Final Fantasy VII Remake

 PlayStation 4
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 8148 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6,327 out of 8148
  2. Mixed: 727 out of 8148
  3. Negative: 1,094 out of 8148
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  1. SuineUzumaki
    Apr 13, 2020
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I am a huge Final Fantasy fan. I have played the original Final Fantasy VII and was completely open minded to whatever direction the new dev team wanted. I was so prepared and ready to give this game a 10/10. But as you can tell by my score, I was let down. And this is all just my opinion, if you enjoyed the game I am happy that you were able to, I unfortunately was unable to. Also, spoilers ahead so be warned!

    To start off, I'll state what was good about the game. The character designs are amazing. I fell in love with the new updated looks. The game can be absolutely enjoyable. I would say that 30-40% of the game is nearly perfect. Anytime the game focused on the main beats of the story, the game was a blast to play. Playing the Don Corneo beats, going to Wall Market (experiencing Honey Bee), fighting Reno and Rude, etc. All of it was wonderful. The combat can be rather enjoyable and challenging, which is always good to have. They fleshed out the characters a lot more than the original and at points made them feel more relate-able than the original. Cloud and Tifa's relationship is more well-rounded, Barret was toned down a little (could have been more well-rounded in my opinion), Tifa and Aerith's friendship is brought to light. Even Biggs, Wedge and Jessie are more thought out. But as I stated before that's roughly 30-40% of the game. The rest of it was absolutely a disappointment.

    There are so many issues that I have so I will do my best to cover all of my issues here:

    - The music is downright hard to hear. I have seen some comments on how the music doesn't compare and to be honest, I agree. It is lackluster in comparison to the original.

    - Jessie is completely written as a desperate thirsty lady who cannot wait to get into Cloud’s pants. It is a shame that they drove her character from being attracted to Cloud to being downright almost begging him to have sex with her. If anything, it made me hate her character and made me not care about her at all.

    - The textures in this game are horrendous. I do not know what the issue is. I cannot tell if they did not render the right textures into the game or if they have an issue of textures changing from long to short distance. For example, Cloud’s apartment doors, walls, windows, the bricks on the Leaf House, etc. It reminds me of Sonic ’06 which makes me so sad that I have to compare it to that.

    - I have to remind myself that Materia is even a thing in this game as it feels like it was an after thought. It’s there for nostalgia and nothing else.

    - Sephiroth comes into this game way too early and for no real reason. He shows up all the time for no real purpose to the story. Sephiroth only shows up so early here simply to tease the fanboys and fangirls. It has no plot relevance at all.

    - The script. I was 100% prepared for there to be changes in the story and would have welcomed them as long as they made sense to the overarching theme, plot, characters, and so on. If I am being honest, my original time spent in Midgar was maybe 6 hours, 10 hours at most if I am being generous. In my opinion, the original Midgar script felt fleshed out. It was the inciting incident, it banned the group together and got me prepared to fight Sephiroth and save the world. But that is just not the case here. It is completely dulled out and flushed out to a microscopic amount that it is extremely boring. The sense of urgency for example in many key moments is completely gone simply because we need to spend a full chapter and two boss fights in a train graveyard for no reason. As a player it was infuriating. The story is so hard to find through the mountain of quests, dulled out chapters, crazy long dungeons, and way too many unnecessary boss fights. 50% of this story can be cut out and it would be for the better. It feels as if this was only fluffed out to hide the fact they did not have the open world map or mechanics figured out yet. And I can't even talk about the ridiculous additions near the end, it was awful.

    - There are issues with the combat despite the fact I said they can be thrilling and fun at times. First off, the camera does not follow your target if you are locked onto them which can be extremely frustrating. Secondly, the ATB is infuriating at times. Charging abilities is totally alright, in fact the Summon and Limit Breaks are done well in this game. But the fact that enemies have home-seeking abilities that hit you while you are using an ATB to use an item or spell and then knock you out of it taking your ATB with it, is so frustrating. It makes the system feel as if it is based on luck. Aerith’s AI is wonky and does not do anything unless you control her, at least in my experience. You can get stun-locked so easily and it is extremely frustrating. The dodge system barely works, running around acts as a better dodge.

    Overall, it was amazing during the story and boring when it wasn't.    … Expand
  2. RancidGorbag
    Apr 15, 2020
    3
    Why is Final Fantasy VII so beloved among fans? Because it has such a compelling story and fantastic combat system. The remake falls short on both accounts. The AI was disappointing and it was a pain to have to sort through the menus to use abilities. To call it a remake is misleading. This is a reimagining pioneered by the most infamous director in video game history. It was 30 hours ofWhy is Final Fantasy VII so beloved among fans? Because it has such a compelling story and fantastic combat system. The remake falls short on both accounts. The AI was disappointing and it was a pain to have to sort through the menus to use abilities. To call it a remake is misleading. This is a reimagining pioneered by the most infamous director in video game history. It was 30 hours of Nomura building up the the moment he could tell us that he's going to make this game into whatever he sees fit.… Expand
  3. Blitz6699
    Apr 15, 2020
    3
    This game could of at least gotten us to Juno. Or, right before. Im almost twenty hours in and just got to the sewers..... There is way to much fluff in the game. Meaning, there is stuff there that goes on for the sake of going on. You know, to make the game longer. It's to validate the creator's decision to split up the game into many pieces. And, get more of your money. The battle systemThis game could of at least gotten us to Juno. Or, right before. Im almost twenty hours in and just got to the sewers..... There is way to much fluff in the game. Meaning, there is stuff there that goes on for the sake of going on. You know, to make the game longer. It's to validate the creator's decision to split up the game into many pieces. And, get more of your money. The battle system is okay. I dont like how your allies dont do much unless you control them. And, if you dont control them they basically stand there getting killed. It also takes a long time to fill their gauges. Why? Only two ATB gauges/bars. Really!!?? I do have to say the boss battles are really fun.

    They messed up the materia system. I'm not going into detail here, because it makes me angry. I also really don't like how the game let's you jog for a bit, slow you down for no reason, then back to jogging again, then walking again. I hate this with an absolute passion. I think I am being more critical than what needs to be done. But, the things I dont like I ABSOLUTELY HATE. FF7 original is my favorite game of all time. I don't think I'll get the next few iterations of the game. I'll wait for them to all come out at once. I'm afraid I dont think I would have played this game if I wasn't on qarenteen.    … Expand
  4. Oluckyasian24
    Apr 16, 2020
    3
    If you are looking for a turn base strategy/tactical game that challenges you to think - this aint it. Aside from beautiful graphics, everything else is lacking. This is an action game playing on people nostalgia for a cash grab. Sure it makes for a great movie - but do you want to pay $180+ to watch a movie you already know the ending to? Huge disappointment... if its not broken - dontIf you are looking for a turn base strategy/tactical game that challenges you to think - this aint it. Aside from beautiful graphics, everything else is lacking. This is an action game playing on people nostalgia for a cash grab. Sure it makes for a great movie - but do you want to pay $180+ to watch a movie you already know the ending to? Huge disappointment... if its not broken - dont fix it. No one will remember this game a few years from now. All the memorable soundtrack are original ones; the side quests are literally like WoW classic and the gameplay is button mashing galore with barely any strategy involved. You can run through the entire game using a few types of materia, difficulty is non existent. Over hyped big time… Expand
  5. kleeptomaniac
    Apr 16, 2020
    3
    I enjoyed 90% percent of this game, until the ending happened and the writers decided they weren't making a remake anymore. Why did a remake people have been waiting for, for decades have to be ruined because of the writers massive ego.

    I wanted the original story of FF7 remade, not an alternate take or reimagining.
    **** you Nomura.
  6. shubbledubbledi
    Apr 16, 2020
    3
    To call this a Remake is almost false advertising. The final few hours of this game are a giant FU to every player of the original and amount to what can only be called a complete reboot of the game, with a heavy dose of the Nomura/Nojima narrative nonsense combination as the cherry on top.

    This game ends on such a poor note that I have no choice but to heavily mark it down. Up to the    To call this a Remake is almost false advertising. The final few hours of this game are a giant FU to every player of the original and amount to what can only be called a complete reboot of the game, with a heavy dose of the Nomura/Nojima narrative nonsense combination as the cherry on top.

    This game ends on such a poor note that I have no choice but to heavily mark it down. Up to the final few hours the game wasn't perfect, and many of the additions or changes were questionable, but many additions were also quite enjoyable and it did not diverge majorly from the original (with some notable exceptions).
    Where the sequels to this game go from here is anyone's guess, but it certainly won't be Final Fantasy 7 anymore.    … Expand
  7. wolfmanHack
    Apr 22, 2020
    3
    The success this game may be achieving is basically the result of a good marketing operation, nothing more.
    They built a massive hype about it over time through interviews, previews and **** so that fans would become more and more excited, but if you look at it as it is, this game is actually very poor.
    I can somehow understand people rating this so high, because I really wanted to    The success this game may be achieving is basically the result of a good marketing operation, nothing more.
    They built a massive hype about it over time through interviews, previews and **** so that fans would become more and more excited, but if you look at it as it is, this game is actually very poor.

    I can somehow understand people rating this so high, because I really wanted to love this game as I loved the real FF7 playing it 23 years ago.
    Yet to truth is... this is not FF7. It just don't look, sound or feel like FF7 in anyway.

    I'm sure real fans of the original get what I'm saying. All the sense of mistery, of haunting, melancholy and beauty of life expressed by the original have been replaced with... well... flashy visuals. That's pretty much it. They basically sold the very soul of the game to buy an empty good looking body.

    The trick here is: all the good you may be experiencing playing this remake belongs to the nostalgia; thus belongs to the original.
    Visually they actually made a good job to reproduce every place as we remember it. But, when the nostalgia effect ends, nothing remains and you will begin to see the game for what it is: a PROLOGUE to the original story, diluted with some generic and meaningless content which simply does not belong to FF7.

    But, let's split it up a bit. The following are huge mistakes which alone would be enough to ruin the game at once; and we have all of them:

    1. THE EPISODIC CHOICE
    You don't split an RPG in episodes. Ever. You completely destroy the sense of continuity, you reset the tension built until the moment you interrupt an episode, you break the story, you fail to deliver a sense of greatness and massive world; and most of all you lose one of the core concepts of an rpg, that is character building.
    What's the point of even level, equip and customize characters if they go to oblivion at the end of the episode? The character state at the beginning of the next episode will be just reset to some standard point, thus they will not be MY characters. Can you tell how possibly bad is that in this archetype?

    2. SUBQUESTS AND PADDING CONTENT
    What do you get if you merge a lot of water with good wine? Better wine? I think not. More likely more wine, but with a horrible taste.
    That's basically what they did here. They interrupted the storytelling several times to make the player do some generic meaningless quest.
    Well, side quests don't belong here, they belong to open world games. For a reason.
    And reason is, you have a world to explore and what you want to do in this world is up to you.
    You just can ignore them, or some of them, and still have a massive world to explore.
    This is not the case. There's no reason to pause a thrilling story from being told, well... unless you don't have much of a story to tell, having cut it. (see point 1)

    3. MAJOR STORY CHANGES
    This one is pretty obvious. You don't want to change the story everyone remembers to something different. On top of that you put in it elements from the original showed as "future visions". Why would you that? Fans will get upset because they were asking to re-experience the story like they remembered; new players just won't understand it in the first place, not knowing the original story.
    Furthermore, you don't do this in a game you call remake. This is just not what people expect, at a point that feels scam-like, misleading and insulting.

    Again, this is not FF7. You cannot simply put a logo, characters and skins onto a generic empty game and hope it will become what you are trying to shape. Things just don't work this way, it's not something that a decent company in gaming industry would EVER do.

    Things are, this game is out since 2 weeks, so people is understandably still excited about it, but it will be easily forgotten in few months.
    The reason we are all talking so much about this remake is the glorious game the original still represents after 23 years.
    And 23 years VS few months gives a very accurate idea of the difference between the two.    … Expand
  8. Benor
    Apr 17, 2020
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. game was great then that ending happened and turned a great story it kingdom heart BS… Expand
  9. Oneiltroy
    Apr 16, 2020
    3
    As a huge final fantasy fan I have to say I was guttered at how easy they've made this game. You no longer have to manage your potions or really be carefull at all, you can just smash your way through everything and guess what even if you do manage to fail, you can just keep retrying the battle untill you pass. Summons are pretty much auto pilot. It looks stunning however what made theAs a huge final fantasy fan I have to say I was guttered at how easy they've made this game. You no longer have to manage your potions or really be carefull at all, you can just smash your way through everything and guess what even if you do manage to fail, you can just keep retrying the battle untill you pass. Summons are pretty much auto pilot. It looks stunning however what made the game great for me was the turn based fighting and tactics that need implementing in order to succeed. Not just hack and slash!! Truly dissapointed… Expand
  10. Skire
    Apr 17, 2020
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game is almlost perfect until the final part. It's not fair selling a 'REMAKE' while breaking the original story. This is not a remake.… Expand
  11. Thorongil
    Apr 17, 2020
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. There are certainly some good things about Final Fantasy VII Remake like the visuals and some of the mechanics but overall i found it disappointing. First off the claim that this is a full Final Fantasy game is not accurate. If I were to complete most of the original games content it would probably take around 100 hours of game play while the remake, including side quests, took me about 50 hours of gameplay. Secondly the decision to keep the game completely in Midgar is, simply put, baffling. In the original Midgar is basically a tutorial that takes about 7 hours to complete. Some of the scenes in the remake feel unnecessarily drawn out and exhaustive. This would have been fine if they were adding to and enhancing the original story line but most of the time they weren't. Although you see Sephiroth quite a bit in this new game he doesn't add much to the plot. He rarely speaks and when he does it doesn't have much meaning. I don't recall hearing him ever talk about his mission of finding the promised land! The remake seemed even more linear than the original and often forces you to take a certain path and there's no need for that. But one of the most disappointing things about the remake is the ending. It is an attempt to be this epic conclusion but it just ends up being a convoluted mess that doesn't make much sense. It also has nothing to do with the original and almost makes you feel like you have completed the entire story line without any further installments needed. In summary i would call this Final Fantasy 7 reimagined, not a remake. It plays out like someones interpretive blockbuster movie not like the RPG we know and love.… Expand
  12. Dunderkarlsson
    Apr 18, 2020
    3
    Do not buy this game at full price

    I'm a long time fan of the Final Fantasy-series with relentless hours logged towards original game. The original FF7 contains a fantastic story, immersive atmosphere and brought an addictive gameplay to the genre. The remake is a big bowl of crap. Do not believe the fan boy-hype. The good -The battle-gameplay with a mix of turned based action    Do not buy this game at full price

    I'm a long time fan of the Final Fantasy-series with relentless hours logged towards original game. The original FF7 contains a fantastic story, immersive atmosphere and brought an addictive gameplay to the genre.

    The remake is a big bowl of crap. Do not believe the fan boy-hype.

    The good
    -The battle-gameplay with a mix of turned based action and classic ‘hack and slash’ works quite well and is fairly entertaining yet a bit repetitive.

    -The lightning effects, especially in the battles, looks and feels great.

    -The music stays true to the original, meaning one of the best soundtracks out there.

    The bad (the oh so bad..)
    -They managed to f-up the original and excellent story with extremely non-logical quests and plot, even for a J-PRG where you will go from laughs to irritation after a chapter or two.

    -The voice acting is not bad itself, but the dialogue/script is just gibberish and mostly made of "reactionary sounds" (ehum! ehm?! ah! huh?!). At least in the original you could visualize the character mentally, but in this game basically all characters sound and acts mentally challenged.

    -The story or quest "puzzles" (push the lever, find the keycard that's right in front of you, go to the place marked X on the map) is made for kids. Combine this with the 3-year old dialogue (probably written by Uwe Boll) and this game would fit kindergarten-game-night quite well.

    -Normal difficulty setting (which is the only one available starting the game, either that or easy) is a breeze. Just use your abilites and that's it.

    -The animations are ok, but the characters facial expressions are either dead or hilarious.

    -Camera movement have not changed really since 1997.

    -The game studio says that they are releasing additional episodes due to the massive map and world. The actual playable area in each chapter and scene is however very small. Sure, there is a ton of details and back-drops..that you never get to interact with. This is a linear game no doubt about it.

    -The movement of characters, especially when going under or sliding through something is annoying and bulky.

    If this game would have been released as a stand-alone game without any reference to the old game it would have been shame whipped all the way to the summer PSN Store Sales.

    Do not endorse this kind of games, being release 2020 after seeing massive AAA-titles. Go play the original instead and spend your money on something else.

    On a lost note; Metacritic needs to do something about the "either 0 or 10"-grading.
    (I’m also sorry Uwe, your movies are bad but not FF7 remake-bad).    … Expand
  13. Tydeous
    Apr 18, 2020
    3
    I would say it was an 7-9 rating until I hit the final chapter (chapter 18). The immense retcon to the story and the future of the setting was enough to utterly ruin the game's story and the future of the series. I won't be buying a sequel.
  14. PabNAC
    Apr 20, 2020
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. First 17 chapters of the game were amazing and mostly fateful to the original, then the ending happens.. this is not a remake but a sequel to Advent Children, and that is not even the worst part but the horrible way in which they presented this new plot. 8/10 for 90% or the game, 1/10 for the ending.… Expand
  15. leonre
    Apr 20, 2020
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I feel like rose-tinted-glasses are the only reason this remake was a success.
    As you play through the beginning from the first reactor to the slums and Seventh Heaven this game seems great, it seems like it stuck with the original game and it keeps the same tone, atmosphere, and story. As an individual that grew up playing the original FFVII, I was in love, it was beautiful to see these scenes recreated, and the beginning filler quests were things like pest controls or finding cats, some obvious filler, but hey, it's the beginning of the game and Cloud's trying to get his name out as a merc, so it was passable and made sense he was stuck doing small-fry work.
    It only went downhill from there, the filler became more tedious, and my god is there filler, it's a chore by the halfway point, the only thing that drives you onward is the fact that the scenes that stayed true to the original are amazingly done, the music, voice acting, emotion and love put into it is felt through. Yet an even amount of iconic scenes are ruined by the addition of the Dementors, which not only ruin old beloved scenes, but also their meta-narrative will rip you out of the story once you figure out their purpose.
    The characters are amazingly well done, they sound exactly like I always imagined, their personalities fit the original game so well, doing away with the one-dimensional husks the compilation made them. Definitely the best part of the remake.
    The use of Sephiroth is atrocious and just ruins his character and the mystery behind him, killing what tension the original had.
    The last step that made me simply want the game to end so I could stop being disappointed was the Shin-Ra HQ, there was so much linear pointless corridor filler I thought I was back in FFXIII. At one point I forgot I was in the HQ because I was desperately trudging through trying to make it end. This is the same place where you meet Red XIII, a main character than is no longer playable, and the excuse given was his character wouldn't be developed enough to justify him being playable(?) even though he fights side by side with you for pretty much every fight, because screw you Red XIII fans, you should've been Cloud or Tifa fans instead.
    After that the iconic "trail of blood" scene is butchered because the developer is now afraid of blood so you follow purple goo in an otherwise spotless HQ, which is the least intimidating thing I've ever experienced. Then you get a pretty awesome Rufus fight, which was the only good thing about the HQ besides taking the stairs.
    Then the ending simply becomes Kingdom Hearts and completely changes the story so it's officially no longer the original FF7, Cloud and co. transcend realities and fight Dementors and Sephiroth while Advent Children anime fight scenes happen, Cloud almost defeats Sephiroth right there, which further makes remake-Sephiroth a joke and no threat whatsoever.

    This is not a remake of the original FF7 like it was advertised, they said there would be story changes, but given the name "remake" I feel like many (including myself) assumed it would just be changes of things like the addition of Roche, or characters like Leslie Kyle and Kyrie getting some side-arcs, things that weren't in the original but could still reasonably exist alongside the original story we expected, added content that has some level of quality that wasn't in the original, to give more life and playtime to Midgar.
    Not that this would actually be a literal spinoff that isn't even close to the original FF7 and should be considered an entry in the compilation. We asked for a remake or remaster for years, and they said that's what we were getting, so it's not unreasonable to think people would expect a FF7 remake, not a spin-off under the guise of a remake. While technically the name makes sense, being a remake of the original storyline, and how they're "remaking" destiny. SE could have said they were completely changing the entire plot, but they chose not to, they chose to mislead customers. It's deceitful and my final strands of respect for the company left with this remake, Makes me miss the days of Squaresoft.    … Expand
  16. Finalfantasyki
    Apr 21, 2020
    3
    Last chapter does not do justice and seems very fairytale like. It would have been an 8 as most of the story was captured nicely with good sense of realism until the last chapter.
  17. BigBullet
    Apr 22, 2020
    3
    The Good
    -The combat isn’t half bad. The tactical menu is pretty cool and lets you plan + execute your strategy nicely.
    -There’s some nice banter and dialogue between the characters in some scenes which I thought was neat. -The music can be a bit too much at times but other than that it’s mostly good. The Bad -LOTS of padding which ruins the pacing throughout the game. -While the combat    The Good
    -The combat isn’t half bad. The tactical menu is pretty cool and lets you plan + execute your strategy nicely.
    -There’s some nice banter and dialogue between the characters in some scenes which I thought was neat.
    -The music can be a bit too much at times but other than that it’s mostly good.

    The Bad
    -LOTS of padding which ruins the pacing throughout the game.
    -While the combat is alright, some parts bother me. For example, it’s easy to have your attack interrupted. I wish summons were a bit cooler as well. -Inconsistent graphics. Some textures look good, while others look absolutely terrible. The Ugly
    -Anything involving the ghosts, time traveling, or alternate universes. I have no idea why they thought introducing all of that crap into the game was a good idea. The last sections of the game go off the rails HARD and basically cements that this game really isn’t a remake but a sequel which is really messed up if you ask me. Overall the game has some good stuff, but it’s ultimately soured by all of the terrible stuff.    … Expand
  18. Hydrae
    Apr 28, 2020
    3
    What the **** Square Enix?
    People just wanted to see the game with updated graphics, you even went as far as creating an actual okay "modernized" combat system, modern in quotes because modern doesn't necessarily mean action oriented. All the hard part was done graphic wise and combat/customisation wise, why did you have to **** it up by changing the story, it was already super convoluted    What the **** Square Enix?
    People just wanted to see the game with updated graphics, you even went as far as creating an actual okay "modernized" combat system, modern in quotes because modern doesn't necessarily mean action oriented. All the hard part was done graphic wise and combat/customisation wise, why did you have to **** it up by changing the story, it was already super convoluted but it was beautifully paced, minor tweaks? Sure. Adding some side content? Why not. But why just blowing up the whole thing?
    The longer I keep watching square Enix work the more I believe they don't understand that sometimes less is more, and they don't understand why people used to love them, a shame coming from the guys who were so great at making perfectly crafted games decades ago.
    It feels like a middle finger to anybody who wanted this, I know people would say that the game is not that bad, but it was supposed to be a masterpiece and it could have been so much more than just an ok game with pretty graphics    … Expand
  19. Jolleygreen3
    Apr 28, 2020
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. If you want to be throw into left field with lazy writing this game is for you, if you want the game you grew up with youlle still like this game for the mechanics but the way they added the arbiter of fate boss fight to hint to you that you arent getting FF7 story anymore is a huge let down. I didnt want a remake story, I wanted the old story with new remade graphics… Expand
  20. Solid_Igor
    Apr 30, 2020
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game is Excellent when it is what it was marketed for, a Remake.
    But the ending is atrocious, a middle finger to long term fans.
    it gets extremely convoluted because they added lame plot devices that betray the essence of FF7. Timetravel doesn´t belong to the FF7 lore.
    Sephiroth is not Ultimecia.
    They transformed this game from an outstanding Remake to a Sequel/Reboot full of Nomura´s nonsense.
    If you loved the story of the OG stay away from this game, mostly because of the last chapter.    … Expand
  21. coldnoggin
    May 2, 2020
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. *Spoilers*

    I wish I stopped playing after I left the Church. The whispers were terrible!!!! The story was murdered...I'm not contributing money to following chapters. An awful awful game    … Expand
  22. RatsOffToYa
    Jun 19, 2020
    3
    -
    SquareEnix released what might the be greatest psychological horror of 2020.
    The game starts out with everything you can hope for and more, breathtaking visuals in one of the greatest video game settings, the city of Midgar. Just opening the door from Cloud's apartment for the first time and the sheer scale of the plates in full detail along the view of the slums you see in front of    -
    SquareEnix released what might the be greatest psychological horror of 2020.

    The game starts out with everything you can hope for and more, breathtaking visuals in one of the greatest video game settings, the city of Midgar. Just opening the door from Cloud's apartment for the first time and the sheer scale of the plates in full detail along the view of the slums you see in front of you, all to explore in all its glory...the pleasure is intoxicating. Sure you sense something amiss, but it is quickly shrugged off since the first reactor mission went so perfectly.

    You start to see a few red flags here and there, an unrelated motorcycle character comes to form and vanishes like a tv one episode villain, and you start to see less and less effort put into the side characters and side quests that feel painfully robotic or badly scripted and voiced. But worry not, the core story was still there, shining in all its glory...side characters and side quests never mattered and can be quickly skipped past.

    Some more hours pass, the ghosts...you've seen them again, and your early interpretation that they're similar to voices of the lifestream isn't cutting it anymore. Worry not you tell yourself, the train graveyard is coming up, surely a wonderful tie in to fighting in the train graveyard is what SquareEnix is after.

    The first moment of shock, the first reasoning for the ghosts/whispers. The party is told that the ghosts are arbiters of fate trying to control the party's path...and they're in a Final Fantasy 7 game. Your deepest fears have come to light, and while the game doesn't delve on them much...you already know it's too late, an unlit stick of dynamite will follow you from here on out.

    You play out the game enjoying what you see while knowing a truly darker evil lies beneath the gorgeous visuals. Then just as you feel the game is reaching its end with no cataclysmic destruction, looking as though this first episode will be left safe, the destruction begins. You are thrown head first into the abyss. There is no saving explanation coming, your greatest fear has truly come alive...THIS...IS...KINGDOM HEARTS. Timelines, time travel, and plot ripped asunder. The thing is more terrible than I can describe, an incoherent jumble of nostalgia, story switching, and everything Nomura.

    You lie awake, asking the same question...Why? it comes to no purpose or gain, but you continue to ask...Why?
    Alas, the first is over and you know they will come again, again, and again...worse than the last.

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    I wish everyone well as they dive through the later parts of a great game turned milk machine.
    SquareEnix lured their wide eyed prey and struck hard and fast.

    -    … Expand
  23. Sasori_Nagashi
    Jun 21, 2020
    3
    Simplistic gameplay to the highest measure, messed up and changed the story, slaughtered iconic pieces of music... I could go on but it doesn't deserve it.
  24. Daeandor
    Jun 23, 2020
    3
    This game was good until you get to the Shina HQ. However after that my experience goes into the trash. I was expecting changes, however nothing like this. It's a slap in the face. It ruined the game for me. I'm very concerned about the series as a whole going forward. It's just like the last of us part 2. Advertised to be something its not.
  25. meop
    Jun 27, 2020
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Final Fantasy 7 remake is a visually beautiful game. It has excellent voice acting and the combat isn't a complete disaster... those are the only reasons this review isn't a zero.

    Understand, I am reviewing this game as a fan of the original Ginal Fantasy 7. These tpes of games are important because of their story. Lots of games have flashy combat or beautiful graphics... this type of game must get the story right.

    Final Fantasy 7 remake fails at this most critical of priorities.    … Expand
  26. IntrovertRobot
    Sep 11, 2020
    3
    A game that is just a padded mess. The bad guy shows up too soon. Some stuff that would take 5 seconds to do in the OG takes 10 years in the Remake. There's also this **** love triangle in the game which also sucks. The combat is okay but sometimes the AI freaks out and breaks. Lastly, the dialogue is just terrible, everything that made the dialogue good in the OG is terrible now. 3/10
  27. aoi000
    Jul 7, 2020
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Before the game release, Square Enix said that they would add "little additions" to the story, but these "little additions" totally ruined the whole remake. It would have been fine if Square Enix told me they would be changing the plot a lot. The story was changed drastically in the last chapter, which is very disappointing. I feel like I got tricked after playing chapter 17 and 18.

    I accept plot change if the decisions that the characters made were reasonable, but the remake was unable to convince me. To me, the biggest question is why Aerith wanted to change her fate. The group saved the world in the original game, but after defeating the whispers, they may be unable to do so this time. The game failed to explain why Aerith took this risk and decided to change her fate. Also, the existence of whispers was unnecessary and incomprehensible. You can just let the characters act differently from the original game, and explain why they made a different choice this time.

    I also did not like the filler chapters, such as chapter 10, 11 and 15.

    The graphics, music and combat system were great so I did not rate this game 0.    … Expand
  28. GerardCS
    Jul 19, 2020
    3
    buen sistema de combate para un FF, pero definitibamente no es FF7, se supone que estiran la historia para poder contar mas sobre la trama, pero si quitases el capitulo 14, el 16 y el tramo final del ultimo capitulo, te quedabas igual, no te perderias nada, no aportan nada, estirado artificialmente y sin escusas para ser vendido por fasciculos.
  29. neilmagic
    Apr 18, 2021
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Pros:
    Graphics - beautifully designed, models all highly nostalgic

    Characters - nice designs as with graphics, visually this game is a masterpiece

    Music - again a great job here and lots of nostalgic renditions of original pieces

    Cons:
    Gameplay - the battle system is a huge downgrade from the original, if I wanted a hack and slash or press X as fast as you can many options such as devil may cry or kingdom hearts are available.

    Story - every new introduction and change from the original is a bad idea, they all have a sense of "why the hell is this happening" and / or "who the hell is this??". This feel massively padded out at times and also it's rather linear, you could argue it is just midgar which in the original also is, but the argument that this was a "full game" cannot also take the cake and eat it. The whole time / dimension thing is a load of crap to try to appeal to all basis to give a sense that anything can happen - I don't like this at all and it's a real sellout. The biggest sellout of all though is the Sephiroth appearances, this shows zero build up to the character, he should not be seen at all throughout the entire midgar section, this along with the time displacement crap has ruined the story for me. I give it a 3/10 for the reasons above, a lot of effort and love went into this, but it was led astray from the very start and it's one of gaming's biggest disappointments for me ever,the original game is a solid 9.5/10 just for some context and I would argue if you're new to the game and characters, play the original and forget this mistake of a game.    … Expand
  30. Grimlocksmash
    Sep 9, 2020
    3
    All the reviews told me to love a battle system I just wasnt in love with. After beating the game I wondered if I'd have even played it without loving the original. It felt like playing the characters of final fantasy 7 inside the horrible battle system of final fantasy 15. It I wanted an action rpg I'd play the witcher. I expected greatness and got a downgrade.
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Awards & Rankings

8
#8 Best PS4 Game of 2020
5
#5 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2020
4
#4 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
87

Generally favorable reviews - based on 126 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 116 out of 126
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 126
  3. Negative: 0 out of 126
  1. GameMAG
    Sep 14, 2020
    90
    Final Fantasy VII Remake is the game we've been waiting for from Square Enix for so long. Atmospheric, interesting and exciting all your attention modern jRPG with an interesting story and spectacular battles. To achieve the ideal, the project only needs more even graphics and all the content from the original release. If you were waiting for a turn-based classic with new graphics you will most likely be disappointed, since the game has changed a lot. Everyone else is happy with the release of the first really powerful single-player release from the internal Square Enix studio for many years. Especially after the failure of Final Fantasy XV.
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  2. Riot Pixels
    Aug 20, 2020
    80
    A good remake of the introductory part of the cult-favorite Final Fantasy VII. It improves on the original game in almost all aspects, yet lacks in scale and drops the ball at the very end.
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  3. Finger Guns
    Aug 10, 2020
    90
    What matters is still intact, and that’s the heart and soul of one of the greatest stories in video game history. It’s a return to form that has felt a long time in coming, and what’s even better is that there’s still at least two more games of this quality to come...They can’t mess this up, can they?
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