One of the most storied franchises in all of video games,Final Fantasyholds a place near and dear for many fans. Debate online as to which game is the best in the series leads to forum threads hundreds of posts long, with each participant laboriously explaining why their chosenFinal Fantasyis number one. Even discussion onthe bestFinal Fantasybattle themecan generate heated debate. But there are two titles in the franchise that stand out when it comes to whichFinal Fantasytitles would benefit from a remake:Final Fantasy 5andFinal Fantasy 6.
After a flashy showing ofFinal Fantasy 16at a PS5 showcase event, there hasn’t been too much news regarding the latest entry in the long-running franchise. Square Enix plans to revealmore details about bothFF14andFF16in 2021, so while everyone waits, it’s a good opportunity to revisit some classics in the series, and how they might fare if they were remade.
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FF7 Remake Was A Success
Pop culture finds itself currently in a period of intense nostalgia, brought on both by the consumer and those that are producing entertainment. On the production side, it is seen as safer to invest in something that is already an established hit. RebootingFull House,Saved By The Bell, orFinal Fantasy 7is a safer bet than making a risky investment in a new IP. And fans are reacting to things from their childhood, and remembering the good old days. When a remake or reboot shows up in TV or video game form, fans gobble it up like a comfort food. Because this formula seems to be working (for the most part), it is not at all surprising that there areplenty of video games being remade these days.
With a video game remake, there are a number of areas where something from a previous era can be improved upon. Graphics are a major way to update how a game looks, while improvements in sound design can bring new life to the audio of a game. Often the narrative can remain the same, but some franchises also take advantage of a remake to tweak elements of a story to make it flow better.Final Fantasy 7 Remakeplayed with its narrativeto fill the city of Midgar with so much life, that even die hard fans of the original have to appreciate the effort. Coupled with the exceptional graphics and clever reimagining of the soundtrack, it is no surprise thatFinal Fantasy 7 Remakewas a huge hit in 2020.
The Case for a Final Fantasy 5 Remake
Final Fantasy 5feels like it might be the most neglected entry in the franchise. Besides the first and second games, which at this point really show their age,FF5has long been overlooked. WhenFinal Fantasy 4was given a worldwide release as “Final Fantasy II” one would think that the next entry in the franchise would also be shipped around the world. Not so.Final Fantasy 6would take that spot, releasing internationally as “Final Fantasy III” and leavingFinal Fantasy 5in its dust. While the game did eventually make its way to the West in theFinal Fantasy Anthologyon PS1, its only other appearance internationally has been in the form of a lacking PC port.Final Fantasy 5on Steamfeatures some unfortunate sprite work, and employs a flavorless mobile-styled font, giving all text and menus a very low-budget look.
This is a game that needs to be given a fair chance to shine, and with a bit of love and polish, it actually can. This is the last Final Fantasy game to be directed byHironobu Sakaguchi, the famed Square Enix developer, who would only produce and oversee future entries in the franchise. Playing his lastFinal Fantasydirectorial effort has some appeal.
The game represents a refinement of theFinal Fantasyformula to that point, featuring all the classic elements that make the series what it is, while striking a nice balance of those elements. The game also features arguably thebest job system in aFinal Fantasytitle(FF Tacticsexcluded). With 25 different jobs to choose from, battle strategy can vary greatly depending on what job the characters have. Plus, each job gives the characters a different outfit, a nice little touch that would look great in a remade game engine, thinkOctopath TravelerorBravely Default.
The Case for a Final Fantasy 6 Remake
UnlikeFinal Fantasy 5,Final Fantasy 6is universally acclaimed and is often lauded as one of the series' best games, if notthebest in the franchise. WhileFF5is the refinement of a tried and true formula,Final Fantasy 6took the series in a new direction. The game features a huge cast of characters, and whileTerra usually takes top spot, any number of the main cast hold their own with rich, heartfelt backstories.FF6does away with the crystals that featured prominently in the previous games, and dreams up a fresh narrative that blends traditional fantasy with elements of steampunk and feels grandiose and cinematic in scope. Despite how revered it is, likeFinal Fantasy 5it has never received a proper remake or remaster aside from a flimsy PC port.
This is the game where Square Enix emerges as a leader in the industry. Imagining video games as something akin to films, where art design, direction, music, and writing begin to include filmic qualities. Iconic scenes like the Opera, or the coin toss between Edgar and Sabin, are moments that linger because of their cinematic quality.Final Fantasy 7would be the gameto take these ideas to the next level, delivering the same kind of vision on the more powerful PlayStation hardware, butFinal Fantasy 6showcases the beginnings of that movement.
How to Remake These Games
For this, the answer is quite simple. Square Enix has already showcased a wonderful game engine inOctopath Travelerthat would make the beautiful sprite work ofFinal Fantasy 5and6shine on modern consoles. It wouldn’t necessarily make sense, and Square Enix likely wouldn’t have the resources, to bring the games into full 3D using something like theFinal Fantasy 7 Remakeengine. Give the soundtrack a few loving rearrangements (some of thebest music in theFinal Fantasyseriesto be sure), and these games would really take off.
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Octopath Travelersold very wellfor Square Enix, especially considering it was a new IP. The look of the game felt like an evolution of the classicFinal Fantasygames for the SNES, creating pixel dioramas bursting with detail. Applying that diorama style toFF5andFF6would only help to increase the theatrical feel of theFinal Fantasygames, while retaining the nostalgic charm that makes a good remake.
Final Fantasy 5’s job system would look great in theOctopathstyle, and by taking a cue fromBravely Default, adding in something akin to that game’s encounter rate slider would do wonders to eliminate the battle grind that made the originalFF5a bit tedious.WithBravely Default 2launching soon, there are games today that definitely retain the feel ofFinal Fantasy 5, so remaking it would be a case of borrowing little bits fromBravely DefaultandOctopath Traveler.
Final Fantasy 6could go all in on theOctopathstyle by borrowing the graphic engine, but also overhauling its narrative structure too. This might seem like something purists would hate, butFF6shares a lot of DNA withOctopath Traveleron the character front. Perhaps in the beginning allowing players to choose which character’s story they want to tackle (like Octopath’s character selection) would be an interesting way to give the game a refresh. If a player wants to see Edgar’s story, they could focus on that, before tackling Terra’s or Locke’s story. Eventually the narratives would have to converge as the heroes take on Kefka, so the plot threads would have to intertwine, but in the early game it would be easy to split the narrative like this.
An Ambitious Project
Final Fantasy 5and6have been linked for some time now, as the two came packaged together on theFinal Fantasy Anthologyback in 1999. They are also the only two games in the franchise that have not been revisited, withFF1andFF2upgraded sufficiently for PS1,FF3andFF4receiving DS remakes,FF8, FF9, FF10,andFF12getting remasters for modern consoles, andFF7getting the full treatment last year.
Aftera year where remakes were everywhere, remake fatigue is something to consider. With that said, these games should be high on the priority list, despite the many other projects Square Enix is juggling at the moment. RemakingFinal Fantasy 5and6would not be as huge an undertaking as theFinal Fantasy 7 Remake, but even reimagining them in theOctopath Travelerstyle would be a lot of work.
While a solid argument can be made forFinal Fantasy 8getting a remakein the same vein asFinal Fantasy 7(it could easily follow a similar episodic formula too), the games that would really benefit from a fresh take are definitelyFinal Fantasy 5and6.
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