A dedicated fan tired of waiting for the announcement so many fans are waiting for has taken it upon himself to remake Final Fantasy VII in the Unreal Engine. And this isn't a nice idea that you hear about across the internet and then never hear of again – there's currently a demo available for download.
There's also a nice video which shows how the game works in its early stages – you will not be disappointed.
As you can see from the picture above, everything has been greatly improved. If you thought that was a boob joke, you'd be half correct (it's early, I can't think of anything specific AND subtle). What actually impresses me is the way the textures look, a million miles away from the original game but still not unrecognisable. If this picture was released by Square without Tifa and without the watermark, it would take people a matter of minutes to identify what they were teasing.
Of course, it's not perfect. As much as these screens make me salivate, the reality isn't quite up to the image conjured by these pictures. The first person exploration, the model movements (the latter probably led to the former), the goofy way in which Tifa attacks – it's an early attempt but I wonder how many Final Fantasy obsessives will tear this apart now that it is coming to the attention of the masses.
For what it is, it's impossible to knock.
If Square honestly don't have immediate plans to remake the game, this is a chance for some positive PR. If they could offer a little support to help a budding developer remake portions of one of the most loved games of all times (under strict guidance of course) it would both judge reaction to an actual remake and make them look like the good guys.
But that's probably not going to happen, instead expect the website to disappear over the next couple of weeks/months and we won't ever hear about it again. In the meantime, try the game out for yourself.
