The Final Fantasy franchise has enraptured and entertained fans since all the way back in 1987 when the game first released, and it seems that now, more than ever, the franchise is incredibly popular. With Final Fantasy 15 making the game more accessible to newcomers and Final Fantasy 7 Remake breathing new life into an old classic, there is a lot for fans of the game series to be excited about. Still, the very first entry of the series is interesting and unique in its own right, but its outdated nature makes it very difficult for modern audiences to access or enjoy. As such, a Final Fantasy 7 style remake would do wonders.
The original Final Fantasy was released initially for the Nintendo Entertainment System, but has since seen many remastered versions for various consoles. These remasters include ports for PC, PlayStation, Game Boy Advance, PSP, Wii, Mobile, and even the Wii U, but for the most part these were all the same game with minimal changes made to improve accessibility. Although some remakes such as Dawn of Souls and Origins did add new features, enemies, and dungeons, these kinds of things aren't enough to satisfy the modern gamer that prefers a more fast-paced and graphically pleasing experience.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake
Final Fantasy 7 is undoubtedly one of the most popular games in the entire franchise, and a proper remaster or remake has been highly requested by fans for quite some time. Because of this, it is easy to see why this game was chosen for what will likely be Square Enix's biggest remake of a game to date. The remake is looking to introduce completely redone graphics, all new mechanics for battle and free-roam, and even add in or clarify certain story segments from the original game. A remake on this scale is honestly unprecedented, but now that Final Fantasy 7 Remake will be out shortly, the precedent for remakes is there.
Why Final Fantasy 1 Needs a Remake
The original Final Fantasy was, and still is, a great game. It has an enjoyable (albeit generic) story and mechanics that effectively defined a genre. Unfortunately, some of its harsher features and its graphical, musical, and technological limitations make it stick out like a sore thumb compared to modern games. While this is to be expected of a 33 year old game, it is still a shame that this work of art has fallen to the wayside. Of course, there will always be a subset of gamers and hardcore fans that still relish the original gameplay, but the majority would likely pass over it in favor of something more modern.
Though there are those that no doubt have mixed feelings about the original Final Fantasy, few can deny that it was a monumental landmark in gaming. Although it certainly wasn't the first JRPG in history, it is by far the most recognizable and enduring of the lot. This alone is reason enough to warrant a good remake, but there is even more to it than just that, the game also has a fun story and an amazing soundtrack that should be heard.
Admittedly, much of the story of the original Final Fantasy is rather cliche; the first quest is literally to save a princess from an evil castle, and that is followed by nested fetch quests and a need to destroy four elemental evils to reclaim crystals. If that sounds like every other Final Fantasy game plot (or every other fantasy plot in general), that's because many of these tropes became cliche as a result of this game. So while the story of Final Fantasy is not flawless, a good remake could easily patch up some of the inconsistencies and make things more cohesive.
Mechanically speaking, Final Fantasy draws a lot of inspiration from the original incarnation of Dungeons and Dragons, including nine levels of spells for magically inclined characters, each of which can only be cast a certain number of times per day. Understandably so, much of this would likely end up getting revised in a remake version of the game due to its rather outdated feel, but creating a more modern yet limited magic system would work wonders to set the game apart from others in the genre.
Final Fantasy's music is also of high renown, largely due to the masterful work done by Nobuo Uematsu, who composed every track for the first nine Final Fantasy games (including the ever popular One Winged Angel from Final Fantasy 7), and has had guest appearances in several games' soundtracks since then. Although much of the soundtrack from Final Fantasy has been reimagined numerous times by various arrangers and in various ports, a fully cohesive arrangement of the soundtrack similar to what fans are receiving in Final Fantasy 7 Remake would be rather amazing.
Final Fantasy Dissidia
Finally, the original Final Fantasy actually plays a huge role in understanding the true story of Final Fantasy Dissidia. Dissidia is actually set in the world of the first Final Fantasy, and its final boss, Chaos, plays a major role in that game as well. Despite Final Fantasy Dissidia: NT's decision to take the story in a different direction, there is actually a rich and compelling history to Dissidia and its prequel, Duodecim, that is difficult to fully understand without knowledge of this first game. That said, the first two Dissidia games are getting on in age as well, so they aren't quite as relevant anymore either.
The original Final Fantasy would be a great candidate for Square Enix's next remake, but unfortunately it would likely be quite some time before fans were to hear anything of it even if it did happen. Given that Final Fantasy 7 Remake is being split into several parts, that game will likely be the main focus of attention for quite some time. Still, there is plenty to enjoy with the Final Fantasy 7 Remake as well as the upcoming Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition, so fans of the franchise shouldn't have any problem waiting.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake releases April 10 for PS4.