Video games fans can be a rabid, fickle bunch; especially when it comes to remake. Even when it's something as minor as the color of the characters eyes, similar to what we saw with the first episode of the Sonic The Hedgehog downloadable game, it could set off a fan boy fire that could be potentially difficult to put out. It's no wonder then that some developers that would love to remake or tweak things in past games don't do so.

In an interview with Eurogamer Final Fantasy XIII-2 producer Yoshinori Kitase said that "If I may speak as a game creator, if we were to produce a remake of VII, for example, I would be really tempted to delete things and add new elements, new systems or whatever because if we were to make exactly the same thing now, it'd be like a repeat.” No one wants to make something that treads the same ground as before. He would like to make something that is slightly different and maybe even better than the original instead of just swapping out old graphics for something shiny and new.

He also restates a sentiment that many old school video games fans I think can relate to. Saying that sometimes the memories that we have of games can be better than what they really seem to be. Try going back and playing the original Zelda or even the original Final Fantasy and you will see what he means. The original may be quite quint and interesting to look at, but there's no doubt that there are problems or things that could use a bit of polish.

He then goes on to discuss the changes in Final Fantasy XIII-2 and why they opted to go for maybe a more serious tone than what the company had done for their previous numbered sequel X-2. “When we decided to make a sequel to XIII I decided not to go for the same sort of drastic style change - that would be quite negative, we thought. The initial scenario, when it was brought to me, had Serah as the only protagonist, travelling with Moogle as a companion, and their conversation was quite girly, almost camp and a bit over the top and I thought: "OK, that shift is a bit like the one from X to X-2". It's a bit dangerous, so we decided to introduce Noel as another male protagonist, so that we kept the serious tone of XIII but added a few new factors.”

So for fans still holding onto hope for a Final Fantasy VII remake you should probably be prepared for the changes that may or may not occur. It's clear that Square Enix doesn't want to damage their reputation with their fan base and if they do ever decide on a remake they will be doing their best to tip-toe around any big issues.

If you would like to read the rest of the interview where he discuses some other issues, one in particular about the obvious comparisons to Chrono Triggers time travel mechanic, click the link under the article.

http://www.1up.com/news/if-final-fantasy-vii-remake-happens-changes-made