The original Final Fantasy VII became a gaming icon back in 1997 on the PlayStation, and it spent the better part of the next two decades having fans pleading to Square Enix for a remake. And though when the official reveal trailer finally came in the summer of 2015, 2020 finally brought that much-anticipated remake to countless die-hard fans who knew the original game forward and backward.
Final Fantasy VII Remake brought the experience into the modern age for both old and new fans, though, the franchise's dedicated following will now have twice the knowledge on the ins and outs of what made this such a landmark game.
The CW's Superman Voices Sephiroth
Final Fantasy VII Remake is also a joy for newcomers, but the longtime faithful will have likely felt something special in seeing their favorite characters animated and voiced to this degree in a game. The English cast does a great job as well as the Japanese dub, and those inquisitive enough will notice that the voice of Sephiroth -- Tyler Hoechlin -- is also the latest live-action iteration of Superman on CW.
It's a fun surprise for those who know, as switching between the beacon of optimism that is the Man of Steel -- one of DC's greatest superheroes -- to the ominous and sinister One-Winged Angel Sephiroth is jarring to see.
First Remake Of A 3D Final Fantasy Game
This IP has several Final Fantasy games great for newcomers, and part of that accessibility comes in the direction taken to remasters and remakes of beloved classics. The franchise isn't new to games being remade, but Final Fantasy VII Remake is the first time a 3D mainline game was remade.
In a way, this is another major reason why the game is such a milestone for Square Enix's expansive JRPG series. Both Final Fantasy III and IV have 3D remakes -- on the Nintendo DS and PC -- but their original counterparts were the 8- and 16-bit NES and SNES versions from the early '90s, respectively.
Jessie Didn't Get This Much Backstory In The Original
While there were admittedly some understandable critiques of the Kingdom Hearts-like creative liberties taken towards the end of Final Fantasy VII Remake's story, it was also praised for fleshing out characters and elements of the Midgar plot. One of the most apparent additions was Jessie's written-out storyline.
In the original PS1 game, she was more of a side character than a proper "supporting" one, with Remake giving her a full-on backstory during the main questline. Jessie originally dies during Shinra's attack in an attempt to destroy Sector 7, but the ending of Remake hints that she may have survived in this timeline.
Biggs & Wedge Died In The Original Game
Similar to Jessie Rasberry, fan-favorite characters Biggs and Wedge also originally died in Final Fantasy VII. And though they didn't receive that same amount of attention as Jessie in Remake, their roles were still noticeably expanded.
Biggs and Wedge's most notable role in the PS1 game was in the initial "Bombing Mission" opening of the story, where Cloud Strife is hired as a mercenary for Avalanche. After that, most of what happens to them is their sacrifice in the same Shinra attack that killed Jessie in Sector 7.
FFVII Remake Was Originally Planned In The 2000s
It took over 20 years for Final Fantasy VII Remake to finally happen, but it's technically been in development in some (small) form for nearly as long. According to an official blog post by Square Enix, Tetsuya Nomura -- who also worked on the original game -- had conceptualized the remake around the time they were working on the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII project in the 2000s.
The game was intended to be the final entry in that massive endeavor. Even though it took as long as it did and also been turned into a Remake series, FFVIIR on its own merits stands as one of the current best video game remakes to play.
Biggs & Wedge Are Also A Final Fantasy Running Gag
This particular fact is one that well-versed Final Fantasy fans will know, but Biggs and Wedge are long-running franchise gags in addition to being fully-realized characters in Remake. In almost every mainline game in the series, there will be a pair of characters named Biggs and Wedge, where the former is usually a superior official to the latter.
Not only that, but they're also Star Wars references. Specifically, Biggs and Wedge are named after Luke Skywalker's Rebel wingmen of the same names in the original trilogy movie Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope.
The Second Time A Superman Voiced Sephiroth
While it's fun to learn that one of the most iconic video game villains is also voiced by someone who also plays the opposite kind of character, it isn't the first time Superman played Sephiroth. Of course, the original Final Fantasy VII came at a time when getting voice acting work done for it was too big of an order.
However, actor George Newbern (of DC Animated Universe fame) voiced the One-Winged Angel in many of the Compilation's works, including the Advent Children anime movie and the beloved PlayStation Portable prequel game Crisis Core. Even outside of that, though, he played Sephiroth in his boss appearance in Kingdom Hearts II for the PS2.
First Main Numbered FF Game Where The Level Cap Isn't 99/100
In a small first for the game, Final Fantasy VII Remake is the first mainline numbered entry in the sprawling series where the level cap is this limited. Every other game of this kind in the franchise either had Level 99 or 100 is the cap, while FFVIIR stops at Level 50.
While there may not be an officially stated reason for this, it seems easy enough to deduce. Unlike what most fans years ago would have expected, this game is the first in a Remake series, therefore, it's likely that the team at Square Enix didn't want to make the party seem too overpowered since this first game only encompasses the Midgar portion of the story.
Developers Were Surprised At How Short The Midgar Section Originally Was
During the long road of development that Final Fantasy VII Remake had, a Hollywood Reporter article talks about how several members of the team went back to play the original game for reference material. The team, including game producer Yoshinori Kitase, was surprised that the Midgar portion of the game's story was shorter than they remembered it.
This is what inspired them to try and flesh out this part of the plot with more character-driven storylines. By extension, this led the developers to turn the game into a full-blown series of remakes instead of a single package.
Sephiroth's First Appearance Is Much Earlier In This Timeline
Expanding upon the original game to fill it out with more details and character writing is what narratively justifies a series of games. But making a remake, even the first, without Sephiroth would have been a big disappointment to some fans.
This is where some more creative liberties needed to happen, with the villain appearing periodically through Cloud's Mako-induced trauma and as the final boss fight of the game. In the original, Sephiroth doesn't appear until the Avalanche team manages to escape Midgar. The villain takes on a more ominous, Jaws-like approach where the character is gradually built up until his first appearance.