Final Fantasy VII Remake Review

If I had to make a list of my most favorite, and most impactful, games of my life, it would include: Halo, World of Warcraft, and Final Fantasy VII. I have a special place in my heart for the Final Fantasy series, but it is specifically VII that appears on that list. Between Final Fantasy VII’s initial release on the original PlayStation (Jan 31, 1997), and its PC port (June 25, 1998), I have replayed the entire 80 hour experience eight times! Granted, I haven’t played the original since then, and my memories of the content might be a little fuzzy, but in regards to how I feel about Final Fantasy VII, I am going to be a bit biased towards the remake. That bias could have gone either way: I might be overly enthusiastic since it was done well, but I would have been extra annoyed if it wasn’t. As evidenced by my replaying the remake a second time (now on PS5), you can probably guess how I feel about it.

Technical: Final Fantasy VII Remake (FF7R) was developed by Square Enix (Business Division 1) and published by Square Enix for PlayStation 4 (April 10, 2020). An upgraded version, titled Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, was released for PS5 (June 10, 2021) and is now available on PC (December 16, 2021). Intergrade has higher graphics and framerate settings than the PS4 release, and includes the “FF7R Episode INTERmission,” which features a separate story experience starring the ninja Yuffie, concurrent with events in the PS4 version.

DavPoint: FF7R was developed with Unreal Engine 4, and began development in 2015 when several key developers from the original returned. This includes: “character designer Tetsuya Nomura as director, director Yoshinori Kitase as producer, scenario writer Kazushige Nojima as story and scenario writer, event planner Motomu Toriyama as a co-director, and composer Nobuo Uematsu who returned to write the game’s main theme. The staff redesigned the characters to balance realism and stylization. While the veteran Japanese Final Fantasy VII voice cast returned, the English voices were recast.”

Final Fantasy VII Remake Wikipedia

Is it a bit strange to replaying a refreshed and upgraded version of a remake, especially one that is less than two years old? Well, yes, and I’m not especially fond of how Square Enix and PlayStation handled its confusing release, but here I am, playing this beautiful, fun to play, emotionally engaging, and always entertaining, steampunk fantasy role playing game, all over again, and I love it. It looked and played fantastic in 2020, and now it is one of the prettiest and smoothest games available.

DavPoint: Note that I am playing Intergrade on my PS5, and while I am enjoying 4K visuals @ 60 fps, there are some concerns for the PC version. From what I’ve read online, there aren’t as many settings to tinker with, the port is a bit lackluster, and experiences will vary by hardware, as naturally, only high end PCs can take advantage of next-gen features like Ray Tracing.

FF7R puts other remakes to shame, with drastic changes to the original that only the original developers would dare to make. The graphics are (obviously) completely redone, the gameplay has evolved from its classic turn based RPG roots into a brilliant hybrid of real time action and time slowing tactics, and the narrative has been rewritten with dramatic differences.

Narrative: Let’s get this out of the way: FF7R is not the entire Final Fantasy 7 game, not by a Midgar Mile. On the original PlayStation, Final Fantasy 7 shipped on three discs. The first disc introduces the core group of characters, an eco-terrorist group named “Avalanche,” their rivals, the Shinra Electric Power Company, and sets the early stages of their conflict in the circle shaped steampunk city of Midgar. Avalanche believes that Shinra are exploiting Mako Energy irresponsibly, and will eventually drain this “lifeblood of the planet” dry if they are not stopped. This conflict advances across the upper “plates” of the city and through several “sectors” of slums below it, builds between locations like power reactors and secret labs, expands the cast with more heroes and villains, and ultimately, ends with the protagonists fleeing Midgar. The original Final Fantasy 7 would then continue on with two more discs of content, but the remake stops right there; FF7R is essentially a retelling and reimagining of a ten hours long introduction level into a forty hours long self-contained adventure.

Extending the “intro” like this actually works for FF7R, on multiple levels. Narratively, it helps dig deeper into the core characters and their motivations, and gives more context and details to their conflict. Even minor characters benefit from this enrichment, establishing emotional connections that were lighter or missing in the original. This pays off in delightful and heartbreaking ways; FF7R will take you on, as I like to say, an emotional roller coaster ride!

Game Play: Expanding the story in this manner also benefits the gameplay, as there is much more to do and ways to level up than before. This doesn’t always mean combat, which might frustrate some players in some of the slower parts, but I appreciated this ebb and flow even more during my second play through. Any game that “hides the grind” gets bonus points in my book, and again, these extended segments help establish connections to the characters and their universe.

DavPoint: To me, “grinding” in a game refers to repeating tasks, such as random monster encounters, to gain rewards, such as leveling up, that would otherwise not be possible if the player follows the established path. In the original, for example, when Cloud meets Aerith, it benefits the player to run around looking for random monsters to fight and gain a few levels before continuing their story; in FF7R, this is alleviated by giving the player side missions and activities to complete, in any order, which not only helps the player gain more experience for those characters, it helps build their relationship more organically – and is a lot more fun to play!

Take what I say about “ebb and flow” and “hides the grind” as you will, but the real star of the show in FF7R is the combat. The. Combat. Is. So. Good! I’ll say it again: FF7R uses a “brilliant hybrid of real time action and time slowing tactics” that should seriously be the new standard for RPGs like this. But, that’s not all: there are a range of difficulty and tactics sliders that can be adjusted to give the player more or less control over the action, depending on how comfortable they are playing a hack-and-slash action game or if they prefer playing something closer to its “turn based” roots. It’s elegant and brilliant! Unfortunately, there are some difficulty spikes and frustrating fights that seem to come out of nowhere, but overall, the evolved gameplay is nearly as gorgeous as the remade graphics and as beautiful as the rewritten story.

Graphics and Sound: Even with no prior knowledge or attachment to Final Fantasy 7, anyone who looks at, plays, and hears FF7R has to acknowledge it’s beauty. This particular sci-fi fantasy steampunk aesthetic is pretty specific to Final Fantasy 7, but that doesn’t seem to limit its artistry or attention to detail. The only other limitation the art department had to deal with was unifying the original and modern interpretations of all these characters, and by striking a balance between fantastic and realistic, these renditions will be recognized as the “real” versions from now on. Similarly, the soundtrack benefits from full, modern orchestration, though I find it adorable that the “collectibles” in FF7R are renditions of the original tracks done in MIDI style!

Conclusion: I was going to include my impressions on the new content, the “Intermission” side-story starring Yuffie, but I think it best to save that for a separate review. This review better focuses on the remake itself, and how far Final Fantasy 7 has come in 24 years! My biggest concern remains, however, that Square Enix has yet to clearly define the release plans for the rest of the game. If this “Part 1” only covers the content from “Disc One” of the original, how many more parts can we expect? Will they release the remaining sections into two more parts and turn FF7R into a trilogy? But if so, will they shorten those experiences, or will they want to expand them the same way this first part was? However expanded or condensed it is, we don’t even know when to expect “Part 2” at this point, and at this rate, it’s likely that we won’t see the “end” of the Remake until the next-next-generation of consoles, on the PS6! When I don’t concern myself with that, however, and just enjoy it for what it is, FF7R really is a phenomenal game on its own, and a fantastic remake!

For more Final Fantasy VII Remake, watch me play on the DavPoint!

• Developer: Square Enix Business Division 1
• Publisher: Square Enix
• Platforms: PS4, PS5, and PC
• Rating: T for Teen for Violence, Blood, Suggestive Themes, Language, and Use of Alcohol and Tobacco
• Release Dates: April 10, 2020 for PS4; June 10, 2021 for PS5; December 16, 2021 for PC

The wall hanging in this picture is 24 years old!