Remake vs. Remasters: Why the Final Fantasy VII remake is both exciting and terrifying

The image that caused a billion nerdgasms.

In recent years, it has become very popular to remaster classic and/or beloved games.  Great titles like the Uncharted series, The Last of Us, Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy X and X-2 all got the remastered treatment.  “Remastering” isn’t necessarily new; it’s essentially porting the game to a new system.  In fact, porting has been around since the early days of video games, even the Apple II had ports of games from the Atari.

However, as you undoubtedly heard due to the internet exploding, Sony and Square-Enix announced in their E3 conferences that the classic, ever-popular Final Fantasy VII was getting a full-on remake.  It’s not really a surprise as the remaster of a game that old just wouldn’t work.  We’ve already seen FFVII ported as a classics title to the PS3 and Sony portable systems and, even with the PS3’s smoothing features, Cloud’s polygonal hair will stab you right in the eyes until they bleed.

To be honest, I never finished FFVII.  I didn’t even play it as a child.  I didn’t make through the first disc, once I finally started playing it in college. My first Final Fantasy title was Final Fantasy IX followed by Final Fantasy VIII (my personal favorite) and Final Fantasy X which were all gorgeous games.  So, going “backwards” to Final Fantasy VII felt like a downgrade.  I couldn’t focus on the game without the graphics hurting my eyes and the battle system getting on my nerves.   I had gotten really good at using the Final Fantasy VIII and IX battle systems, but, for some reason, the materia system never really made sense to me. Maybe I made it more complicated than it actually was.  Wouldn’t be the first time.

Not to defend myself, I should have given it a fairer shot.  I was far too busy in college with all the new games coming out to really give this title a chance. Going off the graphics alone is no reason to set a game aside. It’s got a lot of hype as a game; hopefully, that’s not for nothing.  I own the game. I’ve seen the movie. I’ve even played spin-off games.  I pretty much know the story without ever having played.  It’s interesting to me and I think I would like it.

Which brings me back to the remake.

I was super excited to hear that this would be remade.  The rumor mill surrounding this had been going for years.  It seemed like every E3 since the announcement of the PS3 was speculating about a potential remake of this iconic game.  I blame the tech demo;  I was also super excited about the FFVIII tech demo back in the day, until I realized it was just a demo and not a remake of one of my favorite games.

This year they gave us the fan service we wanted. It’s about time too; Square-Enix has been steadily climbing the ranks of my shit list since Final Fantasy XII and the continually delayed games like Kingdom Hearts III and Final Fantasy Versus XIII, now know as Final Fantasy XV, don’t help.  Remaking Final Fantasy VII is something that might just turn the tide and get them back on my good side.  I’ll finally get to play Final Fantasy VII on a modern console and it’ll look pretty!  That’s awesome! Sign me upI I am down.

However, it’s important to understand that a remake is very different than a port/remaster and Square-Enix has already stated publicly that they intend to make changes and improvements to the game.  This is where the terrifying part comes in.  I’m totally down for the graphical improvements and even adding elements of the spin-off stories to the game to give us bonus content and a more complete picture.

Cloud is equally passionate about keeping this scene in the game. Just look at him.

But what exactly are they changing?  Will the battle system change to be more like the Final Fantasy XIII model? I don’t want that.  Will these improvements be like the “new and improved” label on your favorite cereal?  (you know that shit isn’t gonna taste better; they ruined it) Will they censor the game? I want to see Drag Queen Cloud in all his high-definition glory go in that hot tub and enjoy it.

I’ve seen the “Western effect” on Japanese creative before.  My favorite, Dragonball Z, became more and more censored in Japan as it went on.   We went from seeing full on holes in people’s chest to just bruise marks in Dragonball Kai.  I just don’t want to see the story and its fun easter eggs taken out because of “the children”.  I’m sure they see far worse things; remember Hard Gay?

Hard Gay. Giving children nightmares since 2005.

This remake could also go incredibly wrong if they delay the game for as long as they have other titles.  Just because they announced that they are making it, doesn’t mean it is coming out in the next 10 years.  With SE’s current track record, we might not see the game until the Playstation 7 is released in 2077, just so they can say FF7 is on PS7 (all the 7s).   I’m hoping that SE knows their ass is in the fire with this one.  I don’t expect it out next year and I do want them to take their time and do it right, but I don’t want it to become the clusterf@#% that is Final Fantasy XV.  Granted that game looks awesome, but they announced it back in 2006, under a different title.  It has almost been 10 years.  I don’t want that to happen to this remake; some of us will die of old age before it comes out.

Despite the terrifying aspects, I’m going to remain optimistic that SE will deliver a solid remake on a reasonable timeline.   With the Tokyo Game Show coming up in September, I fully expect Square-Enix to make some more announcements about the game.  We may not get a release date, but maybe we’ll at least get the official title.  It will be interesting to see what develops and even more interesting what they will have to say about it at next year’s E3.  Until then, we just have to do what every Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Square-Enix fan is used to doing: wait.

Are you excited for the Final Fantasy VII remake?  What are some things you’d like to see improved or added? What are somethings you hope they keep the same or take out?

-Gretchen