FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE Has A Very Pretty New Trailer And Release Date
Man, when I was a kid, Final Fantasy was my jam. I was introduced to the series with Final Fantasy IX, and over the last fifteen years I've gone back and played through every main franchise installment at one point or another up until Final Fantasy XIII. And though it's not my personal favorite - Final Fantasy X holds a very special place in my heart - Final Fantasy VII was one of the best experiences I had on the original PlayStation.
Final Fantasy VII had it all: Magic materia! Giant swords! The environmental collapse of a planet caused by the short-sighted greed of a monopolistic corporatocracy! Chocobos!
LOOK AT THE CHOCOBOS!
But of course, as the march of time ravaged us all and the dated graphics of early 3D games became harder and harder to look at, we all slowly dawned on the realization that we could never truly go back to that special time when we first stumbled upon the art that inspired us.
Nah, just kidding, everyone clamored for a remake and now we're finally getting one. Here's a trailer fresh out of E3:
So I'm kinda torn about this. On the one hand, it looks very pretty from a graphical standpoint and is exactly the sort of hi-def rendering I'd want in a reimagining of the world of Midgar and classic characters like Cloud, Barrett, and Aerith. (Aeris? Fight about it in the comments.) The recreation of the game's prologue in which the rebel group AVALANCHE blows up a reactor is spot on with what I'd expect and want. And yet, call me old fashioned if you will, but I don't know if I'm totally on board for the more action-oriented combat system. I know that this is the direction where Final Fantasy has developed for the last decade or so, but I really do miss the days when turn-based battle was the norm. But then, on the third hand, if they were making a completely faithful remake right on down to the mechanics, there might not be much reason to even make the thing, or would it have much potential to draw in new, more action-oriented modern players. But on the fourth hand, why not remix the plot and characters we're overly familiar with instead. Maybe they will, but I doubt it.
Anyway, that trailer shows that we're getting Final Fantasy VII Remake on March 3, 2020, so we've got about nine months to let this thing gestate into the alien monster spawn we all know and love. Whistle a little bit of "One Winged Angel" while you wait. I've gotta go sort out how I ended up with so many hands.
