037ONON TTHEHE WWAYAY
TOTOTO AAA SSSMIMIMILELELEA
dvent Children not enough for you? This
collection of short stories by Kazushige
Nojima fills out some of what happened
between FFVII’s ending and when the movie begins
(some of which were published online in Japan before
being collected). Nojima worked on the scenario-
writing for the PS1 game, and has also returned to
write FFVII Remake, so you can be sure everything
here is as canon as canon can be.A
longsidetheannouncementofFinal
Fantasy VII Remake, it was also revealed
Square Enix was making a PS4 remaster
of the original game. While we did have
access to a digital version of the PS1 game on PS3,
that was simple emulation. For the PS4 remaster
the visuals were cleaned up, with smooth
character models. The pre-rendered backgrounds
couldn’t be upscaled to the same amount, but
pixelation was minimised so it still looks pretty
good blown up onto a big screen.
The biggest features were the addition of trophy
support (which feels rewarding if you’re a
completionist), and the option to turn on various
cheat modes, which can really help with blasting
through the game for pure nostalgia. Turning these
on can triple the speed of the game, turn off all
random encounters, and restore all characters’ health
and Limit Break meters. While Final Fantasy VII
Remake is shaping up well, it’s also important to
continue to make the real older titles accessible to
newer generations, and FFVII will always be playable
on PS4 alongside its prettier younger brother.
CHCHCHOCOCOCOBOBOBOOO RARARACICICINGNGNG
M
ore like a Crash Team Racing-styled kart
racer than the chocobo racing you’d be used
to from the mainline Final Fantasy games,
this pits a jet-rollerblade-wearing chocobo against
other cute mascots from the series on Final-Fantasy-
themed tracks. Various secret characters could be
unlocked, including Cloud on his Hardy-Daytona,
Squall from FFVIII in his Tempest, and even Aya
from Parasite Eve in a police car. Bring it back!FINAL FANTASY
VII REMASTER
Cleaned up for the PS4 generation