- Introduction to Title
FFVII REMAKE is an JRPG released on the 10th April 2020. It was published by Square Enix (Kingdom Hearts, Nier, Tomb Raider Reboot) and directed by Motomu Toriyama & Tetsuya Nomura. It was in development for roughly 5 years, with interest for the title possibly going back as early as 2005 when the opening cinematic from the original 1997 version was used as a tech demo to show off the capabilities of the, then upcoming, PS3.
My personal anticipation for this game was off the charts, having a huge nostalgic connection to the 1997 original. I remember watching my dear ol’ dad playing the original back on the PS1 when I was a young kid (maybe 7 or 8) and being absolutely mesmerized by what was unfolding on screen. The characters. The battles. The music (Oh god, the music). Simply put, I fell in love. Before long, I started to tackle it for myself, and that love grew. It was my gateway drug into JRPGs, and maybe even gaming in general. It shaped my very childhood; helping me to learn to read, teaching me about morality and the consequences of actions, and helping me discover passion for gaming.
I think it’s fair to say that FFVII REMAKE has a lot to live up to both in my eyes, and the eyes of every other long-time fan around the world. I will inevitably draw some comparisons to the 1997 original, but I’ll try not to let that overshadow this game. After all, we’re not talking about the original, we’re talking about FFVII REMAKE. I should also say that at the time of writing, it is a Playstation exclusive, and I only have a standard PS4, so I won’t be able to make any performance comparisons between that and the PS4 Pro. Does FFVII REMAKE live up to the hype? Is it a faithful modern representation of the original? Is it accessible to new players? Let’s deep-dive and find out!
- Story/Characters
Our story takes place in the industrial city of Midgar. A city owned by the Shinra Electric Power Company. Midgar is effectively split into 2 parts, the wealthy “upper plate” & the slums underneath. Shinra uses a natural substance called “Mako” to generate electricity and give the inhabitants of the Upper Plate a life of luxury and comfort, whilst neglecting the people of the slums. Opposing Shinra is AVALANCHE, an eco-terrorist group that believe that the use of Mako energy is actually draining the life force of the planet, slowly killing it. That’s where we come in. We follow Cloud, a mercenary for hire who is helping AVALANCHE to destroy Shinra’s Mako reactors and bring the Company down. This sees you venturing all over the city attempting to foil Shinra’s plans and culminates in an epic final showdown at Shinra main HQ. It’s a story that feels just as relevant now as it did in 1997, as it’s central themes loosely parallel the environmental concerns of the real world today.
Square Enix never really has any issues writing interesting characters that complement the narrative, and FFVII REMAKE is no exception. Alongside Cloud is a diverse and colourful cast of supporting characters. These include your party members; Barret (leader of AVALANCHE), Tifa (a childhood friend of Cloud’s), and Aerith (a flower girl from the slums), as well as the executives & employees of Shinra, and other interesting & in some cases annoying (why Jonny, why?) characters that you encounter on your journey. This wonderful cast really helps to further immerse players in an already gripping story.
Now, long-time fans and returning players may be slightly disappointed or upset that the whole game takes place solely in the city of Midgar, as it is a fairly small (yet significant) part of the original. I can admit that I was a bit sceptical going in, but I honestly think that it works incredibly well. All the characters are a lot more fleshed out than the original and feel like real people with more believable motivations, and Midgar is huge. Let me repeat, HUGE. All the familiar areas are greatly expanded upon, and totally new areas are included to make it feel more genuine and alive. There are plenty of twists and surprises to keep newcomers and veterans alike engaged, and it doesn’t exactly end the way you might think, but I won’t spoil that here.
- Graphics & Sound
Before even starting anything, you are greeted by the title screen, showing the FFVII logo and accompanied by the iconic opening theme, fittingly titled “The Prelude”. I’m guilty of sometimes lingering on this title screen just to listen to that soft yet grand, peaceful yet powerful, piece of music.
When you’re finally ready to begin, select “New Game” and you’re treated to a beautiful 5-minute-long opening cinematic video, in full glorious HD. It is truly breath-taking, and a testament to what modern technology is capable of. It successfully introduces you to the world and sets your expectations for the rest of the game.
The transition to actual in-game graphics is seamless and stays consistent throughout the adventure. There is incredible attention to detail in everything from interactable objects in the immediate environment, to buildings and objects in the far distance. The concept of day and night is also used to good effect. There isn’t a transitional day-to-night cycle as such, but there are a handful of areas that you visit both at day and at night, and seeing the differences is quite interesting. One location in particular transforms from a vibrant, exotic, bustling, party place at night, to a modest, quiet, and kind of run-down little town during the day. I also love the initial camera glare that occurs whenever you exit a building and are blinded by the sun. It’s those crucial little details that really brings Midgar to life and instils a feeling of realism and grandeur that the original didn’t quite capture.
All that said however, I did come across some points in the game where texture popping was a serious issue as textures on objects took quite a while to load in, and in some instances they didn’t load in at all, leaving objects extremely low resolution and very pixelated. It was jarring and a little disappointing considering how much effort has clearly been put into so much of this game. Luckily, these issues only seemed to be present in the earlier stages of the game and didn’t break the immersion too much for me. Hopefully it is something that can be fixed with future patches.
Sadly, some of the texture issues present in the environments also affect the character models. Although the main cast (including the villains and support characters) are beautifully modelled and rendered, boasting very impressive attention to detail from seams in clothing, facial expression, individual strands of hair, and even showing which weapons are equipped at the time, regular NPCs don’t get this level of love. They are definitely less detailed, which in itself isn’t much of an issue, until they start interacting with the main cast. That’s when the differences in the levels of detail become so much more noticeable and it just looks a bit odd.
Moving onto the sound design, this is where the game really redeems itself for me, and then some. The basic sound effects are well put together. As you run around, you will notice the sound of your footsteps change depending on what surface you’re running on (from industrial walkways, to soft earth, to paved streets) which I think is amazing attention to detail. Group that together with environmental sounds, conversations between NPCs as you pass by, and banter between the main cast, and it really sucks you in and makes you feel like you’re in a living, breathing world. That’s without even mentioning the musical score, which I could probably write a whole separate review about.
The soundtrack is just beautiful. For me, the score is both the best part of this game, and possibly the best musical arrangement I’ve heard in any game prior. There are enhanced and remixed versions of classic songs which really get those nostalgia juices flowing, as well as brand new additions to go alongside the classics. They always perfectly fit the mood and situation of the scenes they’re used in. The cherry on the cake? Well, there are in-game jukeboxes at various locations throughout the game where you can put your adventure on hold for a while and just listen to your favourite tracks. You obtain new songs for the jukebox by obtaining musical disks from various vendors and NPCs around the city. I think this is a great additional feature. I bought the physical deluxe version of FFVII REMAKE which came with a mini soundtrack containing 12 of the best tracks and I love it.
- Controls & Gameplay
So we’ve established that the game sounds and (for the mot part) looks great, but how does it play? As with any RPG, things are split between overworld exploration, character customisation, and combat. Overworld exploration is fairly linear, although there are occasional branching paths that may hide things like materia (mystical orbs that allow you to use special abilities and magic) and chests that contain helpful items, and sometimes even weapons. This promotes and rewards thorough exploration. You have the ability to pan the camera using the right analogue stick, which is a nice way to appreciate and soak in the environment around you. There are also occasional sections where you need to climb, jump, or squeeze through small spaces, but these are all done for you in scripted actions. You don’t have free control to climb or jump wherever you want, although you can perform a sprint by holding down the R1 button. If you do happen to get a bit lost however, there is an optional mini map which appears in the top right corner of the screen that can be toggled on or off at the players discretion. I personally recommend turning off the mini map for a more immersive experience. One nice feature is the ability to use your weapon to break crates, which can sometimes bear items or recover your characters.
Character customisation is fairly deep, with each playable character having access to multiple weapons, bangles, and accessories, each with individual stats and bonuses. Bangles are primarily used to increase how much materia a character can equip, and accessories grant addition buffs and resistances. Every weapon can be customised even further with points you accumulate during your journey. This can make them even stronger, grant additional abilities, and allow a character to further equip more materia. Each weapon also has a unique ability that must be used multiple times before it is mastered, at which point it can be freely used regardless of what weapon is currently equipped. This is an effective way to encourage players to try out different weapons and play styles.
I think the best way to describe the combat is “action turn-based” combat. Take a classic turn-based RPG like the original FFVII and sprinkle in a little bit of Devil May Cry to quicken the pace and create a sense of added urgency. Those of you familiar with the Kingdom Hearts series will already have a slight idea of how the combat works in FFVII REMAKE. You perform basic attacks as your ATB meter fills, then when it hits a certain threshold, you’re able to perform special attacks, magic, and even use items. Dodging and blocking mechanics are also implemented. Combat can devolve into chaotic button mashing on easier difficulties, but more strategy is required on harder difficulties. An interesting mechanic is the ability to freely switch between all characters currently in the fight. Each character has their own unique abilities and roles in battle such as Barret being able to hit far off targets with his gun and cloud being able to block and counterattack. This adds so much depth to the combat as you can experiment with each character, discovering their individual strengths and weaknesses. Two things that veteran players will be happy to know have been carried over (and in my opinion improved upon) from the original are the inclusion of special “Limit” commands and special “Summon” Materia. Each character has access to multiple unique “limit break” abilities that take a while to charge but look amazing and dish out serious damage when used. “Summon” materia, once equipped, can be used to summon grand beasts to aid you in battle for a short time. Not only do they deal large amounts of damage, but they are beautifully animated to boot. Summons seem to be reserved for boss encounters and longer fights however, and I’m not sure on the specific requirements needed to trigger them.
- Replayability
The main story is split into smaller chapters and takes between 35-45 hours to get through, depending on personal pacing. This is another thing that may be a point of contention for long-time fans as Final Fantasy games usually have slightly longer stories attached to them. Luckily, there is a multitude of things to keep you entertained and pad out that completion time a little bit. There are plenty of optional side quests that reward you with unique items and give you a deeper insight into the characters of the world, a battle arena where you can test your combat ability in increasingly harder fights, whilst earning rewards, and “Chadley’s reports”, which sees you completing various challenges in exchange for powerful materia and summon materia.
As I mentioned earlier, there are multiple difficulty levels. You have “classic” and “easy” mode, which are essentially the same except in classic, your characters auto-attack and defend during combat and you just focus on inputting special commands. Then you have “normal” mode, and upon completion of the story on any difficulty you unlock a “hard” mode and chapter select. It’s worth noting that the jump in difficulty from easy to normal is quite steep, and then the jump from normal to hard is even more so, especially in later chapters. Chapter select is a welcome addition which lets you replay any chapter you like, at any time, allowing you to re-view your favourite scenes or pick up things you may have missed on your initial playthrough. All the items, experience, equipment, and materia you have acquired stay with you every time you do this. There are also some items that can only be acquired in hard mode. The inclusion of these two extra features helps extend the life of the game even further and offers some serious challenge to those that seek it.
- Conclusion
So that was FFVII REMAKE. It’s a game with a lot of heart and soul, and so much to give. It just wants to make you happy. For the most part it is a faithful reimagining of the original, with some added twists and surprises here and there. I had very high expectations going in and I’m happy to say that they were met. I am very happy with this experience. Currently I’m at 65 hours and halfway through replaying the game on hard mode and I still can’t get enough. I still aren’t ready to leave this world yet. If I had to choose, I would say it is aimed more towards returning players but I think that first-timers will also find it very enjoyable and hopefully it encourages them to either check out the original, or other games in the FFVII universe.
I’ve given the game a lot of praise but there are a couple of minor gripes I have with it. Although the voice actors do a terrific job, I was a little disappointed to not hear the voice actors that were used in other medias (FFVII:Advent Children, Crisis Core) so that took a little getting used to. Also, towards the end of the game, a talking dog (it’s not as crazy as it sounds) called Red XIII joins your party. You can control him in the original but you don’t get to control him here. No equipment, no abilities, nothing. He aids in battles but is just controlled by an AI. Anyway, like I said, these are just a couple of very minor gripes for me and don’t take away from the overall experience.
As this first part is purely set in Midgar, sequels are inevitable. There is still so much of the original story left to tell, and I hope Square Enix approaches the rest with the same attention to detail and love that they’ve given this game. Without going too much into spoilers, I’m personally very interested to see where they take the story next, as the ending leaves things very open, and anything seems possible.
FFVII REMAKE is definitely worth picking up. Is it better than the original? I wouldn’t say so. I also don’t think it’s completely fair to point-for-point compare the two. They both have their individual strengths and weaknesses, and for the most part FFVII REMAKE is it’s own beast. It deliberately tries to do things differently than the 1997 original and it deserves your attention. I give it a solid 9/10. It would be a perfect score if it wasn’t for the few minor things I mentioned throughout this review.
Thank you for reading, and keep being awesome. Megabyte out.