I was kinda blown away by this. I've known of Final Fantasy VII for decades and played the original but I wouldn't say I'm like a HUGE fan of it. Even still, this was awesome. Seeing the original brought to life in such a way, even to me, was a special thing.
Let's start with that. The visuals are truly next level. Maybe just playing on PS5 helped but they really went IN on remaking and I feel like truly realized what was always intended. Places that felt like filler like the train graveyard and even Wall Market (for me anyway) suddenly felt rich and like environments the had an impact.
Along with making things look better there's voice acting! I wanted to do Japanese first personally but the subtitles are for English anyway so I learned to enjoy the English. I think I'm glad I did too because I found that playing in my native tongue helped me understand the characters and their emotions better. It's not just in being able to understand what they're saying but HOW they say it. It's a level of depth I never really felt for the characters in the OG but really appreciate having now. Also just makes me feel like I understand the story beats better having heard the words instead of just reading them.
The actual combat of the game is interesting. Essentially you do hack and slash type moves to build up ATB meter and then through THAT you issue commands. At first it felt a little overwhelming since you control your character and have to keep an eye on the others as well.
Just felt like a lot. So much so that I enabled this Classic setting that basically automates the hack and slash combat as well as movement and blocking. By doing this, it was basically like playing the OG game again and the more granular stuff in between ATB moves was like more intricate animations. What I like best about this though was that I could be in this auto mode and still assume control whenever I wanted. This allowed me to adapt to the new gameplay system at my own pace rather than having to learn and maybe get discouraged. I think this implementation really helped me and love it.
Being a remake, they actually changed things up with the story in this one too. At first things seem to play out more or less like the OG with you, as Cloud, help Avalanche stop Shinra. Typical stuff. There's MORE to the various beats of it where they flesh out side characters like Jessie or do side quests and get to know how the sectors operate better. The end of the game though, stuff goes off the rails and it becomes clear the story going forward might not pan out the same way as the OG. Some big Kingdom Hearts vibes towards the end. Exciting to see how they change it up next.
So yeah they took a hugely popular game and brought it to live with current gen graphics and tech. They change up the gameplay enough to feel fresh yet still familiar. An attempt to alter the story gives it more interest to me personally as well. I just hope they commit to real changes and have it be different. We'll see! Recommend to Final Fantasy VII fans or just JRPG fans who like pretty visuals.
Let's start with that. The visuals are truly next level. Maybe just playing on PS5 helped but they really went IN on remaking and I feel like truly realized what was always intended. Places that felt like filler like the train graveyard and even Wall Market (for me anyway) suddenly felt rich and like environments the had an impact.
Along with making things look better there's voice acting! I wanted to do Japanese first personally but the subtitles are for English anyway so I learned to enjoy the English. I think I'm glad I did too because I found that playing in my native tongue helped me understand the characters and their emotions better. It's not just in being able to understand what they're saying but HOW they say it. It's a level of depth I never really felt for the characters in the OG but really appreciate having now. Also just makes me feel like I understand the story beats better having heard the words instead of just reading them.
The actual combat of the game is interesting. Essentially you do hack and slash type moves to build up ATB meter and then through THAT you issue commands. At first it felt a little overwhelming since you control your character and have to keep an eye on the others as well.
Just felt like a lot. So much so that I enabled this Classic setting that basically automates the hack and slash combat as well as movement and blocking. By doing this, it was basically like playing the OG game again and the more granular stuff in between ATB moves was like more intricate animations. What I like best about this though was that I could be in this auto mode and still assume control whenever I wanted. This allowed me to adapt to the new gameplay system at my own pace rather than having to learn and maybe get discouraged. I think this implementation really helped me and love it.
Being a remake, they actually changed things up with the story in this one too. At first things seem to play out more or less like the OG with you, as Cloud, help Avalanche stop Shinra. Typical stuff. There's MORE to the various beats of it where they flesh out side characters like Jessie or do side quests and get to know how the sectors operate better. The end of the game though, stuff goes off the rails and it becomes clear the story going forward might not pan out the same way as the OG. Some big Kingdom Hearts vibes towards the end. Exciting to see how they change it up next.
So yeah they took a hugely popular game and brought it to live with current gen graphics and tech. They change up the gameplay enough to feel fresh yet still familiar. An attempt to alter the story gives it more interest to me personally as well. I just hope they commit to real changes and have it be different. We'll see! Recommend to Final Fantasy VII fans or just JRPG fans who like pretty visuals.