The iconic classic from the PS1 era has finally been remade. Fans of the original and new fans alike have been excited to get their hands on the game. Here is one Final Fantasy fan’s review of the remake.

I am a relatively newer Final Fantasy fan. My first Final Fantasy that I completed is FFXV and I have been diving into other Final Fantasy worlds since then. Final Fantasy VII has always been on my periphery. I know who Cloud and Sephiroth are. Though I don’t know all the intricacies of the story, I do know some of the major plot twists. So I went into this remake not completely blind, but novice enough to have an idea what a new player may experience.

So what do I rate this game? Well I broke it down into several categories: graphics and music, combat, character progression & plot progression, and accessibility. So let’s get started.

Graphics and Music

Graphics in video games have come a long way from their 90’s counterparts. Though the original game had cutting edge in graphics at the time, the graphics of the original have not aged well. Now as for the remake, these graphics are A+ material and I think will age extremely well for generations to come. It’s gritty and dark which suits the city of Midgar so well. All the characters look realistic as well as keeping the little attributes that make them unique. I loved all the expansions of the world that we see especially in Wall Market.

Now as for the music of Final Fantasy VII, the original score has always been very strong. This time around the soundtrack is created by the original creator Nobuo Uematsu and his co-creators Masashi Hamauzu and Mitsuto Suzuki, and it is spectacular. Some tracks are absolutely phenomenal like the tracks Seven Seconds to the End, Arbiter of Fate: the Ascent, One Winged Angel, and Flowers Blooming in the Church. Overall though, I really liked the soundtrack especially in the final sequence.

So for graphics and music I give this an A+.

Combat

I had a lot of fun with the combat. It is fast paced like Final Fantasy XV, but it does still have an element of strategy that fans of the original liked with turn base combat. In fact, there is a classic mode which can give them more of a turn base feel for combat, but it is an easy mode.

Now there are a few things that could trip up new players in the combat. One of the most challenging aspects is the ATB bar charge and the fact that MP does not refill as quickly. For some people this made the combat frustrating, but I am more in the boat that the ATB gauge and the slow to replenish MP is apart of the strategy. You have to pay attention to your gauge and whether you have enough ATB charged to use a skill, use magic or even to use an item. This definitely makes you stop and think about what you are doing. This is especially true if you are attempting any part of this game on hard mode.

Hard mode can only be unlocked once you have completed the game on either easy or normal mode. In hard mode it is even more critical that you spend your ATB gauge charges and MP wisely as you are not allowed to use items. Need an ether to replenish your MP? Can’t use it. Want to heal without using MP? No can do.

And what is even harder in hard mode is that MP is not as easily replenished. In normal mode, whenever you rest your character on a bench or designated resting spot, your HP and MP are completely replenished. Well that is not the case in hard mode which I didn’t quite get at first. When you rest at a bench, your HP is fully recovered, but not your MP. So now finding every box you can to smash for mako shards suddenly becomes a top priority as big heals and big magic take up a lot of MP. Suffice to say that the ATB gauge and MP can sometimes get tricky on when to use them especially if you attempt this on hard mode.

I personally liked ATB gauge though it could be frustrating at times. In my opinion this is not a negative for the combat. I also liked how time is slowed down which gives you precious seconds to think about what commands to execute. It’s a neat graphics choice very much like the wait mode in Final Fantasy XV. There is definitely more strategy involved than a typical hack and slash.

And then there are limit breaks. Limit breaks are unique, strong attacks that each character has which takes time to charge up. Once you get that charged up, these strong attacks are awesome to use. The best strategy is to hold onto a limit break charge until your opponent is staggered. Since you do not need an ATB charge to use a limit break, once your enemy is staggered, you can use your limit break at any time.

Now what is staggering? Staggering is a combat essential. When you hit an enemy on with an attack, especially an attack they are weak to (a certain element or weapon), it fills their stagger gauge. Once it is full, your enemy will be vulnerable to attacks. This is the best time to throw all of your strongest attacks including limit breaks at your enemy. This becomes vital and important especially when taking on the end game bosses.

I also like how you can level up your weapons. In many of the Final Fantasies there are Ascendance grids or Sphere grids that you choose where to allot Ascendance points. In most cases, this pertains to leveling up the abilities of characters. In FFVII Remake, what’s interesting is that the “ascendance menu” focuses on leveling up your weapons. You can make your weapons stronger. I did like this aspect of the game.

Now one thing I will say I wish they did a little better is status ailments. Every Final Fantasy has status ailments from the common poison and silence to toad and sleep. And in every Final Fantasy, status ailments play a different role. For example in FFXV, the status ailments could be a pain at times especially when fighting certain bosses. But, in FFXV, you always knew when they were on you and what to use to cure them. In FFXII, the status ailments were brutal and could last longer than the fight it came from.

Well FFVII Remake definitely has status ailments, but they can be tricky to notice especially if you are new to the franchise. Firstly, it’s not always apparent when you have an effect on you. There were times when I was poisoned and didn’t realize right away. I think the reason why status ailments are not as apparent is where they put the status effects icons. Below is a typical picture of your health gauge without a status effect:

As you notice, there is already a lot your eyes have to quickly take in when doing fast paced combat. There is your health bar, your ATB gauge right below the health bar. To the right of it is your MP numbers and a bar right beneath it for your limit break. That is a lot of numbers and bars to be paying attention to all at the same time. Like I said earlier, you really have to use ATB and MP wisely. This means that those bars and numbers are what you pay attention to the most as well as your life bar.

Now what happens if you are hit by poison or silence? Well, a third bar appears under the ATB gauge where small icons pop up (silence pops up on your command menu). Not only do you need to understand what those icons mean, but you have to know how to counter them. There are still some status effects where I wasn’t sure what the icon meant and I had to figure it out. I eventually did find a menu that explains what the icons mean, but it did take awhile. Luckily, status effects are not as big of a deal in this as some of the other Final Fantasies.

Other than that one thing, I really liked the combat. It is engaging and fun to play. I give it an A for combat.

Plot and Character Progression

If you are not already aware, this remake is only one of what will be a series of games to tell the story of FFVII. This part, part one, takes place in the city of Midgar. This allows for the remake to expand on several parts and expand it does. Now I’m not going to get into full details on plot points and character progression points as they will be spoilers.

Some may ask, how can there be spoilers if this is a straight remake of the original game? Wouldn’t people already know everything that is to happen? I would say not necessarily. As I mentioned, this first part is just on Midgar alone and thus it expands on a lot of the world of Midgar as well as flushes out characters like Jessie, Wedge and Biggs. My favorite expansion and changes are Wall Market in chapter 9 and the ending. I did do a little research on the original game in particular the honeybee inn scene and Wall Market. I watched the original scene. It is definitely different, but still has that strange and unique vibe to it.

One thing I will say about plot progression and character arc progression is that everything seems like a smooth progression. Nothing seems out of place or unwarranted. There is a plausible cause and effect that drives the story.

Now some people did have problems with the ending. There is quite a change to the original story in the end, and that is all I am going to say about it. I will say that I, personally, really liked the ending. I feel that it is refreshing and really opened up so many possibilities. The ending is epic and cinematically stunning.

So for story and character progression, I would give this an A.

Accessibility

If there is one thing I really got from this remake it is that this is one big love letter to the fans. For all those people who waited so long for this, the developers really went the extra mile to add little easter eggs and fun references to the original game. They kept the quirky and unique charm of the original game, but expanded so much and added some much more depth in this especially in characters like Aerith and Barrett.

Overall, fans of the original really loved the remake. Some did not like the ending as it really changes the course the story may take. But overall, this remake is a well liked.

Now as for accessibility the game is easy enough to follow and play for newcomers who don’t know much about the story. But I do think there are things that may be confusing or not have as much impact in the story for newcomers. This is especially true towards the end. There are things that happened that definitely have more impact and significance if you played the original game. I went into the game with some knowledge of the story and characters, and I will admit that it took a bit for me to fully understand the ending.

Another thing that may get confusing for newcomers is that certain important story elements are not explained in as much detail. For example, fans of the original know how important the lifestream is to this world and how it relates to life and death. There is also mention of a meteor falling which destroys the Ancients. It is just a mention and there is not much more said about it. Another example is when players face Hojo’s experiment. Fans of the original know who and what Jenova is, but newcomers have no idea.

I definitely feel that there are parts of the remake that fans of the original will understand more than those who are newcomers. That is not to say that new players will not understand it all. It just means they may have to do a little research on the original game or go with the flow. So far, the game has been pretty good in explaining things, but they may not be in depth explanations which is where research may be useful.

Overall though I think this is a decent entry into trying out the Final Fantasy games. It is quirky and some people may not like the quirky strangeness in the game, but it is also so very well done. And for those who do not know this, no you do not have to have played any of the other Final Fantasies to play this one. Each Final Fantasy stands in its own universe. This particular game is unique because it is a remake of an original game. I went into this without playing the original game and with some knowledge of the source material. I played it just fine. Are there more accessible Final Fantasies? Yes, maybe, but this one is worth giving a try.

Just a few critiques

Now there is one thing that I will say is a negative for the game, and that is not knowing how many parts this game will be. Will this be a trilogy or more games? And how long will each game take to come out? I feel as if the story progression in this first installment is very purposeful. This means that it does seem like they have a good grasp of the bigger picture for this game. But it is concerning that, as of now, we still don’t know how many parts there will be and how long it will take. There has been some speculation that it will be a trilogy and some speculation that it could be more than that. (1)

And another concerning thing about this is the up and coming Playstation 5. What happens if the next installment is only a PS5 game? I know for me, it may not be in my budget to have to buy a PS5 and the game in order to continue the journey. It took a long time for me to get the PS4, and when the PS5 comes out, it will be expensive as every Playstation is when it first comes out. Check out Techradar’s article on the PS5 specs.

But besides these negatives, this game is spectacular. I enjoyed the combat, the graphics, the music and the characters. Is it going to be everyone’s cup of tea? No, and that is okay. I do think it’s a game worthy of the Game of the Year award. So if you are curious to see if this is a game for you and you are new to the Final Fantasy world, check out the free demo. In my books, this game is a solid A!

References

1.) https://www.tweaktown.com/news/72118/ff7-remake-might-be-longer-than-trilogy-square-enix-says/index.html