Revisit the original Final Fantasy 7 with this must-play free remaster mod

The original Final Fantasy VII is one of the best games of all time, and for some of us, those ancient graphics are a very endearing reminder of our nostalgia.

The art style and low poly visuals of the original 1997 game are perfect if you ask us, but for those coming to the game after playing the remakes or players who are entering their billionth playthrough, modding has opened up new possibilities to make the game look a little nicer.

This mod for Final Fantasy VII is a few years old, but is well worth playing now if you’re someone who’s coming back to the game ahead of Final Fantasy VII Revelation next year.

Gaia-VII Remaster is a mod which enhances all the models, sprites, and backgrounds of Final Fantasy VII with upscaled textures and higher resolution graphics. It features brand new character models for every NPC in the game, including all the monsters and enemies that appear in-game.

Many of these models resemble their appearance in Final Fantasy VII Remake and Rebirth, ripped directly from the games. Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith for example all look like they use their models from Remake, as do many of the enemies.

You can see the mod in action in the video below, which demonstrates the new character models used in tandem with a few other mods. Altogether, it creates an atmosphere that is on par with what an official remaster by Square Enix could look like.

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Final Fantasy 7's graphical overhaul makes this worth revisiting ahead of Revelation next year

The video shows off the character models for each possible party member you can get in Final Fantasy VII, before switching to a battle in Midgar featuring the combat animations. Interestingly, it looks like the animations remain the same with the new character models laid on top, creating an uncanny retro feel.

Later on in the video, we see footage of outside Midgar, with Chocobo Fields and Gongaga being two locations featured in the video. Hilariously, we also see the new character model for the frog enemies, perhaps the most annoying enemy in the whole game.

If you’d like to try this mod out, you can download it from Nexus Mods for the original Final Fantasy VII now. It’s confirmed to be working with the 2013 port, but we’re unsure if it will work with the 2026 re-release just yet.

Altogether though, it should be a fun mod to check out while we wait for Final Fantasy VII Revelation next year. The conclusion to the remake trilogy will be released on April 8, 2027 for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2.

It marks the first simultaneous release across each major platform for the trilogy, ensuring that everyone can enjoy the final part of the game at once.

Final Fantasy VII Revelation is expected to adapt the second and third discs of the original game. Where Final Fantasy VII Remake adapted all of the early Midgar sections, and Rebirth covered the rest of Disc 1, Revelation is expected to be much longer as a result of adapting the last two discs of the game.