It boldly swaps the traditional turn-based combat of the 1997 original with exciting real-time action and expands the first act of the classic story into a full game by adding dozens of hours of character development and world building; and also a bit too much filler.
It may not be a perfect reunion but with or without nostalgia and play, this is still a great JRPG in its own right.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake zooms in on the first hours of the original game which takes place in the city of Midgar.
Here, Cloud Strife and his freedom fighting allies battle the evil Shinra corporation that run it and that conflict has been stretched into a campaign that took me more than 33 hours to complete; in a spectacular style both in and out of its epic cutscenes and in its truly phenomenal soundtrack.
As a big fan in the originals turn-based battles, I was thrilled to find that Remakes revamped combat still proved to be endlessly engaging.
Flashy basic attacks, charge up things called ATB bars which then let you use your team's unique weapon abilities, equippable spells and items from the comfort of a slow-motion menu.
It's extremely different but there's still attention to every choice that truly reminded me of the originals frantic decision-making moments and you can't just mash square.
Part of that is because filling up an enemy's stagger gauge will make them take extra damage for a time.
We've seen that in games before but the clever twist here is that every enemy staggers in a different way.
Learning those differences kept combat fresh the whole way through. That variety is a big part of why it's epic multi-phase boss fights are so incredible too.
These powerful enemies push you to learn tricky patterns and the way they seamlessly blend in cinematics always put a smile on my face.
We have a massive amount of flexibility in your party management thanks to role defining material orbs and upgradable weapons.
Materia can be slotted into any character's equipment to give them spells and buffs.
That's important since your active team of three is entirely determined by where you are in the story. I just wish I didn't have to keep reslotting my best materia every time my party shifted.
Weapon upgrading also had me digging through menus too much but it's such a cool new system that I didn't mind. New weapons are rare but they upgrade as you level to keep them relevant.
I found myself frequently switching weapons as my materia builds and party changed. But even clouds signature starting weapon the Buster Sword remained a solid option.
Rather poetically, it ended up being my favorite weapon by the end. the visual variety of Midgar's levels is fairly impressive, ranging from dirty slums to industrial Shinra facilities.
That said, the level design itself is serviceable but simplistic. the combat is always a blast and that keeps momentum high but there's not much else to think about beyond some simple puzzles and lightly hidden items.
That makes the areas you're asked to reach shred for side quests, a repetitive drag. Generally speaking though I love that this brief section of a much larger RPG has been fleshed out with real character development and a more robust story.
I loved learning more about Jesse, Biggs and Wedge and seeing lively neighborhoods full of people.
One excellent new mission has you wrestling with the decision to turn off the giant Sun lamps that provide light to Midgar slums to progress; giving more direct weight to your group's actions.
What I didn't love however, was when this remake clearly decided it just needed more stuff to pad out its length regardless of quality. the dullest of these by far are when Cloud is asked to do odd jobs around Midgard slums.
Suddenly you're faced with bottom-of-the-barrel JRPG tropes that belittle the high stakes events around them. A shopkeeper literally asks you to kill some rats. Then there's a little girl who can't find her kitty cats. Seriously?
There are plenty more and sure you could skip these side quests but that'll mean you miss out on extremely valuable items and unlocks and can even influence later scenes in subtle ways.
This pointless filler isn't always reserved to just side quests either. A handful of the new main missions similarly pushing through events that feel totally irrelevant.
They can be amusing diversions but if you could somehow skip a few of them entirely, probably wouldn't even notice.
Square Enix has generally done a great job of making this originally brief Midgar section feel like a bigger story and showing things like Cloud’s cold murk, heart warm over time gives vital character development to a part that didn't have much in 1997.
But it also raises tons of unanswered questions. Some of those are clear nods for longtime fans that will be incomprehensible to anyone else but a lot of the totally new stuff is convoluted and confusing regardless.
The way its’ characters wantingly spout and do nonsense, it just expects you to roll with towards the end of the story can only be described as some Kingdom Hearts BS and I say that as a Kingdom Hearts Fan.
Ultimately, I would have liked a more satisfying conclusion to this story and a better jumping-off point for its eventual sequel.
Thankfully reaching the credits does unlock a hard mode and a chapter select, allowing you to easily return to any area with your current equipment. Filler or not, I do plan on diving back in to tie up some loose ends or just throw some darts.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s combat is top-notch and its enemy variety kept me constantly entertained. Seeing this snippet of a story flashed out with the previously hidden humanity behind Midgar filled me with pure joy.
This Remake still delivered on letting me relive part of a classic and stupendous fashion while also standing as a great RPG all its own.
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