This game is the definition of whiplash. It's a fantastic action RPG that gets brought down by a ton of poor design choices. For starters the combat is really engaging. I love the fights and all the abilities and how unique the characters are (even if I used Aerith and Tifa for 95% of the game).

What I dislike though is how much content there is. I can hear the cries of people saying that I just want a linear CoD hallway simulator type game. That's not it. I enjoy good side content but this isn't it. It's the same collectathon type bullshit in every area. I feel like I'm playing Assassin's Creed with how many towers I climbed. The amount of minigames in here is also way too much. Did we really need to recycle the motorcycle section from the last game and have 2 tower defenses? And even the side quests that are ok suffer from horrible difficultly balance. Looking at you ultimate party animal. It was definitely a quantity over quality type deal here. It was obvious they were just padding out the length of the game since it's the "middle part".

That brings me to the story. What a crock of horse doodoo. The character stuff is great. I love the characterization we get for everyone and how they interact, that's perfect. What I can't get behind is this multiple timeline mumbo jumbo. We beat Sephiroth 10 times and he's still around. Ghost Aerith is here because Cloud touched alt universe #6 Aerith. If it sounds stupid that's because it is. I'm not some VII purist that thinks this needed to be a 1:1 remake but man what they did here is not it.

Loved the game, wanted to love it more. I can't give it a higher score because of the many issues with it. Hope they do a better job with the last one.

Also fuck you for not making Vincent playable.