“It was a time of rampant privacy. One day, an elementary school kid discovered a PC game with four discs. Its name was [Final Fantasy VII]… It was in English, so I played while holding a dictionary. Later, a college friend asked how I scored so high in the national English test. I said, ‘Playing games.’”

“When Final Fantasy VII launched, the pirated version was still expensive, and it had multiple discs. The price in China went up to between 100 and 150 yuan (US$14 to US$21),” the user wrote. To put that into perspective, China's annual income per capita back then was just 1,000 yuan (US$120 at the time).

Still, some people were fortunate enough to play the real game on a real PlayStation.

Final Fantasy VII was released in 1997, three years before China imposed a ban on all imported game consoles. In the nearly 15 years that the ban was in place, it completely transformed China’s gaming landscape.

Why the impact of China’s 15-year console ban still lingers today

Now that Final Fantasy VII Remake has arrived, one of the biggest debates around it seems to be divided along generational lines.

Despite its name, the new game isn’t a complete remake. Instead, it only covers the first few hours of the original game, expanding on it and adding content to make it a full-length title -- but one that only contains a fraction of the full Final Fantasy VII. Sequels that complete the story haven’t been officially announced yet, some gamers think it’s inevitable.

But others say that’s not the point.

Still, some players who weren’t old enough to play the original game say they’re excited to find out what the hype was all about.

As for those who are already familiar with Midgar’s dark slums and grimy Wall Market, the remake brings back a flush of fond memories.