Final Fantasy VII, possibly the most popular JRPG ever released has just be re-released for modern machines. But should you actually buy it?
Final Fantasy VII, possibly the most popular JRPG ever released has just be re-released for modern machines. But should you actually buy it?
I really enjoyed Final Fantasy VII on PS1. Unfortunately I always had to borrow my neighbours PS1 when I wanted to play it because I didn’t have one. However, that always meant that I’d get a certain way through the game and then have to give the console back. So when it got released on PC I was pretty excited. I just needed to get a PC and a copy of the game. It wasn’t until 5 years after it was released that I actually got to finish it and despite its blocky graphics it had real charm and an incredible sound track!
Square Enix also released it on PC with the same blocky graphics but a lot worse music. Instead of the higher quality PS1 music the PC version was released with midi music which is substantially lower quality. No big deal as not long after some clever people made the PS1 music available for use with the PC version.
Fast forward to now and Square Enix have re-released the game for modern PC with some modern features. However, it seems these modern features are not in fact better music as the original low quality midi music from the first release is still there (which is fine as that can be modified) or,better graphics or a HD remake. No, These modern features include up scaled graphics so they ‘fit’ on high resolution screens (image black boxes around the grainy FMV sequences so they are ‘full screen’), cloud saving, achievements, a character booster (for those who don’t want to grind) and what early adopters appear to report as online activation DRM! Yes, you heard correctly. To play this game you need to be online to activate the game each time it starts. There is no confirmation as to whether this is always online or just on startup.
For these reasons I am really quite disappointed at what Square Enix have done and can’t recommend that anyone actually buys this! It is clearly a cash grab from Square Enix that relies on the popularity of the brand and the game as they have put very, very little work into actually improving it. But for those of you who do want to the pricing is £8 or $9.99USD promo price and is available now from http://finalfantasyviipc.com/en. But seriously, don’t buy it!
