Final Fantasy VII Review – A Swan Song For The PS4

This review is written based on an officially received copy of the game for the purpose of reviewing the game.

Final Fantasy VII, arguably, is the game that made the Final Fantasy franchise as it is known today. Since its original release in 1997 for the Playstation,  it had left a mark on gamers and every Final Fantasy game released after FFVII has welll.

The Final Fantasy VII Remake was initially announced by Square Enix at E3 2015. After seeing the trailer, it made me want to buy a Playstation 4. Honestly, I haven’t played the FF VII on the Playstation.  I started on the Final Fantasy franchise with FFVIII. Back in 2016, I was able to play the FFVII Remastered on Steam but unfortunately, I wasn’t able to finish it. I only played the first part, which were also the chapters where the remake is based on. So as far as this installment goes, I think I’m covered. Haha.

After 5 years of eagerly anticipating, here we are, we finally get to experience the game.

STORY

Final Fantasy VII Remake is based on the story as the original game. It tells the story of Cloud Strife, an ex-Shinra Soldier who was hired by the eco-terrorist group, Avalanche. It is the goal of Avalanche with the help of Cloud to bring down the Shinra Corporation and stop them from continuously draining Mako, their planet’s life energy. The game’s plot revolves around this and the developers included additional story lines specific to this installment.

AUDIO and GRAPHICS

Final Fantasy VII Remake is among the Playstation 4’s most beautifully created game. What you’ve seen on the trailers and the demo is the same quality that you’ll experience in-game. What I liked about the remake is how they were able to recreate some of the memorable scenes from the original game such as this one.

Final Fantasy VII Remake soundtrack contains new and rearranged orchestrated tracks from the original game. So far, my favorite would have to be track 25 in-game titled “Tango of Tears”. It is actually the victory song “Da da da daaa duh duh da da daaaa” played ala tango. It so nice that it makes me want to use it as my ringtone!

GAMEPLAY

When I encountered my first battle, the game immediately reminded me of FFXV’s gameplay mechanics. However, unlike FFXV, you can switch and issue command between the characters. Final Fantasy VII Remake is a combination of real time action rpg and turn based elements. The game uses an improved Active Time Battle (ATB) system from the original game wherein your command bar is filled depending on how you attack. Once filled, you could use abilities, spells, items, limit breaks or summons.

Since this is happening real-time there are times that it may seem overwhelming especially when there were a lot of enemies. Those were the times that I panicked and just constantly switched between characters. I have the tendency to button smash the attack button until my ATB gauge fills up. It’s a challenge whether to stick Cloud and issue commands ala-FFXV or switch characters instead.

I’m playing Normal mode and I don’t see an option to have your other party members auto attack or auto heal. There were a few instances that I noticed that they were just standing in-game.

Final Fantasy Remake still uses Materia for magic that also levels up upon usage over time. Character upgrades are now weapon based that uses nodes similar to Final Fantasy XII to improve your characters’ stats. The changes to your stats are not permanent and could be reset anytime so you could switch up depending on your game style or party.

Similar to FFXV, the game no longer uses the random battle mechanic (I hated that anyways) to fight battles  and gain xp.  Final Fantasy VII Remake isn’t open world like FFXV so there aren’t grind spots. To gain xp, I’ve just been playing side quests and once they’re done, I move on to the main storyline. At this time, I don’t know if I’m under or over leveled but so far I’m progressing just fine.

VERDICT 

As of this writing, I’m 12 hours in and currently in Chapter 8 out of 18 and so far, I’m enjoying every single minute of it. I told myself that I’d only play one chapter per day to last the game through this quarantine but there were days that I found myself playing until the wee hours of the morning.

Final Fantasy VII Remake lived up to the hype since 2015! The game delivered what it promised and more. Fans of the original game would definitely be pleased as it brings nostalgia from the original game while enjoying the new experience of the remake. Essentially, the game is more than the just a remake, it is new game built in today’s action rpg standards. A 100% remake wouldn’t work since not everything stays relevant. As such, Final Fantasy VII Remake welcomes both FFVII fans and new players alike.

The Playstation 5 is almost upon us and we are at the twilight of the current console generation. Final Fantasy VII Remake could be the swan song for the Playstation 4 as there are only a handful of games to be released for the console.  The original Final Fantasy VII was one of the games that the defined the Playstation and the remake did it for the Playstation 4 and we can be sure that the next installments would do the same for the next generation.

Final Fantasy VII is publised by Square Enix and is now available on the Playstation Store.