Out of Square’s entire library of games, before they merged into Square Enix in 2003, Final Fantasy VII was definitely at the top. Cutting it into multiple parts isn’t exactly ideal, but even if the whole thing doesn’t pan out, it will be an interesting standalone experience to explore Midgar in a new light.
An adjacent thought also popped up in this one’s mind. What other games deserve to be remade in some fashion like this?
10 Super Mario RPG
At one time Square was deep in bed with Nintendo. That is until they left their side for Sony's. One of their final projects was Super Mario RPG. Nintendo lending their IP to another developer was less heard of back then especially in this regard, but Nintendo knew what they were doing and the bet paid off. Well, all except for Square, again, leaving. Regardless of which, this is still good. The graphics not so much, that's why a remake is much needed. As of now, it's only been ported to Nintendo's various eShops and the SNES Classic. No touchups have ever been done to it.
9 Chrono Trigger
Chrono Trigger, another once great Square exclusive for the SNES, has actually had several enhanced ports. The PS1 version added in anime cutscenes. The DS version, besides making it portable, tacked on extra modes and story content. These versions stayed true to the original graphics, pretty much leaving them alone. However, there was a controversial change made last year when it was ported to PC. Square Enix made the textures HD, which softened everything up, but unfortunately made it look like a flash game.
8 Final Fantasy Tactics
Final Fantasy Tactics is, without a doubt, the best spinoff in the series. It has received a lot of love via two sequels although they are quite different from the original. It also had two indirect sequels via Final Fantasy XII and Vagrant Story since they take place in the same universe.
The game was also ported to the PSP with additional content including animated cutscenes, new characters, and an updated translation. The graphics looked exactly the same though and the slowdown for battles was terrible.
7 Xenogears
Xenogears basically got the shaft when it released for the PS1. That's because a lot of the budget and manpower was shifted over to making Final Fantasy VII the best it could be. It turned out to be a great thing for Final Fantasy VII, making it a phenomenon across the world. This was not so great for Xenogears though as the last disc was lacking content with a lot of story told through weird text dumps without much interaction. While it doesn't need to have as high a budget as this remake, it would be at least great to see some sort of 3D remake, or at least port with a more finalized version.
6 Front Mission 2
Front Mission 2 is just one of many games in this series that were never localized in the West. Since Square Enix is game to not only bring over once exclusive games in their library over to the West in both original forms and in remake versions, aka Trials of Mana, the same could be done for Front Mission 2. There is also precedent for cleaning up PS1 games and re-releasing them with HD textures via Final Fantasy VII. Right now there is a fan patch that is mostly complete.
5 Parasite Eve
Parasite Eve is kind of a tricky subject. For those unaware, the game is actually based on a Japanese novel of the same name. So while Square was able to make two games, the third entry, The 3rd Birthday, had to take on a new identity because of a rights debate regarding said novel. Re-releasing the first two games was hard enough for them on PSN so going back now to make even an HD touchup would probably be just as taxing.
4 Vagrant Story
As mentioned earlier, Vagrant Story was eventually revealed to take place in Ivalice thus tying it to Final Fantasy Tactics. Like Parasite Eve, it also experimented with a grid-like battle system so in a way it is also related to that.
Relationships to other games aside, it stands on its own as a gothic, political tale of intrigue. The only other re-release was via PSN, which was just a straight port. Nothing was added. If not a sequel then some sort of remake would be good to revitalize interest in the series.
3 Kingdom Hearts
This is admittedly a weird choice for several reasons. One, it has been re-released and even enhanced with HD graphics a few times now. So why bother completely remaking it on the level of Final Fantasy VII? Well, like that game, out of all these entries, it has the greatest fan base that can be likened to the fervor that surrounds the original release of Final Fantasy VII. In 2022 the game will officially turn twenty, which would be a great time to announce the project. Of course with Final Fantasy VII being broken up into multiple parts, maybe 2032 is more realistic.
2 Live A Live
Here is another Japan-only RPG, but this time on the SNES. Live A Live came out in 1994 and centers on a seemingly unrelated cast of characters from all across time. There is a cowboy, a caveman, a samurai, and the list goes on. The battle system is also kind of strange in that it is part turn-based and part tactical. There is a fan patch for this one as well, but unlike Front Mission 2, it's actually done.
1 Final Fantasy VI
Other than Final Fantasy VII, its predecessor, Final Fantasy VI, often gets nominated for being the best in the series. From PS1 to Virtual Console, it has also received a bunch of ports. More specifically like Chrono Trigger, it was also ported to phones and PCs with bad "HD graphics" that were horrendous. They just need to make it on the scale of Final Fantasy IV's remake on DS and this writer will be happy enough.