003Thejourneyhasbeena
longone.Eversincewe
were teased with the
PS3 tech demo back in
2005, fans have been
desperate to see a truly
fresh coat of paint on
Final Fantasy VII. After
all, that was the same year we saw the
movie sequel Advent Children, showcasing
how beautiful Square Enix’s Visual Works
studio could make CG.Even before that fans were drooling at the
prospect of a Final Fantasy VII that could
match up to 2001’s Final Fantasy X (which
did for JRPGs on PS2 what FFVII did on
PS1). Dirge Of Cerberus gave us a taste of
better-looking FFVII, and some fans were
even jamming higher-res models into the PC
version of the game (which to be honest we
think looks terrible – it just doesn’t fit).
But then it was announced. Properly.
Finally. As part of PlayStation’s 2015 E3
press conference (which might be the best
E3 conference of all time). That was a year
before the gorgeous Final Fantasy XV came
out, and at the time it seemed like FFXV was
going to define how VII Remake shaped up.
Now it’s almost out, it’s clear that FFVII
Remake is going to be different to anything
any of us expected. It’s going to be better.
It’s going to be something more. The dev
team have focused on the core of what
made the original great, keeping this first
game based in Midgar, and making the
events there deeper and more meaningful
(and don’t worry, they’ve already started
work on the next game in the Remake
Project). It’s better than we could have
imagined, and rather than falling in step
behind FFXV, it’s walking a new path, looking
gorgeous in Unreal Engine 4. Final Fantasy
VII changed the whole nature of JRPGs when
it appeared on PS1, and now it’s time for
Final Fantasy VII Remake to do the same on
PS4. The future is the past, and the future is
now (or on 10 April, anyway).Oscar Taylor-Kent
GAMES EDITOR,
OFFICIAL PLAYSTATION MAGAZINE
[email protected]Editorial
Games Editor Oscar Taylor-Kent
Operations Editor Miriam McDonald
Art Editor John StrikeWelcome