My problem with all of this FF7 spin-off shit is it all gives me straight-to-VHS vibes and it lacks the je ne sais quoi of the original (I’m not a big FF7 fan but I occasionally have the desire to play it). As a kid, I would get those straight-to-video clamshell box sequels to bigger movies like Aladdin and the Lion King, and it always gave me a really weird vibe that I didn’t care for (same with the Aladdin cartoon). Everything post-original FF7 gives me that same feeling, including FF7r, though I was willing to give it a pass but the battle system felt like absolute shit and the AI was trash.
I have no nostalgia or fondness for Diamond/Pearl, so the announcement of the remake doesn’t do much for me. The graphics are OK, I guess, but aesthetically it’s so boring. Same with Arceus or whatever. I don’t know. A lot of this Nintendo stuff just looks the same to me, and it doesn’t do anything for me, I get fucked up lazy PlayMobil vibes from so much of it except everything has jagged edges. Obviously there are exceptions (like Breath of the Wild).
I’d love to see a Pokemon game game (I don’t know if I have it in me anymore to play Pokemon) in this sort of handmade clay/toy model aesthetic.
Or even just a straight up clay aesthetic like the Neverhood stuff. I find it really hard to get engrossed in a world because so many video games just look like a video game, and that’s boring and mundane.
I’m looking forward to El Shaddai’s PC release.