Ever since its release in 1997 for the Sony PlayStation, “Final Fantasy VII” is regarded as one of the most iconic role-playing games in history and is considered one of the best games of all time.
Despite being over 20 years old, the game has garnered a reputation and has become recognized and loved by old and new fans of the “Final Fantasy” franchise for it’s story, soundtrack and characters.
Almost five years prior to its release, the remake was announced at E3 2015 with a small sneak preview which has caused excitement among fans.
After showcasing only small gameplay footage and going through numerous delays, the remake was finally released on April 10, and the wait was definitely worth it.
The game takes place in a large city known as Midgar, a city where technology and power is made through the planet’s energy known as Mako.
Mako is harvested by the Shinra Electric Power Company.
Although Mako is what helps keep the city full of energy, it is actually harmful to the planet itself.
Because of this, the eco-terrorist group known as Avalanche fights against Shinra and will do whatever they can to hurt the company by damaging their machines harvesting the Mako.
Cloud Strife, a mercenary and former member of an elite force of Shinra known as SOLDIER, was hired by Avalanche for one of their missions.
Cloud is accompanied by Barret Wallace, the leader of the group, and it’s members Jessie, Wedge and Biggs on their mission to destroy the Mako reactor.
After the mission, Cloud comes across a girl named Aerith, whose past and character is shrouded in mystery.
Later in the story, strange things begin to happen and a familiar figure from Cloud’s past named Sephiroth becomes involved in it.
Unlike the original game in which dialogue was supported by unspoken texts, the remake supports full voice acting, giving the characters emotions and allowing players to easily connect with the characters.
Combat has also been changed in the remake, where instead of the original turn-based combat the original game had, combat is real time similar to Final Fantasy XV, where the square button is for standard attacks while the triangle button is for special actions such as changing a combat style or a special attack.
Aside from the change in combat, every other feature that was in the original game such as materia and limits work the same way.
Each playable character has unique play styles with different attacks and abilities, such as Cloud with his buster sword and having a quick attack and heavy attack which can be switched during gameplay, and Barret who focuses on ranged attacks with his chaingun arm and an overcharge attack which causes more damage.
There are weapons that can be obtained for each character throughout the game that are stronger than previous weapons.
Some enemies are also weak to certain elemental materia attacks such as lightning and fire, so players should take this advantage when going up against certain bosses.
Every enemy defeated or quest completed will earn XP for characters, which will upgrade their health, materia and attacks, making them stronger as the game progresses.
Although the remake follows the same plot as the original, it is not the same length story wise as the original as it is episodic, so the story starts from the beginning until the group leaves Midgar.
The second part of the game will be released in the near future.
“Final Fantasy VII” is also the second game in the generation to require two discs in order for the game to play, one disc being the data disc to install the data onto the console and a second disc being the play disc to play the game.
For a game that has been in development for almost five years, the game lives up to the excitement and was truly worth the wait.
Although some things have been altered in the remake, it still gives the same charm that the original had that veteran “Final Fantasy” players will appreciate and newcomers will come to enjoy.
Anyone who is looking for a game to play during the summer, “Final Fantasy VII” is the perfect game for the occasion.
