Square Enix's Final Fantasy 7 Remake has enough changes from the original Final Fantasy 7 to make the 2020 title stand out as a creative and unique gaming experience for the modern gamer. One noticeable deviation is its transformation of certain typical Final Fantasy enemy encounters into full-on boss battles. There are two specific baddies that get more of a spotlight in FF7 Remake than they did in the original game, and the developers have given some insight as to why. Those who've played through the Corneo Colosseum in Wall Market are likely aware of at least one of these.
A staple of the Final Fantasy franchise is its implementation of an array of diverse enemies a player can encounter. They range from human soldiers to mechanical weapons to undead spirits to biological and artificial lifeforms such as Wererats and Hellhounds. Many baddies are reoccurring, allowing some players to be familiar with them on a first playthrough if they've already experienced a different Final Fantasy game. Some are so unique and well-enough designed that they've become synonymous with Final Fantasy despite taking inspiration from classic sources like different mythologies, series such as The Lord of the Rings, the tabletop hit Dungeons & Dragons, and more.
Once in a while some designs are so distinctive that they leave a lasting impression on gamers years after confronting them in 2d or early 3d graphics. Arguably, FF7's Hell House and Sword Dance (renamed Swordipede in FF7 Remake) enemies are extraordinary enough to fall into this category. The FF7 Remake developers certainly thought so; in an interview on Square Enix's Final Fantasy Portal Site, co-director and scenario writer Motomu Toriyama explains that these enemies' designs stood out so much that the team decided to enhance their limelight by making them into bosses.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake: Hell House & Swordipede As Boss Battles
The Swordipede is a bionic flying boss that players fight in The Drum in the Shinra building in FF7 Remake. In the original FF7, it was a common enemy known as Sword Dance. It was a much easier adversary to defeat, and could be found in various places including the first visit to the Shinra building and the player's return to Midgar near the game's finale. The developers felt its look was out of place among other creatures in FF7 Remake, so they upgraded it to a boss encounter.
Similarly, the Hell House monster in FF7 could be encountered numerous times throughout Sector 6. While it was a little tougher than other enemies in this area, such as the scorpion-like Whole Eater, FF7 Remake's Hell House received an advanced renovation (so to speak), making it quite the formidable foe. Many fans of the original game may have noticed its absence when traversing through Sector 6's Collapsed Expressway. Yet soon after that, players find themselves in Wall Market where they must compete in the Corneo Colosseum to advance the storyline. It's during this quest that many were surprised to see the new and (greatly) improved Hell House boss.
Toriyama explains that even as a boss, Hell House was still a bizarre enemy, and "it would have been strange if it appeared out in the world without any run-up." The developers handled this obstacle by including Hell House as a colosseum fight to make it "more of a spectacle," even giving it four challenging battle phases in contrast to the two forms it had in the original FF7. The announcers of FF7 Remake's Corneo Colosseum, Kotch and Scotch, even provide a lot of commentary on the Hell House boss battle - something Toriyama describes as "no easy task." Overall, the decision seemed well-received. Hell House in particular was such a memorable enemy for many FF7 players, and Final Fantasy 7 Remake does an excellent job of highlighting its and Swordipede's incomparable appearances and features.