Last April, I bought my husband Final Fantasy VII Remake for his birthday. I heard the game had good reviews and its release was much anticipated by the video game public in general. I wasn’t sure how I would like it since up until that point I had never played a Final Fantasy game, but now Final Fantasy VII Remake is one of our favorite games! My husband and I were part of the group of gamers that had never played the original Final Fantasy VII, and after the story of Final Fantasy VII Remake left us on a cliffhanger, we were very anxious about what would happen next. We weren’t sure if we would like playing the original Final Fantasy VII as much because we heard it was really different than the Remake.
One day, the digital code for the original Final Fantasy VII went on sale on the Nintendo Store for around eight dollars (SCORE)! So, we finally caved and decided we would play through the original Final Fantasy VII so we could see what the original game is like and get some answers as to what would happen next in Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Surprisingly the Remake wasn’t too off from the original Final Fantasy VII. There was only one real difference in the plot in the beginning of the game, but it wasn’t enough to totally discredit the Remake (in my opinion). Besides the one change in plot at the beginning of the game, the only other real difference I noticed was that the battles are turn-based in the original Final Fantasy VII whereas in the Remake the battles happen in real-time.
One thing I really enjoyed about the original Final Fantasy VII was watching the character development of the protagonists throughout the remainder of the story. There was a ton of plot twists and crazy events that happened throughout the story that really blew my husband and I away! There’s also a ton of new characters that join your party as the story progresses that were super cool! I can’t wait to see these new characters animated in updated 4K graphics and seeing them in action! I also really loved all the new locations you visit later in the original Final Fantasy VII, and I’m super excited to see what they look like in the Remake.
Another reason I wanted to play the original Final Fantasy VII was so that I could learn the background behind some of the more confusing stuff in the story (like Cloud’s trippy episodes). Honestly the truth behind some of the events and people in Final Fantasy VII was super worth playing the game. I will say I already knew some of what would happen because I played Crisis Core (a prequel to Final Fantasy VII). But Crisis Core didn’t answer all of my questions about some of the more confusing aspects of the Remake, and what was going to happen in the second part of the Remake.
If you don’t want to spend a ton of time on the original Final Fantasy VII, but you’re also wanting to learn about the original story of Final Fantasy VII, there’s three tricks the developers for the Nintendo Switch digital copy put in to help you out. If you click in the left Joy-Con stick, you turn the speed of the gameplay up and it goes three times as fast. If you click in the right Joy-Con stick, it turns on a power-mode that gives you unlimited Limit attacks and makes you harder to kill. If you click in both Joy-Con at the same time, you turn off random enemy encounters, so you can just focus on progressing the story without being thrown into battle every minute or so. I will say that these tricks make it so you are really only getting the story, and aren’t really experiencing the original game as it was. But if you really just want to progress the story and find out what happens and don’t care about the gameplay, you should use these tricks. One thing I must warn you about though is that if you keep random enemy encounters off for too long, you won’t be powerful enough to beat some of the bosses and you’re going to have to grind to level up your characters. Make sure you’re still fighting some random enemy battles here and there so you can keep leveling up your characters. Also, one of the optional side characters, Yuffie, is only available by having enemy encounters on in a certain forest. If you want to learn exactly how to get her, check out this guide.
Long story short, if you have already played Final Fantasy VII Remake, or are planning to play it, you should also play the original Final Fantasy VII. I promise you you won’t be bored and you’ll be glad you didn’t have to wait for future installments of Final Fantasy VII Remake to find out the rest of the story. If you’re interested in purchasing a copy of the original Final Fantasy VII, check out the Nintendo eShop (in case its cheap there) or go check out Amazon.
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Have you played the original Final Fantasy VII? Do you enjoy Final Fantasy VII Remake? What do you think of both games and how they coincide together? Let me know in the comments below!
Gamer Gal Blog 
I was in a similar situation where I was excited about the remake but had never played the original. I decided after playing the demo for the remake that I wanted to see the story continue, so I went and played the original game—one of the best decisions I ever made. I had so much more of an appreciation for every single aspect of the remake, and it made me enjoy it that much more. Both games, without a doubt, deserve to be played. One of the things I liked about the remake was how it didn’t step on the original’s toes much at all. They both feel distinct, and each offers the player an entirely different experience, which I’m sure they’d love.
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Yes! I feel like the Remake adds to the original without “stepping on its toes” as you say. There’s a ton of people out there that love the original and hate the Remake. Which I find super interesting because what’s not to like? Thanks for the comment! I love hearing others thoughts and ideas!
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