeding the Squeenix monster, you'll often find a rewarding experience that can entertain those beyond the 14 year olds.

But...

...will Aeris be alive?

Let the Beating Begin!

Hail! The merger is now complete my masters and Square Intellectual Property is Now Ours!
LET THE BEATING OF THE DEAD HORSE BEGIN!!!

Playability (real word?) and Stroy line

Playability (real word?) and Stroy line are what made FF7 absolutley ROCK. Well, charcter development was up there as well. Plus the way materia worked and your weapons. OK the game ROCKED overall. I hated RPGs and had no intention of picking up a PS until I saw that game. I was instantly converted.

I just hope this isn't like when a has-been rock star starts remaking classic songs that they have no business singing. I feel that if you are going to remake a song it should be better then the original (yes almost impossible to do, so don't try unless you can pull it off). The SAME rule should apply here. I hope square doesn't tarnish the name of what I consider to be the greatest RPG of all time.

Isn't it Ironic (Don'tcha think)

That there never is a "Final" Fantasy?

Good games, though.

Re:Isn't it Ironic (Don'tcha think)

I am fairly certain the name of the series was chosen when the original developer, Square, was on the verge of bankrupcy. They named the original Final Fantasy such because they thought it would be their final game. It ended up being far more popular than they thought it would be, and the company was saved.

I haven't really played a final fantasy game since FFIII on my SNES like 10 years ago. That said, maybe someone out there knows the story better than I do.

goddamnit

since when are there actual sequels to the final fantasy games? call me a purist but it feels like a bastardization of my favorite stories when there's a continuation made after the story has ended. it's as if there was a braveheart 2 being made.

Re:goddamnit

call me a purist

OK. You're a purist. And God hates fanboy purists, so I'd keep one eye on passing storm clouds.

I've enjoyed FF from #1 all the way through FFX-2. They're just enjoyable diversions, folks. There's nothing to be "purist" about. FFX-2 was fluffy and fun. Cracking a smile during an RPG will not bring about the Apocalypse.

bastardization of my favorite stories when there's a continuation made after the story has ended. it's as if there was a braveheart 2 being made.

No, it's not even on the same continent as the city that contains the ballpark. This comment is particularly ironic considering how Braveheart 1 was a bastardization of actual history.

Square can do what they want with their properties. I can play them or not. If they produce a sequel I don't like, well, that's life. There's no point in whining like a sissy over it.

Disappointment

I hope very much that this isn't another crappy spinoff game like FFX-2. Worst RPG ever. FFVII is my personal favorite, trumping even FFVI. I got my hopes up when they originally did a press release stating that they would redo FFVII for the PS2 with updated graphics and new CG scenes, and then they quashed that in favor of the movie. Hopefully this title lives up to its predecessor, but I really don't think Vincent was the pivotol character I would have chosen for a spinoff. He was a good character, don't get me wrong, but they had better options to chose from...

Give me 3/6!

Tell you what, I'd buy a PS2 just for the game if they came out with a redesigned/expanded version of Final Fantasy 3/6. 2/4 wouldn't suck either. Both of them with full cinematics and real sound would just rock.

But 7? Why on earth choose 7?

Please don't make a sequel

The problem with making a sequel is that if it's bad you'll never hear the end of it. FF7 should just be left as a single game for its own good I'm sorry to say.

The other problem I have is a lot of people have apparently played FF7, but of those, how many have actually finished it?

Scaned Pictures

If you want to actually see the game AdventChildren.net [adventchildren.net] has a scan of the Shounen Jump article about the game. You can see the scan (direct link) here [adventchildren.net]

Maybe it's just me ...

... but I didn't think Vincent was all that compelling of a character in the first place.

Definately the best one.

The thing about FF games, is that everyone remembers their first as the best. Proof enough is that I've met people who played FF8 first, and they think its the best one...when I think only X-2 could surpass it in lameness. Is FF7 really the best? Who knows. Maybe I'm biased, but best magic system, and best minigames, bar none.

Speaking of Games ...

Off topic I know ... ... but when the heck are they going to replace Simonniker? Its been like 3 weeks now.

Question

So, the fact that they are going to be focusing on Vincent in the game...does anyone think that maybe this means Cloud dies in the movie???

Finally...

It was utterly disappointing when I heard that they were making sequel to X-2. At first I thought it was a joke.. I kept asking, "Why a sequel to THAT game?! They must be kidding," but... yeah, it was true.

All that time and money that could've been spent on a direct sequel to a better (and more popular) game like FF4 or FF7.

I'm willing to forget all about FFX-2 if they make this sequel to 7 (and make it good! [Please no pop-star crap])

The intro of the new game...

(Note: somewhat obscure joke, based on the sequel to the seventh part of one popular western CRPG series...)

Scene: North Corel, eighteen months after the end of FF7...

Barrett: "Yo, homes."

Cloud: "So there are some news about these Cerberus things?"

Tifa: "All I found among Sephiroth's belongings was a map showing the way to a place called the Isle of Cerberus, and this letter."

Barrett: "Okay. Slap it down there!"

As Tifa opens the letter, it magically animates, casting a gigantic holographic projection of Jenova in air...

Barrett: "Jump back!"

Jenova projection: "Sephiroth! Know that my face is most goth-like! While it's unlikely that this ludicruous gang that you spoke of manages to ruin our plans, you must send a clone of you to the Isle of Cerberus, to learn the secret of Acne Medication! Soon I and my horde of puppets will destroy the planet!"

Cloud: "We must send Vincent to the Isle of Cerberus..."

Vincent: "Hm? Why me?"

The rest of the characters unceremoniously tie Vincent to the back of a gold chocobo, which panics and runs off across the ocean. Then, at one point, it disappears mysteriously with a "Zot!" effect.

Stop Knocking on Square

I think its a good thing that they are finally extending the story from one of their more popular games. The ending to FFVII was so ambiguous, that its practically crying for another story to tie up the loose ends. Now, if Square tried to make a sequel outta something like FFVIII, then I might disagree, but this is probably the best thing they could have done for the story of FFVII.

Action RPG Vs Traditional RPG

Apparently this is going to be an action rpg in the same category as the Zelda games.

Personally I was hoping for a traditional rpg sequal to the original. I am not going to play the cell phone based game.

I am anticipating the release of Advent Children. I hope that they use some of the original themes when scoring the movie. Uematsu should be consulted.

FFXII looks very promising, I only hope that it is more challenging than FFX.

While your waiting...

.. there's Final Fantasy A+!" [flashplayer.com]

wow..advent children promotion

A game to promote a movie that in turn promotes a game that the new game is a sequal to.
Makes my head hurt but it's all very zen

And the universe implodes

Assumption: All video games based on movies are bad (ET, Spiderman, Lord of the Rings)
Assumption: All movies based on video games are bad (Mario Brothers, Final Fantasy Movie)
Assumption: All games by Square are (at the very least) good games, with many being fantastic.

Premise: Movie is made, based on an excellent video game (FF7)

Consequence: The movie will be bad.
Consequence: The game based on the movie will be worse.
Consequence: Square will see that the game will be bad, and will thus improve its video game to compensate.

Result: My brain hurts.

In the Mean Time

Grab Star Ocean 3 while you wait. That should keep you busy for a while, especially if you do all the side quests and bonus bosses. And if you like RPGs and haven't picked up Suikodan yet, you really ought to check it out.

FInally!

Equal video game time for everyone's favorite aardvark! Yaaaah- Huh? It's who? He's a what? Tarim - there is no justice!

You cant have a true sequel with FF7

unlike Final Fantasy X, where the story continued after Sin was destroyed (As it always has for 10 years, but this time possibly longer?, but i'm sure there is more too it than FFX2), the ending of FF7 was the END OF the 'Human' existance!

For those that completed the game, when Cloud released Holy to destroy Meteor (after killin sepiroth with that kickass limitbreaker that did more damage than anything else in the game) , it was said elsewhere in the story that when Holy is unleashed, it will erradicate ANY AND ALL threats to the life force of the planet.

After the totally kickass CGI of holy doing its dirty, it goes black for a few seconds and then shows a world overgrown by nature 500 years into the future. If you look at it good enough, you'll see that the area that is overgrown is the old Shinra headquarters and that floating city that crashed to the ground. Mankind did not survive the fate of Holy, thus making a real sequel to this story not possible (or horribly fake).

If anything, i'd like to imagine that this isnt the story after the holy was unleashed and the meteor stopped and earth saved, but instead a whole other story that is going on at the same time with various characters, or even a backstory for Vincent.

Forgive me if I'm off base here...

But shouldn't the game "Final Fantasy" be, by definition, the last game in the series?

Prayers

Square Enix is finally answering the prayers of thousands of FF7 fans

I always thought our prayers were that they'd remake FFVII with updated graphics, maybe a couple more sidequests, optional FFX style battle time system in addition to active and wait, etc; but leave the core story untouched...

What about FFVI?

The story in that game was one of the best by far. The characters and villans were of the best quality. Im sure there is sequal potential there, What happend after the defeat of Kefka? Id like to know!

They could give it a sequal for sure. Or perhaps give it an update, a ps2 treatment, either would be great, just passing up one of their best titles of all time just seems like a waste.

Enix Influence

Enix is well known for whoring out many, many spin-offs, side stories and the like. Right now there are multiple games available where you play as a slime or merchant from Dragon Warrior. Even within established series Square never did a true sequel until the merger with Enix. I guess this is the end result of the failure of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.

Vincent is HOT!

As a girl gamer who loves FFVII, I'm happy they're developing Vincent's character more. He had a great backstory.

And plus, he's hot.

Answering prayers

People pray to game companies now? I know we live in a very strange post-modern world but I thought only musicians [brucespringsteen.net] were gods [ericclapton.com].

'Dirge'?

Any game with the word 'dirge' in the title, I'm going to be a bit dubious about!

And I never finished FF7 either. Get to part where Barrett has to fight his gun-handed mate alone. Get killed. Slog through five minutes of walking and exposition to get to same point. Fight. Get killed. Repeat 8 or 9 times. Decide life's too short. Never touch game again...

sigh..

Nice to see Square care about the original fanbase.

I been playing FF games for about 15 years now and TBH I can't stand the latest ones. They just don't feel the same and now they are being whored. When do we see the following.

FF7 : Cloud golf
FF7 : Getting in Tifa's panties
FF7 : Sephiroth's molestung yaoi fangirls
FF7 : Tifa's big adventure
FF7 : Red XIII's spelling games

hint hint. FF7 is hugely over rated and is only loved so much because it was the first FF game alot of people played. The fanbase is so rabid no one even wants to deal with them any more. It's like Dragon ball in the anime community or counter strike for gamers.

I thought with FF:CC and the mana series remakes we'd start to see Enix fixing the problems with square. I guess this went right out the window and we've back to whoring the series.

Guess I'll be sticking to FF6 and below from now on. Thanks for ruining my childhood Square, remind me to thank you for supporting a rabid fanbase plagueing everything gaming wise (AKA go look at ANY FF7 involved Gfaqs poll).

what they really need is...

A sequel to FF:tactics, now that game was a true clasic, it even had cloud in it! square use to be all about contraversy in their storylines, I'm not sure if it was just coincidence that those were the games that rocked (ie xenogears), but what has happened since?

I haven't really heard much, less played any FF's past the first 5mins of FF8 and got bored... oh wait, I played FF:crystal cronicals on GC, but that can no way match classics like FF:6 (3 here). Another appeal were the kickass badass characters in each series and of course, lets not forget about the killer soundtracks.

I think they have the formula for a great RPG still, but have taken some risks that may not have worked to the fullest extent for them, thus backtracking back to their last big success (FF7) and seeing what they can do, they can't possible do any worse. Back in the day, when you thought SQUARE, you instantly related the brand to QUALITY HIT! now all I hear are speculations...

Lets hope they can change that one day soon.

Square-Enix, do you hate Chrono Trigger?

There have been 3 or more fan-made Chrono Trigger remakes. Dozens of Chrono Trigger fan-sequels. A fan-made CHRONO TRIGGER NOVEL. Thousands of websites dedicated to the game. And what do we see? Chrono Cross (bleh). Cease and desist letters to arguably the best of the fan-made remakes. Really though..does Square-Enix hate the Chrono Trigger universe that much?

And now on the other side we have..a FF7 side-game. Advent Children. Before Crisis. What's going on here? Square-Enix, are you too afraid to explore any other universe other than the FF one?

Hot topic?

I dunno about other people who have criticized the series (and FF7 in particular), but for me, not really. It's like Star Trek and Star Wars. Release something that SUCKs (Voyager, Phantom Menace...they both only get worse with time) ;or in the case of FF7, didn't really suck, but was a big disappointement; and the old fans may gripe about it for a while, try and stick with it, but we'll just give up and move on.

I've given up. I've moved on.

I'll be off playing Team Fortress 2 or something by then and won't give it another thought.

Worthy sequel....

Square (why they allways change names), could make a sequel to the REAL good FF, that was... FF: Mystic Quest

The 'Final' in 'Final Fantasy"

I always wondered about the 'Final' thing. Thanks Wikipedia! [wikipedia.org]

"The series' name comes from Square's brush with bankruptcy, and is an excellent example of gallows humor. Head designer Hironobu Sakaguchi decided to make the company's last project a fantasy role-playing game, as the name of Final Fantasy implies. The game's success brought the company to profitability, and the Final Fantasy video game franchise was born."

Re:PSP or PS2?

No, that's referring to the Advent Children movie, which is coming out on both DVD and PSP's UMD format. Since (obviously) Gamespot doesn't have a category for DVDs, they list it as a PSP title.

Re:I'll play it if they bring back Aeris

She is featured in Kingdom Hearts actually. There's a great scene where the protagonist asks Cloud what's wrong and he says something along the lines of:

I'm looking for someone, but got lost along the way

Indeed. As a huge fan of VII, this was a very touching moment.

Re:Are they conceding FF8-11 as failures?

According to the sales figures I saw, FF8 was the best selling FF game, outselling 7, but after 8 the sales slowly declined with every title.

Re:I'll play it if they bring back Aeris

and destroy possibly one of the greatest emotionally impacting plot advances in video game history?

Bah. Go read some fan fiction or something, I am sure there are tons of "Aeris lives" stories to satisfy you. But please leave the cannon, and its impact, alone

Re:Cereberus?

Dog. I spelled it wrong, realized my mistake, and sent an email to the editor on duty (at the time, Timothy). Never got a response, and the problem never got fixed. D'oh.