Final Fantasy VII Switch Release and FFVII Remake News
Square Enix keeps teasing us with the Final Fantasy VII Remake for more than 4 years. It’s been unbearable for us and they know it. That’s why the team has been working on porting over some of their classic Final Fantasy series games onto the current generation of consoles. Their work culminated in an announcement this past January for the release dates for Final Fantasy X And XII for Xbox One and Nintendo Switch on April 16th. On the date of the release of Final Fantasy IX for the Switch in February, Square Enix announced the much anticipated release of Final Fantasy VII for the Switch on March 26th. Let’s take a closer look at this cult classic game and what you can expect when you take it for a spin on your Switch.
Final Fantasy VII Classic for the Switch
For those not acquainted with the original Final Fantasy VII (FFVII) game (or the series in general), here’s a quick rundown. The beginning of FFVII details a world that has fallen under the dominion of the Shinra Electric Power Company. Much like Enron of the early 21stcentury, this sinister corporation has monopolized the planet’s life force known as Mako energy. Set in the megalopolis of Midgar, a former member of Shinra’s elite SOLDIER unit now turned mercenary named Cloud Strife lends his aid to the rebels of an anti-Shinra rebel group called Avalanche. Cloud is pulled into an epic battle with the game’s antagonist, Sephiroth, for the fate of the planet and is forced to come to terms with his rocky past to bring balance to the planet.
FFVII was first released on the PlayStation in 1997, then re-released for PC and simultaneous digital download on the PlayStation Store in 2013, and most recently re-released on PS4 in 2015. The upcoming Switch version will include special features such as:
- 3x speed mode
- Ability to turn battle encounters off
- Battle enhancement mode
Square Enix originally revealed its intention to bring the game to the Switch in September 2018. Although this obviously isn’t the Final Fantasy VII Remake that fans have been clamoring for, it’s definitely a good starting point for gamers to wet their appetites. For those who don’t have a Switch or Xbox One, you can already download FFVII on PlayStation 4 and Steam:
Final Fantasy VII Remake Update
Not much news has come out regarding the FFVII Remake since it was announced at E3 2015. Now that Square Enix has completed their most recent RPG, Kingdom Hearts 3 after years of development, it seems that their schedules are a little more open to complete the FFVII Remake. Unfortunately (but also fortunately) for gamers, Square Enix has a history of taking years to develop their games to ensure that they are well received by gamers. In this way, Square Enix is very strategic, which is evident by the details that emerged in this Reddit post regarding the FFV7 Remake where a supposed insider claimed that:
“Square [Enix] just posted their investor briefing in which they expect a big increase in revenue (as stated before) in Q3 of their fiscal year 2020. Which means between October — December 2019. They expect 40–50 billion yen, which is double that of Q2 and Q3 of 2018 combined. This can only mean FF7R the way I see it.”
We can only speculate as to the validity of these statements since Square Enix CEO stated in the company’s latest investors briefing that:
“I cannot go into any detail at the moment, but I believe we will be able to make various announcements in the lead-up to this year’s E3.”
Well then, at least we have a shiny trailer to look at periodically until more news pours in regarding the remake in the future, right?
RIGHT?!
