Final Fantasy VII Remake

-Intro -

Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VII Remake are two VERY different games. The original takes place over the course of a dozen or so different towns, cities, and climates, while the remake takes place in a single city. The original was strictly turn-based with an ATB system, while the remake is an action RPG with a menu ATB system mixed in. You get the idea, the two are functionally two completely different games and experiences. But while they are different, the remake manages to succeed where it matters most: embellishing the original and expanding its scope. The Migdar section of the original is retold here with authenticity, and while it diverges in the final chapter, it basically follows the exact same plot points and A to B progression as the original, just expanded and embellished. Here’s where the expansions both shine and taint the original.

-What I adored (Characters and Music)-

If I were to recommend this game to fans of the original I would start with the characters and music and how faithful to the original they are while being enlarged. The character models look fantastic with painstaking level of detail with faces and clothing, and animations that make use of current technology to enhance the original portrayals. The voice work here is generally great in English and Japanese (I don’t know about others!) and while different actors are used than the supplementary FF7 universe materia, they bring the characters to life and make them feel like the real deal. Barret in particular shines in the remake. Barret is going to be the prime example of how to expand on a one-dimensional 2D character from the 90s to a deep multifaceted character with different facades and emotions, and a fully developed character arc. He really changes, grows, and learns from the beginning of the game to the end, and it’s all great. The majority of music here are remixes of classic FF7 tunes. Key battle themes like “Those who Fight” get a lavish treatment of over 4 different iterations of the theme as they are weaved expertly to fit what’s going on screen. There is some notable original music in the remake that has a more FF XIII style to their composition (Hamauzu is a main composer here after all). Some original tracks like “Avalanche’s Theme” was lovingly crafted and had multiple leitmotif usages to highlight key narrative moments in the game. VERY, very well done music across the board, especially how music was applied to fit what you are doing at any moment.

-Story and World-

Like the core cast of characters and the music, the plot goes through an expansion in the remake as new 3D environments have to be created and new cinematic ways of storytelling have to be implemented, which I’m happy to say, is done well. The presentation of the scenes are well directed and detailed, not just for typical SE style, but for characterization and believability in the world. For example, one scene I loved was Cloud running through a door to defeat what he thought was an enemy. He pulls the sword in front of him only to hit the roof of the doorway…really awkwardly. This level of attention and directing is consistently great throughout the game, even if it gets to the usual SE spectacle cutscene style at times. There is far more surface area and room to explore in this version of Midgar than the original, and the towns in particular use this expansion to great effect. NPCs are spread across the towns and talk about their day in ways that make me feel like Midgar is a real place. And while some of the side quests these NPCs give can be generic, their stories and bits of worldbuilding they give are fantastic expansions of the setting. The Wall Market section is one of the very best examples of excellent worldbuilding through NPCs and environment. This section of the game is incredibly well done and honors the original while embellishing it with some Yakuza flair. If you’re on the fence about buying this game because of potential changes to story (which there are some), at least play the story to experience Wall Market. The story adds in numerous little nuances and ‘bridges’ between core plot events in the original in ways that enhance and add significance to the work. At the same time, there is some padding in long dungeon sequences that can slog down the incredibly tight pacing of the original.

-Gameplay-

Unfortunately, there’s not only some story padding, but plenty of gameplay padding in the game that really made it feel like I had pebbles in my shoes throughout the journey. The simplicity of traversing in the original is something I look at with fondness considering the amount of forced slow walking sections and button-holding prompts in the remake. These little traversal issues aren’t necessarily terrible by themselves since they don’t last that long, but they are so numerous and consistent that they slog the game down and make it feel like I constantly have pebbles in my shoes. Character animations in combat will render your actions null until they finish what they’re doing, and oftentimes you will get chain stunlocked because of this. It’s a good thing there are many, many different options in combat to offset these gameplay problems though. The materia system here is vast and very fun. You can fully customize what character uses what materia and mix and match between them. There a ton of different materia to level up and experiment with as well, so combat really never gets stale. To add to this, each character gets 6 weapons through the course of the game that each contains a unique skill in combat. You can unlock universal use of this skill once you have used the weapon skill with the specific weapon a set number of times. Some of these skills changed the playstyle of the character substantially, like Barret’s claws for close-ranged attacks instead of his usual gun. If this weren’t enough variety, each character plays substantially different from each other, as if they each function as a completely separate class. And you will get to master each character since the game really emphasizes character switching in combat due to the limited (and terrible) AI of your party. Personally, combat was a mixed bag for me due to boss phase cancels and inability to cancel out of attacks (amid other little problems), but I think most players will find it very fun (ultimately, getting used to the problems I had) and engaging with tons of different strategies and builds to experiment with.

-Conclusion-

So, should FF7 have had a remake? In my opinion, yes. The quality on display here and the joy that can be had visiting a more fully realized Cloud and co is really worth it. Playing FF7 Remake is a lot like visiting a place you previously only enjoyed watching remotely. While you have more general discomfort issues like all the walking you have to endure and waiting in long lines, you get to be in a more extended space and see more of what you enjoyed in a truncated format. Your perception of the place may be diminished after seeing what’s around every corner, and how repetitive some of it may be, but you definitely got more out of the experience despite the small stepbacks and bloated wait times. Much like seeing Stonehenge on TV and actually going there are two VERY different experiences, the original FF7 and the Remake are very different as well. Ultimately, I find it well worth the trip to this enlarged and expanded upon Midgar, even if the wait times are longer and the terrain more difficult to traverse.