A headline like that would make you check your calender if you didn’t know it was E3 week. I assure you, it’s June 16th, not April 1st, and that this is the real deal. Revealed at the Sony PlayStation E3 Conference, the highest selling and most beloved entry in the legendary Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy VII, will see a full remake. After a beautiful narration, asking players who are either overjoyed or frightened at the prospect of the classic being revisited to embrace the reunion, Barret and Cloud can be seen as we hear “for they are coming back.”

Admittedly, I’m a Final Fantasy VII fanatic and when the trailer began, I was worried, but excited that there was going to be a sequel or spin-off, as the narrator spoke of the meteor from FF7′s plot in past tense. I was worried more when I saw that “South Edge” was a train stop, seeing how Edge is the name of the city built in the outskirts of Midgar after Meteorfall, but it looks like all the footage here is in classic FF7-era Midgar. The crescendo came at the sight of Barret and Cloud, followed by an image of FF7‘s logo and the word “remake.” The E3 audience was going wild, and the same can be said for those watching in my own house.

Midgar, fully realized.

Despite other E3 atomic bombs like The Last Guardian and Horizon being shown, judging by the crowd’s reaction, Final Fantasy VII Remake was the high point of the conference. Having been desired since the power of the PlayStation 2 was made evident in 2000 and made worse by the intro tech demo for the PlayStation 3 in 2005, the longing for this historic RPG to be revisited has finally come to an end. Final Fantasy VII Remake will appear first on PlayStation 4, as it was born on Sony soil, and we assume will later be released for Xbox One and Steam.

So it’s finally here, but many worry whether or not it will do the classic justice. There are many moments from Final Fantasy VII that seemingly wouldn’t fly in today’s gaming scene, or wouldn’t work the same with realistic character models as opposed to low-poly lego men (Cloud crossdressing to save Tifa from a brothel, riding a dolphin who leaps high enough to allow Cloud a grip on a climbable tower). Whether these moments will be kept, altered, or removed entirely is not yet known. I personally find that it’s reassuring that the Metal Gear Solid series, despite it’s much more realistic graphics and setting, has both controversial sexual content, as well as moments of complete ridiculousness in the face of an otherwise dark, serious plot. So it is possible for FF7R to remain faithful, if Square Enix allows it to be so.

Of course, the only changes we’ve mentioned are plot related. Will the game still have random encounters and turn based combat? Will we still have fixed camera angles, and what of the world map? We’re sure to find out later, and we’ll be here to report it. Let us know your thoughts, concerns, hopes, and voice your overflowing joy/hate in the comments below. Prepare for the reunion.

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Written by ChronoSloth

Video game reviewer who particularly loves the fourth and fifth generation of consoles. In an exclusive love triangle with Nintendo and PlayStation. Fluent in Al Bhed and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 combo notation. Follow him on Instagram to see lots of pictures of video games.