Final Fantasy VII Remake’s Multi-Part Approach Isn’t the Way to Go

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD! YOU’VE BEEN WARNED!

It was revealed that Final Fantasy VII Remake would be delivered as a multi-part series by Square Enix. It’s not entirely clear what that means, but due to the recent influx of episodic games, it isn’t surprising that many are assuming that’s what it is. And, to be frank, not many fans are happy about this.

Yes, when the Remake was announced it was made very clear that changes would be made. This won’t be an HD re-release, after all. A remake is an entirely different beast. The exploration with gorgeous character models and a different camera angle was the first indicator that the developers were very serious about switching things up.

When the first clips of gameplay were shown off during PSX, the action-focused combat system was revealed. While that may not be what fans remember, it fits in with what Square Enix has been putting out in recent years. These are big changes, but as long as the core of the experience was kept relatively the same, then it didn’t rustle too many feathers.

Making the game episodic does more than rustle feathers, though, it completely kills the bird and replaces it with an entirely new one. To be clear, there is absolutely nothing wrong with an episodic game. They are able to deliver stories and introduce characters in interesting ways that keep the player engaged. But even if they allow tons of options within each episode, they are fairly linear engagements.

This won’t seem like a big deal to those who will be experiencing Final Fantasy VII for the first time, but to those who played the original it’s understandable why there is a bit of apprehension. Final Fantasy VII was a very open game. There were many towns and cities to explore, a large overworld players could traverse, hidden weapons and summons, extra party members, and other side activities to get into. There was a story that was being told, but there was freedom given to the player so that they can do everything at their leisure.

Episodic games, by their nature, take an overarching narrative and break them down into several unique parts. It works because it allows you to either experience things from different perspectives, or it allows the developers to tell multiple stories that are tied together at the end. Yet, even with a range of options that alter the ending of the whole package, they are pretty linear experiences. They have to be, or else the narrative becomes muddied.

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.

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