Coming back to this after all this years it was still an exceptional experience. As the years have gone on we’ve got used to improvements in graphics and game design, and the quality of life options in the newer ports really help when you’re a full grown ‘adult’ with not as much free time. But the magic is all there if you look for it. This time around I found myself appreciating more of the details in the background of each area you visit; seeing the impact Shinra has on the world in every corner; some really quite offbeat enemy encounters.

Comparing this to the Compilation tie ins and REMAKE project and it’s clearer than ever sometimes less is more. The whole story of Cloud’s identity crisis works so well here where we don’t really have that much of Zack. By leaving his story a little more vague it emphasises him as a personification of the ideal man in Cloud’s head. The themes of environmentalism, anti-capitalism and anti-imperialism are all clear amongst others, with Sephiroth/Jenova/WEAPONS embodying their ultimate escalating threats.