Unless you’ve been living under the rocks of Midgar, you might have heard that Square Enix took a “Macho Man” Randy Savage elbow drop to the hearts of hopeful fans of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake. The heartbreak comes in the the form of the remake being split into multiple episodes instead of one full game. This was confirmed by two interviews that Famitsu and Dengeki had with Square Enix producers Yoshinori Kitase and Tetsuya Nomura.
Too much game?
The reasoning is that this game wouldn’t fit in a single “package” This is complete nonsense. Have you ever heard of The Witcher 3? You know, the game that won Game of the Year? We’re talking about a game that, by all means and purposes, should only exist on a high end PC. Yet, its giant living and breathing world, deep combat, expansive character building mechanics, and cinematic cutscenes can all fit on the PS4 and Xbox One. Or what about Fallout 4? With all of its minor bugs, Fallout 4’s world works perfectly fine. And it too is huge. So Square Enix is telling us it can’t make a game of FF7’s caliber work when clearly we have equals in the industry that are already doing this?
Except there’s one issue. Square Enix isn’t making this game.
Who is making this game?
That’s right, Square isn’t making this. Even that isn’t necessarily surprising. They’re developing Final Fantasy 15 and Kingdom Hearts 3. But surely they would choose a company that could handle this caliber of game. Instead they’ve chosen to outsource the game to developer CyberConnect 2. You may know them as the developers of the Naruto Shipuden series or Asura’s Wrath.
And guess what? Both of those series are released in a format that tells one story over multiple games. When I look at it in this light, it’s not at all a surprise that we’re getting an episodic FF7. That’s pretty much their strength, and they have to play to it. But just because it’s a strength doesn’t mean it would be a good fit for a remake of Final Fantasy 7. FF7 is a complete experience with a turn-based battle system. It’s not episodic and it’s not an action-JRPG. If you’re not going to play to the original game’s strengths, why make it at all?
Episodic means a sooner release
It makes sense, right? Instead of making you wait for this content in 2018, 2019, or hell, the next decade, we’re going to get this in dissected and stripped down portions of the game. And we’ll probably get it much sooner, but it’ll be every couple of years. And when Square says each episode is the equivalent of the length of a full game, what the heck does that mean? A full Final Fantasy game? Games come in so many different varieties. A statement like this really offers zero explanation of what an “episode” of a remade Final Fantasy 7 would be like.
Speak with your wallet
In the end, the problem with all of this is that people are drawn to hype and forget way too easily. If you’re truly upset about this and feel as though Square Enix is wrongfully handling this remake, DON’T BUY IT! The only way any developer is going to hear you is if you keep your money in your pocket or spend it elsewhere. Otherwise, they’ll just continue to build hype, regardless of whether they intend to deliver. If you’re mad about this, it’s because you respect the original game and what it meant to you. Hopefully, it means you love the gaming industry. And if you love and respect the industry, you’ll abstain from purchasing episode 1 of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
Of course you may be completely on board with this whole idea. You have just as much a right to your opinion as I do. But in my opinion, it’s nonsense.
Surely you have an opinion on this controversial matter. Please share it with us in the comments below!