It's surreal that the remake has finally been released, although Square Enix has decided to split it up into parts so that they can expand each part with more content. Considering that the running time of the original game is about 38 hours, and this first part is about 32 hours, that's impressive.
It only details the Midgar chapters, which were about 15 through 20% of the original game, roughly. And now after haven beaten it in about 36 hours, I am very content with it, and glad that they decided this internally.
Even the climax and ending are fine by me, which has apparently damaged some purists and hardcore fans, but I saw no issues or concerns. The world, or should I saw the mini world of Midgar has been brought to life, leaps and bounds better, 3 generations of PlayStation later on.
The main cast has been given fuller fledged out personalities and voice acting, and their models remind of the animated movie Advent Children. Even supportive characters such as Biggs, Wedge and Jessie have been improved, and I found all of them likable in their own way.
Combat wise, the action RPG is the main stage, where they brought back limit breaks, the Materia system and the traditional magic spells to accompany it. You can attack, block, dodge and perform abilities to affect the battlefield.
It's a fluent experience, where you can switch between the characters to add variety into the main gameplay. I find it to be a modern workable combat system in overall, as it pays tribute but it also enhances it.
The narration is also better as the game is filled with cut scenes, dialogue and voice acting to keep the general story going. It's also filled with faithful nostalgia, as all of the memorable scenes that happen in Midgar return, including Don Corneo's woman of choice, Shinra HQ's infiltration and escape, Tifa's bar and Aerith's church.
Aside from the formidable graphics this game shows, especially with the character models and the backgrounds(minus some textures that they should patch), perhaps the game's greatest aspect is it's fantastic soundtrack.
All of the songs are wonderfully arranged, enhanced and faithful to the original, including the battle themes, the village themes, the character themes, the dungeon themes and so on. They even decided to include songs of locations which the main cast has not visited yet, including Gold Saucer(arguably my favorite spot of the original), Costa Del Sol, Kalm and Wutai.
Final Fantasy VII Remake is a fantastic fantasy showing us the humble yet exciting beginnings of the game. And now the long wait for part 2 will start, and I can imagine by the way that they will make a remake trilogy of this, perhaps part 3 could start at the Icicle Inn.
Rating: 8.4
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