Final Fantasy VII Remake

 I for one hold no reverence for the original Final Fantasy VII. I do own it and have completed the Midgar section of the game a few times but have never actually finished it in its entirety. The Remake was my gateway back into the franchise and gives off a wonderful initial impression. The game’s visuals are absolutely stunning and the use of iconic imagery early on helps link the game to its predecessor. This is important because outside of a few instances, I believe the games tries to create its own mark without piggybacking on the original too much. All the same characters are here and are brilliant, but they are all fleshed out even more because the Midgar section from the original is the grand total of this game. This choice was risky as Square could have alienated fans of the original by splitting the remake into several parts. But as a new fan coming in who had always been fascinated by the lore and world building, I didn’t mind the decision. Exploring the slums of Midgar helped me acclimatise to this desolate world and also offered various subversions from original game.

 The story of the remake follows most of the same story beats as the PlayStation 1 game. Cloud Strife is roped into the revolution by his old friend Tifa Lockhart and his change of heart becomes the crux of the narrative. The writing and dialogue feel fresh and modern with moments of humour, cheerfulness and eventually tragedy all being performed excellently. The transition from text boxes to full voice acting serves the remake well and those scenes now feel full realised thanks to top quality performances. The individual members of Avalanche now feel far more fleshed out. Biggs acts as the team’s veteran soldier, coming up with strategies and displaying heroism. Wedge is the comic relief but still manages to be sombre when necessary and Jessie’s flirting with Cloud is both hilarious and cringy at the same time making her arguably more endearing. Cloud of course steals the show. He displays far more emotion here than he ever does in the original and his best scenes tend to be when he is around Tifa or Aerith. Tifa is given more of a rough edge this time, and her affection for Cloud is shown through her body language and facials towards him. Aerith on the other hand is the funnier of the two, as she tries to make Cloud more sensitive. There is also Barret but unfortunately, he isn’t given as much screen time as either of the ladies and so his story arch feels unfinished.  All of these plot points though culminate in a fantastic finale with the conclusion offering a mouth-watering revelation to those who know anything about the original. It’s a shame then that the game’s main antagonist Sephiroth (an icon thanks to the original) isn’t used more even if this was supposed to just be a prologue.

Final Fantasy VII Remake’s presentation manages to hit a very high bar and is easily the best looking and sounding game in the series. Tifa and Aerith arguably benefit from this most, now looking like desirable ladies for Cloud to fall in love with rather than the blocky, bug-eyed shapes they did in the original. The boss stages are also breath-taking the final fight with Sephiroth taking place over several platforms and utilising several different forms that had my jaw open the whole time. Music has always been an integral part of the Final Fantasy franchise and here it is no different. The main battle theme has been updated to match the new tempo of fights and the solemn music always seems to emphasise the tragic situations Cloud encounters. Tifa’s Theme is probably my favourite piece of music in the game to the point I actually had it on my PS4 home screen for a period of time. The Remake also manages to change the tone frequently, going from spooky trainyard sequence one second to balls to the walls finale the next and the majority are very much appreciated. The voice acting clearly has a lot to do with this, being able to present any given mood and for the most part it’s very good. The actual dialogue can sometimes come off very cheesy but that’s par for the course in most JRPGs anyway, so I expect nothing less from arguably the biggest. 

To sum up, Final Fantasy VII Remake isn’t really much of a remake at all. It maintains the characters fans love and most story beats from the initial game, but modernises the look, gameplay, and music. The Midgar story now feels fully fleshed out and even though some parts feel rushed and others feel padded, it keeps you entertained. The exciting combat does wonders in alleviating the boredom of some other additions such as the pointless side quests that feel as though they are only there to give the game proper RPG length. The story though is what most people play a Final Fantasy for and this one holds up its end of the bargain comfortably, telling a complex, character driven narrative that leaves the door open for surprises to come in an eventual sequel.

  

Rating: Finally Fantasy Remastered

9/10