Final Fantasy VII Remake leans into Square's increasing focus on spectacle, and sticks the landing.
The battle system in itself is a brilliant mix of old and new, a synthesis of traditional FF7 combat mixed with action combat. Somehow it feels exactly like the original game, and something brand new. The boss are beautiful and the game coaxes you into exhibiting more skill with the mechanics in what has to be the most perfect difficulty curve of all time. By the end of the game, you're using an inventory of character and player skills that you've built up in a stunning confrontation.
Despite having played the original, I kind of had a hard time understanding some of the story beats... so it's very true to the original in that way. What the story lacked in coherence it makes up for in complexity and spectacle. New and old fans will not be disappointed by the nuanced emotionalism and epic feats shown in the cut-scenes.
The game has one notable flaw that makes it fall just short of being a masterpiece. It... kind of drags. Some dungeon sequences really outstay their welcome, side quests feel important but are pretty boring when you just want to see the amazing story play out, and for some reason most play areas are covered in thin spaces and tightrope walks that force your character to slow down considerably.
I guess they did what they had to to stretch the first third of the original game into a full play experience, but I honestly would have been fine if it was just 15 hours long and more tightly paced.
That being said, it's worth the slog. Again, whether you're a new fan or old, there is payoff here and lots of excitement to be had along the way.
The battle system in itself is a brilliant mix of old and new, a synthesis of traditional FF7 combat mixed with action combat. Somehow it feels exactly like the original game, and something brand new. The boss are beautiful and the game coaxes you into exhibiting more skill with the mechanics in what has to be the most perfect difficulty curve of all time. By the end of the game, you're using an inventory of character and player skills that you've built up in a stunning confrontation.
Despite having played the original, I kind of had a hard time understanding some of the story beats... so it's very true to the original in that way. What the story lacked in coherence it makes up for in complexity and spectacle. New and old fans will not be disappointed by the nuanced emotionalism and epic feats shown in the cut-scenes.
The game has one notable flaw that makes it fall just short of being a masterpiece. It... kind of drags. Some dungeon sequences really outstay their welcome, side quests feel important but are pretty boring when you just want to see the amazing story play out, and for some reason most play areas are covered in thin spaces and tightrope walks that force your character to slow down considerably.
I guess they did what they had to to stretch the first third of the original game into a full play experience, but I honestly would have been fine if it was just 15 hours long and more tightly paced.
That being said, it's worth the slog. Again, whether you're a new fan or old, there is payoff here and lots of excitement to be had along the way.