Final Fantasy 7 is without a doubt one of the most influential RPG's of all time, and despite it being trendy to now label FF7 as overrated, it still stands as one of the most revered games of all time, with a diehard fan base that exceeds that of perhaps any other game.
That fan base has long been clamoring for a remake, and rumors have swirled around for years that one was possibly in the works, especially picking up steam after the famous PS3 tech demo Square-Enix released several years ago showing the FF7 opening (done by computer graphics in the original PlayStation and PC version) being rendered stunningly in real time by the PS3.
While Square-Enix have tossed a few bones with varying quantities of meat on them in the direction of their loyal FF7 fans, most notably in the form of the movie Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children, and the PSP game Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7, what fans have really wanted all along was the ability to relive the adventures of Cloud and friends in a modern and re-imagined package.
Sadly...that isn't going to happen, at least not yet. Instead, the newly announced version of Final Fantasy 7 for the PC, for which a new website was recently unveiled, will be by and large the same version of the game that first saw release 15 years ago, with a few modern enhancements.
Chief among those is the addition of 36 achievements to finish throughout the course of the game, which will likely run the gamut from defeating the optional bosses, to getting a kick-ass time in the snowboarding mini-game. A decent addition, but nothing to get overly excited about.
Next is the Character Booster, which will seemingly allow users to gain as much Gil (gold), HP, and MP as they want simply by clicking the button. This feature isn't described in any detail, so it's difficult to know what restrictions may or may not be in place in its use, but as it stands, it sounds like something to make the game easier to enjoy for casual fans, while likely drawing the ire of the hardcore players who will find it an insult to have such an option at their disposal.
Lastly is Cloud Saves, which will allow you to save your Cloud (and the rest of your game file) to the cloud, allowing you to access it from any PC. Not an overly exciting feature, as game saves are easy enough to copy to portable memory or upload to a file sharing site yourself, but I guess it can't hurt.
So, while not the Final Fantasy 7 remake fans want, it may be just enough of an excuse to convince them to go through the game again, and that's not a bad consolation prize I suppose. The new PC version of Final Fantasy 7 is listed as 'coming soon' to the Square-Enix Store.
Will you pick up this new version of FF7? Or will you hold out for a true remake? Where does FF7 rank on your list of the greatest RPG's or amongst its Final Fantasy brethren? Share your love or distaste for FF7 in the comments section.
