sure is a video game, huh.

But that element of the bigger ‘Compilation’ story for Final Fantasy VII, throughout its many instalments, isn’t yet a component of – and also I’m not particular, based on what we’ve seen in the 2020 game, that it’ll be made any type of the more clear in its no-date-yet-set follow up.

Back to, however, and its discussion – outside of its gameplay – shares more DNA with than the 1997 game.

But reality, inevitably, bit. And I changed tack. Because it’s not 1997’s that should be the game that people finishing turn to for more of the same, albeit very different.

It’s 2007’s for the PlayStation Portable (and, so far, nothing else – remake, when?) that needs to be dug out, booted up and revisited. Or, perhaps, for this prequel, set six years before , to be seen from start to finish for the very first time. Which, in my case, is precisely what this playthrough is going to represent. The finish bit, anyway.

I’ve played before, but not to its bitter end (which I most certainly have seen online). When I got the UMD spinning away inside my PSP last night, I noted that the last save file is dated from about two years ago – and that also represents my only save file, albeit one with several hours’ progress. But I’ve still not reached the credits – and because two years ago is plenty long enough for me to have forgotten how to play this thing, I’ve started over.

How is sort of beside the point for this article, and this argument. But nevertheless, it’s worth a moment, because this sure isn’t ATB town anymore. If you enjoyed the more action-focused combat of , then will tick your boxes for battling with more immediacy than if you were coming to it straight off the back of the slower, turn-based encounters of 1997’s . It’s a lot busier, is what I’m saying, with plenty of dodging – but its ‘Digital Mind Wave’ system still puzzles me somewhat. Something about sevens… sevens are important…

, back to and – spoilers ahead – its ending. If you played having already finished the 32-bit-era game that it shares its name with, then you’ll know a fair bit about Zack Fair, ‘s solo protagonist, but rather less so if you’ve not. This suspiciously Cloud-like character only appears in a couple of CGI sequences in , around the time that our protagonists are fighting their way out of the Shinra Building and subsequently out of Midgar itself.

Exactly what Zack’s doing in the scenes, facing off against a legion of Shinra soldiers, isn’t obvious. But what sure is: he is a SOLDIER, part of Shinra’s most-elite fighting force, just as Cloud appears to be when we meet him in and .

But if is your first dance with , will bring what you saw of Zack at its end, and his huge significance to Cloud, into sharper focus. At the beginning of , Zack is depicted as a SOLDIER, Second Class, operating under the guidance of Angeal Hewley, who just happens to carry around an almighty great Buster Sword. Across the game’s story we learn more of Sephiroth, ‘s final boss, as well as the Turks and Aerith Gainsborough. And yes, how that iconic weapon makes its way from Angeal to Cloud is something that is revealed across this game, and the game it directly leads into.

But that element of the wider ‘Compilation’ story for Final Fantasy VII, across its many instalments, isn’t yet a part of – and I’m not certain, based on what we’ve seen in the 2020 game, that it’ll be made any the clearer in its no-date-yet-set sequel. That’ll presumably take Cloud, Tifa, Barret et al to the eeriness of Nibelheim, the horrors of the Nibel Reactor, Cosmo Canyon and Rocket Town – but at this stage, your guess is as good as mine. If Square Enix can go as wild as they did at the end of , who knows how its second chapter will play out. It did say, after all, that the “unknown” journey will continue, so it could well deviate from 1997’s events even further.

Back to , though, and its presentation – outside of its gameplay – shares more DNA with than the 1997 game. Its hyperkinetic CGI cutscenes are a little rougher-looking than those of , but they’re far more in keeping with the new game’s aesthetic – i.e., the whole look – than the blockiness of the original title. So that’ll definitely help prevent visual whiplash if you bounce from to something older, but no less essential when it comes to the Bigger Picture of all of this.

And in terms of getting a decent grasp of that Bigger Picture, of the wider FFVII Compilation in the wake of , it’s undeniably above all else that’s worth your time (apologies to , which is best left on YouTube if you’ve never had the dubious pleasure of playing it). It won’t take as long to finish as did, and you’ll get a valid sense of completion from it – something 2020’s game really lacks. Oh, and its ending leads directly to the beginning of and – even though appears to rewrite ‘s final moments somewhat (understatement of the year, right there). So if you’re still in the dark on the whole Cloud cruising into Midgar on the back of a train thing, hey, play .

I mean, there’s more to it than that. Obviously. About Cloud, his backstory, his place in SOLDIER, all the rest of it. Aerith and the Ancients, Sephiroth’s relationship with Shinra, those flashbacks with Tifa, in her funny hat, getting really angry in the reactor. Not so much all those Dementor-like Whispers, granted, but there are so many loose ends of that can be tied by simply playing . But it’s mainly the train thing, isn’t it. Isn’t it?