Final Fantasy VII Remake

I'd be lying if I said this didn't feel padded, or that the tonal shifts weren't sometimes jarring, or that the villiains weren't ridiculously cartoonish, but still - WOW. Incredibly gorgeous, meticulously designed, and emotionally gripping. Obviously an enormous labor of love for all involved. The ending will be controversial for those who worship at the altar of the OG, but it opens up many new possibilities for the sequels. Now do FF6.

It's different than OG, not better or worse. Feared that Midgar being drawn out would kill pacing but was invested the entire time. Story is better written, actually giving depth to all things (events, characters). Combat is complex but feels right. Each character actually controls differently which is nice. Remixes of music are wonderful, some original songs slap. More focus on engaging in combat to unlock special things (not a huge fan of that vs OG). Leveling is deeper with weapon upgrades.

There are many standout features of this Herculean accomplishment of a video game. The depth of characterization given to both old and new friends, the delicate balance between accessible and customizable combat, the essential doubling of time spent and things to accomplish in Midgar without feeling like things have been unnecessarily padded, and the investing manner in which the story creates the new while respecting the old. This is everything I've wanted it to be for fifteen years. Bravo.

Japanese people think all black people are Kirk Lazarus. Things have changed. A sickening rush of nostalgia through music.

Looks incredible with a solid script and acting. Ticks all the right nostalgia boxes, while introducing some new elements that don't clash with the established. Combat system is surprisingly enjoyable. Negative marks come from not really enjoying the first section with the insufferable Aerith or the pacing of the final stretch, as well as some classic music tracks being butchered. Ultimately a very high benchmark not just in updating a game to the modern paradigm, but in modern gaming full stop.

I'm a diehard fanboy of the original. I loved venturing into this world with immaculate new graphics, meaningful character development, & an inspired new approach to materia & battle techniques. The absolute highlight though has to be the music. They've reworked the original soundtrack in such a beautiful way that it's both fresh & nostalgic. There were times I'd just close my eyes and listen for a while. Slight weaknesses; Midgar was my least favorite part of the original & dungeons were long.

Never played the original but I thought this was excellent. Great combat system and gorgeous graphics and very cool performances and I loved the ending and the direction they're taking it in.

The ending is.... very bad. The story in general unravels into a confusing mess. However, nostalgia and outstanding production values carry it for the most part. The combat, as it was in FFXV, is incredibly satisfying.

To much Slop

The production values are incredibly good! Wonderful graphics and music. The battle system is fairly well done for an action game too. But what a disaster of a game overall. The pacing is terrible, and they ruined the original story with all the changes they made. They spread what should have been a single game into a trilogy, if they were faithful to the original story this could have been something special.