FMVs: FFVII vs. Compilation of FFVII
I wrote an essay comparing the OG FMV opening to the remade compilation version to try to point out the ways in which they "alter" the story and what is important in it. Some of you might be interested in checking it out.
The most immediately obvious difference between the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII and the game that it’s based on is the graphics. The new games, movies and OVAs have certainly earned their reputation as eye candy and the beautifully rendered characters and scenery far outclass the blocky Full Motion Videos from the original game, developed in 1997. In fact, through the course of the Compilation, Square Enix has actually remade a handful of the cutscenes from the original game. Though there seems to be high fidelity to the source material, much of it is actually superficial. The primary purpose of the FMV, then a rather new technology for video games, is communicative - they help to tell and frame a story using visuals rather than words. In this essay, I compare the original cutscene to a remade version in order to illustrate how the remakes have subtly reframed or distorted the original.
View the rest here.
The most immediately obvious difference between the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII and the game that it’s based on is the graphics. The new games, movies and OVAs have certainly earned their reputation as eye candy and the beautifully rendered characters and scenery far outclass the blocky Full Motion Videos from the original game, developed in 1997. In fact, through the course of the Compilation, Square Enix has actually remade a handful of the cutscenes from the original game. Though there seems to be high fidelity to the source material, much of it is actually superficial. The primary purpose of the FMV, then a rather new technology for video games, is communicative - they help to tell and frame a story using visuals rather than words. In this essay, I compare the original cutscene to a remade version in order to illustrate how the remakes have subtly reframed or distorted the original.
View the rest here.