Advent Children
I think it’s safe to say that even those of us who aren’t hardcore gamers still remember the impact Final Fantasy VII had. It was one of the first video games I remember actually generating a buzz preceding its arrival. I devoted many hours to that game during my junior year in college, completely absorbed by the game. While appearing fairly antiquated by today’s standards, I remember being absolutely blown away by the CGI work — not just the quality, but also the epic, cinematic feel they had, the way they actually advanced and enhanced the storyline in addition to being sheer eye candy.
And of course there was the storyline. It was the first, and perhaps only, video game to actually affect me on an emotional level. I’m sure everyone who has played the game knows what I’m talking about, that sudden and shocking twist that left you a little teary-eyed and desperate to figure out some way to undo it. All in all, a great game, absolutely deserving of the title “classic”.
Not surprisingly, I’ve been very intrigued by Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, a CGI film that picks up after the game’s events. And lest you’re tempted to dredge up Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, this looks to be lightyears ahead of Square’s infamous blunder. The animation is far, far better, and the characters actually look like, well, characters rather than mannequins. Oh yes, and the action sequences are just, well, awesome.
I’ve enjoyed the various teasers and trailers that have appeared on the Web over the past year or so. However, the most recent trailer that appeared at E3 (the ultra-big gaming convention) is in a completely different league. There’s some stuff that’s been seen before, but there’s plenty of new stuff as well, and it all looks sweeter than sweet. Oh, and it’s also subtitled. Some folks have had some issues with the dialog, but nothing I saw bothered me too much. Then again, considering this is Final Fantasy 7 we’re talking about, I might not be the most objective of folks.
The film is nearly done, and is due out on DVD and UMD (for those of you with PlayStation Portables) in September, in both the U.S. and Japan. Once again, sweeter than sweet.
Click here to watch the hi-res E3 trailer in QuickTime, and here to watch it in Windows Media. And click here to check out the movie’s official English website.
Thanks to logboy at Twitch for the head’s up.