Trying to explain the magninitude of this Remake to people who don't get FF

[Lex]

I was visiting my dad this morning and we ended up talking about FFVII.

My dad is actually a gamer now that I think about it, but he doesn't really think about it much. He actually introduced me to videogames - he had an Amiga 600 when I was like say 3 or 4 years old and we'd play Lemmings and Monkey Island and all sorts of other things. I got a Sega Mega Drive which he didn't really like, then the Playstation where he became obsessed with Formula 1 (the first one, made by Psygnosis also).

I digress. The point is, my love of Final Fantasy is known to him because when I got hooked on VII, I'd obviously spend hours upon hours playing it. Then it became A Thing - he'd take me to buy the latest FF whenever it came out. We went to a specific store on the day the gaming magazines told us they'd be getting released, he'd buy me the latest FF, so on and so forth. This stopped at FFXII (because I was 16/17 when that came out and could get it myself), so the last one he bought me was X-2, which I came home from school one day to find on the shelf even though I hadn't been expecting it. The story of the day we went to get FFX is closely linked to my grandmother's death, so I won't depress

Anyway, I have tried to explain FF to him generally numerous times. "Each number is an individual story with its own world, characters, etc." and he just doesn't get it. Here is how our conversation went this morning:

Me: Have you heard they're remaking FFVII?
Dad: I saw you screaming about it on Facebook but they've done it so many times I was confused about your excitement.
Me: No dad, it's FFVII. Like the original one I played back when I was a child, they're remaking it. It's my favourite. Remember?
Dad: But I mean, they remake and release it again all the time so what's the big deal? I mean who's going to even buy it?
Me: No seriously dad, remember they're all different. This is VII. Specifically VII.
Dad: OK so they're remaking this game - who's going to pay money to play the same thing again?
Me: It'll be completely different [launches into explanation about graphics and control and game systems and time], and it's very nearly twenty years old.
Dad: So aren't most of the people who played it like in their 30's now?
Me: [explains gaming demographics, punctuated with] I mean you still play games and you're 55?
Dad: I still don't understand why you'd pay more money for the same game again.
Me: ITS NOT THE SAME. HERE WATCH THE TRAILER [shows original trailer then remake teaser from E3]
Dad: Ah I see. Well that does look really good, I understand now.

We move on to talk about other things, then as he leaves the room to go do something he says:

Dad: They made a movie of that game didn't they? How was the movie?
Me: What movie? (Thinking he means Advent Children but knowing he can't possibly know about Advent Children because this information clearly doesn't penetrate)
Dad: That one, you know the one. The Final Fantasy movie.
Me: Are you talking about The Spirits Within? Released in 1998ish?
Dad: I think so
Me: Completely unrelated.
Dad: Oh *continues about his business*

That feel when you want to share your excitement and people JUST DON'T GET IT.

Like in his mind all FF is just FF and they're all just homogenised clones of the same thing XD

 

[Jason Tandro]

Put it in terms he could understand:

Dad, it's like the Gulf War. America liked it so much they decided to do it again with better technology! (off-color political joke, check)

But yeah it's one of those things that if you're not in the culture you won't appreciate it. I mean it's the same with anything. One big thing I know about is people who follow these long long long long long long long ass series getting excited over the new season (I'm looking at you One Piece fans and Whovians). I don't watch the show and I can't get myself to begin a journey that long, so it kind of goes over my head.

 

[Octo]

My dad used to call FF 'That numbers game' because he couldn't get his head around HP and MP. He used to play games, and on occasion still does but he prefers Zelda and Resident Evil.

Anyway, I remember telling my brothers - we all used to be pretty obsessed with it. My middle brother was 'mildly excited' and I was expecting more from him because he's a full on obsessive nerd about games and manga and comics. My younger brother was just like 'Yeah? It'll probably be shit' even though he loved FFVII too.

Mr Octo isn't into RPG's at all (he doesn't think videogames count as RPG's - he used to play Warhammer and stuff )

So that leaves Freybs, I'm kind of hoping I can get her into it. Even though it doesn't really have princesses or singing.

 

[Cthulhu]

Maybe explain it like they'd remake Star Wars, as in actually re-record it with different actors and by a different studio. Like if Disney would remake the original trilogy instead of make a new one.

Oooor just ignore it, he obviously doesn't really give a shit, and that's fine

 

[trash panda]

Whenever my mom refers to Final Fantasy, she always calls it FF7...as if all FF games are FF7. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if she thought every single game I ever owned was called FF7 because:

Me as a child: *playing Star Ocean*
Mom: "Oh, playing FF7?"

I'm sure if we'd ever lived together long-term, she'd have known the difference because playing games was basically all I ever did from ages 11-20.

On the contrary, my dad refers to all of my games as "Legend of Legaia" because it was my first game ever and I think he still has the case floating around his room wherever he lives because he mentions it from time to time for some reason.

Anyway, I quit trying to express my excitement about the remake to my SO because he does the same thing to me with Madden and my eyes glaze over, so...I can't talk games to him when I don't really listen to him blabber about his own games.

 

[Jason Tandro]

Howl you just reminded me of this:

 

[trash panda]

^ Exactly.

 

[Shademp]

In terms of magnitude, this is my explanation:

Imagine how huge it was when Peter Jackson successfully turned the Lord of the Rings books into movies. The FFVII remake is big like that, although here it is not a transition from book to movie but a transition from primitive/outdated/not-aged-well game to a modern super-epic scale game which will no doubt change at least a little how the story is told.

 

[Flare]

With my parents, well I really don't tell my dad, but I told my mom about the remake, just because.

Me: So you know I really like the Final Fantasy series, right? Well one of my favorite games in the series, Final Fantasy VII, is getting a remake finally!
Mom: Oh really?
Me: Yeah, the original was made in like 1997, so the graphics are all old and polygonal, and it's like the most popular FF game in the series, so they're finally listening to the fans and remaking it!
Mom: Oh, that's good!
Me: Blathers another minute about it


My mom hasn't played the series, but she knows of it since my sis and I are into it (my sis not as much as me). Actually, it's nice to know that she knows somewhat what I'm talking about, and when she sees me excited about something like this, she grins and gets the "I'm glad your happy about it" kind of look. I know she doesn't really get the hype, but that's fine, she doesn't have to, I just wanted to tell her anyway. XD But knowing she doesn't get it, I try not to go off about it too much.
I just couldn't contain myself when I heard it was being remade.

So really, I usually only ever talk to my best friend about it, because she's as into FF games as I am (and particularly VII).

 

[hian]

primitive/outdated/not-aged-well game.

Except that FF7 is non of these as demonstrated by the fact that people A.) still produce low fidelity games that sell well (Minecraft), B.) that traditional JRPGs are still popular and highly rated (the Bravely Series for one) and C.) that the original FF7 is being ported and still sells to this day and has never been surpassed by any other FF game in terms of pure sales.

Just saying.

Yeah, I know FF7 "could use a brush-up", isn't the perfect game, and that we'd all like to see it have a make-over.
People need to stop saying that it's primitive, outdated etc. though, because that really isn't the case.
I think the most accurate thing to say about FF7's problems, is that the game lacks polish (mini-game issues, translation and battle balancing) but if SE were to release the game as is, with those things fixed, and only a minor graphical brush-up I'd still consider that superior to 99% of all other JRPGs out there regardless of time-period.
I think that speaks to how well FF7 actually is a classic, and time-less piece of art.

If you said I could only play one game for the rest of my life, I'd probably pick FF7 any day of the week over any modern title. In fact, if anything, FF7 would be competing with other classics like Suikoden 2, Breath of Fire 3 and Star Ocean 2, not with newer titles like FF13, or Bioware RPGs.

On-topic though -

I'm not in the habit of sharing my excitement for things with other people, and I really don't care to try to justify or explain my excitement to people that don't get it.
I have friends and family who knows I like FF, but most of them have no relationship to the games
themselves (or gaming in general), so I don't talk to them about it. Period.

 

[NikolaiBroketheZoom]

I think my mom is the only person I would care to tell about the remake who wouldn't get it, haha. My older brother and I found out at the same time and freaked out about it together, we opened the trailer on my brother's computer so he would find it when he came home from school and then he saw it and all three of us freaked out together, my dad came home from work and we showed him and then he freaked out about it, and then I sent my friend a message on Skype and we had this conversation:

If I were to explain it to my mom, though, she'd probably not have a clue what I was talking about and I'd probably end up saying "You know, FF7? The one with the...*sigh* the one with the movie where you walked in on the last half with the blonde guy holding the dying silver-haired guy and then you were like 'WAIT SO ARE THEY BOYFRIENDS OR...?!??!' and then we told you to leave the living room? That game. They're remaking--you know what, never mind."

 

[Lex]

@Hian: You're slightly wrong about VII. It's my favourite game of all time and like you if I had to be stuck playing one game for the rest of my life, I could go with VII. But compared to every single other game in the FF series, it hasn't aged well at all.

It's not just a graphics thing, it's right down to the way the game actually feels when you're playing it. The lack of analogue movement really hinders the game - I'm not talking about the ability to use a stick to move Cloud (because you can find a way to do that), it's the awkwardness of 8-directional movement and general clunkiness of the controls that make it feel outdated. The NES/SNES FF's don't have this problem because they're 2D, FFVIII is far superior and FFIX is an example of sheer perfection when it comes to actually moving your character around.

To us VII vets this doesn't make a difference, but to a new player it absolutely does. A lot was forgiven due to the era in which it was released, but in terms of a smooth gameplay experience VII sticks out like a sore thumb, whereas all the other FF's still pass a fluidity test of sorts.

And if we get on to the graphics, the only thing I'm really going to say is that VIII and IX have aged better in that respect too, but that's because the base background resolution was far higher and the actual character models were more detailed. Of course they look dated, but they're leagues ahead of VII and this is even on the same console generation. In terms of overall experience they both still hold up today - VII does too I'm sure, but from the very beginning a lot could have been improved. The only reason it was released as it was at the time was because it was their first foray into 3D and it was something of an experiment.

If you said I could only play one game for the rest of my life, I'd probably pick FF7 any day of the week over any modern title. In fact, if anything, FF7 would be competing with other classics like Suikoden 2, Breath of Fire 3 and Star Ocean 2, not with newer titles like FF13, or Bioware RPGs.

This is simply a matter of personal taste though. Objectively I'd say some of Bioware's RPG's are up there with my favourite FF's, but I'd still choose FF because I love it so much. This remake to me isn't about making VII better, it's about telling the story in a modern way. Even if it's shit, the original will always be there and there's nothing they can do to take that away.

I'm not in the habit of sharing my excitement for things with other people, and I really don't care to try to justify or explain my excitement to people that don't get it.
I have friends and family who knows I like FF, but most of them have no relationship to the games themselves (or gaming in general), so I don't talk to them about it. Period.

Ah but you see I thought my dad would get it, since he's aware of my love for this particular game. Apparently I had the wrong impression there though.

 

[Channy]

Howl you just reminded me of this:

This is basically what my parents are like with Pokemon. We've always been a more Nintendo family and I played (re: obsessed over) Pokemon for many years... then my brother in law came into the picture when I was younger (he was just bf at the time but I knew he was the one!) and brought over FFVII... I watched and then borrowed it and became obsessed every since.

Later, when localized Advent Children came to NA, I told my mum who works at Wal-Mart to watch for the movie specifically on release day and to pick it up for me, constantly relaying

Spoiler: my need for this movie.

And then when I was raving on FB about the remake, my bro in law who saw it was like "Soo... you're excited about it, eh?" And then I continued to rave about it and why. He's really been the only one who kinda got it but doesn't play many RPG's these days, more action oriented games.

And then my parents, well... they're 60 so they're having a hard time grasping the differences of anything I fan over that isn't Pokemon.

 

[Flare]

" ...the one with the movie where you walked in on the last half with the blonde guy holding the dying silver-haired guy and then you were like 'WAIT SO ARE THEY BOYFRIENDS OR...?!??!' and then we told you to leave the living room?"

I just love this.

Related/unrelated note, my grandpa actually watched AC Complete (he liked it because of the action and the graphics) and thought Kadaj was a girl. Like, I thought Yazoo seemed the most 'feminine', but apparently Kadaj was.

 

[hian]

@Hian: You're slightly wrong about VII. It's my favourite game of all time and like you if I had to be stuck playing one game for the rest of my life, I could go with VII. But compared to every single other game in the FF series, it hasn't aged well at all.

I think that's hyperbole. If it hadn't aged well at all - then it wouldn't still be selling, and still attracting new players.

The things you go on to pick on in the rest of your post, are just that, nit-picks - not elements prevalent or significant enough to detract from the larger experience with all the things it did right - but let's have a look at what you said anyways.

It's not just a graphics thing, it's right down to the way the game actually feels when you're playing it. The lack of analogue movement really hinders the game - I'm not talking about the ability to use a stick to move Cloud (because you can find a way to do that), it's the awkwardness of 8-directional movement and general clunkiness of the controls that make it feel outdated. The NES/SNES FF's don't have this problem because they're 2D, FFVIII is far superior and FFIX is an example of sheer perfection when it comes to actually moving your character around. .

Sure, but it's a minor issue when you consider that
A.) this is not a platforming game, or otherwise a game where character movement is a central aspect of whether or not you'll hit fail-states along the way.
The clunky movement of FF7 is a nit-pick because it's largely irrelevant to the larger experience of the game.

Besides, as I clearly qualified in my original post - the game lacks polish. Lacking polish, or even being dated, is not the same as being "out-dated" and "primitive".
Clunky controls are still around to this day. This is not a time-specific problem in terms of game-design.

If all you need to do to a game to make are adjustments to control schemes etc. then to call the game out-dated is simply wrong - even worse, it's hyperbole.

To us VII vets this doesn't make a difference, but to a new player it absolutely does. A lot was forgiven due to the era in which it was released, but in terms of a smooth gameplay experience VII sticks out like a sore thumb, whereas all the other FF's still pass a fluidity test of sorts. .

I don't agree, because the clunky controls hardly ever actually impact your ability to play the game. This isn't Spyro the Dragon, or Super Mario. This is an RPG - your ability to complete it rests almost entirely on maneuvering through menus, more so than game environments.

I also reject the assertion that FF7 stands more out in this regard than, for instance, earlier FF titles - or that all other FF titles pass some sort of fluidity test, whilst FF7 doesn't.
In regards to older titles, despite being 2D tile-based affairs, I still think it's just as frustrating (to the degree I find it frustrating at all, which is to say, very little) to play these earlier titles due to their unresponsive controls and lack of fluid movement from tile to tile.

In regards to newer titles - just because FF8-9 are more fluid than FF7 does not mean that FF7's lack of fluidity is to the point that it notice-ably detracts from the player's ability to clear or enjoy the game.

And if we get on to the graphics, the only thing I'm really going to say is that VIII and IX have aged better in that respect too, but that's because the base background resolution was far higher and the actual character models were more detailed. Of course they look dated, but they're leagues ahead of VII and this is even on the same console generation. In terms of overall experience they both still hold up today - VII does too I'm sure, but from the very beginning a lot could have been improved. The only reason it was released as it was at the time was because it was their first foray into 3D and it was something of an experiment.

This is a common misconception about the FF7 development process.
Yes, a lot of it was experimental - but most of the design of the game was not due to perceived technical limitations (many other titles for
the playstation at the time had already made similar or better 3D
games, some, like RE1, with pre-rendered backgrounds).
The primary reason was time-constraints and money.

The Chibi set-up for instance, had nothing to do system restrictions, and was chosen specifically to harken back to the style of the NES and SNES titles. Talks with Sakaguchi confirm this.

More on point though - your argument here is flawed. Just because 8 and 9 looks better, and has aged better than FF7, does not mean by extension that FF7 has not aged well, or that it is out-dated as a whole.

It simply means that FF8-9 looks better and have aged better.
If I get a 70% on a test-score, and you get a 85%, that does not mean that I have failed the test. I'm still at 70%, which is fairly okay.

My point again though - Is that if all you would need to do to a game
is increase resolution on back-grounds, improve 3d models, and smooth out control issues, translation etc. then to say that the game is out-dated is inane to my mind.

A game is fundamentally its systems - and in the cases where it aspires to be narratively driven - its story. If the fundamental game-play and story of an RPG is relevant and enjoyable to this day (which it is), and the presentation of it is acceptable to this day (which I would say it is - the game's art-style is still stronger and more vibrant than the majority of games being produced today), then the game is neither out-dated nor primitive.

As I said - I have no problem with the statement that FF7 lacks polish, isn't perfect, has inferior graphics to newer titles etc. I have a problem with the sentiment that it makes sense to call one of gaming history's most influential titles - a game with an amazing art-style, strong story, strong core game-play, and extremely good sound-track - out-dated and primitive because the controls are a bit daft, the resolution is low, and the translation needs more work.

This is simply a matter of personal taste though. Objectively I'd say some of Bioware's RPG's are up there with my favourite FF's, but I'd still choose FF because I love it so much. .

All things like these are of course in part due to taste. However, I reject the idea that there are no points of gaming development (as a game developer myself) that cannot be objectively quantified and I find the idea that you or I would pick FF7, if it was out-dated and primitive as a game, laughable.

You really expect me to believe you'd pick FF7 as the only game you could play for the rest of your life, if a later FF game did everything better in every regards? Or you thought the core game-play mechanics of the game was bad?

In context of most classic JRPGs VS modern RPGs for isntance, content is an obvious kicker.
JRPGs like Star Ocean 2, Suikoden 2, Breath of Fire 3, and FF7, if you're not blasting past the dialogue and escaping every encounter, often take 40 hours or so to complete at the least, and then usually stretching into the 80-90+ hour mark if you're a completionist.

The reason I'd pick FF7 if I could only play one game for the rest of my life is not just because I subjectively enjoy its story and game-play systems, but also because it's going to give me a lot of content compared to many other games, variety, and a diverse sensory experience.
The reason I wouldn't pick Call of Duty for instance, are for the exact opposite reasons.

Now, philosophically speaking, it's still subjective - because there's nothing to say that diversity of content and stylistic presentation is objectively better than the opposite - However, if we start going down that road everything is subjective in either case, and we find ourselves with a new problem.

If everything about games fall down to subjective preference, then why make the argument that FF7 is "out-dated and primitive"? What does that mean if everything boils down to subjective preference? Nothing of course, because in light of that, as long as some people out there prefer FF7 as is, then it can't be out-dated and primitive.

FF7 is dated and lacks polish - it is however, neither out-dated nor primitive relative to most other games, modern or classic.

This remake to me isn't about making VII better, it's about telling the story in a modern way. Even if it's shit, the original will always be there and there's nothing they can do to take that away.

I don't see why people always bring that up. In the case of this exchange I never said anything about the original FF7 losing anything from a reboot or re-imagining of it.

My point is simply that the statement that FF7 is out-dated and primitive doesn't make sense, and people need to stop pretending as if that has anything to do with the remake.
It really doesn't. The remake, whether people recognize it or not, boils down to people being obsessed with graphical fidelity, and SE's obsession with cashing in on the FF7 brand.

It's not being made because it "needs" to be made because the original "doesn't work anymore".

I do believe there is an argument to be made for how silly it is to make a remake of a game for a vastly different audience than the one that actually constitute the majority of the people who bought the original simply to justify production costs inherent to the ridiculous effort of making FF7 look like FF15 rather than looking like, say FF7.
But that's another argument for another time.

You're right SE can't take away from the original by remaking it - they can however spit in the face of long-time fans who have enabled their continued existence by buying their products, the original
FF7 in particular, by botching the remake of it - if that's what they end up doing.
Just saying - the remake not having an impact on the original, does not mean that a botched remake isn't something to be mad about. It definitely is. Way too early to say whether it will be botched or not though.

Ah but you see I thought my dad would get it, since he's aware of my love for this particular game. Apparently I had the wrong impression there though.

No worries. That part of my post wasn't directed at you. Simply a statement to the fact that I don't usually have conversations like that.

 

[Lex]

A.) this is not a platforming game, or otherwise a game where character movement is a central aspect of whether or not you'll hit fail-states along the way. The clunky movement of FF7 is a nit-pick because it's largely irrelevant to the larger experience of the game.

Besides, as I clearly qualified in my original post - the game lacks polish. Lacking polish, or even being dated, is not the same as being "out-dated" and "primitive". Clunky controls are still around to this day. This is not a time-specific problem in terms of game-design.

If all you need to do to a game to make are adjustments to control schemes etc. then to call the game out-dated is simply wrong - even worse, it's hyperbole.

The overall experience of FFVII is the story. The clunky movement of FFVII is hugely relevant to the gameplay, and has a massive impact on player experience. Movement is important. You see people getting stuck behind barriers when they're simply trying to move from A to B all the time, then getting a random encounter and getting lost. This doesn't happen to us because we know exactly where everything is and how to move through the story.

Just because it's not a platforming game doesn't mean it should be forgiven for terrible controls. Having to hold X to run for the entire game for example, is pretty stupid.

Newer players know it's an old game, so they go "lol clunky controls because old game" and just deal with it, but you can't possibly be telling me you believe that if the game was released as it is on this day that people wouldn't be complaining about it.

In regards to newer titles - just because FF8-9 are more fluid than FF7 does not mean that FF7's lack of fluidity is to the point that it notice-ably detracts from the player's ability to clear or enjoy the game.

But it does. The people who play these games now do so for the awesome stories, and when they review these games their opinion is always heavily coloured by that. You might not think movement matters to the experience because the battle system is king, but all of these seemingly small things do detract from the experience. Nobody said it was game ruining, but it is OUT-dated. Whereas VIII and IX are not, re: movement.

This is a common misconception about the FF7 development process.
Yes, a lot of it was experimental - but most of the design of the game was not due to perceived technical limitations (many other titles for
the playstation at the time had already made similar or better 3D
games, some, like RE1, with pre-rendered backgrounds).
The primary reason was time-constraints and money.

The Chibi set-up for instance, had nothing to do system restrictions, and was chosen specifically to harken back to the style of the NES and SNES titles. Talks with Sakaguchi confirm this.

More on point though - your argument here is flawed. Just because 8 and 9 looks better, and has aged better than FF7, does not mean by extension that FF7 has not aged well, or that it is out-dated as a whole.

That's exactly what it means though. It's the same system and there are two games from the same generation that are superior. We can see this in more recent examples too - the original Uncharted for example.

It simply means that FF8-9 looks better and have aged better.
If I get a 70% on a test-score, and you get a 85%, that does not mean that I have failed the test. I'm still at 70%, which is fairly okay.

That's not really a fair analogy for this situation. It's more like one person failing maths and passing everything else, and the other simply passing everything. There's still a fail in there, even if it doesn't ultimately ruin the experience.

My point again though - Is that if all you would need to do to a game
is increase resolution on back-grounds, improve 3d models, and smooth out control issues, translation etc. then to say that the game is out-dated is inane to my mind.

Then you're not really understanding what it is that makes something outdated. FFVII's controls don't need a few tweaks, they need an entire overhaul.

A game is fundamentally its systems - and in the cases where it aspires to be narratively driven - its story. If the fundamental game-play and story of an RPG is relevant and enjoyable to this day (which it is), and the presentation of it is acceptable to this day (which I would say it is - the game's art-style is still stronger and more vibrant than the majority of games being produced today), then the game is neither out-dated nor primitive.

As I said - I have no problem with the statement that FF7 lacks polish, isn't perfect, has inferior graphics to newer titles etc. I have a problem with the sentiment that it makes sense to call one of gaming history's most influential titles - a game with an amazing art-style, strong story, strong core game-play, and extremely good sound-track - out-dated and primitive because the controls are a bit daft, the resolution is low, and the translation needs more work.

OK this is the second time in one post you've tried to "school" me on FFVII, please don't do that. Rest assured I'm aware of the history of its development and the impact it had on gaming. None of that is a blanket cover-all for the outdated aspects of the game. This is about opinion though, so since it's completely off-topic I'll make a thread if you want to continue the discussion

 

[Ite]

introduced a girlfriend to FF9 about a year ago. She'd never played a video game before and effortlessly navigated through. A few months ago she started FFVII and has been constantly frustrated, frequently accidentally backstepping into previous screens, getting stuck behind nothing, and spends upwards of a minute trying to position herself in front of a person.

Moreover, she's one of the quickest people I know, and has made sense of some pretty convoluted plots, but the localization of FFVII has left her scratching her head after most of the major sequences.

She is not the first person I have watched play FFVII, but the results are generally the same no matter the experience of the gamer.

So yes, FFVII is outdated as fuck. The navigation is embarrassing and the story is clumsily exposited and sloppily localized. It needs more than a graphical overhaul.

 

[Lex]

THANK YOU

 

[Channy]

I think I might be one of the few who didn't find the localization all that odd. I found the navigation frustrating as fuck and always had the guides/arrows on so I knew where to go but as far as translation, etc, I was young enough that I chalked shit up to creative licensing for the fantasy genre.

 

[Mayo Master]

Other localizations (like the French one) were poor translations from the English! It took a fair amount of imagination and logic stretching to understand everything.

 

[Dashell]

I think it can be hard to explain these things to parents sometimes, gamers or not. I remember having a hell of a time explaining to my mom why there was "X" and "X-2" and why they didn't call X-2 XI because XI was a different storyline and why they did it that way and so on.

 

[Unlucky]

Been very busy with real life crap so I was incredibly late at all remake-related news. Never had the time to read articles or even lurk here to share the excitement. Anyway shortly before the news I managed to convince a friend who's never played FF before to play VII on Stream. When I found out about the remake I immediately sent him the videos and was screaming and crying like a retard.. telling him how the fans have been demanding this for years and how this is going to change everyone's lives.

His reaction: "Ooh that's great improved graphics will definitely play hehehe"

 

[trash panda]

Spoiler: I feel like this is me trying to share this game with people:

And this is people:

 

[Lex]

People who don't get it just won't get it unless they sit their asses down and play through the game XD. It's like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. You can tell people it's one of the best shows ever made until you're blue in the face but all they're thinking is "how nyaff is that name", "ew vampires" and "lol".

The name Final Fantasy probably inspires the basement dweller stereotype to people who aren't entrenched in it like we are, and that makes me sad =(

 

[Tennyo]

I'm lucky in that I do know people who will get it. Just last night I was having a conversation with a couple friends about this. One of them actually had a really strange theory about how he thinks SE will let Aerith live and kill off Cloud JUST BECAUSE for no reason other than shock value?

But at least I didn't have to explain it I guess.