The Game Awards 2020 crowned its Best RPG, and to no one's surprise, Square Enix's Final Fantasy 7 Remake took home the hardware against some quality competition. FF7 Remake was the ambitious project from Square that launched in April this year and shook up an iconic title in the Final Fantasy series, fundamentally changing the way fans experienced the adventure through Midgar.
For those unfamiliar with just how ground-breaking Final Fantasy 7 Remake was for the series, the game completely changed the narrative by the time it wrapped up, throwing the rest of the project's story into question. While fans thought they knew what they were getting into with FF7 Remake, they instead got a meta narrative that leaned heavily on previous knowledge of the original game at points and never failed to surprise. FF7 Remake was also carried by its exceptional combat, which blended a lot of the best, fast-paced elements of Final Fantasy XV with a bit of a more methodical approach overall, allowing for tactics to take on a greater role.
Given the critical reception of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, it's no surprise to see the game win RPG of the Year 2020 at The Game Awards. The announcement took place during the livestream of the award ceremony, which ended up being a pretty big night for the cast of FF7 Remake - Sephiroth is in Smash Ultimate, after all, an unexpected development that helped kick off this year's ceremony. The Game Awards Best Roleplaying Game nominees also featured Genshin Impact, Wasteland 3, Persona 5 Royal, and Yakuza: Like A Dragon. While all of the nominees were excellent RPGs in their own right, it felt like the winner of Best RPG was never really in doubt, with FF 7 Remake feeling like a natural fit for the award this year.
Now that Final Fantasy 7 Remake has won one of the most visible RPG of the Year or Best RPG awards in the industry, it's a good time for fans to again begin considering where the future of this part of the franchise leads. FF 7 Remake's next instalment will be one that really has no precedent. Now that fans are fully aware of the departure from the original game's storyline, there's a slew of possibilities for the next FF7 Remake game, and characters previously thought dead or inaccessible for other reasons will now have an opportunity to return or even be featured in the spotlight.
It's a well-deserved award for Final Fantasy 7 Remake, which was certainly one of the best RPG titles of the past console generation. Moving forward, it will be interesting not just to follow the evolution of Cloud and company but the franchise as a whole - Final Fantasy XVI has also been revealed now, and it appears to be an exciting direction for the series as well. The more gaming evolves, the more some things stay the same, and Final Fantasy picking up a Best RPG award in 2020 is an encouraging testament to the genre's staying power.
Source: The Game Awards