![]() ![]() "A man had a brand new video game in his hands, still shrink-wrapped and in a double-taped plastic bag, and he already didn't care about it anymore." He shook hands with Wada, had his picture taken, listened to Wada's perfunctory thanks for his years of customer loyalty and fan servitude, and then, when offered a chance to weep in thanks, accepted the microphone and spoke in a quick super-whisper: 'Please remake Final Fantasy 7 for the PlayStation 3 thank you goodbye.' He gave the microphone back and walked off. "One dandruffy young man took that challenge, waiting all night in the pleasant weather. During a launch event for Final Fantasy 12 in Shibuya, Tokyo, the first fan in line was set to be awarded with the opportunity to shake hands and greet none other than Yoichi Wada, the now-former president of Square Enix. In 2006, video game developer and current video editor for Kotaku Tim Rogers, witnessed this fervent thirst in person. When we thought there was no way graphics could get better. Meanwhile, all fans could think about was a Final Fantasy 7 remake. Releases slowed as Japanese developers grappled with the realities of modern engines like Unreal Engine and the finicky PlayStation 3 hardware. This was around the time that Square Enix entered a bit of a slump. Quantic Dream's "Kara" tech demo from 2012 birthed the idea for Detroit: Become Human, for instance. Sometimes the industry's seen tech demos eventually evolve into something greater. But none generated as much buzz as Final Fantasy 7's glossy intro. For the PlayStation 2, a Final Fantasy 8 one. There was the Final Fantasy 6 SGI tech demo. ![]() Tech demos based on previous games weren't even a new endeavor for Square Enix. The intro to Final Fantasy 7 is instantly memorable, so it's understandable why it got the tech demo treatment. Nostalgia that hadn't even congealed to its full potential yet, honestly. In 2005, Square just had a Final Fantasy 7 tech demo that tickled everyone's nostalgia. ![]() We hadn't even heard Square's ambitious Fabula Nova Crystallis pitch for the Final Fantasy 13 saga yet we hadn't gotten our first glimpse at the spinoff that would eventually borne Final Fantasy 15 either. It was Square Enix's loud signal that yes, there would be Final Fantasy games on PlayStation 3. In 2005 though, all we had was a tech demo to go by.Īt the time, it was impressive. Final Fantasy 7 is being remade on new terms, and after suffering a slight recent delay, it will be out on April 10, 2020. Soon, we will see what Midgar and the rest of the opening crew look like in action. It's the sort of game that you play and wonder how it would look with modern technology. The way it frames its firmly angled scenes remains visually pleasing today, even if it's hard to deduce where you can actually walk in the geometry sometimes. Its twists and turns break your heart and delight, all within itty bitty blue text frames. Your ragtag initial party-an ex-military man with some serious baggage, a flower seller with a mysterious heritage, the girl-next-door-who-took-up-boxing, an ecoterrorist with a heart of gold, and a lion that can talk-only gets more rambunctious from Midgar onward. From the moment Cloud leaps off that train with style and the legendary Nobuo Uematsu score kicks in, Final Fantasy 7 feels like an adventure. Still, it's the most beloved Final Fantasy in existence for good reason. Final Fantasy 9, released the year after that, returned to the Final Fantasy 7-ish style, only its stars were a lot more clearly defined the backgrounds more intricate and beautiful than what was possible before.įor all that Final Fantasy 7 impressed with, it was just as swiftly outshone by its own developer, not to mention the rest of the games industry. Cutscenes transitioned immediately into gameplay. Two measly years later, Square Enix released Final Fantasy 8, a game that matured the chibi polygons to actual human-shaped figures. But it quickly became the victim of the worst fate that can befall awe-inspiring tech: it aged. (It made a star out of Midgar, after all.) In 2005, Final Fantasy 7 itself was still young, not even 10 years old. Before the tech demo, we only really knew Final Fantasy 7's real potential in dreams: The game itself contained just blocky polygons with crude cartoonish faces while its background art became the true star. Yet no matter how large the font that read "technical demo" could be, Square Enix recreating the opening of Final Fantasy 7 for a PS3 engine tech demo was a cruel experiment. ![]()
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