There are games that mark an era, Final Fantasy VII is one of them. But how do you make it a modern remake for everyone without betraying fans from the start? A very big challenge, met brilliantly by Square Enix.
Square Enix
1997, FF VII arrives on our PSOne. In addition to the technical revolution, it transforms storytelling in Japanese role-playing games while offering a combat system of incredible richness; this combined with an open world that you only discover in the second part of a hundred hour adventure. First game in the series to offer 3D, it was with this episode that a whole generation of players discovered the saga of Final Fantasy, then completely unknown (by the general public) in Europe. An iconic opus that had sold more than 11 million copies, that Square Enix has decided to update it in a Remake version available since April 10 on PS4. You will understand, this is a real challenge as this seventh episode has been able to cross generations ...
A founding title
23 years after its release, FF VII is still essential. With manga, side games ( Before Crisis, Dirge of Cerberus or Crisis Core) and especially the films Last Order (OAV) and the amazing Advent Children, this game was able to create a multi-media universe for a complex story offering many messages, including the most important and most obvious: that of protecting the planet of human exploitation. A leitmotif from which derives a grandiose epic orchestrated by highly developed relationships through deep and touching characters, whose destiny - at least for some of them - has lastingly marked the video game memory of players.
We can easily imagine how much the developers had to pull their hair out, so complex it must have been to transform the FF VII recipe to make a major remake. And yet, the bet is perfectly successful. Taking up the original story, still relevant today, adorned with superb graphics sometimes eyeing towards photo-realism, Square offers us here an astonishing revisit of this epic that has not aged. If in detail, the graphics are not necessarily the most beautiful ever seen on PlayStation 4, they manage without difficulty to match the cinematics of the film Advent Children released in 2005. It is also obvious that the visual inspiration for this remake comes from there, to the point that we benefit today from a more adult title on the form and overall superb.
Square Enix
Exit the still images of the original episode with now a third person view and splendid decorations with architecture influenced by Steampunk that a Rintaro would not have denied. The same goes for fights which intelligently mix intense actions and quick pauses in order to take advantage of the menus of the FF VII of 1997. This in order to cast spells thanks to the famous metarias, iconic magic stones from the series that will make the difference in most boss fights. We recommend that you learn to use them as soon as possible if you do not want to repeat important clashes several times. In the end, the subtle balance between role playing, strategy and action was found, and if the camera turns out to be confused on rare occasions, one of the greatest successes of this remake is to be found in its brawls which skillfully mix the turn-by-turn of yesteryear and the action that has become almost indispensable in today's games.
A remake in several episodes
With the ambitions of the development team, FF VII Remake could not offer the entire history of the game from 1997. The developers therefore decided to offer us the first part of the adventure stopping outside the city of Midgar. This city state led by the Shinra company, which extracts Mako energy from the planet, is at war with the dissidents of the Avalanche group. The latter want to stop the exploitation of their lands to return to a world in harmony with nature. In fact, Cloud, Barret and Tifa, as well as others, go to war against the Shinra. Midgar, real star of this opus, is cut into two layers which symbolize the striking opposition between the rich, living above, and the poor, who try to survive in the shallows.
Square Enix
As we told you, there are many metaphors and other messages and you had to tell the story by focusing on Midgar and its many corridors to get started. The opportunity to (re) discover a much more worked megalopolis, full of details and an impressive visual credibility for fifty hours. All through a magnificent 3D engine and cut scenes which highlight an excellent narrative, despite some surprising moments. Indeed, the heroes now seem more adult, but are prey to reactions, like the original game, which sometimes proved to be offset from the current situation. If this was not a real concern in FF VII with its small characters with large heads, this can give rise to quite strange moments in the Remake. Nothing serious, however, but it should be emphasized. The screenplay has also been transformed, to offer something new that upsets the whole universe of FF VII, whether it is that of the original title, side games, manga or even films. If there are some dispensable lengths, this monumental risk-taking does not seem to impact the coherence of the whole and manages to revive the interest of the player for a scenario which he knew already the purpose 23 years ago. A daring and courageous pirouette that we can only salute as it seems perfectly orchestrated once the adventure of this remake has ended.
Without ever betraying the fans or even its origins, Final Fantasy VII Remake achieves a feat by transcending the original story, in form as in substance, to also address new players. Packed by a welcome green speech, its overall mastery of narration and its innovative gameplay halfway between action and RPG, this Remake is without a doubt one of the best ever made for a video game; the fruit of hard work that counts in years. What furiously whet the appetite for the second part, whose release date has not yet been announced, but which should offer us, this time, a world much less ... Confined.
Note that we will return very soon to the creation of Final Fantasy VII Remake with interviews of Yoshinori Kitase, the producer and Naoki Amagushi, co-director of the title. What have another perspective on the saga.
