Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4/PS5)

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Buffalo
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PostRe: Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4) | Demo - Out Now
by Buffalo » Wed May 20, 2020 12:01 am

This thread has taught me one thing - when I eventually play it, it’ll be on easy mode.

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PostRe: Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4) | Demo - Out Now
by Fade » Wed May 20, 2020 12:46 am

Buffalo wrote:This thread has taught me one thing - when I eventually play it, it’ll be on easy mode.

Play it on easy if you want a hack and slash.

Play it on normal if you want to use a tiny bit of strategy.

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PostRe: Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4) | Demo - Out Now
by Jenuall » Wed May 20, 2020 10:59 am

And I'm done! :toot:

Overall that was a great experience but brought down a bit by some clunky design and far too much padding.

I'm slightly conflicted in that I really love how they have mixed things up and allowed the remake series to now forge its own destiny but at the same time a part of me can't help but be slightly disappointed that we haven't had a version of the original game but with modern graphics and tweaks. The original will always be there though so it's not the end of the world!

For most of the game I really enjoyed the whispers side of things and the idea of the developers playing with the concept that a force exists that is trying to make things happen the same way they did last time. It works nicely in the game as well as acting as a metaphor for the environment in which this remake exists (fairly heavy handed admittedly!) People are desperately precious over things like this and the "fans" basically act like the whispers - attempting to force game makers into simply repeating the past note for note. It became far too prominent and on the nose at the end unfortunately, but I guess they had to come up with some way of manufacturing an end game scenario for when they leave Midgar.

Ignoring some of the odd areas and detail pop in during the more open spaces the game is absolutely fantastic to look at, a genuine treat for the eyes that manages to recreate how the original game felt at the time. Being able to properly see and explore some of these places in such glorious detail is a huge treat for fans of the original. The music is also sublime, absolutely incredible work has been done here. Some of the attempts to return to the tracks from the original game in the intervening years, either in something like Advent Children or in live music concerts, have failed to capture the feel of those tracks quite right - either changing them too much or making the production too elaborate in a way that doesn't serve the original intent of the track. But here they strike the perfect line between simply recreating the tracks with better instrumentation and building on them in a way that really works.

One of the biggest failures in terms of the overall product is that I don't believe they have succeeded in making this game stand on its own. The meta narrative and how this plays off experience and expectations from the first game is brilliant for someone who knows the original intimately but is just going to fall flat for a newcomer. I genuinely don't see how anyone who hasn't played the original game can find the story to this satisfying. There's no real antagonist for the story, there's no real goal for the characters, no arcs for anyone to go through and no standard "three act" structure to hold things together. The ending literally comes out of nowhere and there's no real drive for what the characters are doing in the final chapter.

Further more I feel that they haven't sufficiently answered the question of "how do you make a small section of the original feel like a full game?" Both the narrative and the gameplay systems that are in place here feel like you're only playing part of a game - yes it's been clear that the whole game here is being sold as episodic content but each part still needs to feel like a whole section with sufficient story and progression to carry the player through a satisfying journey. Many mechanics and systems here feel like merely setting things up for more satisfying experience further down the line. Aspects of things like materia system feel largely impossible to get full advantage of within the limits of this first part without severe grinding. The more customisable and fun parts of the original materia system such as the linking of support materia with magic materia, the use of unique command materia etc. these aspects get no real chance to shine here because there just isn't enough time and resources for them. I think there are only two orbs of Elemental materia in the entire game, and one of those is tied to being a completionist so for most people they will never really get to play around with how fun and powerful this can be.

Despite having a hell of a lot more Sephiroth in this than we get in the equivalent sections from the original game he actually comes across as a far weaker character here as a result of the over exposure and lack of the steady build up of his mystique which you get in the original game. His connection with Cloud is handled far better in the original game as well.

A lot of the charm and character of the game has been lost as well which is a shame, there's a particular feel to the original game that hasn't really been recaptured here. I think they could have stayed closer to the tone of the original whilst still telling a new twist on the story.

Overall - a great game with some flaws and quirks. I loved playing it, I can't wait for the next instalment, but I also have no intention of playing this again any time soon!

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PostRe: Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4) | Demo - Out Now
by HaruKazuhira » Mon May 25, 2020 12:12 am

Finally got to this a few weeks back and wrapped up my playthrough last night. One heck of an experience. Bit confused with how they handled those last few moments. But certainly not enough to spoil my enjoyment. I'm not as big of a die hard FF7 fan but still felt really emotional towards these characters which goes to show just how great this cast is. Overall it was really fun but with a few bumps and awkward spots that felt out of place. I agree with a lot of stuff Jenuall brought up too.

I think my biggest gripe was how the combat would make sense at certain times but also just not click as well as I would like, but that mostly might just be on me. Also the camera was pretty hit or miss, making some fights a nightmare to keep track of. I found it frustrating that it was easy to get interrupted which almost forces you into certain corners at times. Often making you waste MP and Items because you didn't see enemy number 5 sneak up behind you.

The biggest highlight for me was the soundtrack. Hamauzu's music was just beyond godlike.

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PostRe: Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4) | Demo - Out Now
by Buffalo » Thu Jun 18, 2020 4:14 pm

Just a quick question, sorry if it’s a bit nooby - I’m in a quandary about what weapons to upgrade. I was wanting to move to Cloud’s 2nd sword here, but am I right in thinking I lose the attributes I’ve put into the 1st one? Like, I upgraded the attack by 5 or whatever, would I lose that if I moved to the new sword?

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PostRe: Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4) | Demo - Out Now
by Lagamorph » Thu Jun 18, 2020 4:40 pm

Buffalo wrote:Just a quick question, sorry if it’s a bit nooby - I’m in a quandary about what weapons to upgrade. I was wanting to move to Cloud’s 2nd sword here, but am I right in thinking I lose the attributes I’ve put into the 1st one? Like, I upgraded the attack by 5 or whatever, would I lose that if I moved to the new sword?

You get a fresh batch of points to spend on upgrading the new one as well. You get upgrade points for every weapon so you can basically switch back and forth as much as you want and never actually lose anything. It isn't a shared pool of upgrade points, every time you earn an upgrade point every weapon gets it, not just the equipped one.
When you change weapons any upgrades remain on the old one if you switch back.

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Buffalo
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PostRe: Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4) | Demo - Out Now
by Buffalo » Thu Jun 18, 2020 4:50 pm

Yeah different weapon upgrades seem to have different types of attribute. I like it.
As long as I’m not pumping points into stuff that’ll go to waste.

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PostRe: Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4) | Demo - Out Now
by Mr Chips » Fri Jun 19, 2020 1:53 am

Did it on normal mode. Died quite a bit at beginning but soon got the knack and didn't die much second half of game. I was also probably OP as I did everything in each chapter before moving on. Second attempts easier with the right materia for the enemy.

As a die hard FF7 fan back in the day (now in my 30s with slightly hazy memory of original story) I thought it was amazing and look forward to the next. First title since Horizon and last of us that I felt compelled to play, clocked about 40 hours in my first playthrough and spent a few hours since reading about it.

Tifa is my new favourite character, :wub: :datass: Voice actor is :datass: too.

Like many I haven't bothered replaying it but I'm sure I will in future.in hard mode (no innuendo intended, Tifa :nod: ).

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PostRe: Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4) | Demo - Out Now
by Yoshimi » Sat Mar 06, 2021 8:26 am

Hope it's okay to bump this thread.

Anyone else playing Final Fantasy VII Remake for the first time, now it's on PS+?

I'm absolutely loving it. I'm not sure why I passed up on buying the game on release. I think I gave the demo a go, and it didn't click. That first boss battle was certainly difficult without properly understanding how the combat system worked.

I'm currently near the end of chapter 7. The story has been engaging so far, the characters are really likable. Graphics, sound and music are all stunning.

Combat is certainly a challenge at times, but I'm getting more used to switching characters, using spells and special abilities when my meter fills. If a boss kills me first time, I normally get them on my second attempt.

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PostRe: Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4) | Demo - Out Now
by BOR » Sat Mar 06, 2021 9:51 am

I've added it to my library and I will play it when I'm ready.

I almost finished with Control, so I'll decide what to play next as I've got Final Fantasy 7 or Immortals Fenyx Rising.

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PostRe: Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4) - State of Play May '19 trailer page 12
by BOR » Sat Mar 06, 2021 10:09 am

Victor Mildew wrote:I'll wait until it's free on plus

That was May 2019. :lol:

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Frank
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PostRe: Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4) | Demo - Out Now
by Frank » Sat Mar 06, 2021 10:26 am

I know they haven't announced anything, but the "exclusivity" runs out in April. Reckon Sony know it's launching straight into Game Pass so figured they'd try and take the wind out their sails?

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PostRe: Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4) - State of Play May '19 trailer page 12
by Victor Mildew » Sat Mar 06, 2021 10:52 am

BOR wrote:
Victor Mildew wrote:I'll wait until it's free on plus

That was May 2019. :lol:


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Yoshimi
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PostRe: Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4) | Demo - Out Now
by Yoshimi » Sat Mar 06, 2021 11:51 am

One issue I have with the game is the jarring art style of the NPCs. They seem to be from a completely different game. Look almost like Fallout/Skyrim town folk, and not at all in keeping with the anime style of the main characters.

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PostRe: Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4) | Demo - Out Now
by Vermilion » Sat Mar 20, 2021 1:50 pm

Yoshimi wrote:Anyone else playing Final Fantasy VII Remake for the first time, now it's on PS+?


Yep, i'm now a few chapters in, the visuals are great, am enjoying this expanded version of the story, and the music is filled with nostalgia.

The battle system still sucks, but at least i'm getting the hang of it now, and the motorbike section was absolute pants.

So yeah, bit of a mixed bag so far.

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PostRe: Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4) | Demo - Out Now
by jiggles » Sat Mar 20, 2021 2:11 pm

Vermilion wrote:The battle system still sucks


omg it is literally the pinnacle of the ARPG genre

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PostRe: Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4) | Demo - Out Now
by Tafdolphin » Sat Mar 20, 2021 5:29 pm

jiggles wrote:
Vermilion wrote:The battle system still sucks


omg it is literally the pinnacle of the ARPG genre


It is amazing. If you think it's bad, it's because you don't understand it.

I'm not joking.

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PostRe: Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4) | Demo - Out Now
by Jenuall » Sat Mar 20, 2021 5:47 pm

The battle system works well a lot of the time but definitely has flaws. It's not a patch on something like Xenoblade 2

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Yoshimi
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PostRe: Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4) | Demo - Out Now
by Yoshimi » Sun Mar 21, 2021 1:01 pm

It took a while for the battle system to click, but once you understand it, it's really good.

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PostRe: Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4) | Demo - Out Now
by Vermilion » Wed Mar 24, 2021 8:40 am

Think i'm finally getting the hang of the battle system now, still preferred the old turn based format, but alas, it's not such an issue now.

Did the sector 5 reactor chapters which was a slog (was a bit of a chore in the original game tbh), but now i've teamed up with Aerith (i still think of her as Aeris), and things have improved massively, she is still one of the best gaming characters ever, and i'm finally finding myself really enjoying this game.


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