Game review

Release date	2022-12-13
Publisher	Square Enix
Developer	Square Enix, Tose
Platform	PlayStation 5
Playtime	97 hours
Progress	Completed

This game is long over due. A lot of us hoped this would had come out before the FF7 Part 1 on the PS4 as a prequel game, but in the end it was worth the wait. This remaster is very true to the original PSP game, but ended up being more fun.

---

I take notes as I play the game for things that I think deserve a mention. If something was not mentioned, it is considered "fine" and not noteworthy in any sense.

Pros

• Zack
  He's the GOAT of Final Fantasy 7. My favorite charachter in the FF7 universe. Angeal walked so Zack could run and Cloud to be a memory. He says how things are very direct. Like he doesn't drag things out 30 hours to tell Aerith who he is just for it to be a twist.
  
  
• Romance
  The romance between Zack and Arieth is something that I felt was very legit and not forced on as many other games. It made the end game so much more impactful.
• UI
  The UI is very good. Smooth and simple to use, clean and doesn't get in the way.
  
  
• Summons
  Summons has better gameplay now and the cutscenes is pretty awesome.
  
  
• Tutorials
  I like how the game tutorialize things that's not very much in the way as well the mini-preview videos
  
  
• Movement
  It's very responsive and quick. Cancellable actions.
  
  
• BREAK
  I like the break mechanic and it saves example your double HP after the battle until you loose it.
  
  
• Good Game Over
  When you die or just give up, you have the option of re-equippning all your things before you try again. This is convinient as well faster and smoother recovery from game over.
  
  
• Restored after battle is over
  As in Final Fantasy 13, when the battle is over, you get restored in terms of status effects etc.
  
  
• Materia Fusion
  They could had made this much more complex as other games use in terms of crafting but instead the materia fusion let's you experiment and feel like it's possible without insane grind or knowledge to create something better than you already had.
  
  
• Ending
  BEST VIDEO GAME ENDING EVER.
  
  

Neutral

• Voice acting
  A lot more is now voice acted and feels more modern, however they changed the voice actor for Zack to be the same as in the FF7 remake which was upsetting.
  
  
• DMW
  I like the DMW. It gives good buffs in battle, extended HP and MP is all great. It also serve as a story integration purpose. It was better executed in this game compared to the original PSP release. The only thing I would change would be it being tied with levelling because it's slow compared to SP.
  
  

Cons

• Cutscenes
  Even tho being a remaster, the cutscenes was not re-rendered and instead upscaled making it a bit blocky and downgrade when being played on a large tv.
  
  
• Inventory
  The materia menu can become insanely long when you have a lot of it. Some materia grouping would had been very nice to clean things up.
  
  
• Repeatable environments
  Many of the missions have repeatable environments and areas.
  
  

Overall

This is what most people wanted originally from the FF7 Remake. A graphical upgrade, but instead they got a complete reimagining. As Crisis Core is my favorite entry in the FF7 saga, I'm very happy with this remaster isn't a reimagining of the game.

---