Worry for Final Fantasy X HD

Since the 14th of September (2011) when the announcement of Final Fantasy X HD was made, my heart has been skipping several beats, or in other words I cried tears of joy. Maybe that sounds wierd and that I am obsessive and really need a lesson on the great outdoors but that's how I felt and almost nothing is going to change that. And while I smile and wait eagerly, I know I am not alone. Final Fantasy X is adored by millions and of whom many would have rejoiced too and wait as eagerly as I do.

Since then however, there have been developments which makes me wary about Final Fantasy X HD. Mainly the developments of "lazy" ports of games such as Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil Code: Veronica X and the first three series intallments of Splinter Cell. These games are said to have had the "HD treatment" and as a result are referred to as the definitive editions of the respected game. Now that would be believable if that were true but there's obvious evidence that these are merely slightly tweaked and upscaled counterparts of their former glory put out for the fan consumer hit. When one plays any these recent "HD remakes" there is the obligation to find differences in the games which prove that the games have been "HD'd" and unfortunately it is evident through the upscaling to 1080p (which most HD TVs display) which reveals the decay of aging graphics more so. Textures, lighting effects are mostly ignored and almost nothing is done to correct bugs and errors from before. Surely if a company like Capcom are to remake one of their games to HD standards then there needs to be an appeal other than nostalgia to make it worth the time and £££ of gamers and fans who this will appeal to. Sadly that's not the case and I won't even go down the line as to what this does to the reception of the game. I'll simply stick to playing the original GameCube Resident Evil 4 on my 32" HD TV, it won't cost me nothing and pretty much does pretty much exactly the same as the HD counterpart.

In turn these money grabbing ports of laziness worries me regarding Final Fantasy X HD. I am still going to have the HD version on my PS3 and on my PlayStation Vita but I can't help feel that this is going to be yet another straight up port and that no real attention and care is given to a beloved classic. Of course the controls will differ (perhaps mainly for playing on the Vita) to the original but for all the love I have for Final Fantasy X, I can't ignore the weaknesses of the FFX. There is no Game+ mode after completing FFX and if one is daft enough to wait for an end to "The End" screen then its perhaps handy to be sitting in a coffin because you could be dead long before "To Zanarkand" and "The End" screen finishes. There is also lag in the lip synch of the characters when speaking (notably more so in the Europe and North American versions) and contrasts of character representations throughout the story (i.e. during an FMV; Tidus' facial details and gear are present to full effect but in gameplay which doesn't involve the player's input such as when moving across the Bevelle Cloister of Trails; Tidus' face is rendered like Solid Snake's is in Metal Gear Solid (PSone)). These weaknesses will only become more evident when ported and upscaled to PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita unless acutal work and devotion is taken into rejuvenating FFX for the 10th anniversary.

Sadly I feel that's not likely to happen and that Final Fantasy X HD will be a cheap port unfitting for the legacy of FFX and repuation of the Final Fantasy series/francise as a whole because Square Enix is currently working many projects such as Final Fantasy XIII-2, Final Fantasy Type-0, XIII Verus Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy XIV and the many other prodjects under the Square Enix flagship such as Hitman Absolution and the latest Tomb Raider. Given the decreasing time until FFX celebrates its 10th anniversary, the team behind the HD remake of Final Fantasy X will have little time to recreate FFX in High Definition and improve on FFX's weaknesses.

....Which in turn kind of puts a dark cloud over my hopes that Square Enix will make Final Fantasy X-3.

But then I can be wrong and I would like nothing more to be completely wrong this time. I hope Square Enix notifies this and proves me and other doubters wrong and shows to other flagship companies like Capcom, Konami and Ubisoft what a HD remake should look and feel like.