Final Fantasy VII Intergrade is “Finally” here

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By Paul Harrington Staff Writer When I initially got my Nintendo Switch 2, I was dreaming of all the AAA games that could be ported. For years, gamers have dealt with console exclusives and have obviously felt left out. It’s like when you get grounded and see your friend group outside. Surely, Nintendo hasn’t been left out on all the good games, but some AAA ports just felt awful to play on the Nintendo Switch. In 2020, word broke that Final Fantasy VII would finally be getting a remake after 20 years. As excited as I was for one of the greatest JRPGS of all time to get a remake, I knew that the Switch couldn’t run it at all. But here we are in 2026! Part one of the Final Fantasy VII Remake launched on the Nintendo Switch 2 at the beginning of 2026. Now yes, the first part dropped in 2020, but not everyone has access to consoles that can run the game. The first part of this trilogy takes you all the way up to the end of the original game’s (FFVII) first section. To make things easy, think of it like the hero's journey. The step the game ends at is the “departure.” Cloud Strife, a former first-class SOLDIER, is now a part of an eco-terrorist group known as AVALANCHE. Their group aims to save the world from corporate greed and stop big companies from polluting their earth. The remakes take an interesting route with the source material. Parts of the game are meant to be a one-to-one recreation, but other parts are meant to strengthen the game's narrative. It’s refreshing to see a remake that doesn't go off-script of the source material, but rather uses the source material to expand upon the characters of the remake. The original FFVII felt tedious to play at times, especially with its turn-based combat system. The transition to an active combat system feels like a fresh breath of air. The game rewards switching between characters in the middle of combat, and it's satisfying to see your team kick ass. When I initially received my copy of the game, I was wary about the fact it was on a game key card (GKC). A game key card is defined by Nintendo’s support page as “Your ‘key’ to download the full game to your system via the internet. After it’s downloaded, you can play the game by inserting the game-key card into your system and starting it up like a standard physical game card.” Now I can see why people would be turned off by this decision from a consumer standpoint. You don't really own the game, you just own access to play the game. But from a realistic standpoint, some games just cannot run naturally on the Nintendo Switch 2 without the utilization of a key card. On other platforms, you are looking at around 100 gigabytes of storage to download FFVII onto your hard drive. The Nintendo Switch 2 has 256 gigabytes, with some of it reserved for system updates. If you didn't have game-key cards, the remake would be virtually impossible to port onto the Switch 2. For me, this is a case of cutting my losses, and taking advantage of external storage. To be able to play this game practically wherever is a game-changer. In handheld mode, the graphics are around 30 frames per second.. I think that even being able to get up to 30 with no frame drops is an impressive feat. Regardless of what console you’re playing, this is a game that you are going to want to take your time with, and savor every moment. In the case of the Switch 2, the second part of the trilogy is already on the horizon with a June 5 launch date. If you only have access to the Switch 2, just know you’re still in good hands. Rating: A+ A cult classic for a reason