FINAL FANTASY VII - 2013 Edition owners can redeem the new version at no extra cost.
The world has fallen under the dominion of the Shinra Electric Power Company, a sinister corporation that has monopolized the planet’s very life force as Mako energy. In the urban megalopolis of Midgar, an anti-Shinra rebel group calling themselves Avalanche have stepped up their campaign of resistance. Cloud Strife, a former member of Shinra’s elite SOLDIER unit now turned mercenary, lends his aid to the rebels, unaware that he will be drawn into an epic battle for the fate of the planet, while having to come to terms with his own lost past. This new release is an upgraded version of FINAL FANTASY VII – 2013 Edition with additional features (there are no changes or additions to the story).
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More importantly, its on GOG, all DRM free.
The old game (2013 release) is 1.43 GB small and the new version is 3.43 GB big. There was some speculation to what the changed would include. I speculated about the fast battle options and such, but also speculated that the online server requirement and launcher would go away. I am currently downloading the new version to test this out by disabling my internet connection (after download obviously lol). It is neat we get the new version for free, take that Nintendo and Sony!
- after download immediately disconnect from internet
- run game for first time, it installs DirectX in the background (I’m on Linux BTW)
- I get a Unable to Sync warning for the save files, obviously, click Play anyway
- there is a new launcher… sigh
- but the game finally launches without internet requirement, no more server check! Exactly what I was hoping more, plus the new launcher can be controlled with gamepad
- the sword on the title screen looks ugly…
- video intro sequence still 15 fps, they did not change that
Generally looks and plays fine, no further issues. I still prefer the original game on Playstation 1 (maybe my favorite game of all time?) and prefer to emulate it with RetroArch, to apply quality shaders that mimic CRT. The graphics without CRT shader look ugly to me. But this version seems to be fine to play too. It’s a vastly different game compared to the Remake… At least there is not disc swapping issue.
I’m waiting for the FF7 Remake and FF 15 Windows Edition on #GOG still…
What’s the difference though
The following extra features are included:
◆ 3× speed mode
Play through the game at up to three times the speed! This feature can only be used in battle, travel, and select events.◆ Ability to turn battle encounters off
Activate this option to turn off random encounters. Story event battle still must be completed to advance the story.◆ Battle enhancement mode
Activate this mode to recover HP/MP during battles and max out the Limit gauge.◆ Autosave feature
