The remake of the 1997 roleplay, action game “Final Fantasy VII,” released April 10th.  This seventh edition pays homage to the pre-rendered fantasy game that has had an everlasting effect on the gaming community and me during its time.

 The original “Final Fantasy VII,” story follows Cloud Strife, a previous Shinra soldier who lives in a pre-apocalyptic society. The game begins when he becomes determined to defeat the Shinra Corporation, which is a megacorporation that has been draining the planet’s life energy. 

The game designers at Square Enix called this game a “remake,”  because they wanted to strive away from the impression that this would be a sequel or a spin-off of the original, according to IGN.com.  Instead, they wanted to incorporate a new, balanced form of realism, to differentiate the game from the original whilst embodying it as well.  This was definitely seen within the gameplay, as the same storyline is followed with the same characters. Specifically, you can see the increase in creativity of design and texture in the Abzu boss battle fight level,  which I found amazing and more eye-catching as the gameplay went on. 

  The remake has included all previous strategic elements and more content, including a complete redesign of the characters. Graphics have significantly increased due to technological advancements, and the atmosphere has become more surreal and visually appealing. I’ve also noticed that the developers decided to alter the “Active Time Battle” (ATB) system from its initial production.  I found it incredibly helpful throughout gameplay, instead of the previous prolonged wait. It charges up fast or gradually as one would go through gameplay during attacks and ultimates, like magic, items, and special moves.  These actions can also be assigned to different quick-time buttons on your controller, so you can play in real-time without pausing the game. Gamers can also use new magic, such as the Limit Break gauge. This function allows characters to perform more powerful attacks once charged, which I found to be really helpful when fighting the bosses. 

During gameplay, I did notice some formalities that weren’t the same as in the original, such as the dialogue. It comes off as try-hard and cliché, which isn’t too surprising for a foreign-made game. The translated and westernized scripts are often dull, not really adding much to the plot or character development.

It’s an amazing game that has little faults that are noticeable, but rather adds to it, in some sort of charismatic way. Overall, “Final Fantasy VII,” is a 5/5 family-friendly game that’ll be a value to play during these long quarantine days; a game everyone who grew up on pre-rendered, role-playing games or even mobile games, can enjoy. FFIIV will be available as a timed PlayStation 4 exclusive until 2021.