If you’ve never played Final
Fantasy VII, then there’s probably a very, very good chance you’ve heard of
it. The game was a major hit in its release year of 1997. Having been released
in North America in September of that year, the game managed to sell one
million copies by December. As many will tell you, there’s a good reason for
that. Combining then-high-quality visuals with a simple but intuitive battle
system and upgradeable characters alongside a compelling story , the game really stabilised the popularity of JRPGs in the West.
It’s why people still speak about the game years later and for many, it was their
first experience of playing a game in that genre.
It would be a true statement to say that a remake of FFVII is one of the most requested games
from Square-Enix. For years, the company denied that one was in
the pipeline and that they were focusing on new titles in the series as opposed
to revisiting old ground. Truth is, it was their own fault; at E3 2005, the
company showcased a PlayStation 3 tech demo of the opening scene of the game
remade in glorious PS3 visuals. This was what got many fans excited at the
prospect of a remake – but alas, it was what it was, a tech demo designed to
showcase the PS3’s graphical power and no plans had been made for Cloud's return. Since then, hope for a
remake has been kept strong, with fans keeping their fingers crossed for an
announcement every E3.
Then, something magical happened. On the 15th
June 2015 during the Sony press conference, the trailer for the game’s remake
was shown to a room – and worldwide web – full of overwhelmingly enthusiastic
fans. After years of hoping, it had finally come to fruition. The Final Fantasy VII remake was coming. No
hoaxes, no April fool’s. This was the real deal.
Now, it would be fair to say that many fans would be more
than content with a remaster of their favourite game. Just the thought of
seeing Midgar come to life with the advanced graphical processing power of the
PS4 is a mouth-watering one, to say the least. However, FF veteran, Tetsuya
Nomura assured fans that this would be no mere remaster; it would be a remake
through and through, with an updated battle system and story changes to boot. In
other words, it’s the gaming equivalent of the Hollywood movie reboot, albeit
the only difference being that we actually asked for this one.
Given the hype and speculation surrounding this game, there’s no better time
than to discuss what changes should be made. It will be a long
time before it finally hits Sony’s popular console and all we can do,
therefore, is speculate about what it’s going to be like until new information
arrives. Here, we intend to do just that.
1) A larger Midgar
We’re living in a world where games like The Elder Scrolls and Dragon Age are giving us complex,
detailed open worlds where the player can explore at their own leisure and take
in every detail of the world’s character and tone as well as the backstory.
While the original FFVII did a
tremendous job of inviting players into its steampunk, dystopian universe, games
since have managed to explore their worlds in far greater detail and this is
something Square-Enix should take into consideration when developing the game.
This means that the linear feel of the original’s Midgar section should be
there no longer and be more open for the player to explore; think a dystopian Grand Theft Auto-style design.
2) Voice Acting
Let’s face it; voice acting is very much the norm for all
modern videogames nowadays so there’s a large unlikelihood that the remake won’t feature it. Alas, I thought I
would include it anyway and here’s hoping that Square-Enix invite the voice
cast of The Compilation of Final Fantasy
VII to reprise their roles because, damn it, they did a fantastic job,
especially in Advent Children. If
this genuinely happens, it will be like the cherry on top of the cake.
3) Humour
Who can forget the Don Cornero encounter in FFVII? |
Look, I appreciate the subject matter of VII is a solemn one indeed; calamities
from space, silver-haired wackos wanting to destroy the planet and the idea
that your loved ones will remain alive in spirit via the lifestream. However,
people will remember that the original Final
Fantasy VII had a great deal of humour to allow players to occasionally
rest from the angst of the main storyline. Whether that be the
brother-sister-like banter between Cloud and Aerith, Cloud wearing a dress to
sneak into a rich pervert’s mansion or the absurdity of its mini-games such as
the cute Mog House, it wasn’t all grim like The
Compilation often was. We don’t want to see Cloud moping all the time so
make sure to insert some humour breaks so we can cut down on our antidepressant
intake.
4) Improved music
“They’re gonna do it anyway, obviously!” you may cry, to which I will reply, “Hold on just a
second here”. FFVII was an epic game
and the remake will no doubt heighten those feelings of grandeur with its
state-of-the-art visuals, but the soundtrack also needs to be just as grand. In
a dystopian setting with robots and motorcycle chases, it will be all too
tempting for Square-Enix to bust out the electric guitars and synthesisers but
I also want to hear some soaring orchestral reiterations of some of my
favourite tunes from the original game. Of course, Aerith’s Theme will have to
be among them and most definitely Anxious Heart. All I’m saying is that
orchestras and sweeping strings really add emotion and depth to a game’s
soundtrack as well as a game overall so having that would be fantastic. Get on
it, Square.
5) More action-packed battle system
The battle systems of Dissidia and FFXII would be a cool combination |
Okay, so Square-Enix pretty much confirmed this one and I
know a lot of FFVII purists are
probably anxious about it. The fact is that, although the ATB system in the
original was brilliant for its day, JRPGs have really developed since 1997 –
just looking at more recent FFs like XIII
and Dissidia show that the genre
is changing and becoming more action-oriented thn before(true, the latter is an
action-based spin-off, but my point still stands). In a world becoming more
impatient with less attention span, the remake needs a more action-oriented
battle system to draw in new players. How? I’m not entirely sure. I’ve always
said a mixture of FFVII’s battle
system with a tad bit of Dissidia thrown
in would be great. Likewise, something resembling FFXII’s battle system wouldn’t go down too badly either. Either
way, as Bob Dylan once sang, The Times Are A Changing and the way we experience
JRPG battles needs to change and especially so if the developers want to draw
in new players.
So, what changes do you feel need to be made to the original game to make it suitable for modern players? Feel free to share a comment below and tell me what you think!
So, what changes do you feel need to be made to the original game to make it suitable for modern players? Feel free to share a comment below and tell me what you think!