Story
So, a quarter of a century of so after the original game came out for the original Playstation we have the PS4/5 version. The story is not identical. For a start, it only covers the first portion of the original multi-disc game. In addition, some areas are more fleshed out, or slightly altered. The additions are fairly significant, in terms of both main story midway through, and optional side-quests.
For the most part, these work well. An especially good
aspect is that there’s a not-at-all-subtle explanation for why things work out
the way they do, and the ending of the story does give overt notice that things
might be substantially different going forward.
Pacing is mostly good but there are times when it can be jarring. When one character is rushing to save a child, the game decides to throw a needless very mini-quest (30 seconds work) that is done at walking pace and pointlessly steals away the sense of urgency. However, for the most part the story is handled well.
Gameplay
This is the area where I changed my mind most from the demo on the PS4 to finishing the game. I really liked the materia system, and have no problem with either standard turn-based battles or the ATB approach of the original. Materia is kept in this game, and works well (as might be expected), but the ATB system has been substantially reworked. You now have two ATB slots which are slowly filled over time, and more rapidly when you attack. Most things (spells, abilities, and items) require a single slot although some abilities require both.
This actually worked very well and prevents the real time
nature of basic attacks getting swallowed by spamming spells. In addition, the
varying nature of the four playable characters does make a big difference, with
Tifa super-fast and Barret able to deal plenty of damage (especially at range)
but rather slower. Initially, I thought it was just button mashing, and while
that can work with more basic fights, smart use of materia and understanding
how the system works makes a big difference for tougher foes.
Beyond your usual fights there are also optional arena style locations/events (Shinra’s combat simulator, or Corneo’s colosseum, for example). The latter is especially worth visiting as some of the optional fights here can yield more powerful limit breaks.
And there’s a darts mini-game in Seventh Heaven, which I quite liked. Looking forward to when we visit the Golden Saucer.
Sound
I’ll be honest, I own several varieties of One Winged Angel so I was wondering how the score would stack up. It’s fantastic, building on the excellence of the original and generally adding more, including the boss theme (particularly when fighting the Airbuster) and One Winged Angel. The only thing I felt could have been better musically was the reactor theme.
There’s also voice-acting. Some of this is very good, particularly Barret (John Eric Bentley) who gets some great lines and delivers them very well, covering the range from heartfelt emotion to overblown comedy and the occasional dry remark. Cloud, being somewhat of a dick, was a difficult character to pull off, but he’s likeable enough to work as the protagonist without losing his capacity to be pretty laconic. The friendship between Cloud and Barret developing is handled very well, and that’s a combination of good writing and a strong voice performance.
Graphics
Comparing the game from the late 20th century (which, even at the time, had poor character models) to today’s effort is a bit like comparing the drawing you did as a five year old to the one you did in your thirties. Overall, the graphics are very impressive, particularly the grand set pieces and character models for the main characters. They tread the line between realism and larger-than-life very well.
There are a few weak spots. Minor characters can have, er, interesting faces, and here and there textures are distinctly muddy. On the whole, however, it’s good stuff.
One minor weak point is that there’s a photo mode (which can also be used in almost every cutscene, exempting only FMVs) but because the player only ever controls Cloud (excepting rare times when he’s absent) you can’t really focus on other characters. Also, there’s no posing, as per Dragon Quest XI S’ mode, or facial expressions, as per Ghost of Tsushima. However, there is an array of filters and some other settings to fiddle with.
Bugs and Other Issues
During my playthrough (about 35-36 hours) I encountered no
crashes, hangs, freezes, or other problems. I’m sure there is a flaw somewhere,
but I didn’t find it. Overall, very impressed with how smooth the sailing was.
Replayability
Haven’t started this yet, but completing the game unlocks the hard difficulty (which can be played on a chapter-by-chapter basis). In addition, at least one chapter (there are 18) has differing endings, it seems. Overall, choices are not that common and you’re mostly on rails. However, the hard mode will suit those who like a challenge. There are also multiple languages, and I might try a German playthrough at some point.
Conclusion
It’s a bit weird playing such an up to date take (with some amendments) of an old favourite, but I think the Final Fantasy VII Remake is a very enjoyable game. If you’re on the fence then check out the demo (if it’s still available), but I’ve got to say that during the course of my playthrough I liked it more and more, and am looking forward to the next part.
Thaddeus
PS Having some technical woe so apologies for the lack of proofreading and any ensuing errors.