A legacy has a new home: Final Fantasy VII on the Nintendo Switch

Weiding his iconic Buster Sword, Cloud Strife, the main protagonist of Final Fantasy VII, stands strong in a new 3D world. Though they may not seem like it, these graphics were monumental at its release and were one of the reasons FFVII had such an impact at the time.

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Weiding his iconic Buster Sword, Cloud Strife, the main protagonist of Final Fantasy VII, stands strong in a new 3D world. Though they may not seem like it, these graphics were monumental at its release and were one of the reasons FFVII had such an impact at the time.

Jonah Manuel, Staff Reporter

 After 22 years and eleven million units sold, the fan favorite game, Final Fantasy VII, has found a new home on the Nintendo Switch. Final Fantasy VII has long been considered one of the best entries in the Final Fantasy franchise and one of the most important Japanese RPGs of its time. Like it or not, Final Fantasy VII brought the RPG style of game to be a household must have for many people in the West, which previously was not the case. Made by the company Square Soft in 1997, it was a groundbreaking achievement in the gaming industry, and became a main staple of the company and the PlayStation 1 ever since. Infact, FFVII was the first of its franchise to make the jump from 2D pixel graphics to 3D computer graphics and full motion video. Because of this jump, Final Fantasy VII would become an iconic and influential member of the Final Fantasy family. Praised for its graphics, music, gameplay, and story, FFVII had made a permanent footprint in the industry for years to come. Even now, FFVII remains relevant and in 2015 a remake of the beloved game was announced. Having an updated look and a new real-time based gameplay rather than the origin turn-based, naturally this got many people excited for the release of this iconic game’s reboot on the PlayStation 4.          

 Though it was released on the PlayStation, Final Fantasy VII was originally in development for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. However, after technical problems and limitations, Square ultimately decided to make the jump to the original PlayStation to take advantage of the CD-ROM format. After that FFVII never saw an official port to a Nintendo console until today, as of March 26, the game known for not being on a Nintendo console has made its way to the Nintendo Switch. This is a monumental occasion for both Final Fantasy and Nintendo; it allows for more people to experience this legacy game and opens the floodgates of possibilities for Nintendo’s newest console, and as stated by senior Clay Price, “It’s opened the doors for the old classic games to be ported to the Switch.” This is not an exaggeration as well, with other iconic games like Resident Evil 4, another game known for changing and defining its genre is making its way to the Switch later this year. It is very clear that the Switch has already made a name for itself in the industry, and with its current line up, the Nintendo Switch will have an iconic and diverse library for fans to enjoy.