Ah, pixelized Cloud and triangular-breasted Tifa, Barrett with a gray rectangle for an arm: we’re home again.
If you’ve managed to somehow dodge the masterpiece of storytelling that is the original Final Fantasy VII since its original debut back on January 31, 1997, you’re missing a masterclass of storytelling that manages to offer one of the most concise plots and character arcs that had ever been seen within video games up to that point.
The world was massive, everything mattered, and it was Avalanche against the world – or for the world, whichever makes the most sense.
The more recent remake from Square Enix, Final Fantasy VII Remake, butchered vast parts of the fascinating storytelling and character arcs in order to sell multiple iterations of a title where the storyline has been dragged through the mud.
Granted, they explain it away with some flashy deus ex machina at the closing of the first chapter of the remake, but it has brought a notably sour tone to the series overall, requesting players to chip away at a snail’s pace of storytelling while introducing new characters.
It’s not a complaint that Square Enix has evolved the world surrounding Cloud and Shinra; it’s more so that by doing so, they neutered the brilliant pacing and brilliant open-world that Final Fantasy VII was beloved for, and the plot either crawls or leaps depending on what is occurring within the story.
The good news is that the Xbox Game Pass for PC has added the original title, likely gearing up for the plausible PC release of the Final Fantasy VII Remake once PlayStation has had its way with the exclusivity which lasts until April 2021, which seems to consistently plague gamers as of late.
It’s also on Steam, mobile devices (Android and Apple), the Nintendo Switch, the PSP, and the Xbox One; an interesting assortment considering Square Enix’s typical policy of developing primarily for the PlayStation, demand be damned.
Yet Final Fantasy VII is a rare breed that defined the genre and defied staples at that time; the title originally came strewn across three discs to pack all of the content into a single release; a move that would never have been thought of in the modern-day where publishers could cut that into three and sell the following two as full-priced DLCs; what is estimated to happen with the remake.
Regardless of the salt that is generated on the back of Final Fantasy VII Remake (and there was always going to be salt when companies revisit the past and inject new life), the original Final Fantasy VII manages to still hold the fantastic charm that it had nearly two decades ago. And it’s available everywhere.
