A truly wonderful, triumphant reimagining of an absolute classic. Without having played the original FF7, I may only comment so much on how this game evolved and pivoted away from its original story, but I can at least say I am hooked. The characters are brought to life fantastically, with superb performances throughout. The combat system, a mix of turn-based as well as fast paced action, is sublime. In proceeding through the "hard" difficulty play-through, I grew to appreciate just how complex and refined this system truly is. It is especially important to commend the visuals and soundtrack on display here, as they are truly masterful at times. There is naturally some room for improvement in the second part of the FF7 remake trilogy, "Final Fantasy VII Rebirth." FF7 Remake is held back ever-so-slightly by some uninspired side quests in the early goings, dips in the pacing, and slowdowns in the gameplay whether deriving from forced walking at 0.2x speed or the classic video game shimmy and wall squeeze. Minor nitpicks aside, this was an absolutely phenomenal experience that demanded engrossment... I am now "all in" on Final Fantasy 7, fully intending to play updated port of the original PlayStation experience as well as the recent "Crisis Core" remaster.