The original Final Fantasy VII is considered one of the greatest video games ever made, so this remake had a lot to live up to. I myself never really played the 1997 original, so I have zero nostalgia going into this remake, although I did play the demo for it, and I found myself so completely hooked that I bought the game immediately.
Final Fantasy VII Remake is such a massive game that I don't even know where to begin with this review! The combat is quick and flashy, with never a dull moment, even in the simplest encounters.
I also found the game's cast of characters to be quite memorable and endearing, making me really engaged with the massive story that the game is trying to tell.
Don't even get me started with the game's graphics. The game looks incredibly beautiful, from the character models, to the particle effects and lighting. I actually think the in-game characters look so much better than the CG cutscenes! Unfortunately, though, the game does suffer from a few texture and character pop-ins, which break the immersion.
Also, it feels as though much of the music that plays during story moments doesn't really fit in with the mood of the cutscene, as it sticks out like a sore thumb.
Also, speaking of something that sticks out like a sore thumb, the NPCs that roam many of the various districts. All of them look bland and feel like they don't belong in the aesthetic of the game. Sure, this may seem like just a minor nitpick, but it really does ruin the immersion, much more so than the texture pop-ins.
What's worse is that the side quests given by these NPCs are also quite terrible, ranging from simple fetch quests to padded-out interactions with the boring characters. The game also suffers severely from pacing. Just when the story calls for something urgent, the game always finds a way to stretch out your path, basically killing the sense of urgency. There's simply nothing worse than finally having an encounter with one of the game's infamous big bad only to then be put in an almost hour and a half-long filler area where all you do is fight enemies.
The game really didn't need to be 30+ hours long; maybe if they'd cut about 10 hours worth of filler content, then I would have scored this game higher. It's a shame because I really loved the characters and combat. Hopefully, the upcoming sequel to the remake will find a way to fix this pacing issue.
Final Fantasy VII Remake is such a massive game that I don't even know where to begin with this review! The combat is quick and flashy, with never a dull moment, even in the simplest encounters.
I also found the game's cast of characters to be quite memorable and endearing, making me really engaged with the massive story that the game is trying to tell.
Don't even get me started with the game's graphics. The game looks incredibly beautiful, from the character models, to the particle effects and lighting. I actually think the in-game characters look so much better than the CG cutscenes! Unfortunately, though, the game does suffer from a few texture and character pop-ins, which break the immersion.
Also, it feels as though much of the music that plays during story moments doesn't really fit in with the mood of the cutscene, as it sticks out like a sore thumb.
Also, speaking of something that sticks out like a sore thumb, the NPCs that roam many of the various districts. All of them look bland and feel like they don't belong in the aesthetic of the game. Sure, this may seem like just a minor nitpick, but it really does ruin the immersion, much more so than the texture pop-ins.
What's worse is that the side quests given by these NPCs are also quite terrible, ranging from simple fetch quests to padded-out interactions with the boring characters. The game also suffers severely from pacing. Just when the story calls for something urgent, the game always finds a way to stretch out your path, basically killing the sense of urgency. There's simply nothing worse than finally having an encounter with one of the game's infamous big bad only to then be put in an almost hour and a half-long filler area where all you do is fight enemies.
The game really didn't need to be 30+ hours long; maybe if they'd cut about 10 hours worth of filler content, then I would have scored this game higher. It's a shame because I really loved the characters and combat. Hopefully, the upcoming sequel to the remake will find a way to fix this pacing issue.