Do Higher Resolution Graphics Translate into a Better Story?

A few new generation consoles were released at the end of last year, yet the need to replace or update any gaming systems currently plugged into the television never came up. Chalk it up to old fashioned, old school preferences. However, a dusty box stacked with several original Playstation and PSOne consoles from the late-nineties does exist in my room for the times I am inspired to play my favorite video games.

Twenty years ago, I was convinced that improved graphics and voice actors became the main focus that the elements of writing and plot points went to the wayside. I would enjoy reading text bubbles in Final Fantasy VII and give each character a voice in my head that it was bizarre when I would hear a voice actor for a favorite character for the first time (this happened many times during Kingdom Hearts).

Beautiful graphics eventually were able to surpass the most detailed full motion video (FMV) and voice actors were carefully and accurately selected. A genuine example of a well-rounded character would be Arthur Morgan in Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2. The graphic resolution for that game is so high that the face wrinkles and emotions of the character are so detailed and the voice acting adds on another layer of realism.

One year ago, Square Enix released a remastered version of Squaresoft’s Final Fantasy VII complete with the same characters and locations while keeping the original story intact. The original story was already very strong when it was originally released because graphic technology and the machines they played on were not at the same capacity as they are today. A side-by-side comparison of screenshots from the two versions clearly shows that the team behind the remake clearly understood the original storyline and was able to remake the game in a way to embrace older and younger audiences.


Is a strong storyline necessary for a successful remastered version? Or can an average storyline be improved with higher graphics and voice actors alone?


.::.
What's Quacking?
Do you have any original art to contribute to our stock image database, announcements, community projects, ideas, news, or milestones to report? Please leave general comments below or send a PQ to kawaiidaigakusei. Email me at kawaiidaigakusei(at)gmail(dot)com.