Final Fantasy 7 Remake

Final Fantasy VII Remake is a role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix. Released for PlayStation 4 in 2020, it retells the opening portion of the 1997 game Final Fantasy VII, expanding the events in the city of Midgar into a full-length story. The Remake project was announced at E3 in 2015. Its first installment focuses on the conflict between the Shinra Electric Power Company and the eco-terrorist group Avalanche.

Shinra extracts mako, a form of energy drawn from the Planet, and uses it to power the sprawling city of Midgar. Avalanche opposes this exploitation. The player follows Cloud Strife, a former Shinra soldier working as a mercenary, as he joins Avalanche members Barret Wallace, Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge in a bombing mission against a mako reactor. Cloud later works alongside Tifa Lockhart, his childhood friend, and Aerith Gainsborough, a flower seller with a connection to the Planet. Their struggle grows beyond the reactor attacks as they encounter Shinra’s leadership, including President Shinra, and the mysterious Sephiroth.

The game retains familiar settings and characters but substantially develops the Midgar section. Players visit neighborhoods, complete side quests, and learn more about the residents living under the city’s plate. The story also introduces new scenes and characters, such as Roche, a Shinra soldier who challenges Cloud on a motorcycle. Its ending diverges from the original game’s events, establishing that this is not simply a scene-by-scene recreation.

Combat combines real-time movement and attacks with a command system. Characters build up an Active Time Battle gauge, which can be spent on abilities, spells, and items through menus. Players can switch between party members during battles, each with distinct weapons and combat roles. Cloud uses a sword and can change between Operator and Punisher modes; Barret attacks with his gun-arm, while Tifa specializes in close-range strikes. Materia, magical orbs equipped to weapons and armor, grant abilities and spells. Summons such as Ifrit and Shiva can join certain battles after being called.

The soundtrack reworks music from the original game, including “Aeris’s Theme” and “Let the Battles Begin!” Composer Nobuo Uematsu, who wrote the original score, contributed the new main theme, “Hollow.” The game was later released for PlayStation 5 as Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, which includes an additional episode starring Yuffie Kisaragi. That episode connects to the larger Remake project while telling a separate story set alongside the main game’s events.