Final Fantasy 7 Remake Was an Amazing Experience Even For a Newcomer
But it did still have issues that bothered me.
I have not played the original Final Fantasy 7. Or, I should say, I have not played much of it. Not only did I not have a PlayStation when it originally came out, but my experience with the game when I did eventually try to play it the experience was kinda shit. I tried to play it on switch, while on a plane, and it just went terribly. The gameplay was trash, the writing was blah, and the first impression was just not good. I didn't enjoy so much of the experience and worst of all, I had no idea where I needed to go once you're let loose into the Sector 7 slums. I know this was a PS1 game so there's a lot of reasoning for all of these things, but it was still a terrible experience.
So when Final Fantasy 7 Remake came out years ago I knew I was gonna have to play it only to find out it was going to be split into 3 games, especially since Nomura was back as the Director. I planned on playing all three in a row but since I've started this blog I realize I should just play them as is. Plus, with Rebirth coming out on PC tomorrow, I figured it'd be a perfect chance to get the game on PC and give it a shot. Overall, the initial problems I had with the game were largely fixed, especially the gameplay and being shown where I'm supposed to be going. I will be reviewing this game from the perspective of someone who is experiencing this story for the first time, not someone who is reliving it and only experiencing the changes made. I know some will say I should play the original first, but as I've said, that's not happening, so this is my only way to experience this world and story. Now that my intro is done, let's get to the important parts.
The Premise
Final Fantasy 7 Remake is based on the original Final Fantasy 7 from the 90s but its only a third of that game. You play as Cloud, an ex-SOLDIER who, after quitting the military, went and became a Merc for hire. Cloud was hired by Avalanche, a terrorist organization who wants to end the Authoritarian rule of the Shinra corporation that rules the city of Midgar, where the game takes place. Cloud has a contact in Avalanche, his old childhood friend Tifa and she recommended him for the job despite them having not seen each other for years. The game opens with the terrorist group and you going into a Mako Reactor to explode it. Cause you're terrorists. Its a very anti-corporatist premise and it's pretty damn interesting from the jump. Remake is also the beginning of a trilogy of games to remake Final Fantasy 7 since the original game was fucking massive with multiple discs for the original PS1.
The Good
The only Final Fantasy game I have ever played is 15. I really, really enjoyed it. Particularly the gameplay. Moving the series from a turn based combat system to real time combat was the best modernizing decision the devs have ever made. Using that system in Remake made me so happy. All of a sudden I didn't feel tired after every battle. Combat in most games is supposed to be fun, it's supposed to be interesting and allow strategy. It is not meant to be annoying. Some Turn based games often have many issues; annoying, drawn out, exhausting, repetitive, uninteresting, and boring. The only games that I've played where I've enjoyed turnbased were the Persona games and of course the recently released Metaphor: Refantazio. Real-time in Remake still has issues however. I particularly don't like when the gameplay slows down when you defeat an enemy. It really fucks with the pacing of the fight. Yet, overall, the combat is still incredibly fun. I enjoyed cycling between characters, slicing with the buster sword, and going between enemies quickly (even if not as quickly as 15). So overall, the gameplay is much better. I think my biggest issue with it, besides the aforementioned slowdown, is just that I want a higher FOV, but that's not really something I will keep in mind when it comes to this review, it's just a reality that exists. Yet, when you're going between enemies, dodging, using spells, normal and limit abilities, and swapping characters to attack in different ways, the combat becomes sublime. When it all blends together, it's fantastic.
Lets be real, Final Fantasy never has the best story, it's always cheesy and badly trying to be serious while injecting humor occasionally in very badly written ways. But here it kinda works. Not like, super well, but I'd say it's about as good as the cheesy 15. I do miss the car rides with the Bros but Avalanche is still a tight knit group of terrorists pushing to change the world. It's a decent story, not amazing, but still good and interesting. I think the parts that draw me in the most are probably the changes where Cloud deals with seeming hallucinations and brain glitches. Its a really interesting concept, the worst part is just the forcing the player to walk so slow. I think it, very effectively, shows Clouds PTSD from when his family was killed by Sephiroth (if that's actually what happened to them, hard to tell given some backstory that isn't revealed in this game).
The characters have lots of personality. It's in how they walk, how they act, even how they dress. I loved seeing those characters develop and go through changes and difficulties. The characters are well written, if cheesy, people who obviously are struggling through the world of the game. It is very well done and very enjoyable.
Going off the cheesy, weird nature of this game, the Honey Bee Inn dancing and that whole moment is weird and good and kinda trans. Particularly Andrea saying "Beauty is not beholden to the likes of gender" or something similar. I'm not going to say more on that moment cause it's been discussed ad nauseam since the original game came out.
The Directing in this game is top notch. Directing action scenes can be really tough. There's the modern day Marvel version where you cut a ton to hide the fact that you are not actually hitting each other if there are fist fights but ends up being disorienting and makes it hard to keep track of the action. Or there's the shots that hold on the action and only move a bit to allow the action to continue, only cutting occasionally, which allows the viewer to keep track of the action. Jackie Chan and George Miller do amazing action scenes, they know how to frame things and how to convey things to the viewer in quick succession. Now, here in Remake, the Directing takes a kind of mix between cuts and cuts and longer holding shots. It does that while messing with perspective. There aren't just shots that feel flat, there are shots where the camera moves in an arc, or will use the Buster Sword as the anchor having the Camera's view be based on the end of the blade. There are so many moments in this game where I loved how the camera helped the viewer feel a part of the action and made me feel the flow of the action. As I said at the start of this point, Directing action can be very difficult, but the Director of these cutscenes know their shit.
One of the things I really like about this game is how relevant the story and world are that it takes place in is. The people you play as are involved with the terrorist organization Avalanche that is doing its best to fight against the Authoritarian rule of the Mega-Corporation Shinra who is drilling the planet for the fuel Mako. Drilling it to the point of destruction. The amount this matches up with our world today is pretty nuts. We exist in a world where Mega-Corps are doing everything they can to continue to drill the world for oil despite the fact that it's destroying our environment. Shinra exists in our world to an extent, it just hasn't been fully assembled yet. The only thing missing is an Avalanche. There's a great book called How To Blowup A Pipeline that talks about why haven't environmentalists resorted to violent means in order to make their point. It talks about how every piece of progress we as a society have made is based off the backs of the violence of prior generations. Without women going around with Bats to destroy store fronts in the early 1900s, women's suffrage wouldn't have been achieved. There's also a very good book that pairs well with it called If We Burn. These two books combined show how fucked up it is that there hasn't been an Avalanche. That violence is likely the only possible outcome to actually solve things nowadays. That without it, our Shinra will continue to ruin our planet and enforce Authoritarian rule among the citizens of the entire world. The story of Final Fantasy 7 has always been relevant but I think it is far more relevant today that it was back in the 90s when it came out. Capitalism has done nothing but progress our society towards destruction, Final Fantasy 7 imagines a world where there are people that actually take matters into their own hands through terrorist actions in order to push for change. Now, in the story, this plays right into Shinra's hands, but that doesn't mean our world would happen the same way. I adore the story of this game because of all of what I have said and I think more people need to understand the political commentary that exists in it. It's a game that has a message to tell, has a political point. And it's very well done.
Finally, the environments in this game are top notch. I was frequently finding myself taking screenshots throughout the entire experience. Every area has its own charm, its own style, and its own feeling to it. The beauty in this game is just something else. One part that I loved was near the end, in Chapter 15. You have a moment of quiet, high up above the destroyed Sector 7 slums and plate and it's fucking beautiful. Wall Market is also another amazing environment that reminded me of Cyberpunk 2077 with the neon everywhere. There's just so many amazing environments in the game that I couldn't possibly praise it enough and in the description that it deserves.
The Bad
Okay ya’ know how I said the writing generally works? Well the story does, in my opinion, but what doesn't work is the writing for lines during gameplay. It's weird and doesn't make sense and stupid even if it does make sense. An example, one time when I pulled a switch, Jesse said "got an arm on ya". What? I pulled a switch, not hit a baseball super far. Any of them could have pulled the switch, it doesn't take a strong arm to do it. It was just stupid and made me laugh. I don't know if it was supposed to make me react that way, but it did and it was just really bad writing.
Speaking of bad writing, not all characters were written well or had such significant personality from the get go. Specifically, Cloud is just kinda flat. Don't get me wrong, he has a past and we see how he struggles with that and that is well done, but he's just so emo. It can get annoying. In the first several hours you see the characters begin to like Cloud, view him as a teammate, even call him “Bro”. But how does Cloud react? Completely brushes them off, tells people to get away from them when they hug him and show affection. Frequently disrespects that affection. Just, not a good first impression and I didn't like seeing him being a jerk. Honestly, it just made me annoyed.
Something that really bothers me in all videogames that include it is forcing your player to walk slowly during gameplay. It's a frustrating gameplay decision that I think is stupid. It is always meant to be for some kind of narrative reason. Making the moment of gameplay "more dramatic", but all it leads towards is getting annoyed that you can't walk faster. This also happened in smaller environments which at least made more sense but was just as annoying. I was constantly rocking back and forth in my chair because I wanted to move faster. This is fucking everywhere in Remake and it's exhausting. One of the worst moments of this for me was your first real interactions with Aerith in Chapter 8. You're constantly either following her or leading her at a snails pace and it is so fucking annoying it made me quit for the day. The gameplay is great, the movement is great, keep it fucking consistent. This reminds me of follow missions in Assassins Creed games. Except instead of being upset the character I'm supposed to be following isn't moving quickly, it's our main character. Just a terrible decision that is pervasive in the games industry (I recently discussed this in my 1000xResist review too) and needs to die.
One more thing that I still don't like and never will that is also based on shit gameplay moments, I hate when good games introduce Rhythm gameplay. I'm fine at it but it's frustrating when, instead of the button prompts being in the same spot, they move around the set-piece. It means I'm constantly moving my eyes around to make sure I don't miss the button prompt. This happened with multiple games I've played recently and would have been better if the prompts had just been relegated to one side of the screen so I could at least know where I'll need to look. I know it's meant to be more "cinematic" but I think it just ends up being more annoying than interesting.
The Ending
**Start Spoilers**
Finally, Cloud, Barret, and Tifa ascend Shinra tower to save Aerith who is an Ancient. During which we discover much about the company as a whole. Both through museum like pieces and through observing a Board meeting. We also discover Avalanche has a man on the inside, the Mayor. Anyway, after rescue Aerith and Red XIII, a talking dog, bring Cloud back to Aerith's original room since he passed out after seemingly realizing his Mother is not exactly the person he thought she was.
Wedge then comes to the rescue, pushing Avalanche to help extract the team from Shinra tower. Next, you go through a long section of the building where Hojo tests you, gathers data, and you swap between teams repeatedly. Once you get to the top of the building in the President's Office, Sephiroth kills the President, and stabs Barret.
After the fight with Jenova is over and Sephiroth Superman's his way to the top of the building carrying her body, the Whispers resurrect Barret, Sephiroth jumps off the building, and your escape helicopter gets shot down by a Shinra helicopter holding Rufus Shinra, the heir to the throne as it were. You, of course, have to fight him while your buds escape. Rufus escapes, and Cloud gets saved from falling off the building by Tifa. Barret, Red, and Aerith fight this big Mech, Cloud and Tifa meet them at the bottom while he's on a motorcycle and she's in a tiny ass truck, and they finally escape the building.
After the Whispers surround the Shinra tower, and you do much fighting on a bike and on foot where the Whispers save you and your team multiple times, and have some things revealed during some truly beautiful cutscenes, and you have some pretty damn cool Boss fights, you come to your Final Fight with The Whispers where you see the future of what will happen if you don't defeat them. If you dont change fate itself. Once that's done, you are faced with a fight with Sephiroth that starts with a kickass CG cutscene. At the end, you "defeat" Sephiroth, and change fate itself. This was the most controversial part of the game and as I never played the original, I can't comment of if I think it is bad because of that. But I still think its a good ending, and interesting ending, an ending that makes this game far more unique than it could have been. The game obviously also has teases for Rebirth that make me very curious. It also shows the citizens of the Sector 7 slums rebuilding and having spread fate dust raining over the entire city.
**End Spoilers**
The Ending - Reaction
Now, obviously while this is the ending of the game, it is not the end of the original game. It is just leading up to the next one. Yet despite this, I enjoyed this ending. I liked the action, the variance in combat, the different enemies we face, the reveals. It was all enjoyable and interesting and made me want to find out what happens next in Rebirth. Overall, great ending, and I'm glad this was my first full experience with Final Fantasy 7.
The Conclusion
When everything comes together in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, it's amazing. The combat, the story, the characters, the environments all have amazing touches that make the game feel unique and enjoyable. Despite that, it is filled with moments of frustration where the game takes you out of those moments of amazingness by forcing you to walk slowly in a needless fashion that could easily be changed and not lose any of the cinematic and dramatic wonder of the game. If those parts were better then I would have had very few problems with Remake, but because of those, I had so much consistent frustration that made me conflicted about the game. As such, I can't score it as high as I would have normally.
Yet, it's still an amazing game. The problems I have with it don't destroy the experience. In truth, I don't know how the experience could be destroyed. The feeling of going up against a massive Mega-Corp truly was an enjoyable experience from beginning to end, regardless of my frustrations. I highly recommend you find some way to play Remake. I intend to play and review Rebirth in a few weeks mainly because of how good Remake was. How much I enjoyed it. Just try to not get too frustrated with the frequent and awful slow walking because, if you do, it will detract from the enjoyable ride that the game has you on.
Meow,
Cat
really unpopular opinion but i really think ff12 was the best of the series, 10 close behind.
def agree they got the driving around with friends right in 15, that was actually suppppper fun.