Remako Mod Version 1.0 Released!

Return to a Midgar like you’ve never seen before, in this faithfully remastered graphics mod for Final Fantasy VII (PC). The Remako HD Graphics Mod features improved graphics with 4x the resolution of the original. This was accomplished by using state-of-the-art neural networks to upscale the game’s graphics.

The mod improves the quality of among other things the pre-rendered backgrounds, battle, world textures, as well as the game’s full-motion videos (FMVs). Remako is also compatible with many other mods, such as The Reunion (R03C) or 3D model mods, for the ultimate Final Fantasy 7 experience.

Remako Mod is compatible with all PC versions of FF7: the CD original, the Square Enix Store version and the Steam release.

Features

A big improvement over the original beta release, the 1.0 update is chockful of great graphical improvements to Final Fantasy VII.

Pre-rendered backgrounds

Remako completely revamps the pre-rendered backgrounds of Final Fantasy VII. All of the
backgrounds now have 4 times the resolution of the original.

The pre-rendered backgrounds were already in the beta for Remako. In 1.0, these backgrounds have been further improved, bugs fixed and graphical issues corrected.

Some effects on some screens aren't filtered to avoid in-game animation bugs. Examples include the glow in Mt. Nibel and the waterfall behind Aeris' house. Still, the bump in resolution outweighs the loss of some of the game's background animations, don't you think?

World textures

Traveling around Gaia has never looked better! The world textures have also been upscaled 4 times, giving the overworld a much sharper and more detailed look.

Battle textures

While the background textures in the battles weren’t as jarringly low-res as the field backgrounds, improvements could still be made. All of the game's battle backgrounds have gotten a graphical upgrade, which is great since you spend a lot of time in this game battling it out!

Full Motion Videos

The Steam version of FF7 might have had Full Motions Videos (FMVs) with a resolution of 1280x896, in reality, these were actually 320x224 videos blown up to a larger resolution. So I had to go through all of the game's 100+ FMVs, scale them down to their actual size before upscaling them again with my AI-powered upscaling tool. Now they actually have a HD resolution of 1280x896.

Where possible the FMVs now use the PSX original's audio tracks. These are much higher quality than the PC version's FMVs had, sounding much fuller and less tinny.

Other improvements

In the beta release, I had not yet upscaled the so-called char textures. These are 2D images and 3D models that move independently of the field backgrounds. Think the gondola in the Golden Saucer or the movable train in the trainyard. In version 1.0, all char textures have been upscaled.

The avatars that you see in the game's menus have also been given the AI upscale treatment, looking very smooth.

Finally, Remako also sees some improvements to the minigames and their textures. Racing down the highway with your G-Bike or defending Fort Condor from Shinra has never looked better!

The mod has been tested for compatibility with other mods that you can load through the 7th Heaven Mod Manager, including The Reunion (R03C) as well as the many great mods that improve the game's 3D models.

So how did I do it?

The magic behind Remako HD Graphics Mod was made possible with the AI upscaling tool AI Gigapixel. Using state of the art AI neural networks, this upscaling program tries to emulate the detail the original renders would have had. This helps the new visuals to come as close to a higher resolution re-rendering of the original as possible with current technology.

Download link

Click on this link to go to the download page.

Screenshots & Videos

Head over to the screenshots page for some more screenshots to show off the mod. Or if you want, there's a 12-minute gameplay video of 1.0 in the videos section.

Installation help

Getting Final Fantasy 7 ready for mods requires several steps. That's why I made this helpful install guide. I recommend everyone use it, even those who played the beta (as there have been some changes).

Credits

• Topaz Labs for their great AI upscaling program AI Gigapixel.
• Satsuki for his excellent 4xCut tool, without which this mod would not have been possible.
• Fewtch for some hand-improved battle textures.

What do you think?

Once you've got a chance to play Final Fantasy 7 with the Remako HD Graphics Mod, I'd be interested in hearing what you think. Please leave a comment below, with your thoughts about the mod.