You’ve heard of Final Fantasy 7, right? Yeah, the one with the spiky-haired boy and the big sword? The critically acclaimed JRPG from 28 years ago? Turns out it’s kind of incredible, actually.
First off, I haven’t actually played the original game, which: yes, I know, some of you might define as the real experience, but I promise I’ll get around to it one day. Instead, I spent some time a few months ago going through Remake and Rebirth, and at this point, I’d rather wait until part three to complete my experience with this story instead of pilfering the past and ruining my personal perspective on things.
Either way, these remakes were my first experience with Final Fantasy 7, which is likely the purpose Square Enix intended them to have for millions of others like myself. I also love that I’ve managed to get this far in life and working in this industry without actually knowing anything about Final Fantasy 7.
Well, apart from that one certain iconic and devastating scene from the original. You know the one.
I’m No Stranger To The Series, By Any Means
I’ve loved Final Fantasy since I was a kid, but it was one of those series I enjoyed while never really experiencing much of it myself, only touching on a few of the entries and seeing much of it through the eyes of YouTube or friends who enjoyed it thoroughly. Like Kirby: I love that little guy, but Forgotten Lands was the first Kirby game I’ve ever actually bought and played.
I played Final Fantasy 15 when that came out, as well as Type-0 HD, and a fair amount of 13. And lots of the 13-2 demo, for some reason. I always wanted to play FF14, but I just never took the plunge - which, I’ve now done - so I occasionally get sucked back into that when I fancy grinding or catching up on each new expansion.
Otherwise, that’s it. I never experienced 7, never played 8 or 9, and never touched any of the earlier original RPGs. It was a series I loved, albeit from a strange yet distanced perspective. Once Remake launched, I knew it was time for things to change.
So, I finally did it. I had some time around Christmas and had just finished Indiana Jones And The Great Circle, so I was looking for another story to get stuck into, and by chance, I thought about Final Fantasy 7 Remake and its more recent follow-up.
There’s Something Really Special About Final Fantasy 7
Final Fantasy 7 is one of those games everyone heralds as one of the greats. Even without a first-hand experience with the game, I could recognise its status in the industry, and part of that made me feel like I was going to be at a disadvantage playing the remakes first.
However, I was blown away. I could immediately tell there was something really special about this game, about this story, and things started to come together for me in a way I wasn’t expecting. It was so much more than I could have possibly prepared myself for, even with the reputation it echoes throughout the decades since it debuted on the original PlayStation, and I couldn’t be happier to have such a strong experience and emotional reaction to a ship I thought had long since sailed.
Back To Back, Remake And Rebirth Kept Me Hooked
I also love just how different these experiences are within the remakes. Final Fantasy 7 Remake is dark and gritty, set entirely in the streets, slums, and oppression of Midgar, with a grounded approach to both character introductions and storytelling with a cast of characters who just want to live in a better world and are suffering to achieve it.
Some of the game’s events completely struck me, and I was so invested in how dramatic it could be despite covering only a fraction of the original’s narrative. When Shinra was planning to collapse the plate on Sector Seven, I felt so much urgency, but in the back of my mind, also somewhat safe, because ‘there’s no way that would actually happen, right?’ It just felt too large-scale, too much of a devastation that it would be more of a plot threat for the heroes to just about manage to hold off.
Nope, it happened.
It was harrowing, and the aftermath even more so, so it became a standout moment that made me realise just how special this game is.
Comparatively, Rebirth is significantly more open, colourful, and in many ways, lighthearted in tone. It gives you a true sense of freedom, which makes sense for an open-world game. But of course, the story continues down its dark and unsettling path, and it feels like it expands so much on Remake - both in ambition and depth - but also just in how long you’ll be playing the game. It took about 30 hours for me to finish Remake and three times that for Rebirth.
From the serenity of Kalm, to the drama of Upper Junon, to the seaside joy of Costa Del Sol, to the Grandeur of the Gold Saucer, every single moment has been crafted with care, and I couldn’t help but love every single second of it.
FF7 Has Everything I Could Want From It
It makes perfect sense for me to love this game as much as I do. I always enjoy lead characters with some mystery to them, a lack of memory, and a dark, unsure fate. I also love ‘hard as nails’, emotionless characters who start to show some moments of humanity as they let their guard down with people that they’ve come to care about.
And then you have the combat. Fans of the original and old-school JRPGs are not as sold on the more real-time direction that modern Final Fantasy is embracing, and that’s totally fair. Not including the MMO combat of 14, FF15 was the first step into real-time combat, relying on action and combos more so than strategy. It was a mixed reception, and Final Fantasy 16 eventually continued down this path, though with some more of the action selections as we’ve now seen in FF7 Remake.
Games like Persona would lose so much of their personality if they were to ditch turn-based combat in the mainline games, so I can understand the criticism here.
I’m not a huge fan of JRPGs - I love Dragon Quest and Persona, but more often than not, I prefer more active combat experiences. There’s a good balance to be struck in the middle of these two approaches, and the Final Fantasy 7 trilogy strikes this balance perfectly.
It envisions real-time combat where every move and action is fun to execute, and positioning is just as important, but then it requires you to select skills like a turn-based game for you and your party members; it just keeps that feeling of the old-school style alive in a new way, more so than it felt with Final Fantasy 15 or 16.
I Guess I’m One Of Those Final Fantasy 7 Fans Now
Don’t get me wrong, I’m still very excited about returning to play the original Final Fantasy 7 and experiencing everything that it has to offer, but I’m not going to play the original yet. Instead, I’m going to wait until Final Fantasy 7 Reckoning Regulations Rendering Revelations or whatever - I just want to complete my experience with this journey in this newer way without knowing the story, and then go back to experience the original once it’s all done.
You might tell me that’s the wrong way to do it, but I’m almost 30 years late to the party, so I think I’m past your childhood experiences at this point.
All I know now is that I want to go and play a bunch more Final Fantasy games. I’m already hooked on 14 and have 16 lined up for later. I want to experience 9 since I know it’s highly regarded, and, again, I have no clue about anything to do with it. There’s some special luxury in getting to play games you know are good, but you know nothing about why, and my modern experience with Final Fantasy 7 has given me confidence in returning to play the great games that I never did the first time around.
Your Rating
close 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Rate Now 0/10Your comment has not been saved
Like Follow FollowedFinal Fantasy 7 Remake
Fighting Action Adventure Systems Released April 10, 2020 ESRB t Developer(s) Square Enix Publisher(s) Square Enix Engine Unreal Engine 4WHERE TO PLAY
DIGITAL
