With the announcement at E3 a few weeks back that Final Fantasy VII would at long last be getting a full remake, I got inspired to play the original version once again.
Final Fantasy VII is a classic for many reasons: great character designs, an intricately woven and complex storyline, a simple battle system, and a variable approach to magic usage. Admittedly, the story has gotten retconned a bit since its debut with the release of additional games set in the FFVII universe, but it still holds up even 20 years later.
Graphically, it hasn't held up that well. I always thought the chibi-esque field models were a dubious choice even though the battle models were largely okay for the time. However, the ability to mod games on the PC has enabled many gamers since then to experience FFVII in a new way.
I bought the Steam version and downloaded a set of mods collectively referred to as Tifa's Bootleg. It can be a little daunting to get everything installed and running correctly, but you should be okay provided you have a decent machine and follow instructions. The field models being replaced with close to normal models makes the experience much lesser grating to the eyes. Enhanced backgrounds, different Limit Break colors, and upscaled magic effects all help to breathe brand new life into the game. It's about as close to an HD remaster of the original Final Fantasy VII that I think we will ever see especially with a full remake coming on the horizon.
