You Have Lost!

Ever since the PlayStation 3 tech demo of Final Fantasy VII was shown at 2005’s Sony Press Conference, the clamour and demand for a FF7 remake with next-gen graphics and tweaks has risen exponentially – and that’s just within myself. That video gave me goosebumps, shivers and, I’m not afraid to say, a raging erection. It was just too sexy for words, so I won’t use any more and leave it at that. Final Fantasy VII is without doubt one of the best video games ever made, and the chance to enjoy it again in a modern engine is one I fervently hope we all get the chance to do.

If I were to make a list of classic video games that I’d want to be remade, Final Fantasy VII would certainly be at the top, possibly circled eight times in red ink with hearts and stars surrounding it. I suspect if you were to scroll down that list it wouldn’t be too long until you found Street Fighter II, Capcom’s iconic fighter of 1991. Street Fighter II took what was quickly becoming a dull genre and transformed it into something that remains at the forefront of gaming today, thanks to its emphasis on simple moves, blocking and balance. Whether it’s Virtua Fighter, Soulcalibur or Tekken, the modern-day fighter still relies on concepts and principles set out by Street Fighter II.

The special moves were things of beauty that could wreak havoc on your opponent, sometimes right to the point of a knockout. You couldn’t just go gung-ho with attack because a well-timed block could change the whole dynamic of the fight. Moves had to be put together into combos, and special moves could only be used effectively at the right time. Simple to pick up, difficult to master. Everyone has a character they used to play as (Chun-Li) and a beloved special move (Spinning Bird Kick), a favourite out of Ryu and Ken, and absolutely everyone hated the bejeezus out of M freaking Bison, the game’s tough-as-nails boss. Hours, days and months were lost to sessions of SF II with mates crowded around my tiny television and humble Super Nintendo. In summary, it was awesome.

By the end of the year my hypothetical list would hypothetically have one name scratched off it, because by that time Street Fighter IV will hopefully have been released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 (as well as for the arcade and PC ). Confused as to how a fourth instalment can be a remake of the second? Okay, so it’s not officially a remake of Street Fighter II, but between you and me it practically is. For one, the game boasts the same character roster as SF II, plus a few new entrants. Also, by refusing to enter the current generation of gaming on anything but his own terms, producer Yoshinori Ono has emphasised the relation to SF II by giving the game a 2.5D effect, namely 3D rendered characters and backgrounds, but within the side-scrolling 2D space. Its outcome is that SF IV looks unlike anything else out there, especially since visually it is much more comical and physically abstract than the ultra-realism offered by Virtua Fighter 5 and Soulcalibur IV. Trailers thus far have featured character’s signature moves from SF II, such as the Somersault Kick and Shoruyken. Even the music is a remix of the battle theme present in Street Fighter II. This game is Street Fighter II 2. And two plus two equals four.

Allow me take off my fanboy fedora for a second and place my journo hat back on. This game is most likely to succeed and be immense fun to play, but how much will that be because of its nostalgic value? Are Capcom taking the easy route here by essentially remaking Street Fighter II rather than trying to truly advance the series to match this generation of fighters? Will the online play, that seems pretty limited based on what we know so far, be of any merit? Will this just be a better-looking version of SFII?

Honestly, it’s hard to keep that journo hat on right now. E3 is just around the corner, and I know I’m supposed to be most excited about games like LittleBigPlanet, Mirror’s Edge and Fallout 3, but whilst I’ll earnestly keep up-to-track with their latest developments, I’ll also be refreshing the Capcom PR page every five seconds to see if they announce a release date for SFIV. God, imagine if on the same they divulge that date Square Enix announce that FF7 remake? I’ll have to buy a new keyboard for sure…

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