FFVII Remake is Fantastic. When Will There Be More?

When you hear about games getting remastered, updated, and so forth, usually the result is something a little underwhelming. For example, last year I downloaded the remaster of Shadow of the Colossus. Mind you, the game is still the breathtaking and beautiful piece of art that it was originally. But it's almost precisely the exact same game. The graphics are updated, but just as we tend to sort of retroactively imagine old games we used to play as looking better than they did, it means such updates don't really add much to our memories (though if you go back and play, say, GTA San Andreas, holy shit does that thing look TERRIBLE by modern standards, and don't get me started on about 98% of the N64 Era.)

I imagine there are some people who wanted Final Fantasy VII Remake to just be the same game but with new graphics, and given that I didn't play that game back in the day, I'm not sure that would have been such a bad thing.

However, what Square Enix chose to do was instead to take the story of Final Fantasy and some of the RPG mechanics created for it (Materia, for example,) and just completely construct a new game.

It is, honestly, how a lot of us nerdy fans tend to imagine a cool remake of an old game we love would work. But doing so requires a fundamentally massive amount of effort - probably just as much as if you were creating a brand new game (maybe more, given the need to adhere to fan-favorite elements of the original.) Basically, it's a silly pipe dream, but they've made it happen.

After I sort of checked out of the Final Fantasy series after the transition away from turn-based combat, I was a little wary to get into this one, but I've found the combat system really engaging (though it can be a little tough when you're on a melee character and have to keep your distance, given that you can't charge your ATB gauge unless you're attacking) and fun.

I am, however, I believe getting close to the end of the first part of the game. The first game?

See, by breaking up FFVII into different episodes, it is, I'm sure, more manageable for Squenix to put the game out, but it does create some anxieties - when I get to the end of this part, how long am I going to have to wait for the next to come out? Given that a new console generation is on its way, I'm also concerned that I'd have to buy a new console to continue this story.

Still, I have some left to play in the game, and I intend to enjoy it!