I feel like my head is overwhelmed with a ton of different feelings and thoughts on this game, 99% of those thoughts extremely positive and 1% of those thoughts, nitpicky small things that I don't really care about right now because I just loved this game with my entire heart.

The story is for sure a bit Nomura poisoned but I still had a really good time with it, I'm starting with it because I don't have a ton to say partially because spoilers and partially because it's confusing and insane and I'm not qualified to deep dive into all of the differences and what everything means. It's for sure much more well done and interesting than a Kingdom Hearts story but I get a similar feeling where I'm mostly just along for the ride and willing to let there be some bullshit.

The main thing about the narrative and writing that continues to blow me away with these remakes absolutely is the characters and all of the various interactions and moments they all get. I went from knowing and not particularly caring about most of these characters to all of them becoming one of my favorite casts of characters in all of gaming! I don't dislike anyone here, even characters I was a bit worried about being annoyed with like Yuffie or Cait Sith ended up being absolutely wonderful, Yuffie especially ended up being one of my favorites. I have nothing but absurdly positive things to say about each and everyone here, capped off with wonderful performances! I do find it can get a bit on the anime melodramatic on the voice acting side of things but as someone who usually doesn't love that stuff it didn't really bother me at all, again probably because I just love these characters so darn much. It's rare a game can juggle around so many characters and make me feel so intensely attached to all of them! Obviously I have favorites, but I don't think anyone is so far and away above anyone else and that's because they're all so insanely likable and interesting. I could talk for days about how I love all the little aspects of each character and all of the various dynamics like Barrett interacting with Yuffie, Red, or Cait Sith and how it always was a highlight or Tifa and Aerith's genuine friendship or Red XIIIs big character moment I won't spoil, or even Cloud and Yuffie's sibling dynamic but if I get into anymore detail I might never stop. I love all of these guys and even if the story can be a bit convoluted and overwhelming this is some of my favorite character writing in any game ever, it was something I already loved about Remake but it's tenfold here.

Gameplay wise it's even more fun than Remake which was already a pretty amazing Action RPG. It's not too different all things considered, but some new Materia, Synergy Attacks/Commands, and most of all the brand new characters in Red XIII and Cait Sith (not to mention some short really fun playable versions of a couple other characters) all come together to make an already astounding combat system that much better. Synergy Attacks/Commands were probably the biggest thing I kinda refused to learn until I realized they're really fucking good and fun as hell! They generally follow a couple guidelines but are extremely useful and a lot more powerful than I was giving them credit for. There's also a ton of returning and new weapon abilities that are a ton of fun to mess with. Finding a new weapon is always exciting even if the stats aren't great because it means you'll at least get a new attack to unlock and they're all pretty fun and worthwhile. The two new characters are a ton of fun as well! Red XIII pretty instantly clicked with me, but Cait Sith felt a bit awkward for a while. It wasn't until a section where you're forced to be only him did I actually put some time into learning him and end up finding him really cool! Still on the lower end for sure but once you get used to him he's also a ton of fun. Exploration was solid! Each region looks absolutely gorgeous and it's fun to do all the little tasks in each place. I can see someone finding them tedious but they all have an absurd Final Fantasy charm that I never really got bored. I'm also the kind of guy that just loves ticking away at a checklist and this game does it great. Control/Movement during exploration is pretty average, I think I would have preferred a Jump button cause it can feel a bit awkward but I understand why there isn't one. The various Chocobo and their gimmicks are fun to use and the giant monster truck thing you get is silly and fun to use. If I had one complaint it would be that Chadley won't ever shut the fuck up! It's a pretty annoying pace breaker the amount of times he stops you from playing to tell you that you got some good data and to keep up the good work. I wish it was kept to walking conversations or something, I actually like the idea of Chadley and your exploration fueling his research and working towards new materia and such but he stops you so much and it's pretty fucking annoying.

The other big aspect of the gameplay is the sheer amount of mini-games here. I'm a guy that absolutely LOVES stupid little mini-games and changing up the main gameplay here and there and this game does it a TON. It's almost all great too, I love how often they have you do a silly little mini-game like shooting boxes on a mine cart ride, a punch-out style fighting game with low poly OG FF7 models, a pretty fun Piano Rhythm game, Chocobo Racing which feels way more satisfying to control than it has any right to, and a ton other I could go on and on about. The two big consistent ones are the returning Fort Condor which is still lots of fun and I like the more offense-oriented changes they made and it also uses the great low poly FF7 models. The new one is Queen's Blood which is an insanely in-depth card game that's a ton of fun! There's over 100 cards and there's a good amount of variance in what they all do. It's pretty fun to make new decks and I always went to do all the new Queen's Blood matches available whenever I got to a new town because I liked it so much. I'm really excited to go back post main story and grind all of these mini-games cause they're genuinely so fun and there's way more than I would have expected.

The music is also WONDERFUL which like, obviously. It's a bit unfair having one the greatest OSTs as a base and a ton of it is pretty new to me but it's just so beautiful. I don't think I emotionally connect with Video Game soundtracks much, there's a ton I love and think are great but they don't grab me emotionally as much as I just think they're sick. This entire soundtrack felt so emotional, I don't know if I'll ever hear Tifa or Aerith's themes again without feeling a bit emotional. The way they weave character themes into the important moments for each character is so insanely beautiful. There's also obviously iconic songs like the battle theme which I'll never get sick of and the insanely beautiful town themes. It'd be pretty tough to find a video game OST on the level of this and it's one that'll stick with me for a long time.

I can't believe this game exists and it feels as large a step above the first game in the remake trilogy which was already a game that really surprised me with my love for it. Direct sequels pretty often end up amazing before later games try a bit too hard to be different and crazy so it shouldn't surprise me as much as it does, but fuck man it's a beautiful feeling to have a sequel absolutely crush it like this game does. For my tastes and opinions there's been a few of those the last few years and it's just so sick. I'm incredibly excited for the third game, it's gonna be tough to live up to this but no matter what I just can't wait to have more experiences with these characters. I could go on for way too long absolutely gushing about this game but I'll leave it at this already way too long review and say I'm so glad these remakes exist and got me into the FF7 universe.