This film is fantastic, AND it is vital that you really understood the game's original plot to get the most out of it. Sadly FF7 in its translated English format lost a lot of nuance and there are a lot of plot points that are easy to overlook and/or flat out miss in a casual play through SO that leaves the demographic of the target audience for this film a bit thinned.
None-the-less if you are the fan that really gets the plot there is a lot of carryover and symbolic reference back to the source material. If you find yourself not understanding who Kadaj and his gang are, who mother is, how Arieth is talking to Cloud, or what any of the conversations are about, its okay. I had to explain the plot to my 12yr old daughter at least 5 times over and I don't think she got half of it. She did however cry at the end and loved the animation 15 years after it was made, so thats a plus.
What I love is that this film is mostly about Cloud accepting forgiveness and that he is forgiven. The game never goes in depth into his grief over his perceived failures, and its nice to get closure to this part of his story. The plot does focus primarily on this, and even while Tifa is prominent she is not very central to the plot. Like Tifa the other veteran/returning characters are also just there but do not have much significance to the plot.
However to really follow the point of the film and that its not just an excuse to showcase fight choreography and cgi models, you really need to understand 1. Cloud's relationship to Arieth, 2. Why Arieth died mean . (and I don't in a medical sense but in a "why she chose her fate" sense) 3. How Arieth's choice was perceived by Cloud, and somewhat Tifa. 4. What the Jenova Project was. 5. How the Jenova project relates to Cloud, Arieth and Zack. And 6. For Bonus credit allegorically speaking what Cloud, Zack, Arieth, and Sephiroth each represent.
Honestly thats just not going to be everyone's cup of tea.
None-the-less if you are the fan that really gets the plot there is a lot of carryover and symbolic reference back to the source material. If you find yourself not understanding who Kadaj and his gang are, who mother is, how Arieth is talking to Cloud, or what any of the conversations are about, its okay. I had to explain the plot to my 12yr old daughter at least 5 times over and I don't think she got half of it. She did however cry at the end and loved the animation 15 years after it was made, so thats a plus.
What I love is that this film is mostly about Cloud accepting forgiveness and that he is forgiven. The game never goes in depth into his grief over his perceived failures, and its nice to get closure to this part of his story. The plot does focus primarily on this, and even while Tifa is prominent she is not very central to the plot. Like Tifa the other veteran/returning characters are also just there but do not have much significance to the plot.
However to really follow the point of the film and that its not just an excuse to showcase fight choreography and cgi models, you really need to understand 1. Cloud's relationship to Arieth, 2. Why Arieth died mean . (and I don't in a medical sense but in a "why she chose her fate" sense) 3. How Arieth's choice was perceived by Cloud, and somewhat Tifa. 4. What the Jenova Project was. 5. How the Jenova project relates to Cloud, Arieth and Zack. And 6. For Bonus credit allegorically speaking what Cloud, Zack, Arieth, and Sephiroth each represent.
Honestly thats just not going to be everyone's cup of tea.