Though its development cycle was long and tumultuous, Final Fantasy 7 Remake released in Spring 2020 and immediately found critical acclaim thanks to its faithful setting, unpredictable storytelling, and simply fantastic combat system. It's by no means a replacement for the 1997 original, but rather stands beside it as an all-new journey for Cloud Strife and company that has a smattering of familiar story beats that truly appeal to nostalgia. In deviating somewhat from the storytelling of the game that inspired it, Square Enix forged a game that will hopefully stand the test of time in the same way.
By flexing its muscles, Square Enix has showed that it is capable of reinventing and reviving beloved characters. They are frequently at the center of any Final Fantasy game's charm, so plenty of fans are speculating about which games in the 35-year-old series should get the same treatment as Final Fantasy 7 Remake. There are so many options available, be they mainline games that have built a stalwart reputation, or spinoff titles that simply deserve more love. Final Fantasy doesn't look to be stopping any time soon, and will likely always look to the future, but the 2020 remake of a classic shows there is so much potential in the past.
Final Fantasy 6
Final Fantasy 7 was the series' first foray into the realm of 3D movement and polygonal character models, and matching its revolutionary graphics with a stellar, memorable story made it shoot up the list of players' favorites in the franchise. However, gamers of a certain age will look at its predecessor more fondly, as it pushed the hardware of its native Super Nintendo to the very edge of its power. Its sprites were more refined than ever and the inventive ways that Final Fantasy 6 managed to still look exceptional despite releasing on older hardware was testament to Squaresoft's quality as a JRPG studio.
The recent Pixel Remasters of Final Fantasy 1-6 were welcomed by fans, but in the shadow of the visual and technical masterpiece that was Final Fantasy 7 Remake it felt like a consolation prize. Many woudl argue that Final Fantasy 6 is as good as its successor. Its diverse cast of heroes, menacing villains, genuinely unpredictable story, and tried-and-tested battle system made it the very tip of the Final Fantasy iceberg when it launched in North America in late 1994. Terra, Locke, Shadow, and Celes deserve a makeover, as it could bring new fans to a story that could be even better than the one Cloud embarks upon with Avalanche.
Final Fantasy Tactics
Though it exists outside the mainline series, Final Fantasy Tactics is revered by those who experienced its tale all those years ago. Its design formula is hugely different to other PS1 RPGs at the time, opting instead to use a grid-based map and statistics that are determined by each unit's job class. It's a strategy role-playing game whereas the other Final Fantasy projects relied on faster, more fleeting turn-based combat encounters to see the players progress through the story. It's abundantly clear that games like Golden Sun and Triangle Strategy are directly inspired by Final Fantasy Tactics, so it's puzzling that the spinoff series has been so dormant for so long.
The Final Fantasy Tactics property hasn't been in use since 2008, with Final Fantasy Tactics A2 on the Nintendo DS being the last of them. Fire Emblem: Three Houses and the upcoming The DioField Chronicle prove there's a growing interest for strategy RPGs, so now is the best time for the genre's best series to make a return. The War of the Lions was a fantastic remaster of the base game for the PSP, but even that hasn't made its way to modern hardware. Final Fantasy Tactics's immense quality means it needs to make a reappearance sooner rather than later, and giving it the full Final Fantasy 7 Remake treatment would be the ideal comeback.
Final Fantasy 8
While it has a swath of staunch supporters, Final Fantasy 8 is the inconsistent middle point of the series' three PS1 outings. Whereas FF7 was a near-perfect transition to the 3D era of gaming and wielded a story for the ages and FF9 felt like a beautiful result of Square Enix' tireless efforts with the hardware, Final Fantasy 8 was perhaps the game that experienced the most growing pains of any title in the franchise up to this point. Some fans and critics thought Squall was a boring, monosyllabic, and rather rude protagonist and the wacky story felt far less grounded than its predecessor. Fans expected more, and while the developer has shown it can handle the pressure of remaking something beloved, it should now look to redeem something that isn't.
Of all the 3D mainline games, FF8 is the one that needs a makeover the most. A remaster of Final Fantasy 8 on modern consoles did well to remind existing fans of why they loved it to begin with, but it also confronted the reservations that people who didn't like it, and few had their opinion changed by the project. Overhauling the confusing junctioning system, giving Squall some more depth, and adding the same combat system as Final Fantasy 7 Remake could be the best way to give Final Fantasy 8 a shot at universal adoration.
Chocobo Racing
Before the emergence of the microtransaction-riddled Chocobo GP, only a handful of gamers will have even remembered the existence of Chocobo Racing on the original PlayStation. That era of consoles was not short of kart games, from Diddy Kong Racing on the Nintendo 64 to Crash Team Racing, and as the latter has received a full remake all bets are off as to which games in the genre could come next.
Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled was well-received, keeping enough of the original formula to be nostalgic but offering more content and customizable options to make it feel new again. Chocobo Racing may not be vital to the fabric of Final Fantasy, but the renewed interest in kart racers -- both new and old -- could prove that a remake of Chocobo Racing would be worthwhile. Chocobo GP is a wayward step in the right direction, but a remake of the first game could absolutely be the right move.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade is available now on PC and PS5.