Why FF7 Remake Released On Fewer Discs Than The Original
Last year's Final Fantasy 7 Remake shipped on two discs, while Final Fantasy 7 was released on three. FF7 Remake was a shorter experience with less story than the original game, but the difference comes from the hardware at play.
There will never be a jump as significant in video game history as the one from 16-bit to 32/64-bit. The leap from 2D sprites to 3D models was the biggest visual upgrade in the history of the medium. This can be clearly seen with the Final Fantasy series. FF6 was one of the prettiest games on the Super Nintendo, but it paled in comparison to the 3D characters in FF7. Time might not have been kind to the blocky FF7 sprites, but they were mind-blowing at the time. Nowadays, FF7 is so primitive that it can run on everything from smartphones to the Nintendo Switch with ease. The game only takes up around 4GB of space, which seems like a pittance for most modern devices.
FF7 and its remake both had size issues on launch, even though they released on a different number of discs. FF7 Remake launched on fewer discs than FF7, but it's almost seventy times bigger. Comparing the two is like comparing apples and bowling balls, for a number of different reasons.
FF7 was released on three CD-ROM discs, which was actually the fewest of any of the mainline Final Fantasy games on the original PlayStation, as both FF8 and FF9 were spread across four. In total, the game takes up around 1.3GB. It has been discovered in recent years by the emulation scene that most of the space was taken up by FMVs. FF7 contained around forty minutes of FMV footage and they took up a great deal of space.
It's possible to remove the FMVs in FF7 for emulation purposes, bringing the file size of the game down to a few hundred MB. If it weren't for the FMVs, then FF7 could have shipped on a single disc. The FMVs were a prominent part of the game's marketing, as they showed off a level of graphical detail that was unheard of before.
FF7 Remake only contains the Midgar portion of the original game, but it has been expanded to the length of a full title. The Midgar section of FF7 could be completed in a few hours, but an average playthrough of FF7 Remake can take over thirty. Despite all of this, FF7 Remake shipped on two Blu-ray discs, one of which is required for a massive mandatory install. The digital version of the game takes up over 90GB of space. The reason for this is because FF7 Remake has some of the best graphics on the PS4, and even the upgraded Intergrade version on PS5 doesn't look much better. The game also includes voice acting for almost every scene, which wasn't feasible for the original game.
There is a concern over size creep in video games, with Call of Duty: Warzone being a notable example of a game that devours hard drive space. It seems that only Nintendo is concerned about keeping file sizes as low as possible. FF7 Remake is the first entry in a brand-new series and it's unclear exactly how many FF7 sequels it will receive. By the time the Final Fantasy 7 Remake series is complete, it could take place across ten Blu-ray discs.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake: Intergrade is coming to PlayStation 5 on June 10, 2021.