You can bet a million gil that I will!
It’s being called the game of the decade (some would even say century) by some fans and I won’t argue with them. To date, I’ve clocked in close to 80 hours on it already going through two full playthroughs on each of my Playstation Network accounts (I have one local to my country and one US to buy games only available in the region). Next will be trying to get Platinum trophies for both accounts as well which could easily see me spend close to 200 hours on the game.
Being a huge fan of the original and the franchise as a whole (FFVII was the first game in the FF series that I played), I’ve definitely enjoyed the Remake. Although my guess is as good as anyone else’s, I’m curious as to what the team at Square Enix (SE) has in store for the remainder of the project.
The only thing that I’m (slightly) unhappy about with the game is the fact that it’s been split up into episodes.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I fully understand the reason for doing so. I mean, just the Midgar portion alone has become a standalone full game. Of course, it’s only become so because of the amount of expansion SE has given to it. But at the same time, I’ve liked the backstory of Midgar and the additional parts they’ve added because they couldn’t have done it with the original. So, in order to deliver the game to us — the fans — quicker, they had to split it up. And the fact that they might have had to ship the game in probably 4–5 discs otherwise (which I wouldn’t have minded either) if they released it as a full game like the original one.
So, if you ask me if I prefer to play it episodically rather than having to wait for potentially 10–15 years for a full game, I’d say yes. Although I have a feeling that for us to eventually get the full game, it may well take up to 10–15 years.
I know a lot of people don’t mind it being episodic as well. However, many have complained about the price that they have to pay for it.
You see, a standard version of the game in my country is RM249 which translate to around $50. That’s pretty average all across the world I guess. But I didn’t buy the standard version of the game. I bought the Deluxe one which set me back RM349 ($80). That’s quite a lot of money. If I had gotten the 1st Class Edition, that would have been around RM1449 ($349) which I didn’t have the money for.
Imagine if the entire Remake project consists of 5 episodes (based on how much they follow the original and expand more on it), that would mean spending at least $250 for the standard version of the game. Would I pay that amount of money? Of course, I would! Heck, if every single episode they release comes with a Deluxe or 1st Class Edition like the Midgar episode, it’ll sell out in a flash! I know for a fact that I won’t be getting any 1st Class Editions but you can bet all your gil that I will definitely be getting the Deluxe edition ones. If each is sold for $80, that would mean me spending a total of around $400 (equivalent to around RM2000 in my country’s currency) and personally, it would be money well spent.
Why, if I have the money by then, I wouldn’t mind spending what would probably be around $1750 (RM7500) on all five 1st Class Edition versions because it will be worth it.
And I’ll tell you why.
They deserve it
For a game that finally came out in April 2020 after it was announced in June 2015, it shows just how much effort it took to make it. Yes, they had some issues with some of their partners and had to move production in-house which meant they had to start from scratch (or at least most of it) again and easily cost them a year or two. But looking at how the end product turned out from every single aspect, you know just how much work, time, and effort it took the multiple teams working on it.
Sure, people will say that SE is going to try and milk you for all its worth but I say, let them. If I had to work as hard as them to get out a game so loved by millions across the world, I would milk it as much as I could too. Because I’d have deserved it. So the fact that I wouldn’t mind paying the amount of money I probably will be is because they totally and thoroughly deserve it. Knowing SE, they will definitely improve further in the coming episodes and that will also play a part as to why I (and millions other) won’t mind parting with my hard-earned cash for it.
When people have put in so much time and energy to bring you something that you love, they deserve all they can get. The teams at SE definitely deserve it and I’m sure they’ll get it.
Their teams need to be paid as well
In the first week after its release, SE announced that FFVII Remake sold over 3 million copies worldwide! Now that it’s been well over a month since its release, that number is definitely higher and I won’t be surprised if the entire Remake project becomes the highest selling game ever. With that kind of achievement, the people involved would definitely need to be congratulated and compensated well, wouldn’t they?
I mean, if you worked so hard and put in so much of your time and effort into a project that eventually pays off, you’d want to be rewarded for it no? And most of the time, doesn’t that reward come in the form of money?
These talented individuals are not cheap, I’m sure. They’d spent a lot of time and money investing in themselves and now we, as the fans, are reaping the benefits of that by getting to play awesome games developed by them. If SE don’t make enough money to pay them, they’ll lose the very people that have helped them to get to where they are now. It’s business, isn’t it? For me, if it’s worth the price, I will pay it and I know many other fans feel the same way too.
It’s self-investment for your well-being
People who are not gamers will tell you that you’ve wasted your time playing games, time that is so precious and you can’t get back. But for gamers, we don’t feel that way at all. Have I felt like I’ve wasted almost 200 hours of my time playing the first episode of the remake?
Hell no.
Those hours I’ve spent so far (and many many more hours in the decades to come) have been very beneficial to me. For me, it’s helped me cope with stress. When I was younger, playing games kept me off the streets from doing stupid things I’d regret later on in life. It’s for my well-being and as far as I’m concerned, it’s me investing in myself because it makes me feel good. It makes me feel happy. It’s my escape place and I love it.
And that for me, makes it worth all the money in the world.
Money spent on things that are worth it are money well spent. Yes, it is also very subjective to the individual. Some spend tons of money on the latest gadgets, some on clothing, some on cars, some on bikes, some on jewellery, etc. and more often than not, we will have people who don’t agree with it as much as some who do.
If spending money on certain things make you happy, why not? For me, that’s on games.
That’s why even if SE decides to release all remaining episodes of the Remake Project as full-priced games, I WILL get them all, definitely in Deluxe edition at least (if they release other editions aside from standard) or if I have the money, the higher editions.
As the famous words of Barrett in the game, “There ain’t no getting off of this train that we’re on!” and I’ve been on this train for too long now to ever want to get off of it.
I Am Benny Lim 