A.J. F.
Google
NOTE: Final Fantasy VII’s Seventh Heaven Experience event has been extended till Jan. 25th, 2026, so there’s still time to go check it out!
Man, what a way to end the year. I wanted to leave a place/location venue that would merit my best review to end the year and it ended up being so!
Boba Bear in Koreatown usually hosts month-long events for whichever pop culture phenomenon is big at the moment. This time around, it was Final Fantasy VII’s time to shine.
Honestly, they went all out. I took so many photos, I had to select just a few, and even still, to fit the 10 pic limits, I had to combine several sets of 4 pics into one collage-like pic. I still don't think my pictures or short videos will do this event justice.
1997’s RPG’s masterpiece for the PSX was faithfully remastered for modern consoles just back in 2020, and this event brings the iconic Tifa’s Seventh Heaven bar into Boba Bear. There are cutouts of almost all of the main characters (and a villain too, haha), except for Vincent, the 2nd floor has a small section with some free games, a la Gold Saucer, the menu is very interesting, and they event turned Sephiroth’s iconic Masamune sword into an US$8.oo churro! (a bit steep, but it was worth it, it was delicious). They also sell plushies (buy the Chocobo one, they don’t have a markup, it’s the same price as if you were to buy them in Square-Enix dot com), Polygon Figures boxes (I got Barret in a Vol. 1 one), fridge magnets, pins, one kitchen apron shaped like a Soldier armor, knitted dolls, etc. etc.
I went on Monday, Dec. 29th at 11:30am, after previously having made a reservation (the US$10.oo from the reservation are counted towards the total of your bill when you go pay at the end). There was just one woman being a cashier/server, etc. when I went, and her service was above and beyond, she was handling everything and she had a great disposition and friendly attitude 10/10 for that. It must not be easy to work a shift all by herself but she pulled it off.
If you’re into Final Fantasy, and consider VII to be in your top 3 entries (what is any Final Fantasy game released after XII, anyways? lol), this is definitely a must-see event. As for food options, there were instant ramen varieties with the toppings, at a bit of a markup, but also, not bad at all. All in all, a great event well worth the drive. 10/10.