It’s certain Square’s forthcoming remake of the much loved Final Fantasy 7 is a pandering to the many fans who have shown massive support over the years for the original game and series in general (and the fact it’s coming up to a 20th anniversary milestone in 2017) therefore is easy to conclude the remake is primarily for those people wanting to relive past glories with a modern makeover as with any remake. However, remakes have a common theme where there’s bound to be something elements changed simply because the developers at Square are likely to want to interject something new whilst keeping the core experience familiar – and this extends past an obvious graphical upgrade. There’s one massive plot element involving a certain female character though that has been well discussed to the point of its impact in the remake might well be too expected and possibly its effect muted as a result no matter how well presented. So what could they do (if anything) to spice things up a little and play with the emotions without affecting the story too much?
The whole premise of “that death” back in 1997 was fresh and intriguing at the time simply because it didn’t follow the pre-determined status quo of directing its leading characters to an almost foregone conclusion of survivability. Players invested time and energy into said character and to find their efforts were in vain was not only a shocking revelation from a gaming perspective, but a clever piece of storytelling which to this day has been hard to match. So, given we’re going to get a remake and obviously the story is to be largely the same, this major plot device can either be presented as expected (complete with added CGI drama) or another twist could be included like – gasp horror – she’s killed and is resurrected further into the story. It will be an unnerving feeling playing the game again knowing what is coming and wondering how it will be handled, and quite possibly change the way many will approach the opening section of the story with the insider knowledge of what happens next firmly impregnated into the soul.
Perhaps changing the plot so drastically might have an adverse effect on the game’s overall story and how the player mindset alters from this point onwards – revenge is such a powerful motive after all – but in some ways a revision could work if handled correctly. Maybe the death of the character is too pivotal a moment for the story and to change it might give rise to many repercussions, but a revival of said character would be unexpected and could work if cleverly woven into the existing story. Resurrection is plausible in the Final Fantasy universe and remains an interesting idea to ponder all the same where changing the expected injects a fresh angle into a familiar scenario. That said, the point of any remake is to present well-trodden ground for nostalgia’s sake and making sweeping changes inevitably tarnishes the memories players might have. If we look at the Resident Evil Remake from the Playstation to the Gamecube as an example over its original we can see the inclusion of added enemies, new locations worked well. We all knew who the bad guy was and it was a fun journey going from A to B without having to digest the complexities of a new plot, the same can be said for the Metal Gear Solid remake with all its crazy additional action sequences. But in the case of Final Fantasy 7, the death of you know who is so ingrained into the series lore that to tamper with it could possibly have as big an impact as the act itself. Gamers will be playing knowing when it is going to happen, but to witness an additional unexpected plot twist of such magnitude would not only be quite clever but would certainly stir up some fresh emotional feelings all over again.
The ball is in your court Square, so go on and surprise us.
