Between its multi-part nature and new battle system, the Final Fantasy VII Remake has certainly caused some confusion for fans.
In a new interview, director Tetsuya Nomura raised even more questions about what the Final Fantasy VII Remake means for the Compilation.
Final Fantasy VII started as a single game, but it ended up as a small series of its own, with a movie sequel (Advent Children), a third-person shooter sequel (Dirge of Cerberus), and an action RPG prequel (Crisis Core), to name a few of the most popular additions to the Final Fantasy VII universe.
Some fans, including me, theorized that maybe the reason the Final Fantasy VII Remake needs to be released as multiple games is because it’s adapting pieces of the Compilation, too.
Well, that’s not the case. Probably.
In this new interview, Nomura gave his thoughts on the possibility of an HD remaster of Before Crisis, Crisis Core, and Dirge of Cerberus.
He said the Final Fantasy VII remake “will be different from the original Final Fantasy VII,” and that remasters of the Compilation games alongside the remake “will hardly have an overall coherence […] because there is no more continuity between the Compilation and the Remake for the moment.”
On one hand, you could that this to mean that the Final Fantasy VII Remake will include aspects of those games, which is why remasters wouldn’t fit alongside it. On the other hand, the phrase “no more continuity” suggests they won’t make sense in the new Final Fantasy VII universe.
Some fans will be pleased with this news, since the Compilation has had a mixed reception, especially for some of the more convoluted elements it introduced. At the same time, though, it raises the question of just how different the Final Fantasy VII Remake will be from the original.
Of course, he did say “at the moment,” so who knows how it will end up?
What do you think? Will elements of the Final Fantasy VII Compilation remain in the Final Fantasy VII Remake, or is the Compilation material gone from the new universe?
Between the Game Awards, PlayStation Experience, and the past few days in general, there has been a lot of exciting video game news lately. Psychonauts 2, a game I considered so unlikely to exist I didn’t even list it as a pipe dream, will become a reality if it gets enough funding on Fig. Holiday Star and Aviary Attorney both received release dates (December 15 and December 18 respectively). Ni No Kuni 2 was announced (I still need to play the first one). Live streams were announced for the Tales anniversary and the Dragon Quest anniversary.
And Square Enix released new details about the Final Fantasy VII remake.
First, they showed a new trailer during PlayStation Experience.
Before I get into my criticisms, let’s focus on the positives.
In theory, I love the concept of this remake. It’s so cool to see Wedge, Biggs, and Jessie with modern graphics. Seeing the opening with Avalanche made it really hit me that they’re going to remake the entire epic Final Fantasy VII story.
But of course, most people were concerned with the combat system.
When I watched that trailer, I honestly couldn’t tell if it was action or turn-based combat. On the surface, it looks like an action RPG, but what’s up with the menu? If it’s a Kingdom Hearts-style command menu, why is “defend” an option? What sort of action RPG makes you pick “defend” from a menu?
Since then, the producer has said it is not completely action based, but has more action than the original. Later statements placed it somewhere lower than Kingdom Hearts on the action scale and hints that it will be some sort of hybrid to appeal to fans of both systems.
If Square Enix can pull that off, that’s amazing. Personally, I’d be happy with the option to switch, too! Then everyone could be happy! Let us have our turn-based combat if we want it!
This has caused so many fights, I don’t even want to discuss the game with the fanbase. People on both sides are being ridiculous. Fans of turn-based combat accuse the other side of being mindless Call of Duty fans who hate thinking and aren’t true Final Fantasy fans. Fans of action combat, meanwhile, accuse them of being blind Luddites who can’t let go of an outdated system and probably wouldn’t buy the game anyway.
Stop.
Turn-based combat isn’t outdated. Action combat isn’t stupid. Both are viable RPG genres, and there’s no reason to insult fans of one just because you prefer the other.
Tales is not Final Fantasy, and Final Fantasy is not Tales.
Personally, I wanted the Final Fantasy VII remake to be turn-based. I have nothing against ARPGs (if I did, why would I shower Tales of Symphonia with so much praise?), but I particularly love turn-based.
It depresses me when people refer to the genre as something old and outdated we need to move beyond. I wanted Final Fantasy VII to be a huge, epic turn-based RPG to prove it’s still viable in today’s market.
Plus, it’s Final Fantasy VII! Would you remake Uncharted as a first-person shooter? Advance Wars as real-time strategy? Tales of Symphonia as a turn-based RPG? No! A remake shouldn’t involve a genre shift, one of the reasons I point to REmake as the ideal remake model.
So the news that the Final Fantasy VII remake would probably have action combat disappointed me. But I could live with it. If it was a good ARPG, I’d give it a chance.
According to How Long to Beat, Final Fantasy VII takes approximately 40 hours for the main story and 91 hours for completion. These are just averages, so let’s jump up and say it’s a 100-hour game.
There are games with hundreds of hours worth of content and modern graphics. What makes Final Fantasy VII so huge it won’t work as a single release? If it is massive, why not release it on multiple disks? How will a multi-part or episodic Final Fantasy VII even work?
It might not be a bad thing. If the Final Fantasy VII Remake includes remakes of Crisis Core and Dirge of Cerberus, for example, I’d be on board with that. But if it splits the story into pieces (some people have suggested expanding Midgar into a full game), I think this is a devastating move.
Above all, Square Enix needs to come out and clarify exactly what they’re doing here. In the meantime, let me know your thoughts, now that you’ve heard mine. How do you feel about the Final Fantasy VII Remake?
In the wake of the shocking Final Fantasy VII remake announcement at E3, some of the excitement has faded into worry. Director Tetsuya Nomura has made it clear that the FFVII remake won’t just be the same game with prettier graphics and voice acting, but a true remake.
Fans who really just wanted Final Fantasy VII with modern graphics started to worry then.
Final Fantasy VII’s combat is a major source of contention. Should it be turn-based like the original or become an action RPG like Final Fantasy XV? If turn-based, should it use its normal ATB system or adopt something closer to Final Fantasy XIII’s style?
Fans can argue nonstop about these issues without reaching agreement, but two arguments against turn-based combat baffle me.
Is Turn-Based Combat Outdated?
You’ll hear this one the most. Fans of making it an ARPG claim turn-based combat was fine back when Final Fantasy VII came out, but now is an outdated, archaic system that doesn’t belong in a modern game.
This is absurd. Even if turn-based battles started because of tech limitations, they’ve since become a viable style of gameplay. I have nothing against action RPGs. Some of my favorite games are ARPGs! But I love turn-based RPGs, and acting like they’re just a primitive form of ARPG is frustrating.
ToS remade as a turn-based RPG would be just as weird.
ToS remade as a turn-based RPG would be just as weird.How would it be if Uncharted was remade as a first-person shooter, or XCOM as real-time strategy? Making FFVII an action RPG changes its genre.
And if turn-based combat just doesn’t fit modern gaming, why were there multiple anticipated turn-based RPGs at E3? Why do fans love Bravely Default and its upcoming sequel? Why did Square Enix remaster Final Fantasy X for the PS3 and Vita and then again for the PS4? Why is Persona so popular?
Turn-based RPGs have a persistent, dedicated fanbase… and many of those fans are waiting for a turn-based Final Fantasy VII remake.
But It’s a Remake!
Okay, I can at least understand how fans of action RPGs might view turn-based combat as something clunky and needlessly slow, distancing them from the battles. This other argument, however, makes no sense to me.
Perhaps due to Nomura’s statements that this is a remake rather than a remaster, some proponents of changing Final Fantasy VII’s combat claim that the battle system must change, because this is a remake.
What?
Do remakes usually change the game’s genre? This isn’t a reboot.
To people who use this argument, it seems like there are only two extremes. The Final Fantasy VII remake can be an exact clone of the original, just with superior visuals and voice acting, or it can change the core gameplay into something completely different. Nothing in between.
That’s not true at all. When I consider how the FFVII remake should be handled, I think about the 2002 remake of the original Resident Evil, affectinately known as REmake.
Recently remastered for additional consoles
REmake is a brilliant example of not only classic survival horror, but also of how a remake can surpass the original. It took everything Resident Evil did and made it better, while remaining true to the game’s heart and soul.
On the surface, it looks like Resident Evil with newer graphics and better voice acting (and less ridiculous dialogue). The S.T.A.R.S. team still goes to the mansion and encounter zombies. You still choose to play as either Jill or Chris, with different scenarios and supporting characters depending on your choice. You still solve puzzles and unlock doors in delightful old-school survival horror style. Even the opening cutscene follows the original.
When you really get into the game, however, the differences are numerous. Puzzles are slightly different. Notorious jump scares have been altered. Combat is enhanced by defense items, which help you in battle even though they’re limited (like all resources). Defeated zombies can now transform into the quick, deadly Crimson Heads if their bodies aren’t burned, which adds a new layer of strategy. The narrative is tweaked just slightly to accomodate the series’ later plot developments.
Most notable of all, perhaps, is the new area and its accompanying side story. REmake sends players to new locations and introduces Lisa Trevor, a powerful enemy with a haunting backstory.
My point is simple. Resident Evil’s 2002 remake took the original’s core gameplay, story, and premise, and improved it wherever it could. It remained a survival horror game and followed in the original’s footsteps. It “modernized” Resident Evil without abandoning its genre the way later installments tried to do. It truly remade an already-great game into something better.
The recent remaster even found a compromise for the oft-contested tank controls. A new control scheme was added in, but the option to play with tank controls also remained. Fans who considered tank controls clunky and those who considered them a key part of the tense gameplay could both be happy.
An ideal Final Fantasy VII remake will follow REmake’s example. It will keep the turn-based combat, the overworld, and the core gameplay of the original, but smooth everything out. The mini-game mechanics could use work. Maybe battles should be flashier, a la Wild Arms 3, which has party members and enemies run around the battle screen even though combat is entirely handled through menus.
Maybe the story will be adjusted to make later parts of the FFVII franchise fit (though there’s one scene in particular I really don’t want retconned to match Advent Children). Vincent and Yuffie could be better integrated into the story, or at least appear in the ending. They could also confirm or debunk that one theory once and for all.
Maybe a couple of new areas could be added, and encounters altered to surprise longtime fans.
This is what I want to see from the Final Fantasy VII more than anything else. I want a game that embraces classic turn-based RPG mechanics while also improving them, and updates the plot and gameplay while remaining wholly Final Fantasy VII at its core.
Between its multi-part nature and new battle system, the Final Fantasy VII Remake has certainly caused some confusion for fans.
