Recently, I attended the Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy Concert, at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Just up the row from us, was a group of quite pretentious males, one of whom made the following statement:"Anyone who prefers eight over seven obviously started the series with eight!"A very sweeping statement, I have to say, because yes, I do prefer Final Fantasy VIII over Final Fantasy VII, but it is most definitely not because it was the first game I played. In fact, I was first introduced to the series not long after VII was released, by my brother. So, yes, the first game I ever played was in fact Final Fantasy VII!
I have a huge amount of respect for Final Fantasy VII and I can wholeheartedly appreciate why it is the most respected and loved of the entire series, but for me, the game had so many flaws, predominantly in the story telling that at the time, really led me to dislike the game. I found the story to be incredibly confusing at times, and it took me about two or three run throughs of the 40+ hours game to really grasp the whole Cloud/Zack concept.
As I've grown as a gamer, I've become a bigger fan of the game, but I can't help feeling that is only really down to Crisis Core, which answered a lot of the questions I had about Zack and Cloud's pasts.But, the confusion over the back story is not the reason why I honestly do not think that Final Fantasy VII should be re-made.
The key here, is more down in my previous statement that said that the game is "the most respected and loved of the entire series" and you have to appreciate why it is so loved. It is loved because of the characters, the plot that once you get your head around it, is actually really intriguing. And the game as a whole is just such a joy to play.
Is remaking the game really going to do anything for it?
Probably not. All that is going to happen is that we'll gain better graphics, because to change the plot would be to change the history of the game. To change the game play would be to lose why VII is so much fun to play. Change any of those small things that made the game a classic game, graphics aside, and you h ave created a rough shadow of a game that is great, just the way it is.Is it enough to remake the game purely on gaining "better" graphics?
As with any classic video game, surely the basic graphics are what make us appreciate the game so much. The fact that it represents the time that is was created during, for example, is an important part of the game. It is also a great piece to show just how far the series has come.
Personally, I think that remaking it would be a complete waste of money and time. If a person truly loves the original that much, then I just think that they should appreciate it for what it already is: a 1997 classic. It is not a 2011 classic.
