I’ve been vaguely aware for quite a while that one of my favoritest games ever, Final Fantasy 7 for the original Playstation, was being remade for the Playstation 4 and my reaction to this has been somewhere between indifference and mild annoyance.
DISCLAIMER: I haven’t actually beaten the game yet, so this is my thoughts after reaching the halfway point.
Note from future me: My views on this game became increasingly negative as I continued! Read why in the follow-up post!
The reason for this is that from what little I’d glimpsed (due to lack of interest) the battle system would no longer be turned based, and the characters would now look completely photorealistic. Based on this information (or lack thereof) I concluded that Barret and Cloud would be stereotypical tough guys and the combat would be all modern action game so that all the kids will like it nowadays!
It also didn’t help that I watched, and quite disliked, the Advent Children FF7 movie, further strengthening my assumption that Square simply doesn’t get these characters any more.
So basically, I thought I wouldn’t like it and that maybe this would be what people would think was Final Fantasy 7 from now on, rendering one of my favorite games that much more obsolete in the eyes of many.
Turns Out I Was Wrong!
Well… that all changed the day I decided I would give the following video a look:
It’d been on my watch list for a while since I am a fan of the channel, even if I was still expecting the game itself to not be for me. However, watching this I came away with the impression that if what they wanted to make was a Cool Action Game for Cool People, they wouldn’t have kept the intro this slow and melancholy, lingering on flowers and Aerith (her name isn’t romanized as Aeris anymore, it turns out) and whatnot. I was actually excited now!
I then checked out the following let’s play video by Japanese channel R-Games:
Incidentally, the same guy has a let’s play video series with the original Final Fantasy 7 which is a good watch if you want to see the Japanese version of that game while having someone reading the lines for you! You can find it here.
When Your Arm Is a Gun, You Probably Aren’t a Subtle Guy
Now, for those who haven’t played the original: if you look closely, I think you will be able to pick out some subtle differences between how the characters look now and how they looked 25 years ago:
Their “faces” back then were just images pasted onto their heads. They could blink (I think) but that was it. Any actual expression of emotion was done with EXTREMELY LARGE GESTURES!!! Barret in particular was a fan of using his machine-gun arm to just continuously fire into the air whenever he was upset (which was most of time).
Thus Barret was kind of a goofy character back then, something I was still really expecting would be lost in the translation.
With that in mind, it was when I got to this scene in the elevator that I concluded that they really seemed to get Barret right! (clicking on the link should take you to the correct scene).
Here’s my attempt at a somewhat literal translation:
Barret:
While you guys are eating and sleeping, these humongous pumps are sucking up mako!
Tirelessly and mercilessly!
Do you know what mako really is? It’s the “blood” of this planet! Same as the red blood coursing though our bodies!
Cloud and Jessie:
(Looks at each other)
Barret:
…and if it keeps on like this, then what’ll happen?
Can’t you hear the cries of the planet… CLOUD? (I find it somewhat funny that he calls him Cloud-san)
Cloud:
Can you?
Barret:
Yeah!
Cloud:
See a doctor.
Barret:
You… (those studying Japanese or just watching anime may know that “temee” is an extremely rude way to say “you”, making it an insult)
The above scene made me happy enough to purchase the game! (Man do they charge good money for it though…) Barret’s over-the-top preaching was still intact and the other characters just looking at each other, shrugging sold it all the better. And I found Cloud’s unimpressed “See a doctor” line quite funny as well.
This is a common trend throughout, they almost always exceed the characterisation in the original, for three reasons:
- The game no longer needs to throw up a dialog box when somebody wants to say something, so characters are free to speak at any time. Most often while doing something else like walking around. This means they speak a lot more to each other thus fleshing out both their personalities and their relations to one another.
- It’s also just longer overall (this is actually not always a good thing). Again, this just gives everyone a lot more screen time.
- Now that the characters can actually produce really subtle facial expressions, this is used to often great effect. One of the clearest examples is how Cloud’s nonchalant attitude is in reality paper-thin. This was always the case, but this time it shows in his face almost every time he receives a compliment or comment he can’t handle.
The Battle System
Another thing I was extremely suspicious of was the real-time battle system. I quite enjoy turn-based battles, you see.
Well, I like what they’ve done here too. It’s not better than a turn-based system, and I’d have been very happy with one of those as well, but I’m definitely enjoying it for what it is.
In short, the turn based stuff is all still there, it’s just that you need to use the real-time combat system to build up the ATB meter (in the original, this was the meter that ticked up automatically, and when it was full the character could take their turn).
It’s a bit weird how the character you’re controlling is not only a lot more active in combat but also builds up this meter much faster. This means that if you want to have Aerith get her turn soon because everyone is dying and you need healing, then you need to take control of her directly and have her shoot her somewhat ineffectual staff-bullets, causing Cloud to stand around quietly contemplating rather than keep hitting them with his seven-foot sword.
Anyway, I definitely find that it keeps you busy frantically trying to keep alive during harder battles, much like in the original.
Oh, and one definite concession to modernity is that as soon as you lose a battle you get to restart directly before it. I’m not sure what I think of this. I value my time, so it’s nice to not have to repeat the things I found easy just to get to the hard parts, but it also kinda feels like the game is cheating on your behalf.
Some More Random Observations
The game is super expensive. This is just the first part of who knows how many and it still costs around $80. For some reason the game is also more expensive as a download than as a physical copy… that’s not how these things are supposed to work right? Shipping and plastic and everything doesn’t cost negative money nowadays, right?
Also, like I mentioned, sometimes it feels artificially lengthened. Where even in the original (in which battles were very frequent) you just had a quick climb up the Section 7 pillar, for instance, here it’s a much larger undertaking with combat encounters at each floor.
Shutting down the second mako reactor is now a several hour long process. They have added a lot of new tasks to do on the way, but it does kind of feel like busywork at times.
At least it gives the characters time to talk.
And Aeris is romanized as Aerith now. This is apparently something that has been really important to people? Personally I’m a bit confused as to why it’s so important how one chooses to romanize エアリス (earisu). I’m also confused as to why it’s not Earith… Anyway that’s her name now and they show the romanized names on the menu screen even in the Japanese version, so you know it’s official!
So, Is It Any Good as Japanese Practice?
Supposedly I am writing about language studies here, so I guess I should finally get around to the actual language aspect of this!
I would say that it’s great for listening practice, since every single line is spoken, and also since there is so damn much talking!
When you’re in a town, there are constantly NPCs talking in the background. (I don’t usually pay that much attention, or even understand that much a lot of the time, and the text kinda flashes by too fast to read, so it’s not the best practice, but like I said it’s constantly there when you’re in a town).
Better, the characters talk a lot to each other while you’re traversing the world, and I find that a lot of this is pretty everyday conversation stuff that’s not that hard to follow along with, especially with the subtitles.
Though, listening is by far my weakest skill so there are definitely situations like this:
Cloud: <normal everyday stuff>
Aerith: <more normal everyday stuff>
Cloud: <incomprehensible word salad>
Aerith: <incomprehensible word salad> arena <more incomprehensible word salad>
But even then the takeaway is that i need to go to the arena and the map will point me there, so it’s not too bad. It doesn’t detract to my enjoyment at least.
And also, the only way I’ll get better at my weakest skill is to actually it!
The Localization Seems to Differ Quite a Bit
Apart from it making my Japanese slightly better, I also enjoy being able to play the original version. Not least because there are so many times that I think “OK, I’m glad I don’t have to make that make sense in English!”
Everything from simple stuff like how Aerith says she’s taling to the flowers, and when being asked what they say, she responds “They say otsukaresama”.
Otsukaresama (literally something along the lines of “you’re a tired person” or “you seem tired”) is a set phrase that you say for example when someone leaves work, or after having finished something, kind of like “good work”. So I’m not sure what would make sense in this context in English, where there’s not really an existing set phrase.
Another one here: Cloud and Aerith is searching for Don Corneo. The video shows the subtitles from the English dub, this is is what they say in Japanese:
Aeris:
Look over there!
Ko-ru-ne-o! It’s over there!
Cloud:
Aah!
What she’s pointing out is the sign reading 古留根尾. This is an example of kanji used not for their meaning (in this case old+stay+root+tail), but for their pronunciation, which Aerith reads out.
In Chinese this seems to be how foreign names are typically written, but since Japanese has a phonetic alphabet as well Corneo’s name is normally just written in katakana: コルネオ (ko-ru-ne-o). So it kinda makes sense that Aerith would point this out to cloud as it’s not 100% obvious.
The Japanese let’s player I mentioned earlier read the name out before Aerith did though, so it seems to still be pretty obvious to Japanese people. I wouldn’t have noticed if she hadn’t pointed it out!
As one can see the English subtitles are nothing like this. And it doesn’t seem like something you can really sensibly get across in just few English words.
(I remember a similar situation where a shopkeeper told you to go to the place with the big sign reading 男男男 (man man man). In English he just said that it was a big sign).
Some More Funny Character Moments
Soon after the elevator scene, this conversation takes place:
Barret:
You’re how many?
Cloud:
First
Barret:
Huh?
Cloud:
In SOLDIER, apart from grades there are also ranks… (I think this is what he says here… the specifics are not super important for the joke at any rate)
Barret:
If you’re asked “how many”, people normally mean your age!
Cloud:
Oh…
Barret:
But my apologies! SOLDIERs of course aren’t normal. (He actually says SOLDIER-sama here. -sama is a suffix you use for those far above you in status, like the emperor. It’s also used by store clerks when speaking to customers)
Yes indeed, first it is! One year old right?
I’ll be sure to remember that!
(After this the let’s player remarks how he thinks Barret’s cruel 🙂 )
The joke here is that “how many” is a normal way to ask someone’s age in Japanse, but Cloud immediately jumps to the conclusion that Barret wants to know his rank in the SOLDIER organization. He keeps telling people this quite a lot.
I also just like how the voice actor sounds here, especially when he says “Hai hai faasto ne!”.
Soon after Cloud and Aerith has met this conversation takes place while they’re heading for the station:
Aerith:
Cloud, you don’t know that much about the slum, right?
Cloud:
Compared to you, probably not.
Training. Barracks. Battleground. That’s my world.
Aerith:
You’re not just acting cool now?
Cloud:
Ah…
(Later)
Aerith:
That’s the station. (In Japanese this can also just mean that’s a station)
Cloud:
I can see that.
Aerith:
I thought there weren’t stations in your world.
I actually laughed out loud a bit at that one (though maybe I’m just easily amused).
Another thing I laughed out loud at was that this happens in the middle of a boss fight with Rude:
I thought he’d just throw the broken sunglasses away or something, so it was a funny touch that he pulled out an unbroken pair that he for some reason always keeps on his person!
(The dialog isn’t really important, but anyway:)
Rude: You’re good
Aerith: Do you want to go home now?
Rude: No. It just got fun!
Status: So Excited!
It’s actually been quite some time since I got this sucked into a game. Typically I play for a few hours and then get bored for one reason or another. Actually, it’s even rare that I play games at all nowadays, I prefer to just watch others play them!
So this makes me so very excited to finally have something that I’m looking forward to playing in the evenings again.
And it’s even more rare that I do something in Japanese not because I want to improve my language skill, but because I just want to do the thing and it happens to be in Japanese!
(To find out what I thought after reaching the end of the game, read my follow-up post here!)
Adventures in Language Self-Study 