Thank you for explaining things AS they happen, instead of trying to deep dive lore. This is the kind of story run through I needed to recommend folk so they get the cliffnotes experience
The best video game storyline I’ve ever played. It profoundly changed my life at 15 years old, and I’ll never forget how incredible it was to experience this epic tale.
Agreed I always get paranoid on videos like this that the voice is going to be annoying or high pitched. This is the perfect voice I was looking for that makes it feel like an epic adventurous tale.
@@emmanuelmiranda9348 Right you are, I just had a FF7 conversation with a FF7 fan, I had no idea on 70% of what he said haha, you really have to play or beat the game. Gaming is really a part of the narrative
Out of all the recap videos, this is exactly what I wanted. Just the straight forward story as told in the game. All the other recaps are either 7 minutes long or they’re 3 hours dives into the history and the lore of the world, or they’re similar to yours but they speak so fast and rushed and use blurry ass game footage. So bravo man you killed this shit.
This video brought back memories when I traded Tekken 3 for this game with one of my friends and thought I made a bad trade but quickly got mesmerized by the story and became a fan till this day of all rpgs
I like that this gives a simple summary of the important events while still leaving enough meat on the bones for someone to still enjoy the original game.
I got the game as a gift when it first came out. I saw on the back of the container where a review said '...quite possibly the greatest game ever made...' After all these years have past... I can still find no argument to that statement.
@@Direwolf216 I borrowed the game, back in 1998, from a friend who said this is a must play. I wasn't so much into JRPG or RPG at all. But this game kept me locked in, for a month I stayed at home, didn't "touch grass" or see my friends, I also skipped school and fooled my parents I was sick. This game was insane
I remember playing this game the first time back in the late 90s and having such an impact with the characters, dialogue, music and themes being so much deeper than anything I had ever played up until that point. While I love a lot of the other entries into the FF series, this was special since it was the first and I remember playing and beating the game multiple times in order to get all the items and defeat the weapons. In a way I loved how it ended with the 500 years later piece because it closed the book on this amazing story and I appreciate the original team that made it so much.
While not my favorite of the PS1 era, FF7 holds a special place in my heart as the game that made me love RPGs to this day. And while I find other entries in the series much more fun and interesting, there's no denying the impact it had on my life and I will always thank FF7 for that.
@@omnihazzards not OP but Xenogears. Disc 1 was out of this word and gameplay mechanics was amazing. Disc 2 was rushed AF though :( Loved the storyline but think it got cancelled in overseas since it got too into God etc
yup. subbing. got your FFVII OG story, along with crisis core, FFVII remake and intermission saved back to back in order so i can fully be prepared for reunion. Not to mention, it's great background sounds while studying in nursing school.
Changed my life back then when this game came out. So many play throughs later and it’s still a gem. Enjoying Rebirth currently as well 👌🏻 another brilliantly made video, kudos.
Whilst listening to this video through my headphones at work. In my head I feel like I'm sat in Bilbo Baggins kitchen, smoking pipe weed, whilst Gandalf is telling me the story of Final Fantasy VII. The narrator's voice reminds me of Gandalf a little. Good video by the way. 👍🏻👊🏻
I miss the original sleazy music from Wall Market. The new music is catchy, but it doesn’t harbor the same dirty feeling. Like… before, you’d be ashamed to tell people you’ve been to wall market.
Definitely didn't expect FFVII content from you for a while as it is not on the top of your lists. You left out a few of the optional things which I quite like but given the length of this script and video it is very reasonable to concentrate on the main events. Your retelling was very focused and spiked with humor on the right places. In fact summarizing jrpgs and their complicated plots is always better with humor.
I'm currently working on an analysis of Final Fantasy VII so I had to replay it. Felt like a good opportunity to also make a video about the story. The particular analysis I'm working on is very much a long term goal so nobody should be holding their breaths, but it was very interesting to replay the game with a pair of analytical goggles I hadn't used before while playing it. That being said, there's always room for some surprise FFVII content. - Nökkvi
@@BirdsOfPlay what's the status of this analysis? I'll check your content myself of course but in the off chance I can't find it and it is actually finished, it would be good to know it's out there .
@@charlieross4674 I'm sorry to report that I've not gotten to it yet. I've had my hands to full with work and family. Thankfully, the channel keeps growing so we're getting a little bit more support to work on our content. Hopefully that will mean more time in the future to pursue what we want to pursue. My apologies.
I stumbled across this channel while watching other Final Fantasy content and so glad i did, really enjoyed this and your ff9 explained i just watched, thank you for bringing me so much nostalgia its a great feeling 😊
Best “complete history” video of FFVII! Awesome job my friend! I’m going to recommend this videos to everyone joining FFVII world now in the Remake series.
I just played crisis core reunion for the first time ever and wanted to get more info on ff7. This was awesome! It felt like I was watching the history channel documentary on a great game. Great job!
Thanks so much for saying so! We will continue to do our best to bring you some good content! Working on making complete story videos for all the main Final Fantasy games (among other things).
Thank you so much on creating the video, as a long time ff7 fan i definitely enjoyed and appreciated it....i also want to say thank you for your dedication! 😊👍
Your voice is amazing, I could listen to you for hours!! and the summary of the story was also done really well, thank you!! really hope your channel blows up!
Thank you :) I grew up on FF7-10. I did buy their remasters on the switch, but as i try to get into them, I realized that I can't sit through these types of turn based combat games anymore. The game play is not fun for me even with fast forward and no random battles and what naught. Your videos here help induce the fun nostalgia and reflection I was looking to achieve when i acquired the remastered games on switch :D In less than 1 hour per FF game :) It is super appreciated! Your story telling is remarkable too! An entertaining summary joined with gameplay to super expose the nostalgia and feels
Thanks for making this video! I was looking for a spoiler-free summary of the original game afted I finished Rebirth. I just wanted to watch up until Rebirth ended so I could compare.
I love the scene where Red XIII finds out the true history of his father and howls at the moon, it should be cool to see how they do Cosmo Canyon in the new game.
I never got to play the original before remake. I wasnt even born yet when the OG ff7 was released. Love the way you told the story and not the fodder stuff
I remember being 10 years old digging up a ps1 disc in my closet that says “collecter’s cd” which has a bunch demo games i put it in my ps3 and played the demos but i played one demo that i thought was AMAZING Final Fantasy VII. And I played the remake on ps4 too. Loving it i got a PS2 and bought Final Fantasy X and X-2 which are amazing games then i got final fantasy VII and in my opinion it was the best game in the series
Sir, great video. After reviewing your playlist, I noticed you havent done Final Fantasy Tactics or Tactics advance 1 and 2. Any chance well get those sometime?
This video made me go and play the whole thing to live it for myself. Awesome narration, but as a note, I wish you had included the story in the secret memory in the basement for more context on what happened to Cloud and Zsck.
Great you were inspired to play the game! We probably should have included it, even though it isn't included in the "main" narrative. We will regret this decision for years to come.
I put a ridiculous amount of hours into this game back then. I don't think any game I've played since has had such fun post game things to do. But when I think about it now, I wouldn't grind for hours to level up things like Final Attack, Mime or Knights of the Round materia when there is nothing left to actually use them on lol.
I wanted to pick up a last year save, I left it when the party arrives at Costa Del Sol. This is exactly what I wanted to avoid starting over. Thank you so much
Reminds me of how solid the script for OG FFVII is, and how Remake/rebirth fumbles many of its great moments. Remake/rebirth is fine for what it is but cannot in any way supersede the OG.
I always just played the original PS1 version of this game with the occasional mislabeled Fort Condor rewards, minor translation errors, and original 5:3 aspect ratio with nice and chunky pixelated text. I didn't think later ports did much to make this game look better (most 3D games from the PS1 era just do not hold up graphically,) but it actually does look quite a bit nicer in your footage. Some of the parts where they spliced in cutscene footage in the backgrounds to animate what's happening behind the character models looks way better and less jarring when it happens, not to mention how much smoother the character models appear. I like the cleaner background images/menus too, plus the world map looks way cleaner and easier to navigate. I still kind of prefer the grungy look of the original PS1 version, but it's interesting to finally see what the later ports look like.
I know I am in hte minority, but I always found the story convoluted, dumb, and contrived. I loved raising chocobos, racing them and doing the goloden scaucer stuff though. Thank you for the excellent video- confirming my recollection of this.
Cloud survived the fall into aeriths church because SOLDIERS don’t take fall damage. Cloud was never a soldier but he did go through the hojo experiments
This should be called "The Cliff-Notes of Final Fantasy VII" There is no way in hell you can give this story a complete run down in a little under 50 minutes.
Nomura has said many many times that they’re not completely changing the story, in fact for the most part it’s staying the same, it’s just more of a reimagining with some extra details and new twists, but the plot will stay relatively the same.
You really want to at least play through original FF7 once to understand what is going on in the remake. The remake is sort of like the JJ Abrams remake of Star Trek (where Spock goes back in time from the future to warn the younger version of the Enterprise crew of the coming disaster.) I mean it's way different than Star Trek, but it has a similar vibe in that it's a remake that realizes that this story has already happened before. Having played the original first adds a whole new layer to the new game and it makes it really fun to see how they interpreted the world and story. There's so many little nuances from the original that were put into the remake, yet many new things and ideas that were expanded on so I would recommend playing the PS1 game first.
Thank you for explaining things AS they happen, instead of trying to deep dive lore. This is the kind of story run through I needed to recommend folk so they get the cliffnotes experience
Right?😅
It’s the exact video refresher I wanted before playing Rebirth
The best video game storyline I’ve ever played. It profoundly changed my life at 15 years old, and I’ll never forget how incredible it was to experience this epic tale.
Same age same experience bro. Opened my eyes to what games could actually be.
Are you getting rebirth?
@@HomeDefender30yes
I was also 15 when I played this game. I’m playing through Rebirth and damn near cried at how they recreated the game in modern visuals.
Agreed
The replayability the game holds to this day is insane. It truly is one of the best games ever made.
Definitely, I'm trying to play through the OG before the 29th, only at Gold Saucer right now
I Never get tired of this story.
Neither do I
Such a serious documentary voice. Well done
Thanks, I try! - Pétur
I agree.. I prefer it so much..
@@BirdsOfPlay Reminds me of that voice done by Alucard in Castlevania: SOTN whom voiced the final fantasy documentary for the FF12 special edition.
Thought it was AI Morgan Freeman
Agreed I always get paranoid on videos like this that the voice is going to be annoying or high pitched. This is the perfect voice I was looking for that makes it feel like an epic adventurous tale.
This is exactly what I'm looking for! I want to learn the story without spending too much time on gameplay, thank you so much!
but the narrator missed a secret memory, very important tho
@@emmanuelmiranda9348 Right you are, I just had a FF7 conversation with a FF7 fan, I had no idea on 70% of what he said haha, you really have to play or beat the game. Gaming is really a part of the narrative
@@emmanuelmiranda9348what memory is that may i ask
@@ReplayMastersTekken How Zack and Cloud run away from a secret lab, how Zack tells Cloud that they will be mercs, and how Zack dies.
@@emmanuelmiranda9348 oh basically the crisis core right
Out of all the recap videos, this is exactly what I wanted. Just the straight forward story as told in the game.
All the other recaps are either 7 minutes long or they’re 3 hours dives into the history and the lore of the world, or they’re similar to yours but they speak so fast and rushed and use blurry ass game footage. So bravo man you killed this shit.
Saves me a replay and clears some things up that 12year old me didn't understand back in 98
Glad we could help!
This video brought back memories when I traded Tekken 3 for this game with one of my friends and thought I made a bad trade but quickly got mesmerized by the story and became a fan till this day of all rpgs
Glad we could bring back some memories. Thanks for sharing your story! Always interesting to hear how Final Fantasy became a part of someone's life!
Yeah, but what about BALL MODE? That was like the whole reason Tekken 3 was awesome lol.
I like that this gives a simple summary of the important events while still leaving enough meat on the bones for someone to still enjoy the original game.
I really wanted to soak in the story again but couldn't be bothered to reply it AGAIN so this was an AMAZING video, exactly what I needed!
So glad we could help! Help keep it fresh in your mind!
FF7 is one of the greatest games of all time. ❤
Agreed!
I got the game as a gift when it first came out.
I saw on the back of the container where a review said '...quite possibly the greatest game ever made...'
After all these years have past... I can still find no argument to that statement.
@@Direwolf216 I borrowed the game, back in 1998, from a friend who said this is a must play. I wasn't so much into JRPG or RPG at all. But this game kept me locked in, for a month I stayed at home, didn't "touch grass" or see my friends, I also skipped school and fooled my parents I was sick. This game was insane
FF7 is THE greatest game of all time. ❤
@@simonthewatchguy6073 ❤️👍
Your voice is flawless for this kind of narration. Please keep up the great content!
Will do! The Complete Story of Final Fantasy III coming up next!
I remember playing this game the first time back in the late 90s and having such an impact with the characters, dialogue, music and themes being so much deeper than anything I had ever played up until that point.
While I love a lot of the other entries into the FF series, this was special since it was the first and I remember playing and beating the game multiple times in order to get all the items and defeat the weapons.
In a way I loved how it ended with the 500 years later piece because it closed the book on this amazing story and I appreciate the original team that made it so much.
While not my favorite of the PS1 era, FF7 holds a special place in my heart as the game that made me love RPGs to this day. And while I find other entries in the series much more fun and interesting, there's no denying the impact it had on my life and I will always thank FF7 for that.
What is your favourite from the PS1 era?
@@omnihazzards not OP but Xenogears. Disc 1 was out of this word and gameplay mechanics was amazing. Disc 2 was rushed AF though :( Loved the storyline but think it got cancelled in overseas since it got too into God etc
yup. subbing. got your FFVII OG story, along with crisis core, FFVII remake and intermission saved back to back in order so i can fully be prepared for reunion. Not to mention, it's great background sounds while studying in nursing school.
Glad to have you with us! Best of luck with your studies!
Changed my life back then when this game came out. So many play throughs later and it’s still a gem. Enjoying Rebirth currently as well 👌🏻 another brilliantly made video, kudos.
Whilst listening to this video through my headphones at work. In my head I feel like I'm sat in Bilbo Baggins kitchen, smoking pipe weed, whilst Gandalf is telling me the story of Final Fantasy VII. The narrator's voice reminds me of Gandalf a little. Good video by the way. 👍🏻👊🏻
This is by far the best, Final Fantasy 7 recap video there is
You’re an awesome narrator God bless you thanks for another one
I am confused.. Did Zack died in ff7?
It’s impossible not to cry to the ending.
I miss the original sleazy music from Wall Market. The new music is catchy, but it doesn’t harbor the same dirty feeling. Like… before, you’d be ashamed to tell people you’ve been to wall market.
I love this game. The story and it's really more intricate than folks give it credit for
Well this was honestly one of the best recaps I've watched
Definitely didn't expect FFVII content from you for a while as it is not on the top of your lists.
You left out a few of the optional things which I quite like but given the length of this script and video it is very reasonable to concentrate on the main events. Your retelling was very focused and spiked with humor on the right places. In fact summarizing jrpgs and their complicated plots is always better with humor.
I'm currently working on an analysis of Final Fantasy VII so I had to replay it. Felt like a good opportunity to also make a video about the story. The particular analysis I'm working on is very much a long term goal so nobody should be holding their breaths, but it was very interesting to replay the game with a pair of analytical goggles I hadn't used before while playing it. That being said, there's always room for some surprise FFVII content. - Nökkvi
@@BirdsOfPlay how goes this project? Is it nearing completion? I see this was 7 months ago
@@BirdsOfPlay what's the status of this analysis? I'll check your content myself of course but in the off chance I can't find it and it is actually finished, it would be good to know it's out there .
@@charlieross4674 I'm sorry to report that I've not gotten to it yet. I've had my hands to full with work and family. Thankfully, the channel keeps growing so we're getting a little bit more support to work on our content. Hopefully that will mean more time in the future to pursue what we want to pursue. My apologies.
I stumbled across this channel while watching other Final Fantasy content and so glad i did, really enjoyed this and your ff9 explained i just watched, thank you for bringing me so much nostalgia its a great feeling 😊
Glad you found us and that you enjoyed the videos! We love bringing nostalgia!
Best “complete history” video of FFVII! Awesome job my friend! I’m going to recommend this videos to everyone joining FFVII world now in the Remake series.
I just played crisis core reunion for the first time ever and wanted to get more info on ff7. This was awesome! It felt like I was watching the history channel documentary on a great game. Great job!
Very well done video by a person that clearly loves the game. Sharing it with my friends that don't already know FFVII.
Glad you like it! Hope your friends will too!
You are great sir! The kind of summary I was always looking for. More power and content sir
Thanks so much for saying so! We will continue to do our best to bring you some good content! Working on making complete story videos for all the main Final Fantasy games (among other things).
This was extremely well made. I have never played the game and could 100% understand everything. Amazing narration tone! Thank you for this video : )
Love your channel hope you get more subs
So much nostalgia. Makes me so sad no games come even close to this dude now a days the atmosphere is amazing
Thank you so much on creating the video, as a long time ff7 fan i definitely enjoyed and appreciated it....i also want to say thank you for your dedication! 😊👍
Thanks so much for the kind words! Looking forward to continuing to apply that dedication to the games we love! 😎
@@BirdsOfPlay definitely appreciate it!
Love this!! The voicing & the story telling are amazing! Should consider a podcast😊
We have two episodes of the "Birdscast" up, listen at your own peril though 😂
@@BirdsOfPlay Nice! Where can i find it?
I could listen to your voice recap stories all day
Your voice is amazing, I could listen to you for hours!! and the summary of the story was also done really well, thank you!! really hope your channel blows up!
Thank you :) I grew up on FF7-10.
I did buy their remasters on the switch, but as i try to get into them, I realized that I can't sit through these types of turn based combat games anymore. The game play is not fun for me even with fast forward and no random battles and what naught.
Your videos here help induce the fun nostalgia and reflection I was looking to achieve when i acquired the remastered games on switch :D
In less than 1 hour per FF game :) It is super appreciated! Your story telling is remarkable too! An entertaining summary joined with gameplay to super expose the nostalgia and feels
Still one of the best game scores ever all those songs are still stuck in my head.
This was an absolute pleasure to watch 👏👏👏😎
Thanks! - Pétur
If I find one more highly underrated UA-camr I WILL call every single one of you guys out on twitter
We believe in you!
This was clean, easy to understand and greatly narrated. Thank you!
Thanks for watching and for your kind words!
I love FF7 so much and I love this channel too.
You guys make the best, most succinct, story explanations around.
Thanks for making this video! I was looking for a spoiler-free summary of the original game afted I finished Rebirth. I just wanted to watch up until Rebirth ended so I could compare.
Best ff imo. I LOVE this game. Well done.
Thanks for watching! We tried our best!
One of the best stories ever told imo.
VERY well done… recommend for any fan or newbie to the series!🎉
I genuinely believe that this story shaped the person I grew up to be. Forming my morals that I hold so dear and so strong to this day.
Great job on this I liked how you did this. I would have liked this video in the advents children special features.
Haha, that would have been great!
Very good work. Thank you to bring back a wonderful time. 🎉
Still like to put this on and listen while I’m working. 7 never gets old to me ❤
Awesome. Thanks for the video
Thanks for watching! Glad you liked it 😀
Oh this'll be fun to watch.
Hope you like it! - Nökkvi
These video are done so well. 46 minutes flew by
I watched this all to refresh on some of the details that had gotten foggy. Was good, caw
Glad you got some value out of it, caw!
The hype when they showed cloud and sephiroth In smash bros was unreal. And then for smash to add sora from kingdom hearts just make it a full circle
This game sends a powerful message about dystopian society and the average people, its great writing, you dont see stuff like this now a days its rare
I loved it. Red XIII and his pups at the end are so wholesome
His name is Nanaki
@@jsteel89 yes and his name is also Red XIII
I love the scene where Red XIII finds out the true history of his father and howls at the moon, it should be cool to see how they do Cosmo Canyon in the new game.
I’ve listened to this 5 times in a row
I never got to play the original before remake. I wasnt even born yet when the OG ff7 was released. Love the way you told the story and not the fodder stuff
Nicely done bro.
I remember being 10 years old digging up a ps1 disc in my closet that says “collecter’s cd” which has a bunch demo games i put it in my ps3 and played the demos but i played one demo that i thought was AMAZING Final Fantasy VII. And I played the remake on ps4 too. Loving it i got a PS2 and bought Final Fantasy X and X-2 which are amazing games then i got final fantasy VII and in my opinion it was the best game in the series
Sir, great video. After reviewing your playlist, I noticed you havent done Final Fantasy Tactics or Tactics advance 1 and 2. Any chance well get those sometime?
Working on it!
.01 seconds in and holy shit what a cool voice
That was fast! I like it!
Not gonna lie, Junon in rebirth was awesome. The soldier parade was one of the best parts of the game.
Agreed!
Love this! I feel like I'm watching a Planet Earth documentary!
Really great, well edited content. Thank you
Thanks so much for checking it out and leaving a comment!
Thank you sooo much for this! amazing work
This was a fascinating vid. 👏✨
Glad you think so! Thanks for watching! 🔥
Your like the David Attenborough of final fantasy
I'll take it!
This video made me go and play the whole thing to live it for myself. Awesome narration, but as a note, I wish you had included the story in the secret memory in the basement for more context on what happened to Cloud and Zsck.
Great you were inspired to play the game! We probably should have included it, even though it isn't included in the "main" narrative. We will regret this decision for years to come.
You are freaking amazing man keep up the good work
Thanks so much! Thanks for the fuel!
subscribed immediately! Great voice. Keep it up sir.
Glad to have you with us and thanks for the compliment. We will continue to do our best!
Great narration, great summary
I put a ridiculous amount of hours into this game back then. I don't think any game I've played since has had such fun post game things to do. But when I think about it now, I wouldn't grind for hours to level up things like Final Attack, Mime or Knights of the Round materia when there is nothing left to actually use them on lol.
I wanted to pick up a last year save, I left it when the party arrives at Costa Del Sol. This is exactly what I wanted to avoid starting over. Thank you so much
Reminds me of how solid the script for OG FFVII is, and how Remake/rebirth fumbles many of its great moments. Remake/rebirth is fine for what it is but cannot in any way supersede the OG.
You kiss Jenova with that mouth?
Very well done. Thank you!
I always just played the original PS1 version of this game with the occasional mislabeled Fort Condor rewards, minor translation errors, and original 5:3 aspect ratio with nice and chunky pixelated text. I didn't think later ports did much to make this game look better (most 3D games from the PS1 era just do not hold up graphically,) but it actually does look quite a bit nicer in your footage. Some of the parts where they spliced in cutscene footage in the backgrounds to animate what's happening behind the character models looks way better and less jarring when it happens, not to mention how much smoother the character models appear. I like the cleaner background images/menus too, plus the world map looks way cleaner and easier to navigate. I still kind of prefer the grungy look of the original PS1 version, but it's interesting to finally see what the later ports look like.
Great voice, pleasure to listen to, keep going!
Great stuff, ChocoBros!
Loved this video
Thanks for watching! Glad you liked it!
I love that Biggs in the remake is pretty much just Charlie Sheen. Wonderful.
They made him so likable in the remake.
I've come back for another session of class.
Class is in session! Time to learn about one of the most beloved JRPGs of all time!
I like your videos because you show gameplay instead of toony animation
Damn I subscribed immediately after hearing this voice
I know I am in hte minority, but I always found the story convoluted, dumb, and contrived. I loved raising chocobos, racing them and doing the goloden scaucer stuff though. Thank you for the excellent video- confirming my recollection of this.
I’m glad they could get Marquis Ondore for this
Such a nice video :)
Such a nice comment :) thanks for watching, glad you liked it!
This is what happened when optimus prime became a story teller
Wish I could also transform into a vehicle to save money on gas.
What mic setup do you use for this audio quality with your voice?
"The man is triggered by the mention of Sephiroth" 😂 23:53
Cloud survived the fall into aeriths church because SOLDIERS don’t take fall damage. Cloud was never a soldier but he did go through the hojo experiments
I love it. Great voice.
Nice thanks I'm about to play the remake I hear it's completely different from the min story
Hojo didnt manage to program Cloud, its Zack before his dead, tell him be his living legacy thus he started to live as Zack.
Shout out to Square, building this deep, immersive world...all for a snowboarding game.
We just leaving yuffie completely out of this huh? Lol
Yuffie and Vincent were optional characters in the OG game
34:12 the animators need to be consulted.
This should be called "The Cliff-Notes of Final Fantasy VII"
There is no way in hell you can give this story a complete run down in a little under 50 minutes.
At the very least it should never be seen as a replacement for the game.
I was curious how different the remake was so I’ll save this to a playlist to watch after part 2 since that’s supposed to change the story
See you then!
Nomura has said many many times that they’re not completely changing the story, in fact for the most part it’s staying the same, it’s just more of a reimagining with some extra details and new twists, but the plot will stay relatively the same.
You really want to at least play through original FF7 once to understand what is going on in the remake. The remake is sort of like the JJ Abrams remake of Star Trek (where Spock goes back in time from the future to warn the younger version of the Enterprise crew of the coming disaster.) I mean it's way different than Star Trek, but it has a similar vibe in that it's a remake that realizes that this story has already happened before. Having played the original first adds a whole new layer to the new game and it makes it really fun to see how they interpreted the world and story. There's so many little nuances from the original that were put into the remake, yet many new things and ideas that were expanded on so I would recommend playing the PS1 game first.