The Final Fantasy VII Remake was announced way back when at E3 2015. 5 years later Square Enix will be delivering the game. And if the demo is anything to go by it was worth the wait. If you haven’t played what is arguably one of the most memorable JRPGs in the world, now is your chance to jump into this epic tale. And for those of you that played the original more than 20 years ago in 1997, welcome back.
Square Enix originally announced the Final Fantasy VII Remake for March 3rd 2020 but has since delayed it to April 10th. To make up for it, however, the company has released a three-hour demo that’s available to download on the PlayStation Store now. It’s a little taster for the game to come and boy is our appetite whetted. If you’re a supernerd like me you’ve already studied and replayed the demo more than once. But did you catch all these Easter Eggs?
How Cloud Keeps Up That Dope Style
We’re starting our list off with a fun Easter Egg and the secret to Cloud’s stylish but immovable blowout. He must be a consumer of Midgar’s popular Hair Tonic, a product that will give him “astonishingly radiant & spiky hair!”. You’ll find posters of the Hair Tonic scattered around the demo. And I gotta say it definitely seems to be working. I’m sure there’s some solid hairspray in the mix too though, that kind of hair doesn’t just happen.
The First Battle Levels You Up To Level 7
This is a cute throwback to the original Final Fantasy VII game. Where after your very first battle with the two Shinra soldiers, Cloud moves up to Level 7. This is just one of the examples of the little details that make it such a joy for the OG fans.
Barona White From Crisis Core
Not such a secret Easter Egg since this one has been shot all over Reddit. When you first enter the train station in the FF7 demo, look to the right to see a poster advertising Banora White Quality Apple Juice. If you don’t recognise the name you may have missed playing Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. Back in 2007, a prequel was made for FF7, starring Zack Fair. In one of the villages in the game, Banora Village, they are famous for a special kind of fruit known as the Banora White. Or dumbapple, a kind of white apple that fruits at random times of the year. It’s good to see that the town of Banora is doing well with their exports.
Cloud’s Two Combat Stances
If you know the history of Cloud Strife then you know that he suffers from cryptomnesia. A fun new word of the day that essentially means to remember someone else’s memories as yours. In this case, Cloud’s memories are actually his friend Zack Fair’s memories. In the Final Fantasy VII Remake Demo Cloud has two different combat modes – Operator and Punisher. The Operator stance is the same stance adopted by Zack, forward with both hands on the Buster Sword. While the Punisher is more akin to Sephiroth’s general combat stance. A fantastic Easter Egg that references Cloud’s past and his messed up memories.
That Victory Tune
The Final Fantasy VII music score is almost as iconic as the game itself. And its victory tune is instantly recognisable to geeks across the globe. Similar to Prompto in Final Fantasy XV Barret also randomly bursts out into the victory theme after a battle ends. There are no specific triggers for this to happen but play a while and it should crop up.
Moogle Medals From Kingdom Hearts
A completely new feature that’s present in the FF7 Remake is Moogle Medals. While this doesn’t appear in the original game, it is featured in another Square Enix classic – Kingdom Hearts. The item’s description simply says it’s valuable to collectors, but you can’t do anything with it in the demo. In Kingdom Hearts, Moogle Medals can be sold to shops for Munny. I don’t know about you but it felt like an extra unnecessary feature. It seems like its making a comeback for the FF7 Remake. So I expect that you’ll be able to sell it for some gil later on. You can find them by smashing those Shinra boxes you see around.
The Secret Ending
Probably the best Easter Egg of all in the FF7 Remake Demo is this extra scene of Sephiroth. Which is always good, that silver-haired rake is sex on legs. Near the end of the demo, players can choose to set the bomb timer for 20 or 30 minutes. By choosing 20 minutes, a small extra scene will be added on after the demo ends. The scene is a kind of flashback that he often got in the original game where he remembers snippets of his locked memories. In this case, it’s that iconic shot of Sephiroth after he burns Nibelheim to the ground.