Time for some Final Fantasy VII Remake discussion and my opinion on how things are shaping up. There has been news about how the game will be different from the original. This is not the same old Final Fantasy VII that we know and that could be a good thing for everyone. See why I think this new direction is the way to go for Square Enix moving forward.
A new Final Fantasy VII Remake trailer
A new trailer was released showing more footage from the remake. I’ve embedded two versions, one in English and the other in Japanese. You can get the feel for how the characters will sound.
English audio version:
Japanese audio version:
Things I noticed in the trailer:
Cloud looks like Cloud
Cloud looks just like his original design from the original game. He’s not the same Cloud in the Advent Children movie. Tifa hasn’t been shown yet, so I don’t know what her design will be.
Livin’ in the City
The city of Midgar looks AMAZING. What was once a pre-rendered 2D background in 1997 is now a fully 3D world. Just watching Cloud go down a narrow street had me excited.
Combat
The combat is less turn based and passive. It looks like you can move around and do more in battle than the original turn-based battle system in 1997.
Style/Atmosphere
The original Final Fantasy VII had a very unique, darkish but playful tone to it. Judging from the trailer, this new remake definitely has captured the spirit of the original game for me.
The game uses the Unreal 4 engine
This is something that I think not a lot of people realize is a big deal. Japanese game companies have traditionally made their own game engines which took way more time and effort than just reusing an existing one. Square Enix had a special engine designed for Final Fantasy XV called “Luminous”, but apparently it has been dumped for Final Fantasy VII Remake in favor of something more well- documented. If you have a lot of developers from all over helping with this massive game, then choosing something standard such as the Unreal Engine is a great decision.
Watch out for the haters
I’ve been reading a lot of different opinions and complaints online, so I wanted to address the issues people are talking about.
Final Fantasy VII Remake will span across multiple games
The producer of the remake, Yoshinori Kitase (director of the original FF7), has stated that the new Final Fantasy VII will be a multi-part series. A lot of people are turned off by this and are immediately calling this a cash grab. I beg to differ.
In order to develop a big budget game that contains entire 3D towns, cities, and the world from Final Fantasy VII, you’re going to need a lot of time and resources. This is not something that can be finished and shipped in time for 1 game release. It’s a wise decision to break the game up into parts and ship them when they’re ready. Knowing how hard and how much time the developers are going to spend on this, I can’t wait for the first installment.
Another famous developer (Blizzard) started this with its Starcraft II game. It broke the campaigns and stories into three separate games and released them two to three years apart, which has apparently been a success.
The battle system will be different
Yoshinori Kitase has stated that he wants to do a different battle system than the original. Many fans are angry that the game will not be a traditional Japanese turn-based RPG. Let’s think about this, though. If Square Enix wants to get this game into as many gamers’ homes as possible, it needs to use a battle system that is fun and can appeal to gamers all over the world.
With the kind of budget that is needed for the scale of this game, it’s very understandable why SquareEnix is going for a more action-oriented battle system. Final Fantasy games are known for their interesting worlds and stories, so why not better allow both old and new players to easily enjoy these aspects of the game?
Battling in the original Final Fantasy VII was fun and I remember enjoying it a lot, but would I want to grind and deal with random battles in a new game? If this is modern gaming, I want things to be a bit more convenient. I don’t have the time to grind in a game anymore, but I do want to experience the world and story if I can.
Final thoughts
What do you think about the Final Fantasy VII remake? Are you looking forward to playing it or are you a diehard fan of the original game? Maybe you haven’t played the original and are interested in the remake as a perfect chance to get into the Final Fantasy series. Whatever the case, let me know in the comments your situation!