I will never forget the evening when Final Fantasy 7 Remake was unveiled in 2015. Fondly remembered by many as the 'E3 Conference of Dreams' where Shenmue 3 and The Last Guardian were also shown off, it was a period when PlayStation ruled the gaming world and could seemingly do no wrong. The console giant boasted an incredible slate of exclusive games, offered massive support to burgeoning indies, and seemed determined to surprise us at every turn. But even in this landscape, Final Fantasy 7 Remake was a miracle.
An ambitious reimagining that was previously only gleaned through a fancy PS3 tech demo and a collection of underwhelming yet fondly appreciated spin-offs was finally a reality – planned as an expansive trilogy for PlayStation consoles well into the future.
I was skeptical, worried that there simply wasn't enough content in the original game to be stretched across three modern triple-A blockbusters. But after spending 40 hours trapped within Remake's Midgar and another 80 falling head over heels with familiar locales in Rebirth, I'm ready for anything Final Fantasy 7 Revelation has to throw at me when it arrives next year.
Let's mosey
We are in an unsustainable gaming landscape where countless studios have been closed, thousands of folks have been laid off, and goodness knows how many projects have been cancelled because they cost too much time and money to make. Once upon a time we received three Uncharted games and The Last of Us in just 6 years, but this generation has seen Naughty Dog spend the same time on a single release. I'm confident that Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet will be tremendous, but it sucks that AAA gaming is caught between chasing the live-service dragon and taking nearly a decade to get a single game out the door.
Unless Final Fantasy 7 Revelation receives a last-minute delay, when it releases next April we will have a finished entire trilogy in just 7 years. A trio of games that are ambitious, dense, and visually spectacular – while also packing 200 hours of play when all is said done. A major developer achieving this in the modern age is almost unheard of.
Speaking to Bloomberg shortly after its reveal at Summer Game Fest, game director Naoki Hamaguchi credits the speedy three year development cycle of Revelation to retaining the core development team throughout the trilogy and refusing to waver from his overall vision. On occasion, this results in patches of outdated open world design.
These flaws are worth the expanded world and narrative, allowing us to spend more time with characters we grew up with. Every fault is countered by scenes that are beautifully reimagined or once miniscule locations now filled with life. It often feels like a miracle, but it's a labor of love by people who understand Final Fantasy 7 more than I ever will. The image of this dieselpunk classic we held in our minds for decades is now a living, breathing reality. But with overlong development cycles and ballooning budgets becoming the norm in this industry, I struggle to envision a reality where a trilogy of this size, quality, and caliber can happen again.
Not because people don't want to make games like this anymore. But few enjoy the safety or opportunity that an established title like Final Fantasy 7 affords. As indicated during a recent panel at PAX West, Hamaguchi noted that one of the goals for the trilogy is to welcome a new generation to Final Fantasy 7 with an established plan to expand upon it well into the future, though I pray that it doesn't coalesce into an endless stream of content. There is definitely too much of a good thing – I should know, I'm a Kingdom Hearts fan. If Revelation concludes in all of the right ways, I'd love for Square Enix to leave it behind and break new ground. Give new talent a chance to redefine this series all over again.
The Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy is an extraordinary achievement, but I sincerely hope it isn't the last of its kind. New stories, new characters, and new worlds all deserve the same opportunity as this monolith even if they don't have the benefit of several decades worth of ingrained nostalgia. Unfortunately, in a landscape where safe bets have become commonplace, I fear that day will never come to pass.
We've picked 10 games like Final Fantasy to help you fill the void until Revelation
