Final Fantasy VII: The Remake
When Final Fantasy was first released on the Nintendo Entertainment System back in December of 1987, I don’t think anyone realized they were seeing history in the making. After all, games like Dragon Quest (initially renamed Dragon Warrior when it was localized for the US market), Faxanadu, and even Zelda II: The Adventure of Link had given people a feel for what RPG’s should look and feel like on the console, and while Final Fantasy offered some fresh new ideas, I don’t imagine anyone expected that SquareEnix (at the time SquareSoft) was laying the foundation for one of the greatest game franchise legacies in gaming history.
Fast forward nearly ten years later, when the original Final Fantasy VII released on the PlayStation game console. Admittedly, I had only seen still images in gaming magazines, and when combined with the facts that I had little RPG experience to begin with, and Santa having brought me a Nintendo 64 just a month prior, Final Fantasy VII was well outside my 13-years-old-and-unemployed reach. The images I saw looked cool, but I knew nothing about it. It wasn’t until a friend brought his PlayStation over for a long weekend that I actually got to try the game…
…and dear Lord, did I ever get hooked on the spot. I spent the entire weekend doing absolutely nothing else. I remember getting to Cosmo Canyon, right after you finish the storyline event that occurs there for the first time, saving my game, and watching my friend pack his system up to return home, knowing I had to find a way to procure my own system and copy of the game. It was during these young, formative years that games like Final Fantasy VII would shape who I would become as a gamer, giving me a taste of what I liked and didn’t like in games, and making me realize that games with well-crafted stories and developed characters are the best experiences you can hope for. I once sat and played Final Fantasy VII for nearly 36 hours straight over the course of a weekend, and even though I immediately regretted it the following Monday at school because my sleep schedule was entirely fucked, it still remains one of my fondest gaming memories. Almost a year after its release, Final Fantasy VII quickly skyrocketed to my absolute favorite game (at the time), setting the standard for what I expected in terms of gameplay, character arcs, a well written story, and the overall feel and atmosphere.
This all began with a tech demo that debuted in 2006, sparked a massive outcry from one of the world’s largest fanbases, and took us on a thirteen-year journey filled with rumors, teasing glimpses, and eventually brought us to where we are today. I’ll break down why I’m equal parts excited and apprehensive of the remaking of this phenomenal piece of gaming history, and discuss a few things I’d like to see happen.
Why I’m excited
The prospect of such a beloved world setting being remade with modern-day graphics, an updated combat system, and what appears to be the inclusion of voice acting could make for an invigorating retelling of Square’s flagship title. With Nintendo showing that a fresh coat of paint and some cosmetic updates can breathe new life into games like WindWaker and Twilight Princess in HD, a drastic overhaul like the one shown in a recently released trailer could make for an incredible second journey through the world of Final Fantasy VII. If you haven’t seen the trailer yet, let me get you up to speed.
Seeing Cloud and Barret’s updated character models, along with a better look at lesser-utilized characters that didn’t get the full CGI treatment like Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie is incredibly exciting. When Square released Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children in 2005 I was in awe of how gorgeous the characters looked, and to see the original source material receive that same attention to detail is what I’m sure we’ve all wanted ever since. As I watched the trailer, my mind went racing with all the possibilities for how other characters in the series might look, and how their voice acting will sound. Advent Children gave us a good baseline for what the main characters should generally look and sound like, and now we’ll get greater detail of characters with briefer appearances in the game like Esther, Don Corneo, Dio, and even that asshole chocobo jockey Joe and his dumb bird Teioh (Can someone please explain WHY a Class S chocobo is allowed to race in B Class whenever he feels like dumping on up-and-coming racers?!).
There’s also the promise of an updated combat system, looking more akin to what I saw from Final Fantasy XV (which I own but shamefully have yet to play). Cloud swinging Zack’s Buster sword around looks clean and precise, while Barret’s gun arm fires off rounds with satisfying visual and audio cues as bullets connect and even ricochet off of things. It looks to be doing a remarkable job of physically representing the visual aspects of the implications in the original version’s combat system, which was remarkable to behold in its own right. How will they handle other characters like Palmer or the Turks with this newly integrated combat system? How will Tifa’s martial arts work? Will Vincent’s firearms play differently than Cid’s spear? Are limit break techniques going to remain relatively the same? Please for the love of God, can we make changes to that part where I have to have Cait Sith in my party so that I don’t actually have to use him? All of these and more are the possibilities I find myself pondering as I watch the trailer, and it only serves to get me more and more hyped for the potential this remake has.
Lastly, and this is one of the things I’m probably looking forward to the most…I’m excited for the opportunity this remake presents to more accurately translate the story. If you’re like me, you’ve done a fair amount of Final Fantasy VII storyline research on your own, maybe watched a few videos about different characters and whatnot, learned about their backstories that aren’t explicitly divulged within the game, and you start to realize there’s a piece or two missing here and there. It’s my understanding that there were some discrepancies when the script was translated to English, and subtler undertones of the story that might not hold the same cultural significance for western audiences slipped through the cracks that would have otherwise helped paint a much clearer picture. This could be SquareEnix’s chance to finally bridge the two versions of the game, offer a truer translation of the story and dialogue, and fix awkward editing errors that accidentally made it through in the original finished product. I just got all teary-eyed with anticipation writing that.
Why I’m apprehensive
Final Fantasy VII is such a beloved memory from my teenage gaming years, that if SquareEnix gets this anything less than 100% perfect, I know I along with many others are going to be upset. Realizing that, I also acknowledge that the term “100% perfect” means different things to different people…which raises a whole new question: How are they going to make a game that meets everyone’s expectations at once? The answer is unfortunate: They can’t. Everyone has different ideas of how Cloud should move,or Sephiroth should sound, or Joe should fuck off back to S Class with his bullshit S Class chocobo, I’ll see you soon you cheating son of a bitch AND I’ll be bringing a gold chocobo to stomp your ass into the mud! Everyone will want something different from the remake, and inevitably there are going to be degrees of disappointment ranging from “virtually none at all,” to “my childhood is on fire now, thanks SquareEnix.” I’m hoping to fall in to the former category as opposed to the latter, but you understand my meaning when I say this ship could go horribly sideways if SquareEnix doesn’t handle their own source material with the same care and precision those nerds that read comic books with gloves and special tweezers do (No disrespect to those nerds; I may not be one of you, but I can appreciate the intent).
Then there’s the issue of voice acting. As stated above, I’m excited to see how characters that didn’t get full CGI treatment are represented, and I enjoyed the way the original cast was portrayed in Advent Children, but for the same reason Link needed to remain silent in Breath of the Wild, certain characters in the game are going to have a difficult time living up to what people imagine them to sound like. While it’s unrealistic to have expectations of perfection in that regard, I can’t help but have them, and I’m sure others will feel the same. Hearing a character like Shera speak for the first time is going to either be everything I’ve hoped for, or an absolute disappointment. With a game as cherished as Final Fantasy VII, there’s no middle ground, because despite it’s admitted flaws those of us that love the original will undoubtedly be wearing the thickest rose-colored glasses we can find when comparing the two. If anything, that should speak to the quality of the original, but at the same time sets a high standard that the remake is going to have to live up to, and voice acting is an area where things can get really bad…really fast.
Another concern is that same combat system I was so excited for earlier. A mediocre combat system in any other game can be forgivable if the story is solid, while a perfect example of the opposite would be a game with an engaging and well-designed combat system but an utter lack of any kind of engaging storyline (I’m looking at you, Final Fantasy XIII). Final Fantasy VII was the perfect blend of the incredible personal journey of the protagonist and the satisfying conclusion of several character arcs, while blending an aesthetically appealing take on a tried and true classic ATB system that left nothing wanting. Like a perfect meal, everything was in symphony, and it was all the elements of the game working so well together that pushed it to the top of my list. So, while I’m more than happy to go into this remake with an open mind, if the combat just doesn’t feel right then the player is being robbed of an essential part of the game’s immersion. Like a perfect house of cards, it only takes a key piece being removed to bring the whole thing down.
Lastly, and this may be the most glaring issue if the rumors are to be believed, is that there are talks of this remake being released in segments, or “chapters” if you will. This might be the single most damning mechanic involved if SquareEnix implements it, because if any of you reading this are like me, one of the things you’re looking forward to most is sitting and binging this one in large doses over the course of several weeks. Staggering the release of sections of the game would serve only to frustrate players, and I personally would rather see the final product delayed until the entire game is finished rather than have it spoon-fed to us in installments. Imagine playing through the original Final Fantasy VII, and right as you reach the iconic Shin-Ra building for the first time, the camera pans up, the screen fades to black, and the message “To Be Continued…” sprawls across the screen because you have to wait for the next fucking chapter of the game. Do you feel that rage beginning to well up in the pit of your stomach? Now imagine they absolutely NAIL this remake and get it 100% perfect, and having the same experience. Are you pissed off? That’s because one of the greatest things about video games is you get to experience them at your own pace, and if you want to keep going and see what happens next, you’re limited only by your skill at progressing through the game. Netflix has seen a great deal of success with this concept by releasing entire seasons of shows on their streaming service, allowing people to move on to the next episode immediately rather than waiting a week (or in the case of this remake, likely a great deal longer) until the next part is available. If they get this right, breaking it up into chapters could be the knife in the back that kills an otherwise perfect experience, and it is my sincere hope they come to their senses and release it the way they did the original: uncut, uninterrupted, and whole, the way it was intended. Not to mention, releasing it in chapters could lead down a slippery slope.
What I’d like to see happen
My hopes and expectations are through the roof on this remake, but there’s a few key things I’d like to see implemented. Fully orchestrated versions of the soundtrack from the original would be a great start. Like all things that are considered classics, you have to be respectful of the fans, and with so many good versions of the game’s music already out there, I don’t think it would be that far of a stretch to find an orchestra willing to work with Nobuo Uematsu and recreate the sounds and songs of the original in crisp, clear re-recordings with all the majesty of modern-day sound reproduction. I’d also like to see more attention given to the little things in the original that gave you a better idea of how the game’s events transpired, a perfect example being revisiting the Shin-Ra mansion basement and learning how Cloud wound up in Midgar. To be honest, some of the story elements that weren’t explained as well in the game were confusing to me, and it wasn’t until I saw videos of people explaining them that they made more sense and enriched my overall experience, so to see SquareEnix spend more time on the lore of the world and the characters would be greatly appreciated.
Honestly, I want this remake to be good. I want it to be better than good, actually; I want it to be mind-blowingly super fucking radically spectacular and awesome in ways I never even dreamed of. I realize, however, that there’s going to be a degree of making peace with this remake, and bearing that in mind, I want SquareEnix to show enough respect to the fans of the game and their source material that they don’t push out a stodgy pile of fiery garbage in small chapters and bring my nightmares to life. Don’t fuck with the story, keep the voice acting free of cringe, and make sure the combat is solid. If they do all of this, chances are even if its merely good I’ll still love it more than it deserves, but at least I’ll be happy doing so.
Oh, and if we could get a cutscene when, after you win enough chocobo races, Dio comes out and informs Joe that he’s being barred from the chocobo racing association, stripped of his records, and his chocobo Teioh is being confiscated as evidence of illegally tampering with regulation chocobo races, and then you get to press X and punch him in the mouth as he’s handcuffed and ejected from the Golden Saucer into the barren desert without any water or sunscreen? That’d be like the Reese’s cup on top of the sundae.
