In a time where graphics have truly shaped how people perceive video games, many often scoff at older titles. Even some that have aged quite well from the early 90’s and late 80’s are discussed with contempt for looking too simplistic. While this is partially the nature of older titles to have aged stylizations and graphics, there are few art styles from that era that still look good today. One such example is none other than the eponymous Final Fantasy VII in all of its polygonal glory. In fact, some fans would argue that original art and assets can even trump modern recreations of classic scenes.
Despite the remake not having the same effects of recreating fans’ childhoods, the FF7 mod community has taken matters into their own hands. While some modifications have been done to drastically alter them to modern standards, fans have always wanted an original style texture pack. Finally, there is a new Final Fantasy VII mod showcasing new graphics that have been upscaled with AI technology for a truly realistic update to the 1997 polygons.
While there have been plenty of mods before the Satsuki Yatoshi one to upscale graphics, there are a few new elements that haven’t been showcased before. The FF7 Texture Packs have always been a great showcase of a community recreating new journeys in a classic JRPG; but, nothing has come close to what has been changed in this mod. One of these newer elements is of course the updated battle graphics. Showing a much cleaner and less noisy filter over material animations is a joy to see. Some spells really unleash their epic potential, rivaling other Final Fantasy iterations of the same magic.
Yet, what truly makes the battles that much better is the revamped battle backgrounds and stabilized frame rate. Playing exclusively through the Steam version gives lots of benefits as to what can be changed and fixed. If the remake wasn’t to your liking, this mod will definitely make the original look just how it should have been. The upscaled videos and new framerate really add to the new look and is a spectacular showcase of the upscaled modeling. If you want to check out all of the changes and get the FF7 texture pack, you can find it here.
