There was so much hype behindFinal Fantasy 7 Remakewhen it was announced back in 2015, especially considering that it was remaking one of the greatest games ever. It came at the perfect time, too, considering that Square Enix was knee-deep in itsFF13trilogy and preparing to releaseFF15after years in development hell. The state ofFinal Fantasy, however, doesn’t seem to have improved much since. While the reception has been generally good, theFF7 Remakeproject does have quite a few flaws that have held it back from the universal love the series used to enjoy.
Warning: This article contains spoilers forFinal Fantasy 7, FF7 Rebirth, and Crisis Core.Splitting the game into three parts hasn’t helped matters,especially with the first title being calledFF7 Remakedespite only being the Midgar portion of the original game. It also doesn’t help that theFF7 Remakeproject isn’t the most loyal remake, making many changes to its gameplay and story. While changes to the gameplay were expected, changes to the narrative have had some side effects on the experience. While the core events of the original do happen in the remake, they’re often clouded by some writing decisions that seem unnecessary.
Final Fantasy 7 Didn’t Need Multiverses
Especially Because Final Fantasy Already Has A Multiverse
While theFF7 Remakeproject has added more scenes and content than the original, it has also fundamentally changed the narrative with multiverses, with the strange,FF7 Remake’s ghost-like Whispersbeing evidence of this.This makes the project more of a reinterpretation than a remake, setting up a different narrative experience compared to the original. It also feels like an unnecessary complication, since the original had a complex enough story with Cloud’s shattered memories, loss of identity, and the expansion of that through theCrisis Coreprequel.
After being in a catatonic state due to Mako poisoning and the trauma of Zack Fair’s death, Cloud’s mind becomes shattered, and he partly takes Zack’s identity by combining his memories with his own.
Final Fantasyalready has its own multiverse withtheDissidiagames, and whileFF7 Remake’s multiverse seems rooted in split timelines rather than parallel worlds, it isn’t as though the original didn’t have enough to work with compared to the modern games. That isn’t to say that theFF7 Remakeproject doesn’t have great additions,like the fleshing out of the members of Avalanche, but these scenes didn’t need the multiverses in the first place.
The only thing the Whispers and multiverses add is a sense that the actual events of the game might turn out differently, but this isn’t what most people play remakes for.There’s a value to recreating the original experience with modern graphics and gameplayrather than constructing a different narrative with elements that can muddy strong moments from the original. In fact, the Whispers specifically ruin one ofFinal Fantasy 7’s most memorable scenes.
FF7 Remake’s Multiverses Ruined The Original’s Best Moment
Aerith’s death at the hands of Sephirothis still talked about today, despite the originalFF7releasing in 1997, and how the remake was going to handle this scene was always going to be interesting.The original thrived on how shocking and permanent it was, with Sephiroth coming out of nowhere, impaling Aerith, delivering a few words, and then leaving, dropping off a Jenovah monster. It was quick, painful, and effective, but the same cannot be said for howFF7 Rebirthhandled the scene at the end of the game.
Sephiroth refers to Jenovah as his mother, being exposed to her cells when he was in his fetal stage before his birth.
Thanks to the Whispers, Cloud has to wade through a sea of ghosts that obscure his view, then begins to see into other multiverses into timelines where he manages to save Aerith. Combining all these scenes makes for a confusing viewing, with people still debating what exactly happened. The sequence is also far longer than it needs to be, and while there is a sense of trying to change fate and escape the inevitable, it’s less effective than the sharp, quick pain of the original version of Aerith’s death.
It also doesn’t help that the multiverse has Zack fighting the Whispers, which partly ruinedZack’s death at the end ofCrisis Core, since he’s alive in another timeline. Because the multiverse doesn’t change the outcome, and really shouldn’t, since the games still claim to be a remake,it all feels like pointless fluff to add spectacle. It’s fine to make the ending of eachFF7 Remakegame climactic, but the execution of the spectacle damages the weight of the original scene. Aerith’s death doesn’t hit in the same way without the simplicity that made the original scene so effective.
The Next FF Remake Needs To Stay True To The Original
Poignant Scenes Cannot Be Ruined By Fluff
IfFinal Fantasyis looking to do more remakes in the future,adding elements like the multiverse and splitting the games into multiple parts would be a mistake. The remakes should be more in line with what Capcom is doing withResident Evil, staying true to the original while fleshing out characters and addressing complaints as necessary, as was the case withAshley inRE4. Adding the Whispers and multiverse took away fromFF7’s amazing story, and Square Enix cannot repeat this mistake.
The series' best scenes, like Yuna’s dance fromFF10and Celes singing inFF6,should be accentuated with graphical upgrades but left as is in essence. These games have enough in their narrative to keep up with modern titles, and Square Enix needs to trust the narratives it wrote decades ago. Some dialogue might need to be expanded on, but making each future remake the full game, rather than just a part likeFinal Fantasy 7 Remake, will help to maintain the core strengths and avoid adding unnecessary fluff.
