Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2 Needs to Address a Common Sequel Problem
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2 is set to continue the story immediately after the end of the first game in what is likely to be at least a trilogy of games. Cloud and the rest of Avalanche have defeated the Whispers, defying their fates, and succeeded in fleeing Midgar after their attack on Shinra Headquarters. In the original game, this moment saw Cloud and the others leaving Midgar into the game's overworld for the first time. If FF7 Remake Part 2 is going to follow this same basic timeline, it will need to address the fact that many players had finished the first game with all of the best gear in the game and having leveled their characters to near maximum.
A common trope in game sequels is the developer finding a way or a reason as to why the characters are suddenly less powerful again. Games like the Metroid series do so by having Samus stripped of her gear at the onset of the game. Another Square Enix title has suffered from this problem in the past, as many fans were disappointed with Sora's powers disappearing before the beginning of Kingdom Hearts 3. There are definitely some Final Fantasy tropes that are worth including, but this is one that FF7 Remake should find a way to avoid in its next part.
As players embark on the next chapter of their journey, it would be very jarring for players (especially those who choose to replay the first part immediately before starting the second) to suddenly lose all of their hard-earned equipment and experience. Whether Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2 addresses this at all will likely be a sticking point with some fans. Many elements of FF7 Remake stayed the same from the original, and while it is clear events won't play out exactly the same this time around, it would be an odd choice to add a time gap to the beginning of the next game.
Handling this could be handled in a few ways, a save port system similar to the Mass Effect games could help bring over character levels, equipment, and materia builds over into the new game. Even with a more narrowed down map likely in FF7 Remake Part 2, there is going to be a big journey ahead of Cloud and the group and many players would enjoy a power bump from carrying over their progress from the first game.
This could be a unique way for FF7 Remake Part 2 to address New Game + as well; theoretically, players who beat the original game could carry over their saves into an already unlocked higher difficulty mode to accommodate their higher level characters. It remains to be seen how Square Enix approaches this, but proper handling of what has become a far too common problem in video game sequel could help set Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2 apart from other games in its genre.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2 is in development for the PS5.
Post a Comment