Is Final Fantasy VII Remake GOTY-worthy? (*Open Spoilers*)

[Smoothie King]

I think it is GOTY material. Has immense heart, and the gameplay is astoundingly fun and flashy (which is a hard thing to balance), and the story is very ambitious and is making fans and non-fans eager to see what is in store.

Yeah, it's incredible. I'm on my second playthrough and am still in awe at how rich this game is.

 

[Myst Knight]

Honestly, this year has been really sparse in terms of big games. FFVII: Remake and TLOU2 have been controversial in one way or another, so it's hard to know if it really would be satisfying if either or them won. Honestly, the new Animal Crossing seems like it's pleasing the most people, even though it's not the kind of game that courts GOTY.

 

[Prism]

Recently, outside of some pockets of The Lifestream (which makes sense, we have a laser-focus on the series), I’ve only seen positive buzz about Remake. Most of the controversy over the ending went away about a week or two after the game came out - especially after that quote in Ultimania was translated. (the one where they said it’d follow the original game the whole way through)

It is largely uncontroversial to the public at large, especially if you compare it to the lasting controversy TLOU2 has had. Will it win? Award shows tend to have recency bias, and things that come out near the time of the award tend to have better chance of winning. In the case of BOTW, this didn’t matter - but especially when Remake is Part 1 of many, it might here. I wouldn’t be surprised if the final part wins, however.

 

[Odysseus]

Despite the "controversy," I still think TLOU2 has it in the bag (which of course will create more controversy.) I hope remake gets an award for its OST though.

 

[Smoothie King]

Recently, outside of some pockets of The Lifestream (which makes sense, we have a laser-focus on the series), I’ve only seen positive buzz about Remake. Most of the controversy over the ending went away about a week or two after the game came out - especially after that quote in Ultimania was translated. (the one where they said it’d follow the original game the whole way through)

It is largely uncontroversial to the public at large, especially if you compare it to the lasting controversy TLOU2 has had. Will it win? Award shows tend to have recency bias, and things that come out near the time of the award tend to have better chance of winning. In the case of BOTW, this didn’t matter - but especially when Remake is Part 1 of many, it might here. I wouldn’t be surprised if the final part wins, however.

Completely agree. I beat TLOU2 a few weeks ago and it was easily the most overrated crap I have ever played. The critical consensus is wayyyyy out of wack with the actual game. I think the technical achievement of the graphics/motion capture have been conflated with a compelling story which simply wasn't there. The entire game was basically "look at that huge object in the distance! Let's go walk towards it now." Fight a bunch of humans, avoid some zombies, rinse, repeat.

The more distance I get from FFVII and TLOU2 the more FFVII shines. There were some scenes and set pieces in that game that were just mind blowing.

 

[Lulcielid]

Completely agree. I beat TLOU2 a few weeks ago and it was easily the most overrated crap I have ever played. The critical consensus is wayyyyy out of wack with the actual game. I think the technical achievement of the graphics/motion capture have been conflated with a compelling story which simply wasn't there. The entire game was basically "look at that huge object in the distance! Let's go walk towards it now." Fight a bunch of humans, avoid some zombies, rinse, repeat.

The more distance I get from FFVII and TLOU2 the more FFVII shines. There were some scenes and set pieces in that game that were just mind blowing.

Then you havent read (or heard) the critics reviews if that's your take away.

 

[Smoothie King]

Then you havent read (or heard) the critics reviews if that's your take away.

Admittedly, I haven't read any in-depth reviews; I've only browsed metacritic to see the incredible amounts of perfect scores it received. I know that people have praised the story... but trying to be as generous as possible, they're wrong. The pacing is abysmal, there is no one to root for, there are no likable characters or memorable scenes. Nothing even close to something like Cloud and Aerith walking through the rooftops.

It's an incredibly well-made game but that's just about where my praise for it ends. Anyway, I'm still new here and don't want to derail the thread by talking about another game too much. Apologies!

 

[looneymoon]

Not to say TLOU2 is without fault, but I personally prefer what it offers in terms of story when comparing to FF7R but thats just me.

I stand by the Cyberpunk 2077 has always been the favourite to win, unless its been delayed too far to make it ineligible for the nomination.

 

[Smoothie King]

Not to say TLOU2 is without fault, but I personally prefer what it offers in terms of story when comparing to FF7R but thats just me.

I stand by the Cyberpunk 2077 has always been the favourite to win, unless its been delayed too far to make it ineligible for the nomination.

It's all good, we all have our tastes. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

I stand by the Cyberpunk 2077 has always been the favourite to win, unless its been delayed too far to make it ineligible for the nomination.

I agree it was the favorite to win, but I wonder if cutting that wall-running feature will impact that.

 

[FFShinra]

As someone not following Cyberpunk's development very closely, but still waiting for it, a detail like that won't bug me.

As far as I can tell, none of the three big titles seem to have it in the bag yet. Indeed, it seems like the only thing agreed on is that they are the big contenders for the region's their from: TLOU2 from the US, Cyberpunk from Europe, and FF7R from Japan. 7R has the soundtrack, but its traversal is sorta dated, TLOU2 has the in game graphics but has issues in pacing, both have great voice acting (of different styles of course) but controversial endings, and Cyberpunk has...well....hope and Keanu at the moment, but isn't actually out to give a fair assessment.

And even then, Ghosts of Tsushima might be a wildcard.

 

[ChOcOboO]

I still think there's hope for VII Remake, despite the critical praise TLOU2 got.

 

[Wol]

Nothing about FFVIIR is truly outstanding (in the ground-breaking sense), I don't think its GOTY material.

Exploration and sidequests are formulaic and filled with padding, almost to none relevant optional content. Story drops the ball in consistency at the ending.

The content itself isn't massive or innovative enough to deserve GOTY.

 

[ultima786]

Y’all are nuts. I played Ghost of Tsushima just now. It’s amazing how much better 7R is in so many departments, most definitely including cinematography. GoT has so many weird cuts and fades to
Black that it makes me even appreciate the forced walking segments of 7R because they feel cinematic.

Gameplay in the Last of Us 2 feels a little stale and dated. Remake is just so much more fun. That should be the biggest factor in GotY discussions, of course among others.

 

[clowd]

Cyberpunk 2077 didnt get anything as it was a buggy game at launch.

I think FF7R would have won game of the year if the Last of Us wasnt such obvious awards bait by being so edgy.

 

[ultima786]

It’s absurd to me that last of us 2 won. The pacing is terrible (something that FF7R gets accused of) and the changing perspectives and flashbacks-to-flash-present was so dizzying. Narrative structure was atrocious. Both Remake and Ghost were far better games in my book. Remake had the most heart of the latter two

 

[Makoeyes987]

As much as I vastly prefer FFVII-R and am not a fan of TLOU2's story, I don't think TLOU2'S winning is unfair. They both were deserving contenders. Yes, ND's entry felt assured this year and especially poised to win but as a game I think on the basics of what it did and accomplished, it's not a bad game by any shot. It's good, at least as good as TLOU.

If anything should disqualify it, it should be ND's horrendous history and practice of game dev crunch that constructed this game on the broken backs of its developers and staff. And then screwed the lesser staff out of promised bonus payment by either laying them off or forcing them out. But they don't disqualify on that matrix now do they?

 

[Smoothie King]

As much as I vastly prefer FFVII-R and am not a fan of TLOU2's story, I don't think TLOU2'S winning is unfair. They both were deserving contenders. Yes, ND's entry felt assured this year and especially poised to win but as a game I think on the basics of what it did and accomplished, it's not a bad game by any shot. It's good, at least as good as TLOU.

If anything should disqualify it, it should be ND's horrendous history and practice of game dev crunch that constructed this game on the broken backs of its developers and staff. And then screwed the lesser staff out of promised bonus payment by either laying them off or forcing them out. But they don't disqualify on that matrix now do they?

I'm not afraid to say it. TLOU2 is an "issues" game and we are smack dab in the middle of a time when issues are at the cultural forefront. I don't think the gap between the critical consensus and popular consensus in regards to TLOU2 is fake. I do believe that the people who hold the microphones are trying to ride the wave. I'm not a hater. More power to them. But if we are being objective here, what story does TLOU2 tell, exactly? It is an exercise in unrelenting nihilism simply for the sake of it. Hey, you know what? They are telling the story of a post apocalyptic world. Maybe that's what it would really be like. But there was one singular emotion I felt while playing that game: dread. Unrelenting dread.

FFVIIR, on the other hand? I mean... I'm posting on The Lifestream. You know my thoughts on this game. Every emotion under the sun was felt. That is what a GOTY experience should feel like. Love, loss, laughter, redemption, oppression, and freedom. And...FUN. How about a game thats FUN? Is that allowed?

 

[Makoeyes987]

But if we are being objective here, what story does TLOU2 tell, exactly?

When you seek revenge and the death of another, be sure to dig two graves.

It's core is a simple one but it does tell it quite effectively. It's brutal, dark and unrelenting. And I think a lot of people have a lot of feelings seeing a character like Ellie grow up and... Make some very poor choices with her life.

The premise is straightforward but it works and lots of people can understand it and dig it taking place in a zombie apocalypse.

 

[Eerie]

Ha, it at least won best RPG and best music, which is great I think, considering we all knew GOTY was probably going to be TLOU2 or Ghosts of Tsushima

 

[looneymoon]

Whatever you feel about story or whatever, TLOU2 was overall a more impressive product than FF7-R on a technical level imo. If FF7-R won, I probably would have felt it would be a huge disservice to the level of detail put into TLOU2.

 

[Smoothie King]

Whatever you feel about story or whatever, TLOU2 was overall a more impressive product than FF7-R on a technical level imo. If FF7-R won, I probably would have felt it would be a huge disservice to the level of detail put into TLOU2.

I agree with this. While it didn't resonate with me on any emotional level, it was the most technically sound and polished I've seen. In my opinion though, that should only account for a slice of the pie, so to speak. Outside of the texture issue in FF7 though, the gap between the two games wasn't that big.

 

[Wol]

Maybe it won in another reality... one where they didn't fucked up the story so bad.

 

[Obsidian Fire]

Looking at the history of The Game Awards and GotY winners... you get something like this

Dragon Age: Inquisition
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Overwatch
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
God of War
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
The Last of Us Part II

Out of all of those... only two of them aren't what I would consider "angsty" games thematically. And one of those isn't even an RPG. And both of those "non-angsty" games have... non-realistic graphics.

For the rest? Realistic-looking "True Art is Angsty" games seem to be a shoe-in for GotY title. There is also... a rather large disparity between what type of games even get nominated for GotY. Every year is dominated by "realistic looking" games and looking at them... most of them aren't in the "game lets you feel good about yourself" headspace. Ironically... 2020's GotY nominations are one of the most... overall positive collection of games that have ever ended up pitted against each other in the GotY category. And still the one most famous for being an angst-fest won.

TLDR: a decent rule of thumb for "what wins GotY at The Game Awards" is the most realistic looking game that sticks to "True Art is Angsty" territory. TLouP2 winning is... rather predictable looking at what won previously...

 

[ForceStealer]

"True Art is Angsty"

^And this is what I'm referring to with the "oscar-bait" moniker.

As for VIIR itself...I never expected it to win to the main award regardless, so I didn't give much thought to whether it "deserves" it or not. At the end of the day, JRPGs are still a little too niche to win that award, even the most mainstream of those in FF7.
It's my personal favorite game from the year, even with the stupid ending. And indeed it could have been a lot worse and still been my favorite for the year, so the actual award is of little consequence.