Final Fantasy 7 Remake has recently revealed screenshots featuring designs for some it summons, but there is one summon in particular which many find offputting. To make matters worse, this summon has long been regarded as one of the cutest, so seeing it look like this is really quite a shame. The new design for Carbuncle of all summons looks downright unsettling, and it seems that it may need a major redesign like the Sonic The Hedgehog movie. Hopefully, Square Enix can learn a thing or two from the movie’s director and listen to fans when they say that the design is quite simply unlikable.
For those unaware, almost every Final Fantasy game has some form of summons, powerful entities which certain characters or classes can summon to deal high damage or provide boons to the party. Carbuncle has been a summon since Final Fantasy 5 and traditionally uses the reflect spell on the entire party, allowing them to reflect magical attacks back at opponents. The creature is generally depicted as a small, fluffy quadruped with long rabbit-like ears and a bushy tail. It’s defining feature, though, is the ruby in its forehead, which is likely the source of its magic as all of its technique is usually called Ruby Light. Now, Final Fantasy 7 Remake has just revealed the design for its very own Carbuncle summon.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s Carbuncle
This is the surprise that fans of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake got when the new screenshots dropped. Mixed in amidst cool images of Red XIII and the scientist Hojo was this monstrosity and other new summons for Final Fantasy 7 Remake. There is a lot to dislike about this; like its exceptionally large and round forehead or the way the gem appears glued to its face, but the worst offender is perhaps the eyes. The feeling one gets when viewing this creature likely feels reminiscent to most, as it was not too long ago that another beloved character was recreated in an unnerving way.
Sonic The Hedgehog
Last year, after the Sonic The Hedgehog movie was announced and the first trailer made its way onto YouTube, many fans were completely disgusted by Sonic’s design, and the resulting backlash was so great that the director actually delayed the Sonic The Hedgehog movie in order to take time to redesign the hero. The original design (on the left) was a hyper-realistic rendition of Sonic, with defined hairs, a lanky body, a mouth full of teeth, and eerily human-like eyes. It’s no wonder that fan reaction to this was so negative, but it is noteworthy that the director actually listened and made the change.
The Uncanny Valley
Astute readers may have noticed the connection drawn between the old Sonic design and the new Carbuncle design: they both have human-like features. There is a concept in animation known as the Uncanny Valley which claims that there is a point when animation becomes both too realistic to be animated but not realistic enough to fully trick the human brain that it actually is perceived as repulsive. This concept easily summarizes the problem with both of these designs, but doesn’t explain how either made it through a room full of people and out to the public.
The people working on the Sonic The Hedgehog movie and on Final Fantasy 7 Remake both aimed for a hyper-realistic approach, which for the most part has worked out well. The designs of Cloud, Tifa, and the others is visually very satisfying. Even Red XIII, a very unrealistic creature, looks great in this more defined style. For some reason, though, the designers went too far with Carbuncle, plunging the beloved summon deep into the valley. It seems the only way to fix it at this point would be to redesign the summon, and fans are starting to come to expect that kind of treatment thanks to the Sonic The Hedgehog movie fiasco.
Carbuncle In Previous Games
Carbuncle actually wasn’t in the original Final Fantasy 7, but has been in several other Final Fantasy games. Pictured above is the very cute version of Carbuncle from Final Fantasy 15. Notice how, aside from the head, the designs are very similar. This Carbuncle looks realistic still, but has a much more animal-like face. It feels as though something like this is what the designers were going for, but perhaps they strayed from this direction due to a desire to have it be different from Final Fantasy 15.
Consider these Carbuncles from Final Fantasy 14: the exact opposite approach was taken in this case. There was no attempt to make these summons look realistic, as they are instead supposed to seem fantastical. The result is a very safe design which is almost inarguably adorable. Final Fantasy 15 attempted to cross the Uncanny Valley, and for the most part succeeded. In contrast to Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Final Fantasy 14 decided to stay on the other side instead of attempting to cross, but Final Fantasy 7 Remake fell directly into the valley.
Chocobo Chick
It is worth talking breifly on the Chocobo Chick summon design as well. Although clearly not quite as bad, the Chocobo Chick suffers from some of the same issues that the Carbuncle does. The oversized heads of these two summons is just offputting, and it is unclear why this design choice was made. It doesn’t seem like any would really complain too much about this design, but there are some parallel problems between the Chocobo Chick and the Carbuncle summons that need to be addressed. At least these characters aren’t as central of a focus as Sonic was to his own movie.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake looks visually stunning from most of what has been shown, and it would be so very unfortunate if designs like these made their way into an otherwise beautiful game. The outcry from fans hasn’t been quite as pronounced as the original Sonic The Hedgehog backlash, but this information is also still very recent and fans are still digesting. The decision to redesign Sonic The Hedgehog certainly sent waves throughout the entertainment industry that rippled far beyond the confines of the movie itself, as fans are now feeling as though they have a little more say in the products they receive.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake will be available on April 10th exclusively for PS4.
