Final Fantasy 7 Remake gives players the opportunity to play the fan-favourite title in current-gen fidelity. It also gives Square Enix the chance to change, improve, or include content that wasn’t possible in the original release. While a lot has changed, expanding the title into three games, it seems the devs almost considered changing one of its lost iconic details.
Cloud’s Buster Sword is one of the most recognisable weapons in the gaming industry. The massive weapon has undoubtedly inspired great swords in other titles since it first appeared in 1997. With the remake, it seems the devs considered making the Buster Sword a bit more realistic, especially given how large it is.
Cloud’s Buster Sword Almost Got A Downgrade In Final Fantasy 7 Remake
In a conversation with Julien Chièze (via GamesRadar+), Director Naoki Hamaguchi explained that the devs wondered if the Buster Sword should be made to look more realistic, but ultimately decided that it “was just too iconic” to change. Can you even imagine the fan reaction if the game launched with a smaller version of the iconic weapon?
“While making Remake, there was this aspect of the weight,” Hamaguchi explained. “How Cloud swings it around with one hand that sort of felt like it would weaken the sense of realism, you know?”
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Real-time combat works surprisingly well in games that were once entirely turn-based.
“So at the time, when we were making Remake, there was some discussion about whether we should give Cloud a more realistic version of the Buster Sword,” he added. “But it was just too iconic, and if we’d made it just a regular old sword, players wouldn’t accept it.”
That’s one of the dilemmas devs could run into while making older games look more realistic. Thankfully, Square Enix decided not to downsize the weapon, staying true to the massive size from the original version of the game. I really doubt long-time fans of the series would have taken it well, especially if it was in the name of realism.
