Is Final Fantasy VII Remake Good?

Final Fantasy VII Remake is very much an oddity in the gaming landscape. What seemed at first a simple remake of a beloved RPG has become a trilogy that diverges from the original plot in what was the opening hours of the original game. This has disappointed some fans who wanted a proper remake of the game they loved. But if you judge it for what it is and not what it isn’t, despite the name, you will find a very engaging experience here. And it's only part one.

10. Graphics

Cloud about to catch on fire

To say this game looks good would be an understatement. Even on PS4, it was (mostly) very impressive looking, and that’s only gotten better on PS5 and PC. The visual effects and overall presentation here are beautiful. The city of Midgar is brought to life in all its dirty glory.

9. Characters

The party about to drive a motorcycle off a cliff

For anyone who played the original or is at least familiar with the characters, you know what to expect here. Brooding hero Cloud, tough girl Tifa, gruff but caring father Barrett, and sweet but mischievous Aerith. And of course, pretty boy villain Sephiroth and the strange dog experiment Red XIII are here too, along with new roles and expanded old ones.

Where it differs is in the nature of this game. As the story diverges, we see new sides of the characters. Plus with Aerith, more of her original personality that was lost in the original English release is restored here. She’s still the kindest member of the team, but now she’s not afraid to make a joke at someone’s expense, and she’s definitely better for it.

8. Music

Final Fantasy has gotten to the point of in-game jukeboxes, oh no

Yep, the music is pretty faithful to before here. Still many of the iconic tracks, even some you wouldn’t expect to be here given the game only covers Midgar. Yeah, there do be spoilers in the soundtrack, you have been warned.

The main difference is largely one of time and bigger budgets. The music here is often longer and grander than before, breathing new life into old classics. There’s a few in particular here that I’ve heard many times in the original but still blew me away in this version. If you liked the original music you’re in for a treat here.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake - OST Full Soundtrack

7. Fun Factor

Cloud will want that date eventually 

From my experience, this game was 90% solid fun. That 10% that wasn’t comes from a bit of clunk in the combat and some sections that felt a bit padded out. In the current age of gaming, when games compete to be as full of content as possible, some of it is bound to feel unnecessary, and sadly that is true here. Particularly in the side quests.

But the remaining 90% is good fun, and a lot of the padding is just that and can be skipped. It would be better if it didn’t have that feel at all, but nothing for it at this point.

6. Replayability

For the last time, its Aerith, not Aeris

As a fairly linear game, I wouldn’t consider Final Fantasy VII Remake the most replayable. It does have options though. 

With difficulty options and a New Game Plus mode, it is clear there is some expectation to replay here. And with optional bosses you would be ill-advised to fight except in New Game Plus, there’s definitely some challenges to overcome. It's just, once again, replaying a linear game to get there. Probably why a chapter select was implemented, so you can just jump to the section containing the challenges in question. Okay, maybe it's not such a drag after all.

5. Combat

The Abzu wants its horn back

Now for some of the real challenges. The combat here is no longer purely turn-based like the original, instead, it's a sort of mix between that and action. You still have some menus to select things, but basic combat is freely controllable action. Definitely a bit rough around the edges, but it was the first attempt outside of FF15.

Oh and every character in your party, outside of Red XIII, is playable. This gives you four different playstyles, although it should be noted it's not really something you get to choose. Characters enter and leave your party for story reasons, so you can only switch who you’re playing when multiple are active in your party. Bit limiting but at least it makes sense.

4. Exploration and Side Quests

Oh great, a carnival area

Outside of combat, it's a lot of walking. Did I mention this game is linear? You generally always have a map, so you’ll rarely get lost. And aside from the handful of more open areas, it's a straight line for the most part anyway. At least the banter during this walking is fun.

As for the side quests, they’re fine? The ones that tie into the main party are definitely the highlights, with some rather enjoyable scenes hidden in there. But it takes some time to get there, and some of the enemies in certain side quests are very obnoxious. It's not the worst side content I’ve encountered, but very far from the best.

3. Updates and DLC

You can never go wrong with more Yuffie

As expected of a modern game, there were a lot of updates to fix things here. And add in new content.

The most substantial piece here is the DLC, the Intergrade/Intermission, or whatever it's called (I’ve seen a lot but what do you expect when Nomura of Kingdom Hearts is involved). I’ll preface by saying I have not yet played this content but plan to soon. The reason I haven’t yet? It was PS5 exclusive, meaning you could not play it on the PS4 version of the game. There probably is a good technical reason for this, but it's still annoying. It's on PC too of course.

But as for the meat of the DLC, the highlight is Yuffie. The fan-favorite ninja girl who didn’t appear until much later in the original is brought into Midgar, and it was done well from what I have seen. I may follow up on this after playing the DLC if it is noteworthy enough.

2. Balance

The TMNT had a rough year

FF7R is a pretty difficult game, no hiding that. And that’s not even on the higher difficulties. This may not be the case for everyone of course, but in the later game, I definitely died to quite a few bosses. 

Thankfully it didn’t get too tricky, and I was able to break through. I’m not planning on touching the higher difficulties or super bosses anytime soon though. 

1. Story

Even with a changed story, you can’t avoid Cloud vs Sephiroth

And now for the elephant in the room. FF7R took the opening hours of a beloved RPG and turned them into a game of comparable length to the entirety of said original. It goes without saying changes took place to accomplish this. 

I won’t go into spoilers on the exact nature of these changes, as most take place in the game’s climax. But just be prepared for weird ghost things and yes, Sephiroth. I would say that’s a spoiler but who was expecting a game set in FF7’s world to not feature its main villain? Life finds a way after all.

One last thing to address is how enjoyable this game is without knowing the original. And to that, I’ll say it's still a fun game and the characters are properly introduced enough that you shouldn’t have issues there. But this is a game clearly intended for fans of the original. Seeing these characters again and how the story is twisted hits so much harder when you know who they are. So yeah, not a hard requirement but definitely recommended to have some familiarity with the original and how its story progresses.

And as I said at the beginning of this review, this is now part one of three. This story is still going, and it's now going in a completely unprecedented direction. Theories are going all over the place as to what might happen, and the recent trailer for part 2 (subitled Rebirth) has only spawned more. What at first seemed a simple remake has turned one game into a new trilogy, and for me, that’s a very interesting direction for gaming. Just as long as they leave Yuffie alone.

Score: 9/10

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