You can finally play the original Final Fantasy VII at 60fps - and it's gorgeous
Sure, we have a remake, but the original version of Final Fantasy VII is still utterly vital, especially given how the remake mixes things up and really presents an entirely different game to the original. Many fans are rightly concerned about having a definitive, high-quality version of the original playable - and the definitive version just got a little bit better. You can now play the original FF7 in 60fps.
The development comes thanks to the hard work of a dedicated group of fans who have been beavering away at mods for the PC version of Final Fantasy VII all the way since its original 1998 release. They stuck with the game from that time, mostly on the Qhimm.com message boards, through to the 2013 Steam re-release on PC, and to now - a major moment, as a 60fps mod arrives.
Take a look for yourself - this video from YouTube user NightmareVortex showcases the 60fps mod in action, albeit alongside some other mods that sharpen up and improve FF7's character models.
This mod is a huge step forward for playing FF7 at the highest possible quality and preserving it for the future. The original game mostly runs at around 15 frames-per-second, and has a jittery presentation as a result. The game is transformed by a 60fps presentation, and despite some pretty nice quality of life improvements in the official Square Enix remaster of FF7 released on PC and many other platforms over the last decade, mods like this are why a modded PC version remains utterly definitive.
The 60fps mod uses the framework of the FFNx modding platform, which can be nabbed from Github. You can then download the necessary 'iro' mod file for the 60fps mod here, and combine it with any other mods of your choosing via a mod boot platform such as the popular 7th Heaven. It's compatible with both the original 1998 version of FF7 PC, the 2013 digital release, and the updated modern version.
If you want a more in-depth explanation and demonstration of the 60fps mod, including a side-by-side comparison, the folks at Tsunamods also have a pretty solid YouTube video showing off the mod - though the version of the game showcased also includes a bunch of other mods and changes which you may or may not enjoy. The video does also explain how to install it, too, as the process can be a bit convoluted.
It's great to see the FF7 modding community still thriving all these years later - and making major strives such as this that will have huge repercussions for playing FF7 and probably also FF8 in the future. We'll keep an eye on developments - and if there's any more exciting releases, we'll keep you updated.