It appears as though the speedrunning community has claimed Final Fantasy VII (down to the exact mission) earlier this month, the new remastered version of Square's popular JRPG has been a hit with new and returning players alike, even with the game's changes to the classic Active Time Battle system.
Players have been enjoying pretty much every aspect of Final Fantasy 7 all over again, including all the game's many Super Smash Bros. 3DS/Wii U.
Now, however, it appears fans are showing off their love for Final Fantasy 7 Remake in a different way. According to a recent report by Kotaku, multiple speedrunners have already attempted to perfect their runs through the FF7 Remake demo "as if it were a standalone game." Currently, the quickest finishing time is reportedly just under thirteen and a half minutes (13:22) and is held by a speedrunner who goes by Ffamran. Check out the video of Ffamran's Final Fantasy 7 Remake demo speedrun below via YouTube:
Speaking to Kotaku, another speedrunner known as desa3579 (who previously held the record for Final Fantasy 7 Remake demo speedruns at 13:25 before being beaten by another competitor named SwiftShadow and Ffamran) said that the community is "thinking of new strategies daily for every encounter, starting from the troopers at the start all the way to the boss of the demo." When asked about what the hardest part of speedrunning the Final Fantasy 7 Remake demo is, desa2579 had an answer which will surprise no one who has played through the demo themselves. "Definitely the second phase of the Scorpion Sentinel fight," the speedrunner said. "We have a very small window of time to get rid of the barrier it builds up."
Not every game is perfect for speedrunning, and there are some arguments inside the community as to what exactly counts as "finishing" the game. Large, open world games like those in The Legend of Zelda series have been a bastion for speedrunners in the past, but certain exploits and glitches which cause the player to skip directly to the ending cinematic are thought by some to be cheating, not speedrunning. Such inconsistencies have yet to be found in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake demo, however, and its linear nature and naturally short length make it the perfect challenge for speedrunners looking to embrace some of their inner Final Fantasy 7 nostalgia over and over again.
