Leading up to the Final Fantasy VII Reunion
Final Fantasy VII: Remake was officially released worldwide on April 10th, 2020, much to the anticipation of thousands if not millions of fans, including myself.
When the Remake was first announced back at the 2015 Electronic Entertainment Expo (or E3 for short), I was beside myself with excitement and shock as it slowly began to dawn on me that they were finally announcing a remake of one of the most beloved video games of all time – not to mention it being a favorite of mine as well.
After years of teasing, wishful thinking, and mixed messages from key people at Square Enix, the summer of 2015 was like a dream come true. Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Aerith…we would be able to see and play as them, all over again.
With the release of the Remake now out and many folks (including myself) now playing it, I thought I’d share here different features of the Final Fantasy VII universe that I fell in love with, and aspects in the Remake that I’m hoping to explore and enjoy.
As of this article, I’m currently in Chapter 11 of the game, which takes place in the Train Graveyard. I have no idea how far I’m in as far as the story; with the knowledge that the full Final Fantasy VII experience will actually be broken up and told in parts. Regardless of this fact, I’m enjoying the updated experience, and I believe a large part of that is how much care was put into creating an experience that is similar if not exactly like the original game.
Final Fantasy VII was a massive hit when it was first released back in 1997; it was innovative and pushed the boundaries of what a game could be (similar to its contemporaries GoldenEye 007 and 1998’s Metal Gear Solid, among others).
Of course, a modern player taking a look at the original Final Fantasy VII game might raise their eyebrows in confusion. After all, how could this–
-be any good?
I was introduced to FFVII (and the Final Fantasy series in general) through Square Enix’s sister series Kingdom Hearts, which was made in collaboration with Disney. As a huge Disney fan, I couldn’t help but just be in awe at the gameplay I saw and the chance to play through and explore different Disney worlds. The fact that Final Fantasy characters were a part of this series was more of an afterthought for me, and I sort of hand waved that knowledge away as I wasn’t really interested in that.
Once I was introduced to Leon (or Squall Leonhart in Final Fantasy VIII), Aerith, Yuffie, and other Final Fantasy characters, I became curious. I purchased Final Fantasy VIII when I could (again, out of simple curiosity), and while VIII isn’t my favorite game in the series, it was still a great gateway introduction to the franchise overall.
As I played through the first two Kingdom Hearts games and learned a little bit more about the characters and their respective games, I learned that Final Fantasy VII had a film made and released called Advent Children. When I was able to watch it, I couldn’t help but be amazed by how incredible it looked – the textures looked real enough to touch, and I was learning more about these characters than I ever had in Kingdom Hearts. Although the story was difficult to follow (and overall a bit lackluster), I couldn’t help but watch it many different times and enjoy sucking myself in the world of Gaia, and I wanted even more.
I got and played through the original FFVII itself around 2008 or so; FFVII was not part of my formative years by any means and I don’t have the nostalgic attachment to the game that many other players had. I remember when I popped in the disk for the first time and began to play the game, my family was less than impressed with what they saw. It hurt a bit, but I couldn’t blame them – if I didn’t know anything about it either, I would easily dismiss it too.
I think that’s the biggest thing I’m most excited about with this new Remake; new generations who have only heard about this game could come into it with a fresh set of eyes and enjoy sinking into the world much more easily than they would with the original game.
When Crisis Core (the prequel to the original FFVII game) was released States-side in 2008, I rushed out to purchase and then play through it. It’s become my favorite PSP game hands-down, and like many others I was rocked by the conclusion of the story, and how it leads up to the original game. When the words ‘To Be Continued in Final Fantasy VII‘ appeared, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed by the idea that I would never be able to revisit that world and have it look just as it did in Crisis Core. Little did I know…
The story of FFVII also pushed the boundaries of what storytelling capabilities could be told in a game. It could easily be interpreted as some kind of pro-environmental message, and while that is a point the game does try to make at points, that’s really not the main focus of where the story leads us.
Themes of revenge, mental illness, physical vs spiritual aspects of the world and confronting their neglect are concepts that the main characters slowly begin to grasp throughout the duration. It was thrilling to follow them on their journey and learn alongside them through all the ups and downs that we came across.
I know many people who adore FFVII have their own special story of how much it has made an impact with them in some way. For me, despite the of the limitations of graphics and the many grammatical errors in the dialogue, I was able to connect with all playable characters and enjoy all of them for what they were, even the less popular ones (such as Cait Sith and Yuffie).
I’ll write and post a more formal review of the Remake once I’ve completed it, but one of the aspects I’ve loved so far with it is how much more natural the dialogue has been made, something that annoyed me quite a bit in the original. There have been many other aspects that have pleased me so far that I’ll be able to share with you here.
I’ll also discuss if the Remake is worthy of bringing new players into the fold, who may or may not be familiar with Cloud Strife and his trials. If the reaction I had and saw in 2015, and in the announcements made since then have been any indication, it’s that people are still enjoying FFVII‘s story all of these years later, and will for many more to come.
