Even though it has a few flaws, I absolutely loveFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth. It, alongside its predecessorFinal Fantasy 7 Remake, is an incredible re-imagining of the originalFinal Fantasy 7. Not only do they recreate some of the original game’s biggest moments, they add new memorable scenes too, and the updated gameplay is some of the best inFinal Fantasyhistory. However, as much as I, and other players loved the games, I’m afraid we aren’t going to get any futureFinal Fantasygames like them.
That isn’t to say that I don’t think any moreFinal Fantasygames will be remade.There are already rumors swirling about aFinal Fantasy 9remake, and we did just get an announcement about a remake ofFinal Fantasy Tactics. I would be shocked if Square Enix decided not to continue updating and reimagining its back catalog, especially with older games that have never been updated. However, I can’t help but wonder if those projects will be forced to be less ambitious afterFinal Fanatasy 7 Rebirth.
FF7 Rebirth Was Reportedly A Financial Disappointing
FF7 Rebirth Wasn’t A Total Failure But It Did Underperform
AlthoughFF7 Rebirthwas a massive critical success, that unfortunately didn’t translate into sales.Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthreportedly underperformed, at least based on Square Enix’s estimations of the game.The game also sold fewer copies thanFinal Fantasy 7 Remake, which could show that some players lost interest between installments of the game. It probably doesn’t help thatFinal Fantasy 7 Remakecame out in April 2020 during COVID-19 lockdowns, so a lot more people were likely willing to sit down and play a lengthy RPG who otherwise wouldn’t.
Although it may be too late for Square Enix to shift gears on the development ofFinal Fantasy 7 Remakepart three, that doesn’t mean thatFF7 Rebirth’s disappointing sales won’t potentially have an impact on futureFinal Fantasyremakes.I’m honestly a bit worried that Square Enix might be too gun-shy to make another title likeFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, which would be a shame, and could lead to some lackluster remakes in the future.
Future Final Fantasy Games Might Be Less Ambitious
Depending on how badlyFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s sales hurt Square Enix’s bottom line,the company may be cautious about making anotherFinal Fantasyremake at the same scale. I think one of the most damning elements ofFF7 Rebirth’s underperformance is its relatively worse sales thanFF7 Remake. Square Enix may see this as a sign that players don’t wantFinal Fantasygames split up into multiple parts, and decide to make future remakes much smaller games as a result. Although I have seen some players say they would prefer that, I think we’d be losing some great opportunities.
There have also been some recent discussions about whether games should continue striving to be as big as they have been recently. Some recent games with smaller budgets,likeClair Obscur: Expedition 33, have been huge hits.While I’m happy that we’re getting some games with lower price tags, that doesn’t mean I want ambitious projects likeFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthto completely disappear. However, the industry might trend in that direction if larger games continue to disappoint and smaller titles continue to see massive success.
It isn’t just that I require a game has hundreds of hours of content for me to enjoy it, but I feel likefutureFinal Fantasyremakes would feel incomplete if they didn’t have the same ambitious scale asFF7 Rebirth. The game made a lot of meaningful additions to the original, which helped justify the need for a remake in the first place. I have a hard time imagining a shorter remake being able to add as much depth.
FF7 Rebirth Adds A Lot To The Original
FF7 Rebirth Explores Its Characters In Greater Depth
I’ve mentioned before that one of myfavorite parts ofFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthis its many side quests. Not so much the ones where you just go collect data for Chadley, but any of the story side quests that help develop the relationship between Cloud and another party member.These missions give you a much better insight into who the characters are, their motivations, and how they get along with Cloud. This is an especially nice addition for characters like Yuffie, who didn’t get as much attention in the originalFF7as she has been in the remake trilogy.
Final Fantasy 7 Remakealso did a good job fleshing out the world and making you care more about its inhabitants. One highlight from the game is the mission where you help Jessie get back up to the plate and break into a Shinra facility. It gives you a chance to bond with her, Biggs, and Wedge, which makes their eventual deaths at the hands of Shinra much more emotionally impactful than it was inFinal Fantasy 7.I’m also eagerly anticipating whatFF7part three does with characters like Cid and Vincent who haven’t gotten too much attention yet.
Less Ambitious FF Remakes Would Feel Like A Step Backwards
Previous FF Remakes Have Lacked The Depth Of FF7 Rebirth
Final Fantasy 7 RemakeandFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthwere far from the first remakes ofFFgames. There are Pixel Remasters for all the retroFinal Fantasygames, remasters for games likeFF9andFF10, and there are 3D remakes forFF3andFF4. While some of these make some changes to the original games,none of them are the same kind of full overhaul that theFinal Fantasy 7 Remaketrilogy is. Additionally, none of these other remakes added as much additional depth to the story or characters from the original games asFF7 RemakeandFF7 Rebirth.
After the high expectations forFinal Fantasyremakes created byFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, it would be a real shame to go back to less ambitious remakes that essentially just recreate the original game with new graphics. Even if the rumoredFinal Fantasy 9remake uses theFF7trilogy’s new combat system, it will feel like a step backward if it doesn’t add the same amount of depth to its story and characters. We will likely have to wait to see how wellFinal Fantsy 7part three performs before we know if Square Enix will repeat this method.
