Final Fantasy 7 is probably the best-known game in the series, the game which sold untold millions of PlayStations. It looked basically like real life! Or so my pal insisted. It tells the story of Cloud Strife, a supersoldier-turned-mercenary who joins up with a gang of eco-terrorists fighting a planet-destroying megacorp, and who refuses to admit that he likes anything or anyone even though he’s clearly a giant doofus softie baby. While the original had turn-based battling, the remake makes it a 3D action game with tactical pausing. Squeenix’s pretty-pretty remake of the 1997 JRPG debuted on PlayStation 4 in April 2020, then in June 2021 hit PS5 in the expanded Intergrade edition. Along with looking prettier, obvs (including fixing that damn door), it adds a new chapter starring Yuffie. Even in this form, it’s still so far short of the full game, mind, with only about a third of the original game. It’s a huge undertaking to expand a 90s JRPG into a full fancy 3D affair. And a huge effort to make Cloud look so pretty. Katharine and Brendy will tell you FF7 is only the third-best Final Fantasy game, mind. Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade is coming to PC via the Epic Games Store on December 16th.
