Although not everybody was happy with some of the changes made in Final Fantasy VII Remake, most seemed fairly pleased with the decision to flesh out some of the game's supporting cast. The likes of Jessie, Wedge and Biggs were arguably far better realized in the remake than they were in the original game, as too were some of the title's other secondary characters. None, however, received quite as big a glow up as Hell House.
Having once served as a throwaway random encounter, the somewhat ridiculous enemy is transformed into a terrifying and challenging boss. Not just any boss either, but one of the toughest enemies found throughout the game. While this is undoubtedly the biggest and most notable change made to Hell House though, it is far from the only one.
7 Its Weakness Changes Throughout The Battle
Unlike the original incarnation of Hell House, the version found in the remake is weak to all four elements. There is something of a catch though. Hell House is one of the few bosses in Final Fantasy VII Remake that is able to alter its elemental affinities during battle, meaning that players will need to stay alert if they hope to exploit its weaknesses.
Thankfully, there's no need to repeatedly scan the enemy or pull up its Enemy Intel page, with players instead able to gauge its current weakness simply by looking at its windows. Their color will always be the opposite of the element that it is weak to, meaning that when the windows are blue it should be attacked with fire, when they are green it is weak to lightning and vice-versa.
6 It Can Attack Using All Four Elements
As well as being weak to all four of the game's main elements, Hell House is also able to attack with them. During the final two stages of the battle, the enemy gains access to four powerful elemental attacks; each one of which is tied to a different element.
When using the move Jetstream, Hell House will spray fire around the arena, while its Chair Salvo Deluxe (ice), Housing Shock (lightning) and Renewed Hospitality (wind) attacks will lead to the enemy cladding itself in an elemental shield. While Jetstream can be blocked, the other attacks should be avoided if at all possible, although this is often easier said than done.
5 It Has Its Own Theme Music
As well as changing from a random encounter to a boss battle, Hell House is also treated to its own special theme music in Final Fantasy VII Remake. The aptly named "Hell House" features throughout the entirety of the battle, although its intensity changes as the battle progresses.
Rather than an entirely original piece of music though, the track incorporates elements from other pieces of music found throughout the series. In particular, it includes the opening riff of the iconic battle theme "Fight On!" which helps to make the track feel familiar despite being a brand new addition to the game.
4 Its Hard Mode Form Is A Little Unique
Although it should come as little surprise to many that Hell House becomes stronger while playing on Hard Mode, the extent to which it does so is a little insane. All of its attack and defensive stats are more than doubled and its total HP shoots up from 34,128 to a somewhat ridiculous 84,888.
While not quite the toughest enemy in the game, the HP increase is considerably larger than the ones given to the game's other difficult bosses. For comparison, Sephiroth's HP increases from 65,157 to 87,246 while Bahamut, who has the second highest HP in the game, also receives a similar boost.
3 It Can Spit Out Tonberries And Robots
One of the things that makes Hell House such a challenging opponent is its ability to spit out other powerful enemies during the fight. Hiding within its four walls is an army of Tonberries, each one capable of killing a party member with a single flourish of its knife if the appropriate defensive measures aren't taken.
As if that weren't bad enough, on Hard Mode, the enemy will spawn in a cutter and a sweeper, the two enemies from the previous round of the tournament. While this may not be an issue for skilled players, their introduction can quite easily lead to a game over if players don't deal with them quickly.
2 It Became A Colosseum Boss Due To Its Extravagant Design
There are plenty of strange and unique enemies throughout the Final Fantasy franchise, but few that are quite as bizarre as Hell House. This is something that Tetsuya Nomura and his team recognized during development and is ultimately what led to Hell House becoming a boss fight.
According to the game's co-director Motomu Toriyama, the team felt that it would have been strange to encounter the enemy randomly due to it feeling out of place among the other creatures in the game. The same was also true of the Swordipede enemy, which also become a boss in the remake.
1 It Was Likely Inspired By A Haunted House
Many of the creatures and characters in the Final Fantasy series are named after and inspired by animals and mythical creatures. Some, however, instead draw their inspiration from more modern sources; as is seemingly the case when it comes to Hell House.
The name itself likely refers to a man-made haunted house and this is very much in keeping with the enemy's design. Interestingly, it has the same name in the Japanese release of the game, which further suggests that the enemy was based on the western tradition of Halloween haunted houses.