I like most people have been playing Final Fantasy VII Remake over the past few days. I have a long history of love for the original game, to the point where I have reviewed the original here on Phenixx Gaming. In fact, it was one of the games responsible for my love of all things video games. As of the time of writing I have put around 10 hours in and have made it to the seventh chapter, so long story short I am absolutely in love.

When I think back on what made the original Final Fantasy VII so iconic, it would be a combination of things from the well crafted music, to the deep and tragic characters. Add to that formula a strong story, and all of these things made Final Fantasy VII one of the greatest games of all time. It is great to see Remake keep all these elements intact.

By now you have heard everyone sing Remake’s praises from every rooftop imaginable. From long time fans, to first timers this truly is a Final Fantasy for the new and the old alike. I believe that is my favorite aspect about the game culturally, as turn-based games have unfortunately been given an unfair reputation since the start of the fifth generation of consoles. Aside from a few like Persona 5 and Octopath Traveller, turn-based games tend to be sneered at by the wider gaming audience. They are  seen as “too slow” or “boring” and no one seems to want to take turns beating on enemies anymore.

Final Fantasy VII Remake smartly gets around this issue by taking a much more action-oriented approach, while also utilizing elements of the original ATB (Action Time Battle) system. The action aspect is made up of a system with the same great combat mechanics of the Kingdom Hearts franchise. Cloud and company attack with the square button and use a special ability with triangle to use magic, items and abilities. In order to use these combat options, such as magic you must have enough bars filled in the ATB gauge, and the more you attack the faster this gauge fills. So whichever character you control will build the meter faster than the AI controlled members.

When I first started Remake, I was worried that all the battle strategies would be thrown out the window in favor of simple button-mashing and thankfully that isn’t the case as button-mashing will most likely get you killed faster. The game punishes players who don’t utilize every tool in their arsenal. In some fights against the generic Shinra guards, I could slice-and-dice without a second thought however when I fought a flamethrower or higher ranked guard I would find myself in trouble if I didn’t exploit their weaknesses.

The combat is enhanced by the returning materia system. Materia is condensed mako energy that allows people to use magic. The more you battle and gain EXP you will also gain AP points that will go toward leveling up your spells to a more powerful version.

Weapon upgrading is a welcomed edition as well. In my ten hours of playtime I have only found two weapons for Cloud, Tifa and Barrett so having the ability to keep weapons like the Buster Sword relevant throughout the adventure is a godsend. This is especially great since I love using the different weapons for the aesthetic alone.

Combat isn’t the only thing that makes Remake so special, it is also the way the development team at Square Enix crafted an entire game that fleshes out the first five or so hours of the original experience. About a year ago I decided to do my bi-annual play-through of Final Fantasy VII and realized just how much this story could be expanded.

Seeing Biggs, Wedge and Jessie become real characters with backstories and motivations is a dream come true. Midgar itself feels more alive than ever too, with NPCs adding commentary to not only what is happening in their everyday lives ,but also reacting to the events of the story. It makes everything you do feel purposeful, even if you may be disrupting and potentially destroying the citizen’s lives to achieve your goal of taking down the Shinra Corporation.

Midgar itself feels like it did back when I played it as a kid. In my mind Midgar with this big sprawling dystopia with a seedy underbelly, massive buildings as far as the eye could see, and a distinct class gap with the citizens up top and the ones down below. Even if all this just lasted a few screens, my imagination filled in the game’s holes, and now Midgar is that same sprawling dystopia I always dreamed it would be.

So far I have fallen in love with Jessie, Biggs and Wedge more than I originally thought I would; Remake expands on their lives so much more than expected. When I first booted up the game I was surprised that my first two or three hours were spent mostly with Jessie. The spotlight is put so much on her that I would think she would be part of the main cast in Remake’s sequel.

Music is such a strong part of Final Fantasy games. However, it plays just as big of a part in Final Fantasy VII. Nobuo Uematsu has once again returned with Masashi Hamauzu (Final Fantasy X) and Mitsuto Suzuki (Final Fantasy XIII-2). They have come together to craft and improve upon one of the greatest soundtracks of all time. The renditions of classic songs have been reworked to fit this more modern retelling, with a bit of electronic rock and some great orchestral themes all coming together to create one of the greatest soundtracks in modern gaming.

I have been going on and on about how much I love this game, but I do have a few gripes with the menus and map. The weapon upgrading menus are a little cumbersome as you have to sit though an animation each time you want to raise the weapons stats. Also, choosing a specific node is a little unwieldy as well. The map is sometimes unclear and a little too bland, so I find myself just setting a waypoint and finding my bearings that way.

Final Fantasy VII is a iconic classic and one that should be played by everyone. Final Fantasy VII Remake on the other hand is not just a retelling but something so much more. With an expanded battle system, lovingly composed music, great characters and a downright gorgeous world; Remake is a modern classic worthy of anyone’s time, patience and hard earned money.

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