After much back-and-forth, Final Fantasy VII gets a Phoenix Down at last.
The speculation surrounding a rerelease of Final Fantasy VII has finally come to an end, with the official launch of a website dedicated to the PC version of Final Fantasy VII. The site, whose existence was leaked a mere couple of weeks ago, boasts a set of new screenshots and a trailer. It also states that the new release will only be available from the Square Enix store, quashing rumors that the reboot might be coming to Steam.
As with the original leak, the page lists a host of new features for the game, including cloud saves (but still no Aerith saves) and achievements. The previously-hinted “Character Booster” also makes a reappearance on the feature list, allowing players to max out their party’s stats when they’re stuck. Whether the booster is an item, an in-game option or some kind of DLC remains a mystery.
While Square Enix has not given a definite release date yet, it affirmed that the updated edition will be “coming soon”. The official site also omits the originally leaked price of £7.99/€9.99 (around $12.50). This missing information has been replaced with new details, though, with an until-now unseen list of system requirements revealing that the game will be accessible on a wide range of modern systems.
The announcement follows a long string of denials that Final Fantasy VII would once again see the light of day. Most notably, only a week has passed since Square Enix boss Yoichi Wada dismissed rumors of a remake, claiming that a full reworking of the much-revered JRPG would kill off the franchise. He claimed at the time that the development team would be more than happy to work on a new version of the game, but that he wanted to see an even better Final Fantasy game released first. Although that’s not happened yet, and this isn’t the full HD remake many were clamoring for, fans will no doubt be relieved that Square Enix have at last seen fit to give the acclaimed game a new lease of life.
