Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Proves Open Worlds Need Purpose

it's become the instinctive evolution of AAA games that each entry gets bigger it's the most natural showcase to the consumer that what they are buying into is indeed an altered or enhanced experience games can appear far-reaching in many ways a larger cast of characters can make a story feel Grand art Direction can make a linear space feel vast and the careful addition of allowing player creativity to gameplay can open your mind it's become assumed that games only have one route in the process of expansion but purpose has to be found before the swelling of a world can turn heads open worlds with narrative intent have brought with them some of the industry's most memorable moments Final Fantasy 7 rebirth being open has a different opportunity to turn heads it's easier for some to take a risk on a game when they feel its content dense while being open world will always assist new audiences wanting to try a game what you do to captivate them within it is far more important thankfully not many games have struck the balance while traveling through Seven's world the content between is mostly combat driven with the exception of running into some new friends accurately representing this space and modernizing what you encounter on the way to your destination is a challenge that has to be conquered only then can you recapture the freedom given during an era of games where even the idea of it was pure magic Final Fantasy did not find itself in these types of open environments until Western influence found its way into Square Enix seven is typically regarded is having an open world when in reality PlayStation 1's presentation of Gaia is just an impressive illusion the world map itself is a very linear instance of what the pathing would actually look like to travel on it was at this point not an uncommon design choice for Square Enix or Final Fantasy using 1997's technical options it was a brilliant workaround to make it feel as if you're actually Globe trotting especially considering just how linear the design of the first 5 hours of the game are it's where their effective use of subversion took its first steps people respond positively to being thrown into a more intensive world at the right speed the design choice to show you what your next 50 hours can contain in a matter of moments historically this has been done visually leaving Vault 101 CR ing the hill in breath of the wild descending underground into the view of a sky Final Fantasy 7 pulled this off with a static shot into few lines of dialogue it was pure narrative purpose when revisiting this sequence decades later and in a three-part Saga it had to be Freedom driven in a different way you get a more visual representation that the story for this cast has just begun a larger world is out there that you will exist in but it's still far out of reach you can't have your moment of Euphoria for another 3 years seven remakes stepout moment in sense of Freedom comes from a release of Destiny and the recreation of the feeling that what's outside of midgar is still a mystery it's the same moment executed under different circumstances the unknown is still just one step away once you find yourself taking those first steps into the larger world of Gaia the real test of the team's development prowess falls under examination creative business unit 1 has been on an unknown path of their own in taking on translating this map to real walkable distances Final Fantasy 7 has excellent pacing that was Far easier to get the hang of in the linear space of 2020s midgar as with most open World Games pacing is the first victim of an unnecessary design Choice One of remake's most overlooked design decisions was giving the player side content only when it makes sense for cloud to be taking it on narratively open World Games need to be way smarter about this if the pacing the story place is an urgent threat looming over the world there will always be a reason to do things for the residents of a hurting world but they can always be placed in far more clever ways than we are historically used to the world map is split into two distinct sections in which early on a ship takes you to and from the eastern and western continent ocean in any game helps fulfill a sense of vastness you can't view the ocean as anything other than a massive foreoing area that usually stops you from reaching more it's been said there is no loading in rebirths map and alluded to that that includes the crossing of ocean that's a load time that anyone would accept and considering it was figured out is a testament to the lengths gone to commit to the feeling of true freedom in Exploration sections of the ocean play a role in the later parts of the game but being able to cross the dividing part of it in its entirety is a level of access Square hasn't historically opted into it wasn't until postgame 15 where a version of this was even experimented with exploration is where the excitement of a large world can quickly turn into disappointment the act of filling a world with things that are not only meaningful but also add to the tone of the world is a design philosophy most games in the genre lack for rebirth there exists an opportunity to continue adapting sevens ahead of its time features under a modern lens remake implemented a scene that varies depending on your actions in game you share a relationship enhancing moment with either Tifa aith or Barrett that takes place right before the Ascension to the upper plate this happens under the same pointbase system used to decide what clothing everyone has on in the wall Market section of the game yet another feature that was utilized in the the original game to determine a scene of similar potency but one that exists beyond the confines of remake story and into its sequel rebirth widens this behindthescenes point system to side quest via the way you talk to your party members this already adds one single layer of reason to partake in the side content outside of the quest narrative itself knowing that your words have actual meaning and affect many small outcomes creates such a personal experience because it's done via a growing attachment to the characters that's all side content ever needs to service relationships your relationship to characters to the story Into the world the Hunts many games and less impactful discoveries all gain new meaning when the game has won you over in a way where just being in the world for a moment longer is now enough there exist small systems like this that are able to completely alter the perspective of the player when choosing to partake or pass on a game side content and instead so many studios when creating large worlds stop right there the meaningless content is served up front and immediately devalues everything someone would have found worth seeing later on providing purpose falls to the Wayside the Remake project is something that is structured to have storytelling and World design Evolution with each entry every opportunity to push the genre forward should be taken Final Fantasy 7's overall impact in the industry pushed the developers of this project to work at their absolute best it seems clear now that the result of that is what we may be seeing come Launch Open worlds do need purpose it's easy to look at the way the industry is moving and find little value in the way they are consistently utilized without it Final Fantasy 7 was a leader in finding true value in expanding the areas of the game you are playing in and it's time for them to do it [Music] again

Channel: Repaduski

Views: 217,912

Keywords: final fantasy 7, final fantasy 7 rebirth, final fantasy 7 remake, final fantasy open world, final fantasy 7 open world, final fantasy 7 rebirth open world, final fantasy 7 rebirth gameplay, open world ps5

Id: AFbLv5vdOeI

Length: 8min 13sec (493 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 19 2024