”The reunion at hand may bring joy. It may bring fear. But let us embrace whatever it brings.
For they are coming back.”
What constitutes a 'remake'? Final Fantasy VII Remake certainly has an answer for you, one that's proven to be quite controversial, particularly among lovers of the original game (just look at the top Backloggd reviews of the base game for examples).
Frankly, I totally get why some are staunchly against the direction 7 Remake and future installments are taking with the story this time, but honestly, all the reasons (and more) that some hate it are why I love it so much.
It's bold, and it's different in many ways that I love and a few that I'm not fond of, but overall, if the other two games stay at the level of quality that Remake has, it can easily surpass the original game's narrative (and certainly gameplay) for me.
Every character in the original's opening act, major or minor, has been expanded upon here and is given equal dividends in storytelling, along with some truly excellent character writing that makes the cast all the more believable. To make an entire game out of the first 3 hours of the original is a bold effort, and I do believe it pays off massively. There's some obvious padding here and there, but when the story lands, it sticks it.
There are so many excellent moments throughout Remake that it's tough to even pick just one as a standout. Every memorable scene in the original is replicated here to great effect, and all of the interspersed hints of the larger plot moving forward with the trilogy are incredibly compelling.
Speaking of compelling, Remake's battle system is an exceptional modern interpretation of the original's ATB combat. The remake's blend of ATB mechanics with real-time action is a real winner, giving you all the satisfaction of a hack-and-slash with some of the deliberation and strategy of turn-based combat. It's a perfect blend and I'm eager to see Rebirth's version of it.
If you couldn't tell already, I love this game. It has its faults: story padding, ho-hum side quests, and the handling of Sephiroth as an antagonist, but this is absolutely a case of the pros outweighing the cons. It's an immaculate retelling of the original's first few hours that brings many new and exciting details with truly excellent characters, storytelling, writing, gameplay, and most of all, the soundtrack.
Oh, that soundtrack.
9/10
For they are coming back.”
What constitutes a 'remake'? Final Fantasy VII Remake certainly has an answer for you, one that's proven to be quite controversial, particularly among lovers of the original game (just look at the top Backloggd reviews of the base game for examples).
Frankly, I totally get why some are staunchly against the direction 7 Remake and future installments are taking with the story this time, but honestly, all the reasons (and more) that some hate it are why I love it so much.
It's bold, and it's different in many ways that I love and a few that I'm not fond of, but overall, if the other two games stay at the level of quality that Remake has, it can easily surpass the original game's narrative (and certainly gameplay) for me.
Every character in the original's opening act, major or minor, has been expanded upon here and is given equal dividends in storytelling, along with some truly excellent character writing that makes the cast all the more believable. To make an entire game out of the first 3 hours of the original is a bold effort, and I do believe it pays off massively. There's some obvious padding here and there, but when the story lands, it sticks it.
There are so many excellent moments throughout Remake that it's tough to even pick just one as a standout. Every memorable scene in the original is replicated here to great effect, and all of the interspersed hints of the larger plot moving forward with the trilogy are incredibly compelling.
Speaking of compelling, Remake's battle system is an exceptional modern interpretation of the original's ATB combat. The remake's blend of ATB mechanics with real-time action is a real winner, giving you all the satisfaction of a hack-and-slash with some of the deliberation and strategy of turn-based combat. It's a perfect blend and I'm eager to see Rebirth's version of it.
If you couldn't tell already, I love this game. It has its faults: story padding, ho-hum side quests, and the handling of Sephiroth as an antagonist, but this is absolutely a case of the pros outweighing the cons. It's an immaculate retelling of the original's first few hours that brings many new and exciting details with truly excellent characters, storytelling, writing, gameplay, and most of all, the soundtrack.
Oh, that soundtrack.
9/10