| Angelus said: This thread is an interesting study in the duality of a fandom. Core structure vs. mythology. One group is more than satisfied to play any story that in some way touches upon familiar beats, just so long as there's still a grand adventure with the characters they love, in a setting they remember fondly, with a combat system that feels natural to the FF lineage. For them, it's the moment to moment experience that defines the game. The other, is much more invested in overarching elements that bind it all together. What's the exact plot? What's the nature of the conflict? How is it resolved? Is established lore respected? If these elements don't match up with their expectations, or established framework of the source material, the moment to moment experience is diminished significantly, and in some cases, made wholly irrelevant. Neither group is wrong to feel how they feel. You just consume the material differently. |
The issue you're missing though is what the fanbase was led to believe.
You can say that some people like chocolate and some people like vanilla. But if I like vanilla, you tell me you're going to make some great vanilla ice cream, you sell me a cone telling me it's vanilla, and then it turns out it's actually chocolate, then that's a problem.
Runa216 said:
See, this is where we differ. I personally think this 'spoiler' is easily the most interesting, unique, engaging, and fun-sounding twist on the story I've heard so far. I went from 'eeeeh...I guess it'll be fun and I'm getting it because I loved the original so much' to 'holy shit I have to play this and there's so much creative potential there!' In the end, you are in charge of your own perception of the changes made in an adaptation or retelling or remake. Based on everything I heard the creators say leading up to this, I think this is well within the realm of what we could have expected. Yeah, I guess some people aren't going to like it, but so far it's just...a first step in a direction people don't like or might not like. It's still WAY too early to know if this direction is going to be all that different or not. If it is? Cool! I actually hope it is because the meta-storytelling is interesting to me. (Reminds me of anime and comic books/movies). If it ends up still basically being 90% the same game from here on out, I'm happy with that, too. I still think it's WAY too early to know if the direction they're going is good or not. all we know is that it has the potential to be wildly different from the original and what many of us came to expect. Subverting expectations CAN be a good thing and often is (Yeah, I know The Last Jedi was NOT a subversion that most people liked, but that's the exception), so I'm still going to withhold judgement until parts 2 and 3 are released. all I see is people eager to be upset about something long before they have any real right to know where this is going. be apprehensive, sure. I get it. but not only have none of you (unless you're in Australia or EU) actually played the game, but parts 2 and 3 aren't even out yet. all we have is conjecture on top of theories and extrapolation. We're about three steps away actually being able to judge this based on the whole. Could it be bad? sure, it could. I don't think it will be. It COULD be the best and most interesting take on the FFVII world we've ever seen, going above and beyond the rest of the franchise to date. We don't know and can't. all I see is people whining that the sanctity of their plotline might very literally be defeated. |
You're making some assumptions about my tastesl. Personally, I like FF7 but it's not even in my top 100 games. It's not something I'm so passionately invested in that I'm upset at it being changed. TBH the changes really haven't influenced how likely I am to buy the game in one way or another.
My issue is that this is not what anyone should have anticipated. I am not responsible for what I think a remake will be. Language works based on people having a consensus on what words mean. If Square's definition of remake is different than everyone else's, then the misunderstanding is entirely they're fault. Honestly, did you anticipate anything like the changes described in the spoilers when you thought of what a remake might be?
To quote you, "all we know is it has the potential to be wildly different from the original". It's pretty clear based on the fact that they introduced a plot point specifically to explain they can now make major changes to the story, that they intend to do just that. By no definition should a remake be wildly different than the original, and people who were sold on the prospect of a remake are justifiably disappointed. Especially for people who are going to avoid spoilers and are going to wind up buying something they may not have decided to purchase if they knew what it was.
There is a difference between subverting expectations that an audience built for themselves, as in the last Jedi (which I actually liked), and specifically leading consumers to believe a product will be something it is not. If I'm watching a Spider-man movie and they subvert my expectations by making Aunt May hot, that's subverting my expectations. If I'm watching Spider-man movie and there's no Spider-man in it, that's false advertising.
Maybe the changes will actually lead to a better story. But that's really neither here nor there. When you tell people to expect one thing, and you give them something completely different, they will justifiably be disappointed.
