Today marksFinal Fantasy 10’s 20th birthday since being published in North America, and it still holds up relatively well for fans of the JRPG series. As it continues to grow older, however, more things begin to stick out as being of an older age in gaming and could use some work to fit modern standards. The game, along with its sequelFinal Fantasy 10-2, has received an HD remaster that’s been ported to plenty of consoles. In some areas, though, simply remastering the game isn’t enough:Final Fantasy 10deserves its ownFinal Fantasy 7-style remake.
Final Fantasy 7 Remakeblew fans of the original away with its complete reimagining. WhileFinal Fantasy 10is pretty far ahead of the originalFF7from a technology standpoint, plenty of its moments could benefit from an overhaul given the technological limitations of its time. It’s one ofthe most beautifulFinal Fantasystoriesthat would likely be elevated to one of the series' best games if it were given a fresh coat of paint alongside some reworked mechanics.
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Revamping Final Fantasy 10
So much ofFF10still stands up on its own, but one area where it could use the most work in a potential remake is in its presentation, specifically with its cutscenes. Throughout the game, there are several highly detailed scenes that stand out as being some of the most striking in the entire series and still capturethe magic ofFF10’s story and themes, but the rest of the title’s cutscenes feel flat and unmemorable in comparison. If each story moment in the game were to be given the same level of time and care as the high-budget scenes in the original,Final Fantasy 10could joinFinal Fantasy 7 Remakeas a prime example of what the series is capable of from a visual and storytelling perspective.
In addition to adding life to the game’s cutscenes, the performances and script would also be overhauled in a remake to better fit with modern audiences. The cast does a serviceable job with the script in the original, but there are several moments that live in infamy among the gaming community as a result of poor performance and animation.Scenes such as the “let’s try laughing” moment, which has gone down as the laughingstock of theFinal Fantasyseries, would be greatly improved by better performances that could portray a lot of the nuance ofFF10’s characters better than the original. Many scenes that might seem laughable given the odd performances and animations would be contextualized to fit the original visions of the scenes that just weren’t possible with the technology of the time.
Alongside a reimagining of cutscenes and story beats, aFinal Fantasy 10 Remakewould be able to overhaul the game’s mechanics entirely.Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s combat mechanicstook the turn-based style of the original and made it into something a lot more active that allowed the player to experience the game in a way never done before, which would benefitFF10greatly. One major difference between the mechanics would be thatFF10has a much greater emphasis on summons, with Yuna’s abilities meaning that her monsters would need to be a more integrated part of combat.
Other mechanical aspects would need work, too. Blitzball,Final Fantasy 10’s main sports attraction, was playable in the original but lacked a lot of polish that could be improved with a reimagining. As the game opens up in the second half,Final Fantasy 10’s world would be the most immersive it ever has been if Square uses the knowledge it gained from working onFinal Fantasy 15’s open worldand applied it to the many explorable locations ofFinal Fantasy 10.
Final Fantasy 10is available now for PC, PS2, PS3, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
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