Final Fantasy VII PC Updated Re-Release confirmed and unveiled

Most wikis claim that FFVII's localization was done by SCEA.

Aaw crap. I was expecting updated character models and graphics at least.

Well This is an improvement. If for nothing else the EIDOS port was complete shit.

What was bad about it?

I wonder what FFVII's translation would have been if they continued using the same guys they did with IV and VI? All things considered, Woolsey's translations weren't that bad. I think that the GBA translations are superior, but still.

The Porting Disaster page has some info on that. In short:

• Various video codec problems, including a desynchronization of 3D and video on the sequences that use both (Cosmo Canyon's Observatory cutscene, Junon's elevator)
• Crashes on quitting (I don't think the game has quit without crashing more than three times on my Win95 PC)
• Crashes at other moments, such as the end of the looooooong unskippable cutscene(s) at Whirlwind Maze / North Crater, and the last save point is before an annoying timing puzzle. It took me at least three tries before I could reach the next scenes in Junon and the save point there.
• Lack of lyrics in One Winged Angel due to all musics being MIDI.

edited 17th Aug '12 1:58:12 AM by Medinoc

Wow.

Well hopefully this one'll be better.

Dear gods, years later I still remember the crappy MIDI soundtrack of the game on PC.

That soundtrack is sadly what I think of when I think of the music due to it being my exposure to the game. The cutscene issues and such were part of what made me quit.

edited 11th Jul '12 5:45:09 AM by Aondeug

Actually apart from OWA, I liked the MIDI musics. Especially with the Yamaha MIDI driver installed.

I think MIDI has the advantage aging nicely as technology advances, since you can make better MIDI drivers. An old 64k MP 3 by contrast can't get better over time.

Yeah, it's instrumental only. And probably not all instruments either.

edited 11th Jul '12 7:04:16 AM by Medinoc

Yeah but MIDI can't give you anything near the epic awesomeness that was "One Winged Angel".

edited 11th Jul '12 6:39:41 AM by Fighteer

I still prefer Dancing Mad as a final boss theme.

Actually, someone from /v/ has managed to render the entire OST from the PC version as FLAC files (using an actual Yamaha DB50XG, no less), and unless I'm mistaken, it seems that OWA does have vocals intact:

edited 11th Jul '12 10:25:01 AM by DemonSharkKisame

The lyrics were supposed to be rendered through use of a seperate soundfont, but like most aspects of the port it suffered from compatibility issues. There is a mod that allows for looped OGG files to be used in place of MIDI, though.

Guys...it just got on Steam right now. Check the new releases section.

Doesn't seem to be different from the Square re-release.

Oh, so it is, thanks Nettacki. You are a very useful engine.

And it's ten quid over here too. Not bad. Pity I just bought the d and d bundle on gog though...

Keep in mind: This FF 7 release has the same stuff that the release on Square Enix's site had (achievements, "cloud" saving [lol pun], some graphical enhancements and compatibility fixes, and an initial login and creation of a Square Enix account.) Some people are bothered (greatly, I might add) by the simple act of getting another account to play a game, even if after all that you can still play the game normally. Also, some people may have problems with cloud saves, with certain users not being able to sync with the cloud servers properly every time they save, or however the system works..

edited 7th Aug '13 3:47:27 PM by Nettacki

Yeah, this steam release is gonna be more successful.

I looked at this on Steam and I can't help but notice the "Character Booster" that sounds suspiciously like microtransactions/Bribing Your Way to Victory. Could someone give more detail on this?

edited 4th Jul '13 8:53:07 PM by videogmer314

Awesome! I picked it up today and have started playing it. It's too bad that they couldn't spare the resources to pump up the texture resolutions, but it's still fun, and amazingly nostalgic.

It's exactly what it sounds like. They want to make it more "Accessible" you see.

So umm, is this same as old pc version or did they update the translation?

As far as I can tell, it is identical.

It seems to remain unchanged from the relrease version. Also, the character booster is just a cheat that lets people beef up their character's HP, MP, and money to any amount they want in case they get "stuck" at some point. The boost will be of little use when you have to rely on finding better items in dungeons while you still have to level grind materia to get better abilities.