So VII Remake was mine and many other people's GOTY last year, and already rumours are swirling about a PS5 version. However if insiders are to be believed (and they always are) VII Remake's PS5 edition will be more than just a 60FPS 4K port, but will have additional story content. So I was interested to hear what you all expected or hoped for from this upcoming release.
FINAL FANTASY and Nomura are no strangers to expanded editions, and I think looking at past models of re releases could give us some clues as to what we should expect. So I thought I'd go through a few of them.
The 'Final Mix' Model
I will get this out the way first because this is by far my favourite of the models and for sure what I hope we get. This model of rerelease makes substantial changes to the game itself, including new sidequests, several challenging superbosses, and tweaks to the core gameplay. It is also characterised by having lots of new story scenes sprinkled throughout the game, often hinting at what to expect from future games, as well as introducing a few twists. I feel like this would be perfect for VII Remake for 2 reasons. Firstly my main problem with VII Remake was that the side content felt insubstantial and I'd love to see more. The second reason is that the nature of VII Remake's story and its multi-part structure, makes it perfect for those secret scenes that KH Final Mixes did so well. But it's not perfect, as all previous Final Mix releases have required you to re-buy the game, similar to Persona 5 Royal.
The 'International' Model
This was the model of rerelease used by Final Fantasy VII, X, X-2 and XII. I'll be straight with you. This is very similar to the Final Mix model, but there was something that 'felt different' from KH's Final Mix approach. Like the FM approach, the International editions had additional content integrated into the core game, as well as tweaks to the gameplay and sometimes a few extra scenes. You'd even occasionally get a whole new game as with Last Mission. However the Final Mix editions focused heavily on teasing future games, and there were usually a lot more story scenes added. International editions tended to focus more on adding new side content. Again, that additional side content is something I'm dying for so I would love something like this. And I'd be okay if the additional story scenes were more limited. Unfortunately, like the Final Mix, these games were wholly new releases, no DLC, no upgrade, and that means a full $60 price tag. Maybe that won't be the case with
The 'Re:Mind' Model
This is unfortunately the model I think we're gonna get, and it's based on Nomura's latest expanded edition of KH3. The 'Re:Mind' model adds a ton of new story content and new boss battles, but it's segmented off from the main game. In many ways SE treat it like a game in its own right (especially when it comes to pricing LOL! am I right or what?) One of the reasons I like expanded editions is because it gives me a fresh way to replay some of my favourite games, but with the Re:Mind model there's really no reason to do that. It also means that you don't get additional side content peppered throughout the game. Of course it does mean that people who don't want to replay the game, can jump straight in with the new content, so there are certainly advantages. Re:Mind was also a fairly substantial amount of content. I think this is the most likely mode we'll see purely because of that trademark floating around: Ever Crisis. I think Ever Crisis will be a segmented DLC to go alongside a PS5 4K remaster.
The 'Royal Edition' Model
I think it's fair to say that this is the most consumer friendly model. Ignoring for a moment some of the issues with the way FFXV told its story across DLC and movie tie ins, the Royal Pack specifically made substantial changes to the core game, with tons of additional side content, new super bosses, mechanics and substantial story content. The best thing was that if you had the original game you just paid to upgrade, and new buyers could buy the Royal Edition as a full pack for $50. I do think there's a slight downside here that with an upgrade pack you could have different versions of the game being played by different people who have or haven't upgraded. I tend to prefer 'ultimate editions' that become the become the standard version people have played. But I realise that's a nitpick.
The 'Activision' Model
$10 for a marginal resolution upgrade and a neat new skater.
So what do you think is realistic and what do you hope for?
FINAL FANTASY and Nomura are no strangers to expanded editions, and I think looking at past models of re releases could give us some clues as to what we should expect. So I thought I'd go through a few of them.
The 'Final Mix' Model
I will get this out the way first because this is by far my favourite of the models and for sure what I hope we get. This model of rerelease makes substantial changes to the game itself, including new sidequests, several challenging superbosses, and tweaks to the core gameplay. It is also characterised by having lots of new story scenes sprinkled throughout the game, often hinting at what to expect from future games, as well as introducing a few twists. I feel like this would be perfect for VII Remake for 2 reasons. Firstly my main problem with VII Remake was that the side content felt insubstantial and I'd love to see more. The second reason is that the nature of VII Remake's story and its multi-part structure, makes it perfect for those secret scenes that KH Final Mixes did so well. But it's not perfect, as all previous Final Mix releases have required you to re-buy the game, similar to Persona 5 Royal.
The 'International' Model
This was the model of rerelease used by Final Fantasy VII, X, X-2 and XII. I'll be straight with you. This is very similar to the Final Mix model, but there was something that 'felt different' from KH's Final Mix approach. Like the FM approach, the International editions had additional content integrated into the core game, as well as tweaks to the gameplay and sometimes a few extra scenes. You'd even occasionally get a whole new game as with Last Mission. However the Final Mix editions focused heavily on teasing future games, and there were usually a lot more story scenes added. International editions tended to focus more on adding new side content. Again, that additional side content is something I'm dying for so I would love something like this. And I'd be okay if the additional story scenes were more limited. Unfortunately, like the Final Mix, these games were wholly new releases, no DLC, no upgrade, and that means a full $60 price tag. Maybe that won't be the case with
The 'Re:Mind' Model
This is unfortunately the model I think we're gonna get, and it's based on Nomura's latest expanded edition of KH3. The 'Re:Mind' model adds a ton of new story content and new boss battles, but it's segmented off from the main game. In many ways SE treat it like a game in its own right (especially when it comes to pricing LOL! am I right or what?) One of the reasons I like expanded editions is because it gives me a fresh way to replay some of my favourite games, but with the Re:Mind model there's really no reason to do that. It also means that you don't get additional side content peppered throughout the game. Of course it does mean that people who don't want to replay the game, can jump straight in with the new content, so there are certainly advantages. Re:Mind was also a fairly substantial amount of content. I think this is the most likely mode we'll see purely because of that trademark floating around: Ever Crisis. I think Ever Crisis will be a segmented DLC to go alongside a PS5 4K remaster.
The 'Royal Edition' Model
I think it's fair to say that this is the most consumer friendly model. Ignoring for a moment some of the issues with the way FFXV told its story across DLC and movie tie ins, the Royal Pack specifically made substantial changes to the core game, with tons of additional side content, new super bosses, mechanics and substantial story content. The best thing was that if you had the original game you just paid to upgrade, and new buyers could buy the Royal Edition as a full pack for $50. I do think there's a slight downside here that with an upgrade pack you could have different versions of the game being played by different people who have or haven't upgraded. I tend to prefer 'ultimate editions' that become the become the standard version people have played. But I realise that's a nitpick.
The 'Activision' Model
$10 for a marginal resolution upgrade and a neat new skater.
So what do you think is realistic and what do you hope for?
Last edited:
