Final Fantasy VII Remake graced retail shelves on April 10th, 2020. Being a Final Fantasy fan myself, I was looking forward to it. However, I had never played the original, until it came to the Nintendo Switch. I decided to do that before playing this remake, and I’m so glad I did.
Playing the original first allowed me to appreciate everything that went into this remake. Bringing the characters from a PlayStation 1 RPG into our current gaming industry couldn’t have been an easy thing to do, but I think they nailed it. It breathed life into a game that before, you had only dialogue to go off of for all of these characters.
The biggest improvement in my opinion though, was the environment. Midgar felt huge, and the city was alive. They were definitely able to bring this world to life more than they could on the PlayStation, and that helped drive the story as well. Walking through the slums in a full 3D presentation really put a lot into perspective. In the original you get that almost top-down camera, but here you can see every detail of Midgar, and it’s spectacular.
I fell in love with the soundtrack, too. It blended the original tracks with remixes nicely. My personal favorite was on a music disc that you can buy from the store. It’s the classic Prelude, but it’s more of a dance track. Each area’s music was unique and memorable, just like in the original. It was a great way to show the fans that they love this franchise as much as we do.
The characters came to life beautifully as well, and most of them fit my initial image of them from the original. Having been just the first part of the game though, I’m excited to see what they do with the rest of the cast. The voice acting was good too, but at times it did feel a bit childish. The characters had a very ‘Kingdom Hearts’ feel to them. I would’ve liked to have seen a more mature approach, given the story is rather dark.
Some story elements changed around a little bit, but I think it’s because they tried to make this title accessible to old fans, and new fans as well. It helped to flesh things out a bit more and give some more backstory to Cloud and Sephiroth’s history. You see Sephiroth a lot more than you do in this part of the original game. Being that it’s only the first part, I think they wanted to take the time to set things up early.
The biggest change, in my opinion, was in the combat system. While I’m a sucker for turn-based RPGs, Final Fantasy XV moved the franchise to a more 3rd person combat approach. Final Fantasy VII Remake also goes in that direction. While it does feel more modern and it’s exciting to take control of all of the characters, it does eliminate a lot of the strategy that I have come to love from Final Fantasy titles.
Turn-based combat let’s you plan things out more and utilize your whole party more effectively. Yes, in the remake you can switch to Tifa or Barrett, but you can only do a limited amount of things with the idle characters that you aren’t controlling. It definitely takes some getting used to, especially since I played the original right before starting the remake.
With all of the improvements and changes, this remake really becomes its own game. Yes it’s a remake, but in many ways it was one that was not all too necessary. The original is a masterpiece and really needed no improvement. However, it is a wonderful addition to the Final Fantasy family.
I think this remake allowed Square-Enix to expand on the world they created 23 years ago. Technology has come a long way and they can definitely improve upon the visions they had for the game. It also lets us fans experience the classic again in a fresh coat of paint. So, while it may not have been a remake that was needed, it was certainly welcome.
That seems to be the trend for a lot of video game companies right now. Remake the classics. Resident Evil has been doing that now, and Shadow of the Colossus got a phenomenal one as well. Not to mention Demons Soul’s just earlier this year, and many more. It is a great way to reintroduce franchises to new fans and allow us older fans to replay them. Especially as technology ages, playing PlayStation 1 classics is getting harder and harder to do.
I’m all for a good remake or remaster, so long as it does the original justice. Even though Final Fantasy VII Remake changes a lot, it keeps a lot the same as well. It’s rather odd because in a lot of ways it still feels like the same game. Those differences may upset some people, but it is the same company that made the original, so I can only imagine they did their best to stay true to their classic game.
Final Fantasy VII is regarded by many fans as the best in the franchise, and this remake doesn’t change that. Like most things, the original is still better. However, it’s nice to see the love that Square poured into the remake and I’m hopeful for the next entry.
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