For that to work in Final Fantasy VII: Remake, they would have to separate quite a few situations, add in some much needed detail to other characters, and straight up remove some elements of the game. This could either be a solid expansion of the story or be taken as unnecessary padding (no telling until it happens, if it even happens). But, if they use the story as it already exists, where would they decide to cut episodes?
Will the discovery of Vincent Valentine be its own affair? Will the fate of Aerith be relegated to its own episode? Does it justify itself? Will players be given full action replay controls to finally determine if she’s actually dead or perhaps Sephiroth missed some vital organs? What about the optional boss fights or the hidden summons, such as Knights of the Round or Bahamut ZERO?
Even if they do master the art of determining episodes (they’re going to need a lot more than the usual five or six), how will they deal with the open world aspect? Locking areas off in a superficial way won’t go over well with any RPG crowd, let alone fans of the original game. It causes more frustration than it’s probably worth.
There is a solid chance, though, that multi-part means multiple games that aren’t episodic. Rather, they could be full on experiences. But even that doesn’t seem like the right way to go. It comes across as more of a “split the final book for the movies” approach like what happened with The Hunger Games and Harry Potter. The thing about video games, though, is that you don’t need to split things up because of the amount of time they take. RPGs are known for being quite long. It’s part of the whole immersion of becoming these characters and saving the entire world with a side quest that has Cloud dress like a woman and sneak into a harem.
The act of splitting the Final Fantasy VII Remake experience up, something fans have been waiting a long time for, just isn’t the way to go. A remake is a re-imagining in some ways, that is true, but to lose the entire essence of the original game is not what was wanted. The folks over at Square Enix know what the fans want, and that means that they know this isn’t that.
Let us keep in mind, though, that we don’t have all of the details. This could very well mean that they’re remaking all of the stories of the Final Fantasy VII timeline (Crisis Core, Dirge of Cerberus, etc.) to place within Remake. Maybe they have something else planned entirely, but if that’s the case, they need to make that clear now before they lose all of the faith they regained when they announced the remake back at E3. They must have some sort of contingency plan to deal with the backlash they’re receiving at the moment, let’s just hope that it involves clearing up the confusion about the experience to be expected.
How do you feel about the “multi-part series” approach that Final Fantasy VII: Remake is adopting? Are you excited for something different or do you think they’re changing it up a bit too much? Feel free to let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
More Final Fantasy VII
- Fans React to “Multi-Part” FFVII Remake with Anger, Optimism, and Pure Confusion
- Final Fantasy VII Remake Characters Compared to Their Original Models
- Final Fantasy VII Remake Will Be told Across A Multi-Part Series
- Buying the PC Port of Final Fantasy VII Nets You a Bonus Dashboard Theme
