Note: This feature contains some spoilers for a very old game and a remake of this very old game.
Any Final Fantasy fan might want to stop reading right now. That’s right, the first sentence. Admission time: I never played the main adventure of Cloud Strife on the original PlayStation or any other Final Fantasy title. The closest thing I had was to see my cousin play Final Fantasy IX; I remember being fascinated by it, but I would be lying if I said I understood what was going on on the screen. Essentially, I have no affection for the franchise. Not that I think games are bad, but I never got into them. However, something has changed recently: Final Fantasy VII Remake was made available to PS Plus members.
At first, I thought I would ignore it, but how could I be given the chance to play it for free? This is a remake of a game that (more or less) individually popularized JRPGs in the West. It is a game often recognized as an All Timer, one of the greats, a masterpiece. Demand for a remake has been strong since 2005 and how could you do it no Did you feel the excitement when it was finally announced at E3 ten years later? People really like this game about a muscular man with a silly name, and now I can play the remake for free. I guess I should, I thought.
Before I started, though, I thought it would be fun to involve my Push Square co-workers. They know I’m not a big fan of JRPGs, so I wondered how far they could go in the game before calling it a day. Robert Ramsey had the utmost faith in me, betting he would see it through to the end. Sammy Barker was less confident, putting my money in my fall the second time I went through the sewers. Liam Croft was the least optimistic, stating that he would not start the game at all. Very well, the challenge is accepted.
Spoiler: I started the game. Without nostalgia for the original and without any reference, I began my search for curiosity. All I knew coming in, having absorbed scraps of information over the years, was that you were playing like a man named Cloud and someone named Aerith kills halfway. I saw the clip. Absolutely burned by a nasty guy with a sword. Simply chopped completely.
Anyway, the first impressions were very good. The opening cut scene is fantastic; it has an incredibly small scale to show you the absurd Midgar scale. The movie quality is there, and it initially really caught my eye. It introduces you to the Avalanche team, with Barrett, Biggs, Wedge, Jessie and of course Cloud Strife. I’m afraid to say that Cloud’s flight out of the train to land on the platform didn’t look great to me. This is not a funny guy. Anyway, who does this? He immediately pointed out to me that this guy is a little sweet. Still, I couldn’t put all that aside.
Unfortunately for Final Fantasy VII Remake, the characters open their mouths and talk. Sorry, fans still read despite my initial warning, but I didn’t really like the dialogue. Of course, some of them are perfectly fine, but I was surprised by the prediction of the characters: they immediately fall into classic archetypes. I found it impossible to connect with Biggs and Wedge, who feel disposable from the start, but I personally couldn’t get into the characterization and dialogue in general. I get Remake to be just the first part of a bigger project, but everyone felt very one-dimensional to me. I also understand that this is a story from a 1997 game, so of course there will be an awkward or baffling dialogue. Even with that in mind, I had trouble with the script and the characters most of the time I spent with the game.
One aspect I enjoyed was the combat. For starters, it seemed too complex. It’s presented as a hack-n-slash action game, but it’s not really; basic attacks are just one way to load your proper moves, which is accessed from the ATB menu. It’s a weird hybrid of real-time acting and command selection, but once I wrapped my head around it, in addition to swapping characters frequently, I found it quite satisfying. Head struggles, in particular, became a highlight for me, discovering their weaknesses and exploiting them as best I could. I also loved the overall taste of the combat, with fantastic animations and effects as you cast magic and cuts with oversized swords.
I think a highlight for me was actually the insane mission with the bike guy. I had to look up his name and it’s Roche. Cloud and the gang go on a motorcycle to get to Jessie’s old house and do business with Avalanche. Fighting him while driving was one thing, but he reappears and it’s a spectacle to watch. I think I enjoyed the game more right now, when he’s not afraid to embrace the absurd. Another example would be the point where you literally fight a demonic house. I had never seen him before.
Unfortunately, things started to wear out for me when I got to the Don Corneo section. The game is extremely inconsistent in its pace and even just in its visual quality, and I found everything to be quite discordant. I almost leave the part where you have to operate the robotic arms to move the shipping containers, so clumsy and most of all, unnecessary. The game is a lot longer than I need because of sections like this, and I really think they are what kept me from winning the game.
True, Liam was not only wrong when I started, but Robert was wrong when I finished. Sammy won the bet in the end, but I didn’t make it to the second sewer section (there were a lot of them). Did I say that? The haunted train yard. To be clear, it wasn’t so much that part of the game that made me leave the controller, it’s where I left it. I think I got to a point where I got tired of everything.
The little things were starting to get appreciated: having to hold Triangle to pull levers (but not all the time!), The forced walking sections, the dialogue, some seriously weird cut scenes, and more. Also, things clearly meant to advertise fans a long time ago were completely lost. Things like Sephiroth that appear sporadically, for example, lost their impact, because they didn’t fully understand (and still don’t) why it’s an important thing. I’m grateful that people love the original and love the remake, but for me I was tired of the nonsense of the game. I would boot my PS5 and think about what I should play. The Final Fantasy VII Remake would go through my head and let out a sigh. I couldn’t go on like this, especially knowing there were many more hours left.
I have accepted that it is not for me, and it is fine. I can live with that. I’m glad I tried it solidly, but I think it will probably be that between me and Final Fantasy. Interestingly, Liam hadn’t played the original before playing Remake, and he absolutely loved it, so don’t let that put you off if you’re on the same boat. I’m not quite sure what the moral of the story is, to be honest. I mean trust your instincts, but at the same time, if you are given the opportunity to try new things, you should. Do these messages conflict? Kind of. Now I will stop the function.
Do you empathize with Stephen’s assessment of Final Fantasy VII Remake? Similarly, have you struggled with a beloved game? Sprinkle some Phoenix Down in the comments section below.