FFVII Remake General Discussion

[Dionysos]

We have one of these threads for nearly every other Final Fantasy game, so why not this one?

If you posses the Remake, what do you think of it so far? Are you enjoying it? Anything you want to say about it? Here is a space for that!

Remember: if you want to get deep into spoilers, please use spoiler tags.

 

[Vivi-Gamer]

Having an absolute blast with it! I was very uneasy about going into this considering how dear I hold the original but the team at S-E have really done justice to the magic of the original. The scenario writing is top-notch! A lot of the new expanded content is very fitting and a real treat - Yes this is based off an old game but there's plenty of surprises in store with expanded scenarios and time given to side characters, it's a real treat so treasure it!

What I also love is the portrayal of the characters, they're not afraid to have fun! It's a real joy to see the characters show that. Part of the problem with AC was that the characters were TOO serious and a bit bland but here they've nailed the humour and idiosyncrasies. All the characters are brought to life just as I hoped - Some even better! The voice acting is better than ever with all performances being on point!

That said it isn't perfect, while the combat system is much better than FFXV's IMO, I am having a real hard time with the ATB system in relation to items. When I find myself in danger I feel there isn't a practical way to counteract that. The progression of the ATB progresses quicker with offense but when your in danger you want to act defensively yet the battle system doesn't encourage that and many times my characters will die before I get a chance to heal them. I just wish there was a quicker way to access items in time of need - FFXV & Lighting Returns had a separate menu for this which was more accessible. Enemies that are of a distance are a particular pain in the bottom! Another problem is that when I control my character their utilizing their ATB quickly but the AI party members seem to never get their ATB bar up quick enough (Which is annoying as I often like to switch to them in a moment of need for a quick Cure or Potion!). But beyond that, I love the battle system switching between characters on the fly or having time slow down while you choose a team members command works great. I love how cinematic they've made the boss encounters too it makes them all the more intense!

I've enjoyed exploring the areas of FFVII, I like that it has focused (kind-of) dungeon areas then more open areas with side quests - Even though, I was a bit annoyed when I was told I couldn't return, so then I knew I HAD to do them there and then! By the time I reached the 2nd open area, I was cool with that. Sometimes I do find the NPC chatter a little overwhelming, picking up half a sentence as I walk by feeding into another but I think the game does a great job in making the places feel more alive. Sadly some of the dungeon areas really out stay their welcome, like Chapters 5-7 or 11. They're not bad but I feel there just too bloated. I had no interest in staying in Sector 6 any longer than needed and the gimmick to cross paths was already tedious the 1st time.

I'm pretty far into it I think. Not rushing it like I did Kingdom Hearts III & playing it at the end of every evening. It's been a real pleasure so far and I just know the wait fore Part II is going to be painful... guess I can really look deeper into modding my PC version in t he mean time

I hope everyone else is enjoying it as much a I am

 

[charmy]

I am having so much fun with the remake! It's a joy to play the story again with such amazing graphics! ^^

I was a bit worried at the start that the Chapters felt a bit short, but they seem to be getting longer as the game progresses.

I do like that they fleshed out some of the characters more. Especially Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie. The only character I didn't really see the point of was Roche (but maybe he'll have more of a role later? I'm about halfway through I think).

That said it isn't perfect, while the combat system is much better than FFXV's IMO, I am having a real hard time with the ATB system in relation to items. When I find myself in danger I feel there isn't a practical way to counteract that. The progression of the ATB progresses quicker with offense but when your in danger you want to act defensively yet the battle system doesn't encourage that and many times my characters will die before I get a chance to heal them. I just wish there was a quicker way to access items in time of need - FFXV & Lighting Returns had a separate menu for this which was more accessible.

Yeah, I struggled with this at the start. I died a couple of times because I just couldn't fill my ATB gauge quickly enough to heal and my other party members were also too slow to charge theirs. I feel lik I have to keep attacking. I also feel that blocking doesn't help that much (just halves damage). I'd rather attack and then heal up or have a party member cast barrier. I probably like the blocking better if you could actually block certain attacks back at enemies (like in Kingdom Hearts).

Apart from that, I do enjoy the gameplay and I'm looking forward to what comes next!

 

[Miko]

I'm only about 3 hours in since I've been so busy and I can't play in the same room as my husband Hoping to get some more time in tomorrow when he goes back to work~

That said, I don't have a whole lot to comment on, but I am curious what difficulty people are playing on. Normally I opt for normal mode but because of my dyslexia my brother suggestion trying easy mode first, as he started before me, and I've really not had any issues (but again, 3 hours in). It's taken a bit to overcome getting my muttons bashed up but 3 hours in to adjust hasn't been too bad. Really enjoy being able to swap between characters as needed, just wish the sprinting button was the same in battle as it was out.

Tifa's figure is kinda distracting to me but I haven't had her in my party long enough to get over it. It's mostly her skirt that drives me crazy, but I've really fallen in love with her voice being her voice. So far I also really enjoy how they've done Cloud's character too, I feel like he is a bit more true to the original than how they depict him elsewhere. I enjoy his quick responses too, it's more funny than off-putting. And I'll also agree about Biggs, Wedge & Jessie having more fleshed out characters, it's really nice.


I dunno, I'll be interested in having more discussions about the game as I (hopefully) play more over the next week. The first night I played this game I really reached back into my youth and got all the gaming snack essentials. I was drinking some soda, eating some candy and munching like crazy as I relived my childhood again. It was such an awesome happy experience and my stomach much regretted every happy decision I made afterwards It was worth it! If only for one day!

 

[Duhemsounds]

Hello there,

Sadly I'm part of the don't have a PS4 team but as I was very hyped by the game I've started to follow a let's play since a few days. I'm a curious wolf, that guy was nice but too slow so I looked for another one and found my precious : a video of the full story + important side quest story elements with abridged battle to focus really on the story. A 9 hours rally I made this night, the game was too great to make a pause =3

I think INTENSE is the word that fits the best this game on all its sides.
The gameplay looks really great, battles are looking to require good strategy and quick capacities of adaptation.
The difficulty is way higher than the old FF7, you get into it at the very first boss. I think this is a good point to have a bit more challenge and epicness.

I've seen a lot of complaints about textures that sometimes have issues, I guess this is because the game is reaching the limits of the PS4.
Outside that little point, the graphics are awesome and are offering many beautiful large scale views, also a great point for characters designing that I like a lot.

About the dialogues, I'm happy to see there's no censorship, we have a full Barret with strong lines and this was very important for his character. Also happy to see how they've handled Wall Market and made it more interesting.

Now the story, the main part of the game : The main line of the story is very faithful to the original version while having a few modifications that I won't give to avoid spoiling those who haven't made the game yet. The big positive point is the addition of many new elements that are making us dive way deeper in the characters stories and the global story as many parts have been reinforced with new elements.

Another great point about the story, here again without spoiling the content, they have managed to make the ending of this part 1 so intense that it looks like a full real end while it's only setting the stage for the big adventure to follow.

No doubts, Final Fantasy VII Remake is going to be one of the biggest games of video games history as was FF7 original

People pretending Square Enix is dying must have a look at FF VII Remake, they'll see that Square is strongest than ever and has a bright shiny future ahead

Now we're already all waiting part 2 with hype

 

[Dionysos]

What I also love is the portrayal of the characters, they're not afraid to have fun! It's a real joy to see the characters show that. Part of the problem with AC was that the characters were TOO serious and a bit bland but here they've nailed the humour and idiosyncrasies. All the characters are brought to life just as I hoped - Some even better! The voice acting is better than ever with all performances being on point!

100% this! The voice actors have all blown it out of the park. I love all of the casual banter as you walk about, as well as the dialogue during cutscenes.

I'm still at chapter 9 and this game is so good I really can't believe it. It certainly feels like the best product Square Enix have knocked out in decades. I enjoyed the recent titles like FFXV for sure, but the Remake feels way, way more polished. It shows how good a game can be if they take their time with it and focus on quality rather than quantity. We’re only getting a portion of the complete game of FFVII at this stage, but what we are getting is of the highest quality, and the story is well-structured and the world fleshed out. They’ve made even the Sector 7 slums feel much larger and more alive than the towns in FFXV did. The background chatter is wonderful to listen to. You really get a strong sense of what it might be like to actually live in Midgar.

And my concerns about why Midgar seemed so bright in the trailers have now been dispersed. Chapter 6 reveals that there are colossal ‘sun lamps’ which artificially generate light for the people in the slums below. That explains that then. I guess it makes sense that Shinra wouldn’t want to keep everybody in the dark down there and it would be easier to sell propaganda if they could at least pretend to care about people (whilst secretly pumping out bad air and sewage into the slums – give with one hand, take with the other).

I am taking my time with this. I actually find it quite overwhelming (albeit in a great way). Every now and then I have to pause the game to soak everything in before I can continue. It feels like I’m being slapped hard in the face by nostalgia, and immediately afterwards that nostalgia is caressing my face to make sure it didn’t hurt. It’s a weird experience.

I definitely agree with Vivi-Gamer about using items though. I think it would be better if you could use items whenever you wanted to without relying on the ATB gauge. Or if that in itself could become problematic because people could spam items, maybe if they’d made it so that you have to wait five or ten seconds between using items. At least that way you could always use an item in an emergency when you need to use them.
That doesn't ruin my experience too much though. It is a delight to play and the battles are quite intense and mostly a lot of fun. Even when I'm getting my ass kicked I find myself excited.

 

[DarkSavior]

Let me be 100% transparent here as I very very rarely give my opinion on public forums about games.
I am an AVID Final fantasy fan. Literally the only one I haven't beaten multiple times or delved into was the online Final Fantasy 14.
Final Fantasy 7 is one of my all time top 5 games, and there is no question I've gone through it 10 or more times in the past 23 glorious years since it came out.
Starting out boldly -- i could not disagree more with the above two replies and am actually wondering if they aren't replies generated by the Square Enix Staff or supporters. This game is a laughably poor remake of the original game, and imo a complete and total ripoff of everything that makes a Final Fantasy game great.

Here are my issues: This covers about 1/10th of the original game. What does that mean for the consumer? Are we going to have to pay Square $300 for 8 or 9 "renditions" of each part of the game? There has been no word on how many "parts" they are going to try and sell to us. This feels like an extremely safe, straightforward way to present an extremely boring part of Final Fantasy 7 with countless bits of pointless dialogue and tidbits of information that I could truly care less about.

To go a bit further with my above point -- This experience feels lost/completely without goals/empty/pointless. When i play an RPG game.. and hopefully anyone that reads this does, i look for a complete experience. This doesn't introduce us to ANY part of the final fantasy 7 experience that was truly breathtaking... (when you first exit Midgar and start exploring the vast world map). When you first reach Kalm and are overjoyed you found a "town" after battling across the open plains of the world map. When I first found Yuffie or Vincent after exploration and true searching. When i got my first Chocobo to ride across the gorgeous overworld map and avoid the snake near the Chocobo stables. When i experienced getting the Highwind -- and the entire world opened up to me before my eyes.... countless secrets and challenging encounters awaited me. The feeling of knowing that i had to prepare and get the different "powered" up Limit Breaks like Omnislash from the gauntlet of challenges in the gold saucer.... (i could go on forever).

The point is...absolutely none of that is covered what-so-ever in this remake, and from the looks of how they designed this remake, we never will truly get to experience any of that ever again. This experience feels like you are going through a graphically beautiful version of an extraordinarily easy version of "Bastion" or "Dragon's Dogma", or Torchlight for that matter, if anyone knows those games.

What we essentially are playing here is a over the top "linear" version of Midgar with a huge number of mindless "filler" content that creates the 30 hour experience. That filler is *MOSTLY* places in the game where it forces Cloud and group to walk at 2-3 MPH, and "have chatter sessions". I'm not saying that it's not "nice to listen to"... or shows us a different part of the game. I'm saying -- it has absolutely nothing to do with the original game/experience.

This is not a "remake" -- it is a completely new game entirely, that is borrowing some of the most amazing characters to ever grace RPG games. It's a travesty and disgrace to the original game that gave us SO SO much to look forward to. Basically at this point... i have to wait until they release another 40-60$ piece of linear garbage, so that i can see "what small piece" they give us next. Maybe we can "make it to the gold saucer", but will need to pay another $40-60 to see what is inside.

I knew upfront that this would not be the full game -- so understand that i get that. But i truly didn't expect it to be THIS small of a section. Final Fantasy 7's original "side quests" -- were to unlock vincent.... find the ultimate weapons.... find the great pieces of materia.... find the amazing "weapons" like Ruby/Emerald, and figure out bold ways to defeat them. That was the true feeling of "progression". Please don't tell me that you enjoy killing 3-6 rats and being given 200 Gil.... and saying.. wow, that was very fulfilling.

This is a huge disappointment, and I am absolutely blown away that so many sites are giving it "average" to good reviews. Call this what it is... a very blown apart/cheaply made/ small piece of one of the greatest games of all time.. (only it goes away from all the formulas that made it great).

 

[Linnaete]

i could not disagree more with the above two replies and am actually wondering if they aren't replies generated by the Square Enix Staff or supporters.

Or alternatively, personal thoughts on the quality of the game as a whole and of its individual components are ultimately subjective and people are capable of liking something you fundamentally do not. The fact you even included that tells me you've no real interest in discussing the game with others in good faith, because otherwise you wouldn't downright delegitimise other posters' in-depth thoughts like that.

I've not played the game, but I have been watching someone else play and I acknowledge my own experience is obviously worlds apart from that of someone actually holding the controller in their hand and fully engaging with the game mechanics on offer. But based on what I've seen, I do broadly sympathise with a good number of your points but I don't understand one of the key roots of your complaint that this supposedly tarnishes the original game. This remake doesn't diminish or replace the original game - they haven't done a George Lucas to the untouched Star Wars original trilogy or anything.

 

[Kalythe]

I'm not as critical as DarkSavior, and I have been watching my boyfriend play, so I'm not at the command, but I do find the game average so far.
Still, unless a cut-scene is playing, each battle just seems like a slog and most of the side-quests are bland. Battling was part of what made the game fun, not waiting for the stagger bar to fill.

Gripes:

Battle system

• Why can the enemy be so mobile and move immediately when Cloud and Co. cannot?
• Why does magic seem useless and missing at times(Blizzard) because the enemy can move but their attacks can redirect right at the end?
• Why can the enemy interrupt my skills but not vice-versa?
• Why do all enemies need to be meat-shields now?
• Why does the enemy immediately switch aggression when characters are switched, even if it was ignoring said AI less than one second before?
• Why does the AI just stand there at times?
• The battle locations are too small and there are funky camera angles/locations which can trap you and be chained to near-death by enemies.

[I did however beat the demo just fine, so perhaps it's more of him struggling.]

• Story-wise, I won't spoil but I'm in for disappointment over some of the major changes. (Nojima)
• The game becomes a corridor simulator, especially when pushed by the main scenario.

Stuff I enjoy:

• The game is beautiful though, minus the bad texture loads. I'm glad I was wrong and that the Wall Market was kept in the remake.
• OST remixes are great!
• New voice actors are great too.
• It's still FF7, well part of it.

Thankfully, I've been punished by SE to know when to buy. Aka, once the full game comes out and a year later when it's on sale. Regardless, this game is for the newer generation to be introduced. Nostalgia is deep enough for most older players to ignore some of the gripes, I mentioned and SE gets $$ to pump into low-cost mobile games. I have FFXII:TZA and FFXIV to keep busy.

 

[JigoKuu]

I only played 7 chapters so far so it's definitely not my final opinion or anything, but I have super mixed feelings.

While the graphics are breathtaking and I really like all the level and environment designs so far, also the different interactions between the characters, I kind of feel bored? Or not really bored, simply not totally captivated like I was when I started to play the original. I know, it makes no sense to compare the two, but compared to the original I feel some kind of things are "filler"-like or unnecessary long while others should be longer. I really hope it will be better later, the pacing for me is really strange so far.

At first I didn't really like the battle system but I practiced a bit and now it feels much better so I will deal with it I think

So I like and kind-of not really like the game at the same time. I'm a little bit bitter about my own feelings now, also feeling a little angry at myself, maybe I was so hyped that my expectations were too high and that is why I feel so sad/disappointed now... But I'm only in the first half of the game, so maybe things will get a little bit more exciting/captivating?

 

[Dionysos]

Starting out boldly -- i could not disagree more with the above two replies and am actually wondering if they aren't replies generated by the Square Enix Staff or supporters. This game is a laughably poor remake of the original game, and imo a complete and total ripoff of everything that makes a Final Fantasy game great.

Each to their own opinions.

I am not and never have been on the Square Enix payroll. They didn't pay me to say anything in praise. It would be great if I was paid for some of the articles and stuff I’ve written about their games, but that’s not how this works.

Like you, I am a massive fan of the original game. We just see different things in this remake.

I find no joy in being overly critical of anything even during the times when I know a product really, genuinely deserves it. I know that other people get their enjoyment out of dunking on things, but I’ve never been like that. I’d rather find the positives or I’d feel bitter that I’ve wasted my time and money. With the FFVII Remake, however, I’m finding that I don’t have to try very hard at all to enjoy it. My enjoyment comes naturally. It is a shame that there are some out there who aren’t feeling that and I wish that they could.

What we essentially are playing here is a over the top "linear" version of Midgar with a huge number of mindless "filler" content that creates the 30 hour experience. That filler is *MOSTLY* places in the game where it forces Cloud and group to walk at 2-3 MPH, and "have chatter sessions". I'm not saying that it's not "nice to listen to"... or shows us a different part of the game. I'm saying -- it has absolutely nothing to do with the original game/experience.

I know there are lots of people who have completed it in 30 hours, but I'm not one of them. I’m on chapter 11 and I’m 41 hours in. I haven't rushed to the ending and I have decided to take my time and pretend I'm really in Midgar. I think that's why I've enjoyed it so much. It is a game which rewards patience.

I only played 7 chapters so far so it's definitely not my final opinion or anything, but I have super mixed feelings.

While the graphics are breathtaking and I really like all the level and environment designs so far, also the different interactions between the characters, I kind of feel bored? Or not really bored, simply not totally captivated like I was when I started to play the original. I know, it makes no sense to compare the two, but compared to the original I feel some kind of things are "filler"-like or unnecessary long while others should be longer. I really hope it will be better later, the pacing for me is really strange so far.

At first I didn't really like the battle system but I practiced a bit and now it feels much better so I will deal with it I think

So I like and kind-of not really like the game at the same time. I'm a little bit bitter about my own feelings now, also feeling a little angry at myself, maybe I was so hyped that my expectations were too high and that is why I feel so sad/disappointed now... But I'm only in the first half of the game, so maybe things will get a little bit more exciting/captivating?

I think the key to enjoying the game is taking your time and relaxing into it. A lot of opinions are going to differ but I’m seeing that a lot of people who are rushing aren’t getting as much out of it.

To me the FFVII Remake is 50% game, 50% FFVII-themed museum. I’m okay with this as I love museums. Exploring the areas, even standing still and listening to the sound effects really helps to build up the atmosphere. There's so much to see. More in some chapters than others, but enough to give fans content to discuss for years to come.

I would say that a number of the ‘dungeon’ areas are either long or come at inopportune times (either teasing you with the location you really want to get to first, or being two ‘dungeons’ one after the other, for example), but I have found things to enjoy in all of them and they have contributed to the overall picture of Midgar as a living, breathing city. Nevertheless, I think these expanded dungeons are one of the main things turning some people off and I can understand that.

 

[ribbit]

i think the game is good and better than the original in every way.

 

[DarkSavior]

I needed a good laugh today Ribbit -- and you delivered You most likely are the only person on planet earth that has that opinion though.

To the people above that responded about the Square Enix remark -- i apologize, and was wrong to point a finger like that. I do agree with JigoKuu in that the game simply doesn't captivate me like the original did.

Taking a look at the game overall, Square should have named the game "Final Fantasy 7 - Midgar re imagined" - Instead of "Final Fantasy 7 Remake" This would be a more fair way to "market" the product. If i'm being real, it's what a lot of gaming companies are doing nowadays to drive up quarterly numbers. It also showcases the "quality" of product we all used to get with games. FF7 when released was $49. This game if they release JUST 4 parts -- which i feel they could drive that number up a lot more if they wanted -- would be $240.

The other issue that i did not mention above is the fact that our "progress" through this particular game will be wasted. When Part 2 hits, what are they going to do? Are they going to start us at Level 30? Level 40? Are we going to keep all our Summons/materia/weapons/items that we earned in Part 1? That sense of accomplishment is completely gone when they design it like this.

The other small issue I didn't mention is "wasted" areas. Why does the "Sun switch" puzzle room exist? The part of the game that has you mindlessly running around trying to turn off 3 sun lamps and try and attain the Choco/Mog materia... In my opinion they could have taken out "filler" pieces like that an instead put in additional "story/exploration" content. For example, they could have done without that section above entirely and allowed us to get a brief look at the world map, and maybe ended the adventure at "Kalm town". Where the party would rest and gear up for the adventure ahead.

Some people may have enjoyed "Midgar" in the original game. For me, Midgar was the "tutorial" in the Original FF7. The world outside it was Final Fantasy 7.

 

[Vivi-Gamer]

DarkSavior - A lot of your complaints seem to be in regards to this portion of the Remake not covering later events, do you think your opinion will change when the game tackles the rest of the game? Obviously we don't know how they're going to handle the open world aspect which isn't in this portion - I'm not expecting something like the original or Dragon Quest for example but maybe something closer to Final Fantasy XII landscapes between key areas (?)

I do agree with the criticism on the filler - I had a section last night that I genuinely got bored of and left for another day - this is really at a point which should have built upon the momentum but sadly these added dungeon moments just became stale I'm talking about Chapter 17 where you have to go through science trials.... It just wasn't engaging and there have been a few other moments earlier where I just got fed up of the extended dungeons.

However, considering this segment was 5-7 hours in the original game, this experience has easily taken 40+ hours for me and I'm still not finished! It's not just filler either, I've really enjoyed a lot of the additions brought into the game like new scenes which expand events. Despite a few dull moments, the experience has been an utter blast!

Side note: Something that is grating my gears is how the infomration on the loading screen features content you haven't even accessed from upcoming events, abilities and more, it just weird to experience spoilers on the loading screen before t he actual scene the content was meant for...

 

[Gimby]

I was a huge ff7 fan, back in 1997. Bought a PS4 especially for this.

I only played 7 chapters so far so it's definitely not my final opinion or anything, but I have super mixed feelings.
I kind of feel bored? Or not really bored, simply not totally captivated like I was when I started to play the original.... But I'm only in the first half of the game, so maybe things will get a little bit more exciting/captivating?

I feel the developers have done it justice. Times while playing I was giggling to myself how amazing it is to actually be playing this. Roaming through the slums, wall market etc never would have imagined this back in the day. Wall market was amazing, visiting all the pubs, all the interaction was great.

The reactions from Midgar after the bombing was also amazing. Seeing the amazing spectacles, seeing the public reaction with all the voiceovers made it all seem so much real and comparable to modern day terrorist events.

Not feeling as captivated as i once was with the original, probably because they've padded it out with lot's of sub missions which detract from the storyline. The game totally lost me however at the end, after the motor cycle chase. All the fantastic battle and cut scenes/fights with sephiroth etc seemed too much... deriving from the original storyline. Trying to make make part 1 feel like a game in it's own right. Found it over-fantastical and unrealistic. You couldn't relate to the characters anymore.


To summarize i feel the developers tried too hard to make the midgar section a game in its own right, and have neglected the original storyline. But as an FF7 fan this is a must-have. Amazing graphics, great monsters and a genuine attempt to bring this classic upto date.

 

[Gimby]

Here are my issues: This covers about 1/10th of the original game. ....

To go a bit further with my above point -- This experience feels lost/completely without goals/empty/pointless. When i play an RPG game.. and hopefully anyone that reads this does, i look for a complete experience. This doesn't introduce us to ANY part of the final fantasy 7 experience that was truly breathtaking... (when you first exit Midgar and start exploring the vast world map). When you first reach Kalm and are overjoyed you found a "town" after battling across the open plains of the world map. When I first found Yuffie or Vincent after exploration and true searching. When i got my first Chocobo to ride across the gorgeous overworld map and avoid the snake near the Chocobo stables. When i experienced getting the Highwind -- and the entire world opened up to me before my eyes.... countless secrets and challenging encounters awaited me. The feeling of knowing that i had to prepare and get the different "powered" up Limit Breaks like Omnislash from the gauntlet of challenges in the gold saucer.... (i could go on forever).

You're going to have to be realistic here.

The original FF7 had very pixelated characters and 2D backgrounds to explore. The detail in this remake is probably many hundreds of times greater than that of the original. The amount of time and money it would cost to create the entire original game in that kind of detail just wouldn't be worth squares while for a £49.99 sale.

The only realistic way they can produce such a massive game in such detail is to break it up in parts. They've put a lot more detail, cut scenes and sub missions into this to pad out the original midgar section into a playable game.

What we essentially are playing here is a over the top "linear" version of Midgar with a huge number of mindless "filler" content that creates the 30 hour experience.

The original game was much more linear than this. You can still play the game true to the original in it's linear fashion, but they've also included optional sub missions so you can explore and more fully experience areas like the slums/wall market.

 

[mweaver776]

Its ok so far. One of the story Discoveries seemes bugged, The Gate Won't Open (CH8) isn't giving a check mark after I've opened it.

 

[Paddy McGee]

So, Final Fantasy VII Remake... I'm into the last section of the game, so I feel like I can start summarising my thoughts. The full narrative I already spoiled myself on, so I know what happens - I won't get into detail about it (because that's what the Spoiler Discussion thread is for), but I will refer to it as a part of the game to be examined.

Anyway, my thoughts:I feel like it's a well crafted game, without true gamebreaking bugs that I can see. Characters move when I want them to move; the UI does what I want it to do and there's few graphical imperfections that I can see. While I've come to expect from Square that their games - no matter how bad the narrative is, the gameplay is or the dialog is - will be built rather rigidly, FF VII is a testament to quality development without the need for a Day One patch; I commend them on this.

I enjoyed the updated battle system - even when I was a kid, I found turn based systems rather limitting and frustrating. I can deal with them if I like the characters, world and narrative (which is the case with most of the Final Fantasy games I love), but it's definitely not a concept I am attached to. As such, I've found this new battle system to be much more fun, dynamic and my type of game (naturally, I am a fan of the KH series too, which this system takes much from). I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that _each_ gameplay character gives something new to the team; Cloud is your damage dealer, Tifa pushes up the Stagger metre, Barret is your long range fighter and Aerith is your mage, without taking away the fluidity and malleability of the original VII's Materia system - even if I only have Cloud and Tifa, I can easily make use of one as a mage if need be. As for magic: I'm glad magic is magic again, not grenades to throw as it was in FF XIV.

The battle system does have its quirks, however: magic needs to be timed much better than it used to be, as casting high level magic takes a couple seconds and the enemy can interrupt you incredibly easily. Items, too, can be frustrating, as enemies can whittle down the health you've recovered from a potion by the time the animation finishes. The game teaches you, the hard way, to be smart with your big moves. Also: the requirement for an ATB gauge slot for everything: an ability, spell, item, meant I found myself up shit's creek, running around trying to gather metre many more times than i should have, to revive characters that shouldn't have died how the should!

Which leads me to another point - the AI for your non-player party members is rather poor and doesn't seem tuned for each character specifically. It's fine for, say, Tifa to launch herself at the enemy to strike. She's the monk, it makes sense. It doesn't make sense, however, for Barret to do it as he's clearly the distance fighter! Some times I'd need to switch back to Barret to simply move him away from the boss! It's a frustrating aspect to the game that, I feel, could have been sorted with a simple routine assignment system. Then again; part of my fun and excitement with the system is having to switch back and forth; some of the best times come from firing off Cloud's limit which switching back to Tifa so she can stagger the enemy - dealing more damage. Ultimately: I enjoy the way the system for this series of games is going, but I think some kinks need to be worked out of it.

My main complaints for the system of Final Fantasy VII Remake is actually outside of battle: sometimes, it takes AGES TO DO ANYTHING. Chat prompt? You might end up standing there for a couple of jarring seconds before the chat begins; climbing under something or slipping through a small area takes ages because, I suspect, the game needs to load resources in without loading screens. Random areas make you walk incredibly slowly or push Cloud to a leisurely jog version of his run. It would annoy me so much that I would audibly say "just move" throughout my playthrough. I'm feeling like this is less the game's fault and moreso limited by the PS4's own parameters. I'm hoping later releases, if the PS5's SSD is even half as good as their 45 minute chat on it made out, will be much more snappy.

The setting and level design? Well, as we know, the game is defined as an extended version of the Midgar section of the original game; I never got the impression it was ever going to be more than that from the marketing resources and clear developer dialogue; so I knew what was coming and, for the most part, i'm happy with it. I'm not a VII superfan - I've barely been able to get off of the first disc of the original game (when playing myself; I've watched playthroughs), but Midgar always kept me interested. It has the class dynamics, sleaziness and tone that gets me hooked on a location, so being able to play a game solely based there was awesome to me!

What wasn't awesome was the clear padding upon chapters and areas. I'm not talking about long, extended sections of narrative banter and chat - to me, that's character development not padding - but about the way levels could be far longer and much more dull than they needed to be; sewers, underground railways and other areas are stretched out in a clear attempt from the developers to justify where the game ends. I found myself just WANTING certain chapters to END at times - I'm not even talking about optional sidequests either, I'm talking about actual dungeons. Any time that I'd think "I bet i'll have to do this the long way", I would be justified by it. It's just frustrating to see and to deal with: some of the original added content is SO GOOD (there's a specific chapter i'm talking about in the first third of the game) where it brings depth and empathy to side characters. I wish there's been more of that instead of "okay, so we have to press a button... but the button is all the way OVER there".

As for the story: well, it's a reimaged version of FFVII. The major story beats from Midgar are here: Reactors, Wall Market, Plate-thingy, Shinra Building. They're all here, in their glorious modern gen representations. They're fan servicey, relatable... yet different. The framing of a five hour introductory section and a 40 hour game is very different, so there are changes here and there to form up a villainous sect that was, in my opinion, much more of a Red Herring in the original game than antagonists. Our heros are whitewashed compared to their OG counterparts in what they do and how Shinra responds in certain areas. I found it a little jarring at times.

What I did like were the original sections or the expanded content: we spend much, much more time with Biggs, Wedge and Jessie - and the game sparkled at this moment. the new - and improved - Wall Market felt like a pub crawl that I just didn't want to stop. I chuckled, laughed, groaned and moaned throughout out; just like a night out with the lads! As we all know, certain things happen in Wall Market, dresses are worn and pull ups are done... But, to me, if there's a crowning glory to FFVII remake, it's being able to take a section of the original game that would inflame certain audiences now... and turn it into something hilarious, accepting and matching of modern morality and tastes. I was a huge fan.

I have so much more to say about this game but.... fuck - I'm running out of space in this essay. I have been thoroughly enjoying it. It's the best game Square Enix have put out in a long time. It's made me happy to play through the frustrations - and boy, the padding does frustrate me. It feels like what I enjoy in a remake: a new perspective and new adaption of old source material. I never wanted a one to one recreation and this game has not given it to me. The ending - without spoilers - is built is such a weird and silly way that it's left the originals untouched. This is not JK Rowling saying that Wizards used to shit in their robes or adding on some weird shit to the existing story - it's a new story. I think the name itself - the game has Remake in its title - hints towards this. It's the verb "remake" - to make something again OR differently - versus the noun "remake".

Now I just want to see where a Final Fantasy XVI ends up!!!

 

[Roshidon]

Which leads me to another point - the AI for your non-player party members is rather poor and doesn't seem tuned for each character specifically. It's fine for, say, Tifa to launch herself at the enemy to strike. She's the monk, it makes sense. It doesn't make sense, however, for Barret to do it as he's clearly the distance fighter! Some times I'd need to switch back to Barret to simply move him away from the boss! It's a frustrating aspect to the game that, I feel, could have been sorted with a simple routine assignment system. Then again; part of my fun and excitement with the system is having to switch back and forth; some of the best times come from firing off Cloud's limit which switching back to Tifa so she can stagger the enemy - dealing more damage. Ultimately: I enjoy the way the system for this series of games is going, but I think some kinks need to be worked out of it.

If there was one thing I'd like to see changed in the next part it is the AI of the party members. I like fast-paced combat (I don't really play RPG's with turn-based or freeze-style combat anymore) and I don't want to have to switch to another party member to use an ability because they wont use it on their own. There should be something like a stance you can give them (aggressive, balanced, or defensive) and a option for them to use their own abilities as they see fit. Granted I've only beaten the game on Easy so far (because the battles were taking far to long for my taste on normal mode) but I would like that option. None of this is a problem on Easy since the enemies wont give you any trouble anyways but I can see it start to get annoying at the Normal and Hard difficulties having to micro-manage every party member.

 

[Shadokishi]

Hey everyone! I just finished Remake and am about to start Hard Mode. I threw together a no-spoiler mini-review that takes less than 3 minutes to watch.

Let me know if you enjoy the format! Also, I'd love some tips on how to survive Hard Mode