7 Points Against a Final Fantasy VII Remake

Final Fantasy VII is one of the most celebrated video games in the world. Many people believe (with very compelling reasons) that it ushered in a rebirth of Japanese Role-Playing Games in the United States. The game sold roughly ten million copies across the globe, making a strong argument to the title’s quality. Additionally, millions gamers have played it, and it seems that nearly all of them loved the experience.

These are not things that I will contest. I myself played Final Fantasy VII to completion twice, and loved every minute of it. As time continued on, though, I played other games, other Final Fantasy titles, and many more RPGs before and after the release of FFVII. With the sum of my other experiences fresh in mind, I realized that this particular game wasn’t near as great as I remembered. Not close. As I thought about it and discussed it with others, it seemed their memories were only getting stronger, more positive. They couldn’t believe I liked FFIX better, or that I found faults with VII‘s story. They tried to sway me, the internet tried to sway me, and things just kept getting worse until the whole thing became kind of a circus.

That circus hit its most chaotic point with the Final Fantasy VII PS3 tech demo. Fans basically dropped bricks when watching that short video, and since then haven’t given up hope on a remake in the vein of that tech demo.

Final Fantasy VII was an excellent game by its own right, but far from the best JRPG ever made, and not even close to the best to come from Squaresoft/Square Enix. I hope beyond hoping that the game is never, ever remade – and here is why:

1. Remakes almost never live up to the original. Sure, the nostalgia value is nice, and it’s fun seeing one’s stronger memories emboldened by updated visuals, but the fact of the matter is that something remade will never live up to the original. Even the fantastic Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes couldn’t hold a candle to Metal Gear Solid. In particular, modern game mechanics lead to confusion or bad design when implemented into older games. This brings me to my second point.
2. Could Square Enix modernize the game while staying true to the source material? Sure, the materia system was vast, and the options seemed limitless back then. But now, gamers play RPGs expecting to build their own towns, or have tons of morality options, customize their character, so on and so forth. If the remake was nothing but a minor graphical update, the game would look new and feel stale. In order to combat that, measures would be taken to bring the game “up to par” with modern offerings.
3. Implementations would have to be made, yet no one would want them. Gamers are adamant about their memories and past experiences, particularly with Final Fantasy VII. To apply a fresh layer of polish over the original wouldn’t be enough (consider the remake of FFIII) to please the masses, yet to change the core of the experience and bring it up to modern standards would be in direct opposition to the fans’ interests.
4. Square has done much for FFVII fans already. I understand that it may have the most fans of all the games in the series, that is not news to me. What I don’t understand is why this particular game deserves a remake – outspoken fans have already cried out for more, and Square has done much for them by releasing four more games and two films to expand upon that particular universe. Is it not enough?
5. Strictly traditional JRPGs are few and far between, and there is a good reason why. Final Fantasy XIII strayed far from the formula because the developer saw just how much that standard formula had aged. Bringing it back to the forefront (and selling however many millions of copies the fans assure them they would buy) would surely throw an ugly light onto all games of that type, possibly dissuading thousands of potential role-playing fans from making future purchases.
6. A remake would cheapen the original experience. No longer would playing the PlayStation version (or even the PSN re-release) be the best way to experience the game. Now, players would have a “definitive” version to own — one that may or may not hold a candle to the original.
7. Final Fantasy VII is not the most deserving game in the series. Don’t get me wrong, I would oppose remakes of any of the older Final Fantasy games. However, I would see Square Enix remaking VII as an insult to the other (and much better) games that they have made – most notably Final Fantasy VI.