A mercenary looks up at the reactor he has been hired to take out. Source: Ars Technica

The Rebirth of a Masterpiece: How the Final Fantasy VII Remake project is expanding on the original story

Alex Anyfantis
11 min readApr 1, 2024

By taking up the challenge of rebuilding the world of the 1997 classic for the modern era, the creative minds at Square Enix are using the opportunity to emphasize the details and tell their story the way it was meant to be told all those years ago.

The 1997 classic that helped elevate the original PlayStation to the status of a great console, Final Fantasy VII, was considered one of the best games of its generation. That was partly due to the many ways it innovated, but also how it shattered the graphical limitations of its time, to give players an experience they couldn’t imagine was possible. The battle system, the exploration, the mini-games, the music, all of this combined with the CGI graphics, created a massive title that brought the RPG genre to the limelight, paving the way for the many titles that would follow — and setting the stage for western developers to embrace the development of role-playing games.

But at the heart of what made Final Fantasy VII so great were its characters and the story it wanted to tell. A story about the planet and the people who want to protect it. About people who rise through their vulnerabilities to reach greatness. Of sacrifice, life, and overcoming death. This is what made Final Fantasy VII resonate…

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Alex Anyfantis

Media graduate, professional journalist and self-proclaimed Final Fantasy fanboy. Interests (and die-hard passions) include gaming and sports (mainly football).