Final Fantasy VII Remake: More than Nostalgia

Twenty-three years ago, I got home excitedly from school, ran into my bedroom, flung my heavy backpack on the floor, and booted up my Playstation to play Squaresoft’s Final Fantasy VII for the first time. I remember the awkward but charming expressiveness of the stubby polygonal characters, the mind-blowing cinematics, the great cast, and the fantastic combat. I would obsess over and return to this game for years to come, devouring every detail of its story, secrets, splendor. A month ago, I got home from work, slipped out of my not-so-heavy backpack (still love ‘em), and sat down to play the full Final Fantasy VII Remake, a sense of cautious excitement building in me in much the same way as when I was a kid. I’m happy to say, about 50 hours of gameplay later, that I’ve walked away from the reimagining of one of my favorite childhood experiences impressed, satisfied, and a little surprised. I wasn’t a fan of the most recent Final Fantasy XV, and expected FFVIIR to be similarly action-focused and shallow. I quickly learned I couldn’t have been more wrong. 

FFVII Remake builds upon its predecessor rather than using it as simple source material. Everything I loved about the original is here with gameplay elements that improve the formula rather than dilute it. This isn’t a lazy re-hash leaning on reputation or a cash-grab based on branding alone. FFVIIR is a lovingly crafted experience, an ode to fans complete with, for better and worse, the depth and quirks of the original.

You’ll spend most of your time fighting a plethora of enemies, which is great because combat is fun and challenging. The traditional turn-based RPG gameplay is replaced with a more action-oriented approach, but don’t mistake that for simplicity. Players have up to three characters in their party at a time and switch direct control between them at will. Each character has basic attacks, blocks, and dodges, and a unique attack command. Cloud can switch to a high damage-dealing mode with counterattacks, Barret can launch a devastating attack that charges over time, Tifa can unleash powerful combos, and Aerith can charge up a powerful blast. As characters attack, each has two gauges that fill, enabling players to input magic, ability, and item commands. Favorites can be assigned to shortcuts to keep the action going, or players access the command menu at the press of a button to peruse everything available while time slows to a crawl. These gauges act as a limited resource, so choosing the right commands at the right time are paramount. Furthermore, spells cost magic points, or MP, another limited resource, so choosing to cast more powerful spells, or casting spells too frequently, can quickly limit the party’s options. What results is a sensitive, but fun, balancing act. I quickly found myself switching between characters often to harness their strengths and issuing multiple commands at a time. I rarely used the shortcuts because I found the slowdown while accessing the command menu so useful for reassessing the battlefield. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the fluidity and control in combat. 

It’s a good thing the system is fun to master because enemies are not run-of-the-mill static pushovers. Enemies have varied weaknesses like specific elements or attack types or real-time windows of opportunity. Taking advantage of these weaknesses or attacking an enemy enough pushes them into a staggered state, multiplying all damage they receive. Many have attacks that interrupt spells and abilities or otherwise incapacitate the party, so timing is everything. Bosses mix up the action with creative behaviors and patterns, sometimes controlling whole swaths of the battlefield until staggered. In short, enemy makeup demands more than just spamming basic or high-damage attacks; tactics, strategy, and positioning are keys to success.

The game’s equipment and materia system enable abilities and spells. One of my major fears was that Square-Enix would sacrifice the original game’s amazing materia and equipment for ease and simplicity, but instead we find a robust and flexible system. Materia, orbs imbued with power, is still slotted into weapons and armor, giving the character access to spells, abilities, summons, and other effects. Any character can use any materia, inviting players to experiment. Materia levels up over time, granting access to more powerful--and more expensive--spells or enhanced effects, so choosing what materia to use is also a long-term goal. In the original game, magic materia usually came with a stat cost, diminishing physical stats while strengthening magical stats. This time around, materia only increases specific stats, so there are no drawbacks to loading anyone with a bunch of magic. I thought a change like that would disappoint me, but with so much else to balance in the game, I didn’t find this to be a loss.

New to FFVIIR, characters learn unique abilities from their weapons, outlining certain roles players can take advantage of if they want. Barret, for instance, can take damage in place of the rest of the party, making him ideal for any gear or materia that buff him into a tank. It’s an obvious choice, but not the only one. Each character has enough weapons with wildly different stats and there’s enough armor and accessories for some serious flexibility in build. Tack onto that a leveling system for each individual weapon enabling other stat bonuses or traits, and one player's party can differ vastly from another’s. Some of my favorite sections of gameplay force the use of specific characters, challenging me to reassess my setup for a more effective strategy. Even if certain characters are unavailable to use, their gear and materia are still accessible, ensuring players are never stuck with a bum load out. No choice feels unimportant or frivolous, and making changes on the fly is easy and encouraged. 

The story itself remains intact with all the important beats we expect and with some we don’t. FFVIIR only covers the beginning of the original game, converting a mere handful of hours into a full fifty-hour long adventure. This meant the developers could explore the characters and locations in more depth, but there’s a ton of character development we don’t experience because it takes place later in the story. The benefit is we get a deeper sense of culture and lifestyle in Midgar and a more thorough understanding of many characters’ motivations. The downside is that since this is only act one, there’s much that hasn’t been explored by the time the credits roll, and if I didn’t already know the narrative like the back of my hand, I might’ve even been confused. An over-the-top ending adds some unnecessary and somewhat confusing foreshadowing while introducing some heady themes around the main antagonist that just aren’t explored enough. It didn’t ruin the experience, but the steady and enjoyable train jumps the rails a bit, and I felt the events didn’t benefit the game or the narrative much. I enjoyed most of FFVIIR’s differences in storytelling from the original, and I can’t wait for the next release to continue the adventure.

Aside from the main story, certain chapters feature side missions and combat challenges. Neither take up too much time, and their rewards are substantial, making them worthwhile for that merit alone. Sidequests often give a glimpse into the lives of the downtrodden, giving a bit more depth to the city, while combat challenges are fun and offer some of the most challenging scenarios. They are also both easily skippable for anyone that would rather power through the main storyline, though that player would miss out on some powerful assets. In the end, I enjoyed them as quick diversions at the least and tough tests of skill and knowledge at their best.

Gripes I have are mostly minor. Some facial animations on NPCs don’t match up to their script, resulting in some silly-, if not downright scary-looking lip-stretching and air-chewing, which is a bit shameful for a game of this caliber. The rest of the game is so damn gorgeous, it feels odd that some facial animations were overlooked. Lots of quirks typical of Final Fantasy remain, like mini-games (mostly fun), errand-running (go talk to folks), and strange NPCs that some may find awkward and unnecessary (random hand massage? Sure, what the hell). These are usually all in fun, giving the game some charm, but sometimes I felt the pace of the experience ground to a slog, or that the mood would swing wildly from grim seriousness to outlandish tomfoolery much too quickly. This is nothing new to the Final Fantasy namesake, so take it as you will.  

Regardless, this was a fantastic game, and any fan of the core material will most likely enjoy it. If nostalgia is all you’re lining up for, there’s that in droves, and the euphoric power of the music, action, art, and narrative will be enough for any FFVII fan. Here, the past also meets excellent design, so anyone who’s unfamiliar with the original still has a great experience ahead of them, and most of the story will make perfect sense. All my fears assuaged, all my doubts proven wrong, FFVII Remake has found a permanent, loving place in my heart. It’s just a bummer we have to wait for the rest, but I’ll be here, even more excited for the next release.

Marmoset’s Brew: Remember the first drink you really enjoyed? Maybe that drink’s remained an old favorite, something you revisit that the first taste of illicits wholesome good feelings. Mine would be Disarrono or the Oatmeal Stout. That’s the drink FFVIIR is: reliable, delicious, and by the last drop you can’t help but want more.

Final Fantasy VII Remake Demo

That’s our girl, Aeris (Aerith?), looking pretty damn amazing in the familiar-but-new intro.

It’s here. The thing people were chatting about for years, the remake fans practically demanded for the good part of a decade, is present, touchable, taste-able (yes, I can taste it), and it’s time to talk about it. Square-Enix recently released the demo for the Final Fantasy VII Remake, and I grabbed onto it like it’s an orange and I’m a pirate with scurvy. I’m going to attempt to review the demo here with as little spoilers as possible for those folks that haven’t played the original, but this is also all about nostalgia, so expect some nuggets about familiar characters, but no details about the overarching narrative.

Before I start, I have to be candid about my own bias. I never expected much of this remake. After I played Final Fantasy XV, I lost a bit of hope for the series. Seriously, read my scathing review of it and you’ll see how I felt. Square-Enix has a habit of simplifying certain game mechanics I expect—the RPG-ish stuff—for the sake of flashier action-oriented gameplay and appealing to a broader audience. I’ve played all the Final Fantasies (Fantasys?), and I always look forward to a new world, wonderful characters, and a new combat and ability system to master. FFVII was always my favorite, so when I heard about the remake, I reacted with less than optimistic enthusiasm. In fact, until now, I expected to be disappointed, to see the things I love about FFVII reduced to easily-waded mush in a basin made by fragile nostalgia.

I’m happy to say I’ve leveled up from expectant disappointment to heavily guarded optimism. 

The FFVII Remake Demo is a complete rehash of the original FFVII demo released in 1994, featuring the same sample of the game’s roaring opening encounter. Players mostly control Cloud, a mercenary formerly a member of something called SOLDIER, who joins a group of extremists who want to blow up a reactor that drains the planet of something called ‘mako.’ You storm it, fight some baddies, learn a little about each of the characters and what’s at stake (the planet, supposedly), and finish with an awesome bossfight. You also get a pretty good sense of what the game has in store. 

FFVII Remake is played in real time. Unlike its predecessor, there’s no transition from an exploration phase to a battle phase; you approach enemies in the environment and fight them right there. Players lead three characters from the roster into the fray, directly controlling one at a time but switching between them at will. Each character has a different fighting style and control scheme. Cloud can attack with his sword, block, evade, and switch to a higher damage fighting style. This mode rewards timed blocks with heavy-hitting counters but makes Cloud an easy target for long-range attacks. Barrett, our expletive-spewing, no-nonsense, gun-armed leader of Avalanche, fights from a distance, so can hit enemies Cloud can’t reach. Shoot enough and he can release a hard-hitting blast. The two feel vastly different, but I found myself sticking to the titular Cloud due to his more visceral, in-your-face tactics. My mind boggles at what the other characters’ fighting styles might be like (I’m looking at you, Vincent).

In the original, characters took turns as their Active Time Battle (ATB) gauges filled. In FFVII Remake, the ATB gauge fills as character do regular attacks. This gauge is separated into multiple sections, called charges. Once a charge is filled, players can enter command mode, which slows time to a crawl. In this mode, we can do things like cast spells or unleash special abilities, and we can do this for all characters that have an available ATB charge. This is where intense strategy comes in; ATB charges don’t fill particularly fast, especially for characters that aren’t player-controlled, so timing and command choice becomes the crux of winning a fight or losing miserably, especially because taking out enemies requires more than just draining their HP. 

FFVII Remake introduces stagger. Stagger an enemy, and they’ll take a significantly larger amount of damage from all sources. Cloud and Barrett stagger enemies slowly with regular attacks, but some abilities accessed via command mode increase stagger quicker. I found myself falling into a satisfying rhythm; attack enemies, careful not to take too much damage myself, unleash stagger-inducing abilities as ATB charges become available, then dump the highest-damage attacks my party has on the weakened foe before they can recover. It was a ton of fun, and even a bit challenging. Remember above when I said timing was everything? In my overeager focus on killing enemies, I often found I didn’t have an ATB charge available for either Barrett or Cloud when someone was really low on health. Neither of my heroes bit the dust, but they came close many times before I began paying more attention, especially against a much tougher foe.

Speak of, the boss fight was super fun. There’s a pattern to learn, its attacks were devastating and certainly had my dudes on the ropes once or twice, but I won’t ruin any more of it for you. FFVII veterans will remember this boss fondly, but in Remake it’s got a meaner sting. It’s a great encounter that requires you to use every asset at your disposal and bodes well for the many climaxes in FFVII Remake’s story. 

The underlying systems that I loved from the original, equipment and materia, are unavailable in the demo. Materia endows characters with spells and abilities, while simultaneously impacting their stats. Spell materia enables some awesome offensive and defensive capabilities, increases magical-related stats, but decreases physical stats like health, defense, and attack. Summon materia was notorious for enfeebling physical stats in this way. There’s a tradeoff, and if a player’s smart, they can capitalize by unloading magic-related materia on characters that already have high magic stats, therefore creating their own classes and such. It was an easy system to ignore on the micro level, but I loved minimizing drawbacks while maximizing strengths, turning some characters into wizard-like powerhouses and others into tanky, heavy-hitting face smashers, or otherwise tailoring my party any way I want. If you pay close attention in the demo, materia is visible in Cloud and Barrett’s weapons, and materia was originally equipped in slots in offensive and defensive equipment. I get the sense the system will be there, but I have no idea to what effect. Here’s to hoping!

Let’s get real, though, most of us are here for the nostalgia, the effect of which is immense. Much of the dialogue is exactly the same, albeit voiced. All the same chunky, polygonal models are now very pretty and highly detailed. So is the world, updated, gorgeous, and more real. Even Barrett returns with his somewhat problematic Mr. T-like stereotyping, a detail that, though grating, also screams out at us: remember. Remember how cool that moment was? Remember how crazy that fight was? Remember the revelations, the surprises, the drama, the environmental activism? Remember that Jesse has the hots for Cloud (and so does Wedge, arguably)? Remember what happens to #%$%*$%$ when $#*^#$^%$ blows up #$@#^&*$@# and everything gets $#&*@%!? You get the point. Nostalgia is a simple and pure draw, something I’ve resisted but now find myself tucked into like a gigantic fluffy bed, with a nightstand full of baby-back ribs and a case of good beer. It feels fucking good, and that’s what we’re here for.

So, fine, I’m giving in; I’m excited. I’m bummed Remake as a whole only covers a fraction of gameplay, essentially a huge tutorial, compared to what lies after the city of Midgar, but I’m ready for it. I walked away from the demo with the feeling that maybe, just maybe, the rug won’t be swept from under my feet. Maybe this isn’t (just) a cash grab and Square-Enix has put a ton of care into this. Maybe I’ll enjoy myself. Maybe I’ll love it. 

In a month, I’ll find out.

Final Fantasy XV: Not Much of a Fantasy

This was a challenging review for me to write. I’ve been a longtime fan of the Final Fantasy series, with faith in it wavering since the Square-Enix merger back in 2000. Final Fantasy XV (FFXV) is both a confirmation of my doubts and reaffirmation of my confidence in the series; for every facet of the game I liked, there were several things that disappointed me. What FFXV lacks is depth and nuance, in ways that weigh it down heavily, leaving a mildly fun game that stumbles and falters in its attempt to be great.

FFXV sends players on a road trip with Prince Noctis and his royal guard buddies, Prompto, Gladiolus, and Ignis, to marry a childhood friend and seal a peace treaty with her country. Events turn sour when Noctis’ home country is betrayed, and once the source of the war and ensuing mayhem is revealed, the fate of the world itself is on the line. Though this sounds exciting, the story stutters and spurts due to lack of information and poor delivery. I found I knew very little about the world and all of its characters twenty hours into the game. Most key characters outside of the main party have only fleeting appearances and leave just an ephemeral imprint and a big space full of disappointment behind. The writers’ attempts to give the four main characters their own personalities, motivations, inner turmoil, or any lasting opinions fall flat until it’s too late; only in the final chapters do Noctis’ friends show any kind of depth. These chapters add some much needed tension, but it feels too little too late. Climactic points that one would expect to offer challenging, thoughtful encounters end up in simple button prompts, sapping events of their drama and energy. What players are left with are typical archetypes and a shallow tale that barely try to be memorable. Outside of the abysmal storytelling lies a playable, moderately entertaining game.

FFXV’s combat system is fluid, but vapid, emphasizing positioning and action over strategy. Players control Noctis’ with just a few commands. Hold a button down and he’ll execute physical attacks, the speeds and combos of which depend on the type of weapon in use. Enemies are weak to different weapon types, and four can be switched to via directional presets. Noctis uses magic points for two central abilities, warp and phase. Warp transports Noctis to enemies for extra damage or to safe spots to restore health and magic points. Dodging requires a simple button press, but holding down this button executes phases, or automatic dodges. Some enemy attacks can be parried by holding this same button down when prompted, opening a counter attack with another prompt. The three AI controlled party members will often perform a powerful joint attack with a well-executed counter or rear attack, so looking out for these opportunities is important. Controlling Noctis is fun and easy, but left me wanting more as repetition quickly set in.

Your teammates mostly do their own thing, but the party’s attacks also fill a three-segment bar used to execute specific techniques. Each bro has several abilities that can be activated this way, doing large amounts of damage to single targets or groups or conferring a benefit like restoring the party’s health, shielding Noctis from damage, or weakening enemies. Different abilities require set amounts of the technique bar, so carefully choosing which to trigger and when is important. It’s a nice tool, but it too often comes down to doing damage rather than adding anything inspired to combat. One of the only elements that does is spellcasting.

Spells are built from a refillable stock of fire, ice, and lightning elements and can be customized with added effects like restoring Noctis’ health, applying poison, or casting multiple spells at once. This system is fun and powerful, though friendly fire applies, so timing is essential to make the most of a spell without utterly destroying the party. I liked the risk versus reward spells introduced, and customizing their effects is fun. It’s a shame that spells are easy to overlook as crafting a powerful one requires using most or all of an available stock, only a handful of uses are made per crafting, refilling the party’s element supply is a chore, and most fights are easy enough to warp and bash through. Altogether, the combat system works very well, but it disappointed me in its repetitive simplicity. Thankfully, combat isn’t all there is to FFXV.

Like most RPGs, preparations outside of combat are as important as the actions within it. The party defeats enemies and completes quests for experience, which is applied to gain levels when the party rests at camps, mobile homes, motels or hotels. Camps are free, but the other options have a price tag commensurate with a multiplier to experience earned. Leveling up increases stats and awards ability points, or AP, which unlock various bonuses to the party via branching skill trees. These trees allow players to customize the effectiveness of various tools, enable more sources for experience and AP, . AP takes some time to earn, so it makes a big difference what one chooses to unlock and when, especially since more impressive offerings are very expensive. These trees influence the party’s effectiveness dramatically, and I had fun planning out what was most important to me.

With a weak storyline and basic combat, I am thankful that the gameworld is gorgeous, so at the very least the game is fun to behold. Animations are well rendered, the landscape is varied and detailed, lighting is fantastic, and enemies are beautiful and frightening. It was fun discovering locales and the creatures that inhabit them, which is great, since most of the game’s experience revolves around travel. Noctis’ royal steed, the Regalia, is stylish, with many cosmetic customization options in the form of paints and decals. This is nice, because trips can take up to ten minutes to get to a location on preset pathways, so plan on bathroom breaks; otherwise take in the scenery or listen to Final Fantasy soundtracks for a dose of nostalgia. Discovered outposts and parking spots can be fast-travelled to, subverting long road trips for almost as equally tiring load times. I was surprised Square-Enix missed the opportunity for more party banter during long car rides, as that could have fleshed out the characters and their histories.

You’ll be travelling a lot, because there’s plenty to do in FFXV’s world. Side quests of the fetch and kill-that-monster variety litter the landscape, and ranked hunts for stronger, boss-like enemies or groups of enemies are plentiful and rewarding. Dungeons raise the stakes in the form of more challenging enemies, tighter spaces, and disabled manually saving, and were my favorite parts of the game. After beating the campaign, the toughest material is unlocked, finally introducing fights that require some thought, but again this feels late.

The end result is a decent experience that falls short of greatness. Combat is fun and fluid at first, but repetitive and shallow as the game crawls along. Noctis’ internal plight is heartfelt, but most characters are empty shells and archetypes with very little depth, their innermost feelings and conflicts hidden or reduced to a momentary glossing over. FFXV is a shallow wading pool compared to its predecessors’ varied seas, and I, for one, am happy to dry off and leave this one behind.

Brew: It's like a stout with a great, beautiful label, but it's missing that deep, rich texture and taste that makes it a stout. Still drinkable, though.