E3 2015: what Final Fantasy VII tells us about gaming's obsession with its past

One of the biggest cheers at Sony's 2015 E3 press briefing was for an adventure first released in 1997. Why is gaming so keen to look back?

Nostalgia is so hot right now. It is the most powerful force firing the engines of contemporary entertainment. We are enjoying Jurassic World on the big screen, a tour by Nineties shoegazers Ride and TFI Friday is back on Channel 4.

Not even video games, that most futuristic of media, have escaped the consumer's melancholic urge to revisit the past. This was never more evident than during this week's E3, the annual Los Angeles gathering where game publishers parade their forthcoming titles and promises. Many of those new titles are, in fact, old titles, either repackaged or remade for today.