Final Fantasy 7 retranslation mod promises English-speaking players an experience ‘as close as possible to that of Japanese-speaking players’ Techy CEO

I never finished Final Fantasy 7. I know there are plenty of people who can forgive the stilted, over-formal oddity of its English translation, but I’m not one of them. Fortunately, there are other people out there who think FF7 deserves better, including the Shinra Archaeology Team. This squad of modders has put together the Shinra Archaeology Cut of Final Fantasy 7, a retranslation mod that just hit 1.0.

This version of FF7 “fixes mistakes in the original English translation; improves tonal accuracy using idiomatic language; and conforms to the localization choices of the Compilation and Remake trilogy where applicable to ensure continuity through the Final Fantasy VII series.” Which means if you move on to the excellent Final Fantasy 7 Remake afterward, you won’t find it too jarring.

“The aim of this retranslation is to give English players a narrative experience and foundation of lore that is as close as possible to that of Japanese-speaking players”, the Shinra Archaeology team says.

As someone trying to sell you a set of Buster Swords on the Home Shopping Network might say, “But wait, there’s more!” This mod also has an optional cut-content component that “restores numerous events, maps, animations, and lines of dialogue that were cut from the final release.”

You also have the option to choose between different versions of the FMV cutscenes, pixel-art portraits that were found in the demo but not the final game, a red outfit for Yuffie based on her original design, and pre-rendered backgrounds seen in the Japanese version but not the international one. What I’m saying is, this is basically the Bloodlines Unofficial Patch Plus of Final Fantasy 7 retranslation mods.

To install the Shinra Archaeology Cut you’ll need the 7th Heaven mod manager. It’s compatible with any version of FF7 on PC, and will even run on the Steam Deck, though you’ll need to install the 7th Deck mod manager instead. Enjoy your moseying.