Countdown to Final Fantasy 7 Remake
We count down the final weeks to Final Fantasy 7 Remake's release with a series of features, essays, and podcasts.
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In less than a week, Square Enix will finally release Final Fantasy Remake. For those of who have been waiting 20 years for this moment, it's hard to believe that it's actually happening.
In preparation, we're kicking off a new series of essays, features and podcasts. We're interviewing the devs at Square Enix; taking a deep dive into the ill-fated spinoffs, and sharing some of our hands-on impressions. Here's the series so far:
March 2
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Changes One of the Original's Most Iconic Scenes, And Not for the Better: In my hands-on with the opening hours of Final Fantasy, I talk about some of the changes to Cloud's iconic first meeting with Aerith. Will Final Fantasy 7 Remake be able to retain the haunting atmosphere of the original? Or will it be more of a blockbuster action game? Here's why we hope it's more of the former than the latter.
Our Guided Tour of Final Fantasy 7 Remake's Opening Misson: We captured the entire first mission of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and Hirun is on hand to offer a guided tour. Watch as we invade Shinra's Mako Reactor and get a closer look at Final Fantasy 7 Remake's new combat system in action.
Axe of the Blood God: Hands-on with Final Fantasy Remake: In the March 1 episode of Axe of the Blood God, our RPG podcast, I talk all about my hands-on with Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Check it out!
March 12
The Final Fantasy 7 Spinoffs You Never Knew About: You knew about Crisis Core and Advent Children, but what about Final Fantasy 7 G-Bike and On the Way to a Smile? We recap some of the lesser-known prequels, sidestories, and spinoff releases in the Final Fantasy 7 universe, and we speculate on how they can fit into Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
March 18
Remember When... A Final Fantasy 7 Tech Demo First Baited Fans Into Wanting a Remake: Back in 2005, a gorgeous tech demo for PlayStation 3 got fans begging for a remake of Final Fantasy 7. Here's how it went down.
March 30
Axe of the Blood God: Remembering the Compilation of Final Fantasy 7: MinnMax's Ben Hanson joins Kat and Nadia as a special guest to remember the awkwardness that was Square's direct to video era. From Advent Children to Crisis Core, the trio recount the good and bad of the compilation, and wonder whether it deserves any sort of mention in Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
April 2
The Final Fantasy 7 Remake Interview: Co-Director Naoki Hamaguchi and Producer Yoshinori Kitase tell us about giving Tifa and Aerith equal time, how their vision for the remake evolved over time, and more in this extensive interview.
April 6
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Review: It's finally here. Kat has played the remake to completion, and has insights on its high and lows, of which there are plenty in equal measure.
If you want still more Final Fantasy 7 coverage, there's plenty more where that came from in our backlog. Here's some additional reading:
- Jeremy Parish takes a six-part deep dive into the themes and design of the original Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
- Nadia Oxford explain why the new vision of Midgar is a terrifying glimpse of our own future, and why Palmer is secretly its greatest villain.
We'll have even more coverage when Final Fantasy 7 Remake launches next month. Look for it on PlayStation 4 on April 10.