Square Enix shows Two Radically Different Remakes at PAX West 2019

Pop-culture is currently in a state that celebrates remakes and while it can get tiresome I find myself enjoying this type of content. Risks are fewer and remakes have become more and more robust. In games, we’ve seen remakes and remasters many times over with several releases that take the original game and elevates it above and beyond with new technology and gameplay offerings. Capcom knocked it out of the park at the start of this year with a new take on Resident Evil 2 and it looks like Square Enix is going to continue their trend of keeping their games timeless with two upcoming remakes of differing style, Trials of Mana and Final Fantasy VII Remake. I was able to spend some focused time with both games at PAX West, solidifying my interest in FFVII, putting Trials on my radar, and making it clear that Square Enix is one of the best companies when it comes to preserving and maintaining their legacy.

As background, I have been playing Square Enix games, mostly their legendary RPGs, since I was about ten years old, almost eighteen years of playing these games. Final Fantasy VII is the first game I can remember being fascinated with from their library. I had already enjoyed Dragon Quest 1 & 2 on the Game Boy, but when I was introduced to the dystopian, industrialized world of Final Fantasy VII, I was immediately entranced. It was the first mature game I had seen and the first time I ran into cursing in games. As a young boy just getting out of elementary school, I wanted nothing more than to acquire a PSOne and play this more adult title.

The funny thing is, our elementary school had a rental system in place where we could borrow a PSOne to play a slew of terrible educational games. I came from a super impoverished county in West Virginia, so it was surprising when our schools got these sort of programs. While I gave the educational games an honest try since I had never really played a PSOne, I yearned to play Final Fantasy VII, a feeling that was doubled after spending a weekend with a friend.

That weekend, my friend’s sister showed me three games that she was struggling to get through. She was several years older than us, likely already smoking and just a cool girl that was excited to share these RPGs with someone. She loaded up Legend of Dragoon (not a Square Enix RPG but it carried similar energy), showed off a tough phoenix boss and flashy transformations. Then she fired up Final Fantasy VIII and the awe-inspiring Guardian Force summons. Finally, she loaded up the more relaxed core fantasy Final Fantasy IX and its colorful cast of characters.

I was mystified.

From that point on, I became a massive fan of anything RPG related, going through game after game on the PSOne, spending countless hours pouring over basic internet forums and guides, and discussing the stories and worlds with friends late into weekend sleepovers.

It was that lust for knowledge that led me to learn about games that were only available in Japan, so when Final Fantasy III came out for DS I fell in love with the Square Enix approach to the past. Even as an adult, many years later, I continue to learn about the rich history behind these games. I play fan translations and always look forward to official releases, remakes, and remasters. I’m also fond of interviews with devs and writings from fans and historians.

While it’s always cool to see brand new ideas at events like PAX West, I always feel a sense of importance when playing remakes. These are games with a history, an established fan base, and a huge sense of what makes the game unique. Taking on remakes like Square Enix must be a layered, complex undertaking, especially for Final Fantasy VII Remake.

Much like my PAX East demonstrations a couple of years back, I was invited to play these two games at a nearby hotel room. Several screens attached to nice Astro Gaming headsets coupled with either a PS4 Pro or Nintendo Switch lined one side of the room, separated by a wall displaying artwork and a makeshift corner for interviews. I believe most of the interviews pertained to Final Fantasy XIV, the popular MMORPG that is celebrating a new expansion, which I opted out of due to my avoidance of the massive title and my overall lack of knowledge.

While I first went through the Final Fantasy VII Remake demo, I want to start with breaking down my experience and thoughts on Trials of Mana.

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Trials of Mana is a title that I have little history with. I am aware of its importance, the recent official translation, and the complex systems at work that surprised Japanese SNES players, but I have yet to spend significant time with any game in the series. That said, what I played of the new Trials of Mana remake has me excited to learn more.

Artistically, the game reminds me of a modern Dragon Quest with a cast of colorful, well-designed characters that ooze classic Japanese fantasy gaming. My demo revolved around exploring a town as Duran, who was trying to escape without being caught by werewolf-esque beast-men. Immediately, I noticed that exploring feels pretty nice even though structurally it feels way more simple than say the towns of Final Fantasy XII.

Interacting with other characters, fiddling through the game’s menus and generally getting used to the movement is how I spent my early minutes. The game’s movement feels more rigid than modern RPGs but that sense of structure I actually found appealing. User interface elements also felt crisp and easy to read, especially the series staple Ring Menu which sits by default right in the middle of the screen at the bottom for easy reading that doesn’t pull away from what’s surrounding the characters.

Soon after dawdling in the town, I found myself in a forest slashing up innocent-looking Rabites and other monsters. The Mana series of games stood out by using a real-time combat system as opposed to the tried and true turn-based systems that popularized the genre. Again these elements didn’t seem as fluid as recent action games such as God of War or Devil May Cry V (obviously) but what’s there worked fine and was still engaging.

I found myself considering positioning and timing, learning what moves could chain into others, and getting used to navigating the simple Ring Menu. I was happy to find out that a more traditional menu is used to set up equipment and active items, keeping the Rings free of clutter. Special attacks are flashy and I eventually reached a big crab-like boss, where the game gave me two additional characters for the demo.

This boss fight had me switching often to line up powerful moves and targeting various legs on the monster. The fight lasted longer than previous battles and there was definitely a sense of danger to it. Again, the fight felt simple by comparison to my previous demo of Final Fantasy VII Remake but I was looking more for authenticity to the source material and general enjoyment, of which Trials of Mana seems to be carrying in spades.

I heard that the remake of Secret of Mana wasn’t enjoyed as much as by players as expected, so it will be interesting to see how Square Enix takes that criticism into their designs for Trials of Mana. I’m also excited to see how they evolve the various branching paths of the narrative, which has quite a bit of player choice at the outset.

Overall, Trials of Mana is a game that I’m more excited about now that I’ve played a brief demo and it makes me want to spend more time with the series overall. I guess I’ll have to keep an eye out for the Collection of Mana to add to my shelf.

Now, back to Final Fantasy.

Final Fantasy VII was a huge release for a lot of players. It was the first time we really got to see an epic fantasy RPG story depicted in full 3D, albeit by today’s standards those graphics are hard to look at. This is why I think the Final Fantasy VII Remake feels so monumental; it’s visuals and sound have aged poorly compared to every other game in the series and it has tremendous pop-culture appeal. Not only that, but this remake has been teased for so long that it was a joke for a while, an impossibility. Being that Square Enix is obviously putting in a ton of effort in this game, I was skeptical of it, since I found Final Fantasy XV to be kind of a mess in a few places.

Granted upon release, I really enjoyed Final Fantasy XV. I want to revisit that title as a complete package sometime before the release of Final Fantasy VII Remake.

I was lucky enough to be able to sit down in an isolated environment to play through a short demo of Final Fantasy VII Remake and it has immediately become one of my most anticipated games and one that I think will do well critically and sell tremendously.

The demo started with a bit of a propaganda film all about Shinra, the corporation that pushes for using Mako as a primary energy source, a source that our heroes (the eco-terrorists Avalanche) claim is killing the planet. In this video, I noticed a few things. For starters, there are a lot more layers than what the original game had. Questions about climate change, the fear of big corporations, and political upheaval were all in the original game but these themes look be getting a more direct highlight in the game’s narrative. Second, the town of Midgar has elements of 1940s or so America fused with some industrial English flavors. In the original game, it felt more like a generic, overcrowded, industrial sector but in the remake, it looks like we’ll get more variety in the areas of the city.

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Lastly, the game’s voice acting is pretty awesome. I still don’t think it’s as good as what was seen in the most recent God of War title but what is here has emotions that I don’t often expect out of Final Fantasy titles. It’s clear that these characters are standing by their commitment to perform a violent act against Shinra and in the case of Cloud we can clearly hear a bit of indifference in his tasks, seeking merely a paycheck.

Once the video ended, it was time to dive in and I honestly had to wipe away a few tears since it ended with a powerful shot of Aerith.

Her theme is really important to me, as it’s the song that my wife walked down the aisle to and Aerith’s untimely demise in the original game is something I’m dreading seeing. I am hopeful that the story could change to keep her alive though. After I wiped my eyes, I took in a deep breath and started up the demo.

Immediately, it was clear that more visual details are being poured into just about every aspect of the game. As Cloud and Barret, I was asked to plant the bomb, going through a short section sprinkled with enemy encounters. This is where the game introduced me to the various systems in place for combat.

Combat in the FFVII Remake is deliberate and tactical to the point that I’m floored with how well it works.

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By default, action happens in real-time with the ability for players to dodge roll, attack with combos, block, or switch characters. Party management is key to victory too, as enemies have various weaknesses that can be exploited by using the right character at the right time. The boss fight against the iconic red scorpion mech really highlighted how the game’s encounters are designed around switching characters. Sure, one could just play as Cloud or Barret, but there are instances that prompt a switch, like Cloud being held by a clawed robot.

Tactics really come into play with the ability to slow down time and select actions via a classic Final Fantasy menu. These two gameplay styles blend well and there are shortcut options for those looking to stay in the action. Conversely, for those wanting a more traditional approach to combat, there is a Classic Mode that turns the game into a more turn-based affair. This mode wasn’t available in the demo I played, or at least if it was I didn’t think to ask about it. Either way, selecting spells or items and picking targets feels like Final Fantasy VII in a way that hearkens back to the past but opens up lots of options thanks to the modern gameplay.

The game’s presentation is fantastic. The camera zooms in to highlight character moves. Particle effects ooze from flashy, dynamic action. Lighting and character models look incredible. I did see some fuzziness around my character’s face, but I simply chalked this up to being a demo build. This prompted me to ask a nearby Square Enix staff member about performance on PS4 vs the PS4 Pro and they talked like players on either model will be able to enjoy the game without major differences.

I am excited to see how the game opens up as compared to the original, especially when it comes to tinkering with the Materia system. There wasn’t much in the way of menu exploration during my demo and unfortunately, I was just playing what many had seen at E3 earlier this year but we did get lots of new information from the Tokyo Game Show, as well as some new teaser footage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R13Wx49ux5w

Most notably, we were introduced to the Summons of Final Fantasy VII Remake. Both Ifrit and Shiva were shown off and they look incredible. Rather than showing up to do a cool attack and then disappearing, Summons in the Final Fantasy VII Remake have a larger role. Each character in the party has a single slot for Summon Materia and a Summon Gauge will fill up during battle. Once full, players can bring these powerful entities into the fray for a time where they will fight based on AI but can also be commanded to perform specific abilities. Once the summon’s time is over, it unleashes an ultimate attack. This is similar to how Espers behaved in Final Fantasy XII, which recently was remade as Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age. 

Summons in Final Fantasy have always been one of my favorite parts of the series. I love seeing how designs evolve in each entry and it looks like that will continue in this FFVII remake. When comparing the two, it definitely looks like these are the same creatures but brought into a new light thanks to the graphics overhaul. I’m curious about how many Summons will turn up in this first piece of Final Fantasy VII, as there were lots in the original game. We likely won’t get to see late-game Summons like Bahamut Zero, Typhon, or Knights of the Round. However, it would be cool to at least see the base form of Bahamut and some of the more unique ones like Kujata. Hopefully, new Summons will make an appearance as well.

In case it wasn’t obvious, Final Fantasy VII Remake is my most anticipated game right now. It is such a monumental achievement in the medium that means so much for so many people and I want nothing more than for Square Enix to get this release perfect. Of course, we all know that this isn’t the entire FFVII story and more games are on the way, which seems like a bummer, but I am so ready to see this world again.

This time though, the world of FFVII is closer to how I imagined it rather than what it actually was.

Both Trials of Mana and Final Fantasy VII Remake show different approaches to keeping games relevant years after their initial release. In a medium that is relatively new, keeping titles accessible is really important. Remakes allow developers to try new things with their designs and I find that the multiple ways Square Enix does this is something worth commending.

For more information on Trials of Mana or Final Fantasy VII Remastered, check out the official websites. Final Fantasy VII Remastered was nominated for Best Game of PAX West 2019.

We were invited to a separate location to play these demos in a more private setting. Light refreshments were provided.