A remake three console generations in the making.

According to Wikipedia, Square had originally promised to release a remake for Final Fantasy VII back on the PlayStation 2. This was in the early 2000s. They also apparently promised to get out remakes for Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy IX. Obviously, none of these remakes ever really came to pass, at least not on the PlayStation 2. The team at Square was just too busy working on the actual PlayStation 2 Final Fantasy titles that would come out over its lifetime to worry about focusing time on remakes.

In 2005, Square Enix showed off the opening to Final Fantasy VII running on their new engine. It was a tech showcase and nothing more. It wasn't meant to signify that a remake was in development, but that footage sure as heck made the demand for one even stronger among fans. Square says that they would have to cut parts from the original game just to make a remake possible. They also cited issues with developing on modern hardware and said that it would just require too much time.


Then there was the 2014 PlayStation Experience. It was here that Square Enix announced that Final Fantasy VII was coming to the PlayStation 4! Oh, but they actually meant that they were porting over the old version of the game, the one that hit the PC in 2013. I mean, it's still a great game but it wasn't exactly the remake or remaster fans were craving. If nothing else, it was during this reveal that Shinji Hashimoto laughing at the mass disappointment became a bit of a meme with fans.

Then in 2015, Square Enix finally did it. Here is the initial reveal for Final Fantasy VII Remake from E3 2015.


I remember having chills when I saw that announcement trailer for the first time. And just as the video says, the promised was made and today, that promise was fulfilled. Final Fantasy VII Remake is out right now on the PlayStation 4.

Of course, there are a few caveats here. First off, this is only "part" of the full Final Fantasy VII story. It's still going to run you about 30 hours for a playthrough and it is its own self-contained experience, but it needs to be noted that there is still more to come eventually. The second caveat here is that this is coming to other platforms in one year. Every marketing material for the game says that it is a PlayStation 4 exclusive until April 2021.

Last night, new evidence surfaced to support the idea that at least the PC will get Final Fantasy VII Remake in about a year. A thank you video from Square Enix's Yoshinori Kitase, made live right after the PS4 launch of Remake, includes gameplay footage that was captured on the PC version of the game. We all knew it was coming. We knew from the moment the first trailer said "play first on PlayStation 4," but it's still odd to see "gameplay captured on PC" on a video uploaded to the official PlayStation YouTube for a game that was literally just released as a timed exclusive.

You can see that thank you video below.


If you're like me though, you saw the largely glowing reviews for Remake and decided that waiting a year just wasn't going to cut it. Besides, double dipping on new game releases is totally a thing that is en vogue these days, so why not do it with Final Fantasy VII Remake?

While I have only played a couple of hours of the remake, I have already greatly enjoyed my time with the game. It's been a wild nostalgia trip so far and I'm looking forward to when I have even more free time to play more in the coming days. If you aren't yet sold on the game, you can try out the free demo or purchase it immediately from the PlayStation Store.