Final Fantasy VII Remake – What is needed to make it great

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 15^th 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!