Final Fantasy VII was a game on the first generation Sony PlayStation that gripped the imagination of millions around the world, although the load times of the game would have taken up millions of man hours along the way, not to mention the numerous disc swaps that you had to made while playing through the game. We are glad to say that in this day and age, your average Android-powered smartphone now has the power to be able to run the full game without missing a beat, and load times are a thing of the past thanks to the wonders of flash memory.
Mobile gaming has long broken the barriers to being confined within the realm of handheld consoles, as smartphones have become more and more powerful over the years to be able to offer a compelling mobile gaming experience. The recent reveal of Pokemon Go would have seen many people take the plunge and enjoy one of Nintendo's best selling franchises, but the advent of Final Fantasy VII on Android might mean some of us will have to make the difficult decision of seeing which apps we should uninstall in order to free up more space on our smartphones to get the game up and running.
Do take note that Final Fantasy VII for Android is not a blow-for-blow an exact copy of the remastered version, but rather, a mobile-friendly version that will still be able to carry the magic that enthralled many of us years ago, thanks to the new kind of cinematic storytelling and expansive role playing game style. Even hooking up your Android-powered device to a large screen will not do the game justice, as it would be best to play the original on a big screen to relive the 1997 classic all over again.
It is nice to see the first game in the Final Fantasy series that makes use of 3D computer graphics while boasting of fully rendered characters on pre-rendered backgrounds arrive on the mobile platform. Just to prepare your smartphone to run Final Fantasy VII, you will need at least 4GB of free space available, in addition to another 2GB to enable it to run. Make sure your device is running on Android 4.3 at the very least (which should not be too much of an issue as approximately 79% of Android-powered devices run on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean or newer).
Final Fantasy VII for Android will cost you $16 to download, and assuming you go ahead, chances are you might also want to pick up the high definition remake on the Sony PS4 which is accompanied by changes to its combat and story system, if you haven't done so already.
For those who might want to give this small screen debut a miss (unless you don't mind enjoying it on a 7" tablet that runs on Android), and cannot sit throw the long load times on a classic PSOne, then you can always give it a go via Steam or iOS.
Initial reviewer feedback is all good on the nostalgia factor, but it does look as though the cutscenes do need some work such as the teal overlay being unpleasant.
