E3 2015: Final Fantasy VII wish is granted

The prayers have finally reached the Planet. It’s been a decade since a PlayStation 3 technical demo, featuring remastered Final Fantasy VII graphics, stirred players’ passions and ignited the calls for a fully-remade version of the 1997 classic.

In that time, the clamour did not die down. It was a wish that simply refused to lose its spark.

There was a spike in interest last summer, when Square Enix announced that this revolutionary action RPG would make its PlayStation 4 debut before too long. That spark fizzled immediately when it was revealed to be news of a port of the old PC version.

“I have given up hope,” my friend and fellow games-scribbler Siobhan Keogh said to me when I was covering that epic disappointment for Cake Oven. “Call me when it’s legit.”

I didn’t need to call Siobhan today. The Snapchat she sent me of a single piece of notepad paper with the word “YUSS” written on it told me everything I needed to know about the way she felt.

“I feel as if my time is just beginning…”

Square Enix had been milking the FFVII cow for a very long time before the echo from their stunning mic drop ceased to reverberate around the Los Angeles ampitheatre where PlayStation held their traditional pre-E3 press conference this weekend, and it seemed simply unconscionable that a remake couldn’t happen – but that’s what the guardians of this precious IP told their fans, year after year. Well, there’s no more of that.

There’s a note at the end of the trailer – “play it first on PlayStation 4” – which suggests that this won’t be a Sony exclusive, at least not forever. That would be a fair decision for this time, when the fantasy fever has spread across platforms, but it’s like a sharing of the torch if not a full passing of it. For some, FFVII was the first reason to own a PlayStation. I was one of those people, having bought my copy of the game a full year before I could afford the console.

There is very little else to know today about the new version, least of all what prompted this change of heart. My best guess is that the reaction to the last announcement spurred a different way of thinking, but that’ll all come out in the wash eventually. We don’t know when it’s coming, what it’ll cost, and where the queue for voiceover casting begins. What matters right now is that this is happening.

It’s also too early to know how the experience might change. Translating the game into English from the Japanese original was a herculean task, and it wasn’t a complete success. Will the guy in the Sector 7 slums simply be sick, or are he sick as he always are been? Understanding the reasonably complex development of Sephiroth and Cloud’s storyline was tough enough without the context lost in translation. Will that be easier on our brains?

What, obviously, of Aeris’ landmark valedictory? Anticipating the reaction to that scene feels a bit like being one of the A Song of Ice and Fire book readers as the world settled in to watch the ninth episode of Game of Thrones‘ third season.

You lot who are new to Final Fantasy VII are gonna be in for some feels. So is everyone else. Brace yourselves – there ain’t no getting off of this train we’re on.