Final Fantasy VII (1997) is one of those pieces of media that I became obsessed with all out of order. My first experience with it was when I watched Advent Children (2005) for the first time and I grew attached to the characters without really understanding the context. I then picked up Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020) just after Christmas and all the nostalgia came flooding back, but not in the same way as many other existing fans.
I’ve now played the original and I’m genuinely impressed with how much fun I had with a 24 year old game – a timeless classic indeed. Despite this, it’s been a struggle to write a review post about Remake because there’s too much that I want to say but no words sufficient enough. Part of this is because Remake is an incomplete experience as of writing this post, which is why instead I want to focus on what I’d like to see in Part 2 and beyond.
Spoiler alert for those who would prefer to experience the wild ride of FF7 themselves without knowing story points before going in!
1. Non-linear Exploration
Midgar is huge in FF7R. There is a much bigger sense of scale and the opening cinematic is our first glimpse of this massive metropolis, bustling with life and machinery. What may surprise people is that the entirety of Midgar is not open to be explored and instead they are guided through specific areas to keep the story moving. The majority of the game is spent in the slums that are far below the upper plates of the city, with only a handful of instances where the player finds themselves topside.
The end of Remake finds the party beginning their journey beyond Midgar on their quest to stop the impending calamity. Although the continuity of the remake as a whole could now go in any direction, it’s safe to assume that Part 2 will introduce the open world aspect of the game to reflect the course of the original. Because of this, it would feel far too restrictive on players if the a similar style of guided routes and level designs are used in the overworld. I can see this being implemented within the other settlement areas like Kalm or Nibelheim, but the world itself needs to feel much more expansive and feature less of the tedious crawl spaces or tight areas for the characters to squeeze through.
Considering how high some of the party members can jump when fighting airborne monsters, it feels a little silly to not allow them to jump or climb over obstacles. Part 2 is itching for a good open world element and I’m picturing what Square Enix envisioned for Final Fantasy XV (2016), only with more substance.
2. Switching the Controllable Character
It’s possible to change the party leader in Remake but this is limited to who you first take control of during combat. Players instead control Cloud for the majority of the game when exploring Midgar and the slums, but there are a few instances where the other party members take the wheel (unfortunately not Red XIII).
While Cloud is a great protagonist, it was a nice change of pace to control the others and I would love to see this implemented further in future instalments. In the original, the character sprites were rudimentary but charming and full of personality, which is reflected wonderfully in Remake. Barret, Tifa and Aerith’s animations are mirroring what their original counterparts did while also improving on it. I especially enjoyed seeing their different approaches to sitting on benches and how they opened chests or broke boxes. All of this serves to build on their characters and create a bond between them and the player, which is why it was a shame to have so few moments to play as them outside of combat.
Many of the party members are fan favourites, I am personally looking forward to seeing Cid, and I imagine that players would appreciate the opportunity to spend more time with them. This can be done by either allowing players to switch their controllable character, returning to Cloud as a default for story purposes, or featuring more sections that provide an opportunity to play as the others.
3. Vincent’s Limit Breaks
Hopefully our favourite goth icon will make an appearance in Part 2 but this amendment applies to whenever Vincent dramatically emerges from his coffin.
Vincent’s Limit Breaks are undeniably unique but they are also one of the most frustrating aspects of his character. Instead of performing an ultimate attack like the rest of the party, Vincent will transform into various types of beasts depending on which Limit Break the player has set for him (in the original game). During this, the player loses control of Vincent and he will not change back until the battle encounter is over, essentially turning him into an NPC while he is transformed.
A way to have the player actively involved with Vincent’s beast forms is to treat him like an alternate to a summon. Players could spend ATB charges (either his own or other party members) to issue him commands, which provides a tactical spin on his otherwise unruly form. Similar to summons there could also be a timer to indicate how long Vincent will remain transformed, but definitely shorter than how long summons are ordinarily on the field. This serves to retain the original concept behind his Limit Breaks while also keeping the player engaged with his combat.
4. Petting animals
I was very disappointed to see FF7R on the list of games where you cannot pet the dog. Or any animal.
It’s probably the smallest request that I have on this list but there were so many cats and dogs in the slums, it was hard to not want this to be implemented somehow. I imagine that Cloud isn’t too fond of animals, so I can understand his aversion to them, but it would be nice to have some kind of interactions with animals beyond scaring Betty’s cats away.
The ability to show our best boy some love would also be great, but only if he allows it! It would be fun to see Red XIII either reject or allow the party members to pet him, depending on how he feels towards them or just his general mood. Something tells me it would take a while for him to warm up to Barret, but it’ll be so rewarding when he does.
5. Better mini games
Before anyone comes for my head, I think most of the mini games in Remake thus far have been great and they’re a massive step up from what we saw in 1997. Playing darts in Seventh Heaven was entertaining, the hilarious squats/pull up mini game was a fun callback and I enjoyed getting Cloud’s dresses in Wall Market immensely. That being said, there were some mini games that didn’t feel as successful.
Driving in games can be very hit or miss for me, which is why I didn’t enjoy the motorbike sections as much as I would’ve liked. I had a similar issue with this mini game in the original, causing me to avoid it at the Gold Saucer, and as it functions very similarly in the remake it does make me wonder how Square Enix will approach snowboarding. This part is often viewed negatively by players and this is mainly down to poor controls, which I would hope are updated and refined for the remake or the mini game is omitted entirely because it does feel out of place. In some cases we have already seen how Square Enix have adapted some of the mini games to modernise the experience, like Mayor Domino’s password in the Shinra building and Fort Condor becoming a board game in INTERmission.
Additionally, I thought that the beginning of Chapter 9 in Remake was brilliant for developing Cloud and Aerith’s friendship, but the mechanical hands in the Underground Expressway really overstayed their welcome. This swiftly brings me to my next point…
6. Less Padding
FF7 was a massive game and the remake is already going above and beyond with content. The Midgar section in the original game took me around 5 hours to get through, as opposed to the 50 hours that I spent getting through Part 1 of Remake. There are a lot of positives to expanding the world to such an extent; it allows for players to get completely immersed in the world and the extra details provide interesting context. However, there were some sections that were glaringly obvious examples of padding out the game.
Despite my experience with Hell House on hard mode, I think it’s a clever way to reintroduce one of the weirder aspects of the original game and finding an appropriate place to surprise the players with it, but the need to fight it multiple times to get achievements becomes exhausting. I’d argue the promotion of the Swordipede to a boss fight in Hojo’s Drum was also a good call, but the segments leading up to that point become monotonous because of the similar environments and formulaic progression.
Chapter 11 is the one that made me realise how Square Enix were being faithful to almost a fault. There was no reason for this chapter to feature two boss battles and it made Eligor feel like it was tacked onto the end of the Train Graveyard section because they wanted both it and the Ghoul to appear. I loved that there was a weapon that could be stolen from Eligor, as it was in the original, but the length of this chapter disrupted the pacing and took away from the urgency of getting back to the Sector 7 slums. Streamlining sections like this would improve the flow of the narrative and retain tension where necessary.
Point 7 contains major plot spoilers; beware all ye who enter here
7. Fewer Sephiroth appearances
There is something about Sephiroth that transcends FF7. Players who have not experienced the original game know who he is; his reputation quite literally precedes him, but his screen time in 1997 is surprisingly low. Much of Sephiroth’s character was created through suspense and vague details until the story progresses and the player learns more about him.
Introducing Sephiroth earlier in Remake is a bold choice but it plants him solidly at the centre of the story. Shinra serves as an immediate antagonist but knowing that Sephiroth is around provides this sense of dread for the player because, even if they haven’t played the original, they understand that something larger is at stake. Cloud’s unexplained seizures and Aerith withholding information serve as the building blocks for the enigma that is Sephiroth. His role is yet undefined in the remake and while he mostly appears as visions or hallucinations, there is something tangible about him that wasn’t present until much later in FF7.
I don’t think many of us expected to fight Sephiroth as soon as we did and because of how slowly he was originally introduced, it seems rushed in Remake. The visuals, music and variations of this encounter make this one of the best fights in the game and I cannot deny the spectacle of it, but what worries me is if this will diminish the level of threat that Sephiroth represents. He is terrifying and imposing, but if the player has taken him down once before then maybe they will view Sephiroth as far less dangerous than he seems. Having his appearances reduced or limited to hallucinations and even flashback sequences will keep Sephiroth just out of reach because the way in which he is introduced in the original was a stroke of genius.
Did I miss anything out? What are some of the things that you want to see in the future of FF7R?
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