Final Fantasy 7 Remake

Five years ago, we were treated to this surprise during E3 2015:

From that moment, the clock started and the nail biting agony began.  The anxiety and the fear of what was to come swelled and eventually peaked when the release date of April 10th, 2020 was finally announced.  Amid the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic that, at the time of this writing, is currently sweeping the globe, the release of this game was definitely the welcome distraction I’ve been looking for.  Fear that I wouldn’t even be able to pick mine up because of the curfews and stay at home orders being issued across the nation were at the forefront of my mind for weeks leading up to the release.  But with a little initiative on my part I was able to get it paid off over the phone so all I’d have to do was show up at GameStop and get it, thanks to their silly pick up at the door option in an effort to stay open.  But I digress.  Leading up to the game’s arrival I cleared drive space just for this moment.  Upon opening the case and seeing that there were 2 discs I was a bit surprised to see in this day and age that we have gone back to an install disc and a play disc.

Kinda like they used to do PC games in the late 90’s and early 2000’s

After listening to the disc drive sound like it was having a complete freak out installing the game, the moment I had waited for 5 years to arrive had come.  I already knew the opening mission thanks to a demo that was released a few months prior.  Not like I didn’t know the mission by heart anyway, it’s one of the most iconic openings to any RPG that I’ve ever played.  This time around though, Jessie, Biggs, Wedge, Barret and Cloud all had a bit more of a personality than the original and quite the makeover.

Just look at these character models!

I like that Cloud’s mental health issues are front and center as soon as the game starts. I also like that every character has a fleshed out personality – Barrett is a hard ass with a soft side, Tifa is hesitant to bomb the reactors and worries about the consequences, Cloud doesn’t really care about anything or anyone, Aerith is kind but a bit of a smart ass, Wedge is an annoying dudebro, Biggs is chauvinist to a certain degree, Jessie is competent but lacks confidence. I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about each of the characters being voice acted in this game (or in Advent Children for that matter, but that’s another story) but I feel that each voice actor has done an exemplary job. I also find it funny when someone says shit (especially Aerith).  I kinda hated that they changed her name back to Aerith from Aeris, it just doesn’t sound right to me.  Doesn’t really roll off the tongue as nicely as Aeris.

Combat feels very floaty, very Kingdom Hearts-y, at times.  But I suppose in the era of modern action oriented JRPGs it couldn’t be avoided for long even though I wish the system were a little different.  Not really a fan of having to wait for a full ATB bar to be able to use an item, but in retrospect it was like that in the original.  I also don’t like that any of your special attacks have the chance to miss (i.e. Cloud’s Braver or Tifa’s Dive Kick).  Some of the combat choices of this game are very frustrating – like how can I die while using my Limit Break?  Or how can my spells constantly get interrupted by enemies?  Why are these not states in which I’m “invincible” or whatever until my effect goes off?  Oh and if you summoned a creature and then die your summon goes away, because that’s fair.  I like that they brought the Staggered bar into this game from FF13.  Makes me feel good when an enemy is unable to attack me, even if it’s fora few seconds.  At least when you suffer a TPK you can start the battle over immediately, checkpoints are plentiful.  I don’t like that Limit Break progress resets between battles unlike the original. Sitting on a full Limit Break bar for long periods was a big part of my strategy back then. I’ve learned to adapt, so far.  The screen dimming effect when you’re low on HP is cool, but in dark settings like the sewers it becomes a bit annoying.

I like that the summons are now allies that come and stay on the battlefield when brought forth, but I DO NOT like that you don’t get to choose when they come.  Nothing in this game is as nail biting as when you’re getting your ass beat and you see the Summon bar appear and have to wait for it to fill up before help will arrive.

I love the weapon upgrade system and the celestial like background. It’s similar to the Paradigm system from FF13.  Also reminiscent of the Sphere Grid from FF10 (people must have really liked that system since this is yet another game where a version of it has shown up!)  I like that there are different tiers of skill for each weapon and all the skills of a particular tier have the same point cost so you can see at a glance if you should even bother taking the time to enter the menu to see if there’s an upgrade you can buy.  Definitely gives combat a bit more depth and strategy for those that are interested in taking things that far.  I also like that each weapon has a different skill for you to learn, thus getting you to try new and different strategies during play.

Happy to see that the Materia system is, for the most part, intact as it was in the original. The tweaks (i.e. getting more powerful versions of spells as the Materia levels up) are VERY nice.  I’ve been told that this was how it worked in the original, but it’s been such a long ass time since then I don’t remember it all.  [Edit: I remember why this seems like a new feature to me. The spells back then were named things like Fire 1, Fire 2, Fire 3, etc. and NOT Fire, Fira, Firaga, etc. as was the custom going forward from Final Fantasy 8]  I did notice that when you max out Materia in Remake that it does NOT spawn a new orb for you to level, so that’s disappointing but I kind of expected that to happen.  I also find that trying to see who has what Materia equipped is a little confusing, like sometimes it says a character has a piece equipped that simply isn’t there when you check their equipment page so I’m guessing it stays slotted on weapons and armor?  The icon with the character’s initial is at times a bit faint so I’m guessing that means that this particular piece stays associated with that character when it’s not equipped?  I’m not really sure.  Just a bit confusing.

Little touches through out the game never cease to surprise and amaze me: seeing Materia slots on weapons and then actually seeing Materia in the slots on the character model, hearing the sounds of metal being worked on in the distance of the Midgar slums, hearing the buzz of conversation among people as you walk through crowds (plus seeing a close captioned dialogue running along the side of the screen is very helpful), the animations when you open a treasure chest, Cloud’s hair moving when there’s a breeze, making Wall Market look like a seedy and nasty red light district…the list goes on and on.

Some details are a bit more tantalizing than others

…very tantalizing.

Night time under the rotting pizza.  Seeing the moonlight beams between the plates was an amazing touch.

I like being able to save anywhere though I do kind of miss the weird save points from the original.  It was nice, though, to see the nods to the save point from the original on the manual save screen and on a few of the rest benches throughout the game, such as this one.

The music in the game is, as per usual in a Final Fantasy title, top notch.  Much of the time spent writing this entry was just sitting idle in the game letting whatever atmospheric tune pulse over the surround sound. This is the first game in a few years where I’ll just sit on the title screen and listen to the theme.  Love the modern takes on some of the original game’s tracks.  The piano rendition of Aerith’s theme at the beginning of chapter 8 definitely brought a few tears to my eyes.  The music playing in the section of the sewers when trying to get back to Sector 7 from Corneo’s mansion is very fitting and enjoyable.  All in all, the modern takes on all the original game’s tracks are very enjoyable and I look forward to being able to purchase a copy as soon as I can.

Midgar, The Rotting Pizza

Since it’s widely known that the entirety of this chapter of the Remake takes place solely in Midgar, they really sat back and thought about the logistics of how Midgar would actually function if it was real. The pristine and “clean” parts of the city on the upper plate are laid out very nicely and you can see the electrical connections to each house. There are street lamps and highways, homes and stores and a bustling commercial district.  And then there’s the undercity slums.

Everything is all laid out like a tornado came through and re-arranged the layout, there’s no real rhyme or reason to it’s placement.  But at the same time, that’s what makes it stand out from the upper part.  They seriously took the time to make Midgar a living, breathing city where people really live and not just an opening set piece for the game. One of the most breathtaking moments for me in the game was at the beginning of chapter 3 when you emerge from your room at the apartment and you, for the first time, see the light of day shining underneath the plate and on to the slums.  I sat back and marveled at the sight, really drinking in what I was experiencing.  I could see, in the distance, the base of each Mako reactor and the support pillars holding up each of the plates of the topside. I could see the near endless sprawl of the rooftops of the slums all crowded around the center spire of the city.

For me, the city in the original was this constantly dark and oppressive place where the only light that you could see was what was being generated by the Mako reactors.  I never really got the sense that, or even thought of, the fact that there was a sun that shone down on it all.  And now, seeing it all in the broad daylight makes the city even more of a blight than the original, even if it is a technological marvel to look at.  Night time is when the city really comes to life in some aspects too.  Not only are there street lamps and outdoor lights on each of the houses, but they even thought to include lamps on the underside of each of the plates.

I know that there were lights on the underside of the plates in the original, but again, I never really thought about them until now.

I kinda hated how the slums looked here.  You can tell that it’s a static image down below, but that illusion really does nothing to abate my simsense vertigo.

I didn’t think the plate falling was going to emotionally hit as hard as it did.  I don’t have the words to convey what kind of disastrous tragedy it turned out to be.

There really was a hole in the steel sky that night.

Tell Me A Story

Other minor spoilers and other story beats about the game that stood out to me:

The whole scenario from start to finish with Cloud doing drag in Wall Market to get into Corneo’s mansion is brilliant and funny but Johnny is so annoying it kind of ruins it a little.  He’s a new addition to the story that I feel I could have done without.

Fuck them kids in the train graveyard.  I feel like that sequence overstayed its welcome a little.  I did think that they did a great job making that place even creepier than it was in the original.

I really hate it when Barrett sings the victory fanfare.

I didn’t think it was possible to make Hojo more repulsive than he already was, but somehow they did.  If they add in the part in the next game(s) where he goes to Costa del Sol, it’s gonna be funny to see his ugly ass in broad daylight.

Disappointed that we didn’t get to see President Shinra pinned to his desk with Sephiroth’s sword like the original.  I thought we were going to come close when Sephiroth stabbed the president through from the back, but alas.  Also disappointed that I didn’t see that old bastard bleed to death when he was stabbed.  His son Rufus looks like an equally repulsive replacement.

I felt like chapter 17 and 18 overstayed their welcome a bit.  18 especially felt like a chore close to the end and seemed like I was going to spend the entire day fighting Sephiroth.  I get that it’s the end and it’s supposed to be epic and all, but there is such a thing as ‘too much of a good thing’.

The insane stair case run in Shinra Tower to save Aerith was pretty trippy when the sound effects started to kick in signifying how everyone was getting tired from running up all those stairs.  I’m glad they kept that story beat in from the original.

I also like that they kept in the story beat where you walk with Aerith from her church after Cloud falls through the roof.

I liked that they mentioned Wutai a lot through out the game.  This better mean that we’re going there in one of the future games and it better be a nice place to see.

The ghosts of the planet or destiny or whatever they’re supposed to be, I feel, are a lame addition to the game.  It’s just a way for the director(s) to use deus ex machina in the story, but I feel like there are better ways they could have handled that in terms of story.  I really and truly hope that they aren’t going to be a replacement for Lifestream in future games.

They actually added fast travel to this game.  I had suspicions as soon as I saw the first Chocobo and Chocobo carriage but was pleasantly surprised anyway.  It seems kind of a shame to use it as you’d miss out on all the gorgeous scenery (yes I just called the slums gorgeous scenery).

The Cait Sith cameo was a nice touch and still a little bummed out that he wasn’t in the game as a playable character.  Red XIII looked gorgeous and I loved his voice.  It was a shame that he too wasn’t a playable character.

Final Thoughts

The one thing this game does – frequently, I might add – is when it takes control of the camera away from me to force me to look at something in particular.  I HATE that, in this game and others.

If Cyberpunk 2077 comes out later this year, we’ll see if it can meet or beat Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s production quality.  Until that happens (or if it even does), Final Fantasy 7 Remake is crowned Game of the Year 2020.