@danielsoerensen
During E3 2015, gamers around the world were shocked. The reactions online spread like wildfire. Tears of joy, laughter and game trailer hosts literally stood on their chairs during the live reveal. The feelings were genuine and hit me right in the heart. The almost unthinkable happened… Final Fantasy VII, arguably the most popular JRPG game ever, announced a remake 23 years after it first took the world by storm and won our hearts with its amazing soundtrack, engaging story and groundbreaking graphics at the time.
There was no shortage of goosebumps during this presentation, but when the E3 party was all said and done the questions started driving in from fans. Is it possible to remake a classic without tarnishing the memories and dishonor something already considered a masterpiece? And does the remake have anything to offer other than updated graphics and sound?
As you can see by the launch trailer, the answer is yes, yes and even more yes. FFVII: Remake is mostly true to its roots, except that we, unfortunately, do not get to experience the entire saga in one go. While we’re not exactly sure what Square Enix is planning, we know the pub is prepping for more installments. When the next piece of the pie will hit the oven is unknown and we must, once again, sit on the bar stools, pint in hand, waiting ever-so-impatiently for the rest of our order to be served.
If you haven’t been living under a video game news rock, Final Fantasy VII: Remake entirely takes place in Midgar. In the 1997 original, Midgar was only a small part of the game where you typically spent less than 8-10 hours. Here, I spent 44 hours in the wondrous industrial area before the credits slid down the screen. Crazy to think, but the story has really only just so far begun…
The narrative starts out fairly straightforward. The cold and emotionally disconnected ex-SOLDIER-turned-merc Cloud Strife and his team of strange and amiable eco-terrorists takes up the fight against Shinra, the evil company that sucks the blood of the planet dry to extract and create energy and Materia — all at the residents’ expense, of course. I’m not going to go into anymore story details in fear of robbing anyone of the experience. Getting to know the vast gallery of good and evil characters while immersing yourself into the emotions tied into the journey is magical, I promise you.
Final Fantasy VII‘s presentation and gameplay have both received an extreme makeover. The visuals largely exceed my expectations with some exceptions here and there on textures. The transition from blocky 3D characters patched on 2D backgrounds to a modern AAA production is a fantastic upgrade. Transitions from gameplay to cutscenes also happen seamlessly and naturally. It’s like playing the CG-animated film Final Fantasy: Advent Children, yet even better, with a steady image flow onward. But the score is what really pulled me back to the ’97 version and the upgrade made it damn near perfect. Few games achieve this music at this level and even fewer will ever surpass it.
Turn-based gameplay has been replaced with a far more masterful, action-oriented battle mechanic. And relax, weebs; just because there’s real time fighting, the game is still FF7 and should not be confused with button-bashers like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta. You can’t Eddie Gordo your way out of fights like it’s Tekken 3. Any attempt at this will end up with failure.
Active Time Battle (known as ATB) is still at the center of the fighting. This slow down mechanism provides respite to make strategic choices, but at the same time only adds to the pressure. These decisions will lead to whether you come out victorious with loot, more XP and a smile on your face, or end up staring blankly at the “Game Over” screen before pressing “Retry” with shivering lips and tears in your eyes.
Even if you rock the signature Buster Sword, regular attacks do little damage to enemies and are mostly used only to fill up the stars of the combat system — the ATB. Once these meters fill up, you’ll gain a number of special abilities — ranging from physical short and long distance attacks to fierce magic attacks. Defensive abilities should not be underestimated either, and are critical against more challenging enemies that will attack you with all the elemental magic at their disposal.
The game has many different weapons, amulets, armors etc that can be upgraded with Materia — the energy that possesses special properties (i.e. better healing or attacks enhanced by fire, ice, poison etc.) These can also be linked together for even more devastating effects, which also applies to Cloud’s teammates as it’s easy to switch players along the way. ATB allows battling and activating your teammates’ special abilities while in complete control of your own character. This gives the game an extra layer of strategy and prevents success from being a one-trick pony.
In typical RPG style, all enemies have strengths, weaknesses against the various attacks that you and your team possess. These can be weak spots on the body or specific magical attacks and when identified, foes become staggered and put in a vulnerable position where they take far more damage for a limited period of time. These are best combined with a spectacular Limit Break attack for a good deal of beating.
But if you really want to bring a God to a sword/gunfight, the Summons are at your disposal. They charge up very slowly but surely, and thus can be invoked when you need to turn the tides to your advantage. Summons come in several variants and should be used strategically for best use. There’s just something joyful about summoning a.. Summon when you go toe-to-toe with the game’s many creative boss fights. And, oh boy, do they go creative; I will say no more.
So it’s obvious that FF7R does a tremendous amount of things right. But, what doesn’t get a full bible for? Point-blank: some of the side quests suck. I don’t like running around looking for lost kids or cats, or fighting off rats for random citizens I don’t know or care about. This type of padding serves no other purpose than fleshing out the time spent in Midgar and gathering a few more rewards.
Controls are also a bit janky when you’re trying to do simple stuff, such as positioning yourself to open a door or pulling a lever. I would suggest that this team learn their platforming and climbing from that other wildly popular Square Enix franchise, until I realize that both games were made in different continents. But still.
But the biggest blunder of all? The waiting time for the next part of Final Fantasy VII Remake to release! C’mon Square Enix Japan, you’re killing us here. *insert smile emoji* In all, whether you’re a fan of the original PlayStation title, were present for the jaw-dropping announcement from E3 2015 that still holds up 5-years later(!), hopping in Cloud’s new polished ride was a thrill I never wanted to stop until we had no choice but to hit the turn signal and find a temporary rest area. 4.5/5 Makos.
-Daniel Sorenson