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. NoIllusions
    Aug 9, 2023
    10
    Seriously amazing remake and easily improves on original. Original was fantastic game in 1997, but it's obvious that it needed and deserved well made upgrade and that's exactly what this first part of the remake trilogy is. Top-tier voice acting, great boss fights (also boss designs are very good), beautiful music and very good story. Can't wait for Part 2.
  2. YannySp101
    Apr 29, 2021
    10
    I've never played a Final Fantasy game but I've heard by many that Final Fantasy VII was one of the most important videogames ever made.
    Final Fantasy VII Remake was my first game in the series and... oh boy, where do I begin!
    The story is good in my opinion and even though the ending is divisive, I liked it personally and I think that it's too early to criticize it. The characters are    I've never played a Final Fantasy game but I've heard by many that Final Fantasy VII was one of the most important videogames ever made.
    Final Fantasy VII Remake was my first game in the series and... oh boy, where do I begin!
    The story is good in my opinion and even though the ending is divisive, I liked it personally and I think that it's too early to criticize it.
    The characters are some of the most engaging and likable characters I've seen in a while, and even some minor side-characters surprised me a lot.
    The combat system is excellent! It's like a combination of Hack 'n' Slash & Turn Based at the same time, there are 4 completely different party members to control, tons of different skills, items and builds to use, it's deep, organic, it feels awesome and it looks phenomenal! The RPG elements are executed well and the Materia system is just wonderful.
    The bosses are some of the best I've ever encountered in a videogame.
    The music is fantastic for sure and it fits the visuals perfectly, and the visuals are breathtaking; the lighting, the animations, the textures and the setting are some of the best I've seen in a while.
    Lastly, the set-pieces and the visual representation are absolutely top-tier! Some cutscenes look like they are out of a CGI movie and there are so many jaw-dropping moments.
    I do have few minor complaints with the game though; the textures look bad at times, some chapters feel significantly longer than they should've been, and the side-quests are uninteresting for the most part.

    Pros:
    + Interesting story
    + Awesome characters
    + Flawless gameplay
    + Incredible music & boss fights
    + Absolutely gorgeous visuals & set-pieces

    Cons:
    - Inconsistent texture quality
    - Pacing issues in some instances
    - Weak side-quests

    Narrative: 7/10
    Gameplay: 10/10
    Content: 7/10
    Characters: 10/10
    Music: 10/10
    Graphics/Audio: 10/10

    Final Rating: 9.5/10
    - Outstanding -
    Final Fantasy VII Remake isn't just a masterfully crafted Remake, but it's one of the best videogame experiences I had in a while and one of my favorite games on the PS4.

    Do I recommend it?:
    Yes, to both fans and newcomers.    … Expand
  3. SHAAN07
    Apr 10, 2020
    10
    All the 0 rated reviews so far are people who failed to even understand what this remake project was. The remake is the first portion of the original game due to how big the original game was. The developers really wanted to add to the experience that's why they've added so much more lore and events!

    The Remake has genuinely improved on the original by fleshing out the story and the    All the 0 rated reviews so far are people who failed to even understand what this remake project was. The remake is the first portion of the original game due to how big the original game was. The developers really wanted to add to the experience that's why they've added so much more lore and events!

    The Remake has genuinely improved on the original by fleshing out the story and the characters especially! The music is something else too... some of the best arrangement I've heard in a long time!    … Expand
  4. DarkChaplain
    Apr 10, 2020
    4
    All Square Enix needed to do was follow the script's core beats, and flesh it out, while fully realizing the setting's world, ambiance and characters. For about half the game, they actually achieve this. It's a joyful, nostalgic trip to Midgar, with Avalanche growing dear to your heart all over again. Tifa and Aerith are stunning in their added depth and interactions with the rest of theAll Square Enix needed to do was follow the script's core beats, and flesh it out, while fully realizing the setting's world, ambiance and characters. For about half the game, they actually achieve this. It's a joyful, nostalgic trip to Midgar, with Avalanche growing dear to your heart all over again. Tifa and Aerith are stunning in their added depth and interactions with the rest of the cast. Infiltrating Don Corneo's abode had me laughing at just how good it was.

    But the further the story progressed, the harder did Nojima and Toriyama deviate from the original's story and developments. From introducing core villains, whose presence was supposed to be felt as a looming dread, without fully unveiling them yet, far too early over additions of fate ghosts to a completely absurd, rewritten ending that pulls everything into question while making it clear that no, this is not a Remake, but a reimagining, a reboot, with the publisher opening the next part up to being whatever they wish it to be (or is easier to produce than a faithful sequel), the so-called Remake is a massive letdown.

    I was ready to adore this game. Cautiously optimistic ever since they announced it, being of the old guard that had been wishing for a faithful remake for a decade before the announcement dropped, I wanted to love it. For a good amount of hours, I actually did. It is a great shame that they decided to abandon the script in favor of Nojima's prime storytelling device (not to spoil things directly, but if you look at a list of games he's written for on Wikipedia, you'll be able to tell what most of them have in common...).

    The real tragedy of this first part of the "remake" really is that they did nearly everything right for so much of the game. From adding sidequests to flesh out the Sector 7 slums and their inhabitants, adding dialogue, making a real show out of the Honey Bee manor, speeding up some tedious parts while allowing further exploration in others. Graphically, the game looks absolutely stunning and I am ready to consider the main cast here to be the definitive versions, the best overall designed and authentic renditions. The music is for the most part incredibly well arranged from the original Uematsu tracks, although the new tracks fall short on a stylistic level. Added characters and comedic relief work in the game's favor at the point they occur, before everything comes tumbling down to crash and burn.

    It left me asking myself whether these changes were intended from the start, or were taken as a get out of jail free option when Square Enix's executives realized just how expensive the full game would turn out being, if they kept the same level of detail and interaction throughout all we remember from the original. It's almost like they put so much of their budget into the first half, they couldn't possibly maintain this scope for future zones, cities, dungeons and the like. Abandoning the original makes sense on some level, considering that, especially when it comes with a sort of justification to do things differently with part 2. The problem is, that none of these full rewrites are good. They're fanfic-level absurdities that fail to grasp what made the original beloved in the first place. It's as if they didn't truly understand why fans wanted a remake, or what they expected of it. Maybe they figured that sales of Kingdom Hearts 3 indicated that people wanted more of that absurd type of modern Square Enix storytelling? I'm grasping at straws here, trying to somehow understand what made this company throw one of their most highly valued and cherished title into the river to drown any future expectations.

    If I had Nojima's timey wimey powers vested within me, I would like to turn back time to the moment that the relevant staff at Square Enix decided to make these fatal decisions, and force them to defy fate. I wished this game nothing but success, but this company has once again managed to disappoint and, in a sense, infuriate. My biggest fear is that the rewrites will tarnish the original's legacy, especially for the newcomer audience that expected to hop into it with no prior experience. To them, it'll feel very disjointed, but probably cool due to the way it looks and plays. They won't be able to grasp what made the original a classic for the ages, however.
    That's a shame.    … Expand
  5. wotakit
    Apr 10, 2020
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Most people knew that this wasn't going to be a shot-for-shot replica of the original game which is fine, but the ending to FF7R completely derails from the original to the point where semantics of what a 'remake' is becomes irrelevant. It uses the history and characters of the FF7 universe to start a brand new story on an alternate timeline. Characters that should be dead, no longer are so fundamental motivations and character arcs are out of the window. The next parts will be starting fresh and this should be extremely worrying to anyone who knows Squares recent history. Square no longer has the ability to create new stories that are coherent or interesting. This is why people were excited for a remake of a story that everyone already loved. They couldn't possibly screw this one up and yet they still have.

    Aside from the ending, there are plenty of other negatives too. Filler is a major problem. The side quests are almost all basic filler fetch quests. "Go here, kill x enemies, come back, go somewhere else, repeat." I've seen people defending this saying that you can't create a 30+ hour game without some padding. I don't understand this at all. Either make the game shorter or make the "padding" GOOD content. The game is much more linear than I expected. Almost every single walkable area in the game is a narrow corridor.
    The hybrid combat system is actually pretty good but there are big flaws in the AI. The enemies always agro on the character that the player is controlling and your allies do very little to help or defend themselves. This combination seems to be Squares way of ensuring that you switch characters often but it is so poorly executed and feels forced.
    The camera sucks in combat even with the recommended changes to the settings. You can't see what you're looking at half the time, especially if the enemy is above you.
    There is also a serious texture problem. The worst being looking down to the slums from the plate. I believe that this will be fixed in the day 1 patch though. It needs to be.

    It sucks to give this game such a low score. FF7 is my all time favourite and I really wanted this to succeed. The game gets some things right, and when it does, it absolutely nails them. But sadly there is just far too much crap surrounding it, that i'm left disappointed overall.    … Expand
  6. Raewulf
    Apr 13, 2020
    0
    Think of your favorite game.

    Now, let M. Night Shyamalan rewrite the ending. But it's not really the ending, it's only the first arc, which you paid worth a triple A value. They could have fleshed out the story, but they retcon and spoil significant climactic parts of the complete game. Now, it's a reboot with an alternate timeline. This new generation has a knack for deflecting    Think of your favorite game.

    Now, let M. Night Shyamalan rewrite the ending. But it's not really the ending, it's only the first arc, which you paid worth a triple A value. They could have fleshed out the story, but they retcon and spoil significant climactic parts of the complete game. Now, it's a reboot with an alternate timeline. This new generation has a knack for deflecting criticism and make it out about failures of pleasing everyone. The requests for a remake were clear: same story, modern graphics. They are raised to aim for subversion and radical change. How else can you explain the pattern of remakes for our cherished films and games? They keep buying it. What luck these game developers have! They no longer need to brainstorm a coherent story, just a couple of twists and their own unsolicited spin, graphical overhauls and the approval of Hollywood to release a game. Midgar, a police state, could have easily been a playground for free movement, looting upscale lofts, taking out higher-ups, scaling buildings, and jumping from one roof to the next. No, we get linear scenes, recycled Kingdom Heart characters, and snoozefest sidequests which plague MMORPGs.

    FF7: Refund
    FF7: Retcon
    FF7: Redo

    If your critical review gets enough helpful votes, they take it down. They must be thinking about Square Enix stocks.    … Expand
  7. 0xf8006
    Apr 13, 2020
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is the epitome of style over substance.

    For everything this game does well, it gets overshadowed by staggering things that it does wrong. The way SE expanded some characters and gave them more development is then immediately followed by meaningless kill X amount of monsters side quests. Or a sequence involving a reactor that turns a short sequence from the original into a sprawling set piece chased with a new character and a fast paced boss fight that is then followed by a 30 minute sequence of walking to the next city with maybe 2 encounters (see combat for later problems with that) and "character development that could have been established just as well without slamming the brakes on the pacing.

    Visually, the game looks wonderful, I'm not going to argue that. In fact, the game looks so well made, that I believe that a movie called Final Fantasy VII Reimagined would have been a more pleasant experience than this game. I will defend this by also pointing out that every meaningful fight and experience is pushed so hard to be a cinematic experience that they should have just crafted a cinematic experience.

    The sound is not my thing at all, but for the most part is well composed. I don't enjoy jazz or modern takes on old video game music. The music from the original was the first game that spoke to me that music in a video game could be a well made thing. But I get that everything must be made modern lest there be money left on the table. The new compositions by Uematsu are also some of his worst compositions to date, in my opinion, and don't add anything of substance to the game.

    The combat system. Oh boy, here we go. So, the combat system is SE once again trying to redefine a concept that doesn't need redefinition in Square's titles, but not taking the same missteps in formerly Enix made titles. For an example of this, look to every Final Fantasy title since 10, then compare that to every Dragon Quest title since....I suppose, 1. On one side, you have redefining every iteration, sometimes successfully, other times, less so. Then on the other side a series who knows what it is, stays true to that and continues to receive praise and enjoyment from it's fan base. So, true to form, SE decided once again to redefine combat for a Final Fantasy title. And...it works...except when it doesn't. This aspect is the one I had the most concern for up to release. I do not usually enjoy action rpg's so I went into FF7R expecting the story to carry me through a combat system I wasn't a fan of. The combat system is actually fun and enjoyable, but there are caveats. The first caveat is that a battle is either over in milliseconds or is a sweeping epic encounter to last the ages. There is no just middle difficulty battles. The easier battles only draw out the already padded sequences which halt the pacing and the harder battles end up serving as a signpost that there will be much less content of interest past that point.

    The story is where the game completely bottoms out its score for me. I wasn't looking for a 1:1 story of the original, but I didn't want something like this mess either. The original is still highly regarded to this day because it did so much right: character development, sound, gameplay, story-telling (which includes pacing), it even subverted expectations before that was the cool thing to do. So, what could be done with something so perfectly crafted? You can look at the result objectively, see the tiny cracks and flaws that time has shown, subtly repair those imperfections and improve the entire project through minor changes. Instead, we got Nomura. And Nomura does things the Nomura way. This means we get ridiculous over the top villains (but not really, cause friendship will save the day), we got convoluted plot lines designed to span over years and years of content with the pay-off usually amount to too little, too late, and we get his story that he wanted to make. What we got was NOT Final Fantasy 7 Remake, what we got was Final Fantasy 7 Reimagined. Nomura's direction allowed the fundamentals of the game to exist, but not when they would get in the way of the story he felt he needed to change the original in to.

    Final thoughts: Final Fantasy 7 Remake is an overproduced game that will appeal to fan boys in a similar vein that a jingling pair of keys will appeal to an infant. It's shiny and sparkly and new. It lacks any substance or reverence for the original story (not world, there's a difference). This game will sell very well and will pave the road for canon spin-offs spanning multiple consoles and hand-helds and maybe in 15 more years, the final part will come out where Sephiroth and Cloud join forces to prevent Aerith's death at the hands of the watchers because the black materia and the white materia can bring paradise to the planet if they're linked.    … Expand
  8. NullMechanism
    Apr 14, 2020
    2
    This "game" can basically be summed up as padding and filler.

    They took 5-minute "dungeons" from the original Midgar and turned them each into hour-long FF13 hallways. Even worse, they inserted all new "dungeons" (hour-long FF13 hallways) in between story beats where the original FF7 would have just moved on to the next story beat. It doesn't add anything to the story or game world. It    This "game" can basically be summed up as padding and filler.

    They took 5-minute "dungeons" from the original Midgar and turned them each into hour-long FF13 hallways. Even worse, they inserted all new "dungeons" (hour-long FF13 hallways) in between story beats where the original FF7 would have just moved on to the next story beat. It doesn't add anything to the story or game world. It doesn't flesh out the original Midgar. It's not even fun. You just go down some glorified decorated hallways and fight three guys at a time for 30+ hours. This is not fun. This is not a game. This is mindless, joyless, and a chore. I actually had to force myself to finish this awful slog.

    The sidequests do little to break up the monotony--in fact, they amplify it. They are the most soulless, uninteresting MMO quests you can imagine. At some point I just stopped bothering with them because they add noting of value to this game. They are not fun or interesting.

    This isn't Final Fantasy 7. This is Final Fantasy 13 loosely based on Final Fantasy 7. This game does not respect your time. Square Enix claimed that this remake was going to be episodic because the game world was going to be "greatly expanded" and "vast." Midgar is not expanded. It is padded. What happened here is that they decided from day one that they wanted to sell multiple games as "episodes," and then struggled to come up with filler content to stretch Midgar out to 30+ hours. And they couldn't even come up with anything fun. As I said, this is easily the worst video game I ever played in my life.

    This is the most soulless, joyless corporate cash-grab ever created, it is a personal attack against video games as a medium, and it is a crime against humanity.    … Expand
  9. EgillH
    Apr 13, 2020
    9
    In all, this game is absolutely amazing. Combat is great, graphics look stunning, music is excellent and the voice acting is perfect. Then the overall gameplay, the fan service, the atmosphere of the game and the nostalgia trip is just a jaw dropping experience for all fans of FFVII, only derailed by small "filler" material and the controversial ending.
    I don't mind any of the minor    In all, this game is absolutely amazing. Combat is great, graphics look stunning, music is excellent and the voice acting is perfect. Then the overall gameplay, the fan service, the atmosphere of the game and the nostalgia trip is just a jaw dropping experience for all fans of FFVII, only derailed by small "filler" material and the controversial ending.
    I don't mind any of the minor changes! I love the depiction of all the characters in the game! The main cast, Avalanche members, Red XIII, the higher ups at Shinra, all of them!    … Expand
  10. Stormrider2210
    Apr 12, 2020
    5
    After 50 hours including most of the side quest:

    Pros+ 1) Great music. 2) Stunning visuals. 3) Good voice acting. Cons- 1) Childish-Anime dialogues. 2) Mediocre Battle action system. 3) Turn based is bad, even worst than the original. 4) Bald side quests. 5) Felt way too short compared to modern RPGs at same release price. 6) Poor or no replayability. Needs to be mentioned to avoid let    After 50 hours including most of the side quest:

    Pros+
    1) Great music.
    2) Stunning visuals. 3) Good voice acting.

    Cons-
    1) Childish-Anime dialogues.
    2) Mediocre Battle action system.
    3) Turn based is bad, even worst than the original.
    4) Bald side quests.
    5) Felt way too short compared to modern RPGs at same release price.
    6) Poor or no replayability.

    Needs to be mentioned to avoid let downs from classic fans: IS A REBOOT NOT A REMAKE.    … Expand
  11. WilliamWesker
    May 1, 2020
    0
    **** game was straight up hot garbage. And Wtf was they trying to do at the end? Not to mention all it was a 100% linear hand holding FF13 reskin, with a partial story that made 0% sense. By just throwing in a few retarded "quests", aka go fetch's that for me, with obvious "crawl" spaces and slow downs to hide loading and add another pointless hour of gameplay. I even did 100% in less than**** game was straight up hot garbage. And Wtf was they trying to do at the end? Not to mention all it was a 100% linear hand holding FF13 reskin, with a partial story that made 0% sense. By just throwing in a few retarded "quests", aka go fetch's that for me, with obvious "crawl" spaces and slow downs to hide loading and add another pointless hour of gameplay. I even did 100% in less than 30h and ended up being one very disappointed gamer. Not even any replay value and i have replayed og FF7 multiple times on almost every system its made for.
    5 years for this trash, really? So, what's next?? Wait for another 5 years, for Part 2.. "The Walk to Junon". Then wait for another 5 years, for Part 3.. "The Golden Saucer", and so on......
    If they wanted to make Part 1 Midgar only, it should of been a fully open world with a **** ton to do, not this hot garbage of a mess. Graphics do not make the game, you lazy SQUARE GRAVE ROBBERS! Games need content.. more than useless filler and a pretty cinematic shell skin!!    … Expand
  12. Spoonfishlee
    Apr 12, 2020
    3
    It's very hard to score this game. Many of the moments in this game had me floored. I loved the combat, although I notice a lot of people are missing the turn based system. The deeper storytelling and acting had me plastered to the screen all the way through. The impossible had happened: an amazing, faithful remake of FF7 had come into existence. It was a couple of hours before the endIt's very hard to score this game. Many of the moments in this game had me floored. I loved the combat, although I notice a lot of people are missing the turn based system. The deeper storytelling and acting had me plastered to the screen all the way through. The impossible had happened: an amazing, faithful remake of FF7 had come into existence. It was a couple of hours before the end where I was completely sold. I expected to escape and ride down the highway into some sort of To Be Continued-screen. My 9 or even 10 score was ready to be dealt out.

    But then it takes a turn. A very hard turn. I tried to buy what it was trying to sell me, but my attachment to the story was quickly dissolving on the screen. After seeing that conclusion, I felt like I could no longer recommend this game to anyone. It's very hard to pick a score, but I think I have to base it on how fatigued and empty I feel whenever I see a thumbnail of the game now.

    I would say I'm a difficult fan to please when it comes to FF7. The original has been the most influential gaming experience of my life, since I played it in -99. I know every line and beat. But I will not be picking up the subsequent releases of this reboot series.

    A lot of new players enjoy it. That's good. But for me, it was a sad waste of an opportunity, and a sad waste of all the earlier phenomenal moments that were based on the source material.    … Expand
  13. oreimo33
    Apr 16, 2020
    0
    I give this game the worst possible score because it essentially scams the consumer by calling itself a remake despite actually being a sequel.

    However, the fact that Square blatantly scams its audience is not not the only thing wrong with this game. The presentation is underwhelming when compared to the real Final Fantasy VII. A good example in this very game is Sephiroth. What made    I give this game the worst possible score because it essentially scams the consumer by calling itself a remake despite actually being a sequel.

    However, the fact that Square blatantly scams its audience is not not the only thing wrong with this game. The presentation is underwhelming when compared to the real Final Fantasy VII. A good example in this very game is Sephiroth. What made him so effective in the original game? Subtlety, a drawn out but distant threat, unclear motives, seeing his power without actually seeing him. What do we get instead? The guy shows up as soon as humanly possible and is talking straight to Cloud. Zero subtlety.

    Furthermore, this game has unholy amounts padding. They took 5-minute dungeons and turned them into hour-long FF13 hallways. The sidequests are uninspired, tedious and cliche.

    It's pretty underwhelming considering it's been in production for 5+ years. It's padded with tedious. The slums are barely expanded, with no upper plate exploration. Most of the areas are empty hallways with pointless alleyways.

    Even visually, it disappoints. It has some of the ugliest in-game graphics we've seen this console generation.There is really no excuse for a AAA product of this magnitude to have this much of a problem loading textures and reusing assets (there is one location that has three NPC clones right next to one another).

    The story, however, is the worst part of this game aside from it being a scam. Even discounting the butchered ending, there's lots of eye-rolling moments and baffling decisions throughout. Lots of classic scenes were cut arbitrarily.

    Combat is too easy and braindead if you enjoy action games and not strategic enough if you enjoy strategy games. It's the worst of both worlds.    … Expand
  14. kstud1
    Apr 11, 2020
    2
    That's right square, milk us for all you can get, let's take a original playstation game which was sold complete and cost $30.00 twenty three years ago and split it into 4 games and sell each for $60.00, great way to treat you fan base.
  15. wihdinheimo
    Dec 6, 2020
    0
    This game sucks. Once you'll finish it there's a twist that absolutely ruins the franchise. If this was developers way of paying homage to the original game, they should all be fired. Square-Enix hasn't been able to write anything coherent since Sakaguchi left the company.

    The ending feels like the adults were done with the script and some kid came in and drew crayons over the last few    This game sucks. Once you'll finish it there's a twist that absolutely ruins the franchise. If this was developers way of paying homage to the original game, they should all be fired. Square-Enix hasn't been able to write anything coherent since Sakaguchi left the company.

    The ending feels like the adults were done with the script and some kid came in and drew crayons over the last few pages.

    The antagonist of the game, Sephiroth is introduced too early which breaks the tension.

    Get your narrative together Nomura, you can't write. Sakaguchi's approach of wholesomeness and creativity is gone with your childish plot twists and the greed of your company shareholders. Square-Enix became the Shinra. The story of this game sucks so hard, that every single employee involved making these decisions should be fired on the spot. Super disappointed.    … Expand
  16. Uhhnet
    Apr 20, 2020
    9
    This game satisfied my expectations, full stop. I spent 45 hours with this (I didn't even spend the full time with everything they give you) and if you are a fan, you'll enjoy it! As a game loved by many, they had a tall order to fulfill and everything from character interactions, voice acting, harnessing colloquialisms, music, capturing the charm of the story, it all worked. I'm notThis game satisfied my expectations, full stop. I spent 45 hours with this (I didn't even spend the full time with everything they give you) and if you are a fan, you'll enjoy it! As a game loved by many, they had a tall order to fulfill and everything from character interactions, voice acting, harnessing colloquialisms, music, capturing the charm of the story, it all worked. I'm not getting these '0' and negative reviews - it's a beautiful game and very worthwhile.

    It is heavily story-oriented, leaving me wanting for more gameplay, to be released into the world. The main game had this portion of the story very on rails as well, so the scope of the game was detrimental to this specific entry. That said, they were able to add small elements of freedom, which was very bite-sized and wasn't completely satisfying. Their reuse of all of the areas was creative but again seemed a bit like spreading a little butter over too much bread.

    That said, the game is remarkably beautiful, fully polished and rang true to a remake. The boss fights were tough, variable and interesting. There were a lot of ways to build your characters. I found the gameplay very interesting, though there is room to improve. My main gripes with the battle system is that it felt a bit too messy sometimes- I couldn't properly use abilities, spells, items because the actions took too long to animate. It basically took out the element of skill and planning if an enemy can jump across the screen and immediately stop you. I suppose this is supposed to make it more challenging but I found it was often hard to tell when that was going to happen. If there was a buff that could make you uninterruptible that could provide a good solution.

    I hope the rest of the game is less on rails... I loved the open-world aspect of the original and am very excited to see the next iteration.    … Expand
  17. CidVicious87
    Apr 19, 2020
    4
    ###SPOILERS###

    Anybody who gave this game a good score, hasn't finished the game or is so worn down by square enix that they just don't care. While the first 2/3rds of the game made me feel like the good times, before the empire, the last third of the game is a blatant slap in the face to fans of the classic game. I understand it's a remake, and that you need to make it fresh, but to    ###SPOILERS###

    Anybody who gave this game a good score, hasn't finished the game or is so worn down by square enix that they just don't care. While the first 2/3rds of the game made me feel like the good times, before the empire, the last third of the game is a blatant slap in the face to fans of the classic game. I understand it's a remake, and that you need to make it fresh, but to change critical story points and add a half baked notion of fate/destiny to a world where that never existed is disgusting and disrespectful to the classic. This game takes away from the agency of the characters, their trials their sacrifice in order to make something more Nomura like, i.e. bringing Kairi back to life in KH3. Barrett is basically Kairi in this game, he gets stabbed in the chest by Sephiroth, then the fate ghosts bring him back to life, yes their are actual FATE ghosts in the game. Not to mention that the fate ghosts look like giant mummified phallus. I'm sorry if you have to suffer through this game, because if someone with half a brain had kept Nomura from writing this ending then it could have been a classic.

    Also the combat is amazing, till you realized it doesn't evolve at all. Enemies use too much interrupting abilities to actually play the game without hitting r2 to pause. Also they turned it into an mmo where you have to manage aggro, because guess what, your allies' atb bar doesn't fill up on its own. So you will be spending most of combat slamming square to build it up. It's needlessly micro-managey. I hoped they would implement mechanics so that your teammates didn't stand around doing jack while you build your atb, but nope. Basically they took a less refined version of ff12's combat and made it even more useless. Add all up this isn't even a complete game and they have the nerve to charge a full price is the end. The good will earned by 14 and 12 is done. I will not buy a single square enix game again, even the western ips. Thanks guys for being arrogant and disrespectful.    … Expand
  18. Spokker
    Apr 10, 2020
    4
    I'm a 30-something-year-old boomer, first played the original when I was 13 and replayed it off and on since then.

    When I played the initial bombing mission in the Remake, I felt like a kid again. As I progressed in the story, there were moments of great beauty. In some scenes it's everything I've ever wanted, the hairs on my arms standing at full attention. Then those *things* show up    I'm a 30-something-year-old boomer, first played the original when I was 13 and replayed it off and on since then.

    When I played the initial bombing mission in the Remake, I felt like a kid again. As I progressed in the story, there were moments of great beauty. In some scenes it's everything I've ever wanted, the hairs on my arms standing at full attention. Then those *things* show up and are like OOGITY BOOGITY BOOGITY and ruin the whole moment. It's like an annoying sibling running in the room and screaming at the top of their lungs to annoy you and you lose your good vibes.

    This game is padded more than Tifa's orthopedic underwear. If your goal is to tickle your nostalgia bone, then you are going to be frustrated when you want to discover the next remade scene, only to find that the game forces you to endure generic RPG quests and busywork in a horrid daytime rendition of the slums.

    I expected to make some compromises. I made peace with the episodic nature of the game. I prepared myself for some modern anime storytelling tropes and the cringe that goes with it. I wasn't expecting a 1:1 recreation. What we got instead was something akin to Kingdom Hearts, anime nonsense that doesn't mean anything.

    FF7 may have been science-fiction fantasy, but it was about something, particularly the Midgar portion. Corporations, environmentalism, class struggles, terrorism and so on. Some of that is in the Remake, but for every moment that captures the heart of the original, there are many more that seem to miss the entire point of the original as ghostly beings swirl around doing who knows what and the characters grimace at them. But not before you find Midgar's lost cats.

    It doesn't make me hopeful for future episodes. One could make the case the original FF7 went off the rails at some point in the end game. The Remake is off the rails within the first hour.    … Expand
  19. Willfilltho
    Apr 13, 2020
    10
    The original was an important part of my childhood and so I looked forward to the remake with careful anticipation. Expecting to be disappointed but still pre-ordered to get back in to the world at the earliest opportunity.

    Wow, my life was not my own as i plunged most of the waking day into exploring this beautifully remade story. Now watching the credits 4 days(30 played hours) later    The original was an important part of my childhood and so I looked forward to the remake with careful anticipation. Expecting to be disappointed but still pre-ordered to get back in to the world at the earliest opportunity.

    Wow, my life was not my own as i plunged most of the waking day into exploring this beautifully remade story. Now watching the credits 4 days(30 played hours) later and not even having explored the post game material which the developers have definitely lovingly crafted, i can honestly say this is the best game ever made.

    You may be a fps master or a strategy nerd or even wander the vast worlds created by other games but you will never feel the things this game makes you feel. Add to that the masterful way the game works. I do not believe anybody would be disappointed in there purchase if they choose to enter this masterpiece either for nostalgic reasons or because you want to learn for yourself what all of the fuss is about, all I will say is have your tissues ready!!!.

    Late addition to this review after reading some of the others and just a few sentences in response to them - The story was always going to be fleshed out, I'm not sure if you are actually disappointed with the changes or you would just like to sound intelligent by suggesting that they don't fit with what is to come(i.e. part 2,3...) The ending wasn't too dissimilar to the OG and I'm not sure how you can decide that it is going to ruin something that doesn't even exist yet, now I command all of you remakeoaners to go and replay this fantastic game for what it is and if it doesn't quite fit in later on, then gripe but don't take the enjoyment away from yourself now because you are assuming the worst!!!!    … Expand
  20. nephy
    Apr 24, 2020
    4
    So like most people I thought FF7:R was a remake;usually when remake is implied in the title;it's insinuating that they're remaking assets from the ground up;even though there are plenty of articles to show as sources that SE implied this was a 1:1 remake with a ton of content now padded to the game(the reason why they decided on episodic chapters);however this is not the case. FF7:R is aSo like most people I thought FF7:R was a remake;usually when remake is implied in the title;it's insinuating that they're remaking assets from the ground up;even though there are plenty of articles to show as sources that SE implied this was a 1:1 remake with a ton of content now padded to the game(the reason why they decided on episodic chapters);however this is not the case. FF7:R is a sequel to FF7,advent children, and Crisis Core. It's not necessarily a bad game;as a pseudo-action RPG it's pretty great. You might be wondering why I'm listing it as a "psuedo" action RPG;well one thing this game stays faithful to is how the battle-system works;similar to the original RPG;FF7R treats the player as if they're going through a turn-based combat system(very similar to FF12, or Crisis Core, but not quite). You're able to freely move, and utilize basic attacks, or pick specials without cool-downs(not including limit breakers);however unlike an action RPG your evasion inputs really don't matter unless you're avoiding large AOEs,constantly managing your party, and switching characters to utilize the best method of taking out enemies, or supporting fellow party members;as an action RPG it falls flat,as a spin to classic RPGS though it does a great job with its battle-system. If you're open to a new story I'm sure the game diverging the plot won't be an issue, but if you're expecting a 1:1 remake, or a follow up to the original story via ep.2 you're not going to get it;I'm emphasizing this is a sequel, because of Sephiroth, and because of a returning character from Crisis Core;also because of ghosts that weren't in the original story that now are;if you don't know what I'm talking about;play the game, or don't;maybe look up a walk-through. I understand if SE wanted to not spoil to the audience this would be a sequel, but HONESTLY it's false advertisement, and it's disgusting. All in all the "selling-point" of this "remake" is its gameplay, but it's a step below FFXV(which is saying a lot, because FFXV's combat was already severely flawed", and the materia system works, but that's it;nothing really exceptional going on with the battle-system, or the materia system. This game really just acts like fan-service to those who enjoy action RPGs who could never get into a turn-based game. What a disappointment Square Enix is.… Expand
  21. MinionX
    May 1, 2020
    0
    Final Fantasy 7: Remake is the perfect example of when too much FILLER becomes basically a LORE killer!
    This game is even laughable focused on a generic KINGDOM HEARTS kind of way & I'm not just talking about gameplay.., which is also one of its biggest problems, apart from the fact that for the most of it.. has intermediate sections, in which one has absolutely nothing to do, aside from    Final Fantasy 7: Remake is the perfect example of when too much FILLER becomes basically a LORE killer!
    This game is even laughable focused on a generic KINGDOM HEARTS kind of way & I'm not just talking about gameplay.., which is also one of its biggest problems, apart from the fact that for the most of it.. has intermediate sections, in which one has absolutely nothing to do, aside from side-quests, which have no relevance in the plot of the movie, I mean, game, & that makes it simply ¡¡-BORING-!!    … Expand
  22. whiteschwarzes
    Apr 16, 2020
    8
    POSITIVE:
    +1 Perfect battle system
    +1 Main characters design
    +1 Shinra areas design
    +1 Respectable music (no better than the original FF7)
    +1 Diverse strategy
    +1 New bestiary
    +1 New optional missions
    +1 Quantity of content (Quantity > Quality)

    NEGATIVE:
    -1 Graphics in open areas, pre rendered graphics and general NPC characters desing for PS2
    -1 NOMURA'S FU**** GHOSTS EVERYWHERE
  23. 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.
  24. SkullKit
    Apr 18, 2020
    10
    I genuinely feel bad for people that didn't enjoy this game because the story deviates slightly from the original, rather than being identical to the original but with updated graphics. FF7 Remake seems to be halfway between a remake and a sequel, and I for one am very ok with that. FF7 the original is one of my favorite games of all time. I've been wishing and waiting for the remake forI genuinely feel bad for people that didn't enjoy this game because the story deviates slightly from the original, rather than being identical to the original but with updated graphics. FF7 Remake seems to be halfway between a remake and a sequel, and I for one am very ok with that. FF7 the original is one of my favorite games of all time. I've been wishing and waiting for the remake for like twenty years. I didn't even think it was going to be good! For the game to come out and be pretty fun, as well as being pretty faithful to the original is nothing short of a miracle. If part 2 is even almost as good I'll be thrilled. Everyone that gave this game a bad rating is being picky. If you didn't want them to change anything, you should just go play a remaster of the 1997 game.… Expand
  25. MrMcPain
    Apr 22, 2020
    9
    tl;dr : The game is amazing and really worth the wait/purchase price!

    Years of waiting, fears and doubts we're blown out of the water for me with the release.... The music, the story, graphics and gameplay are just amazing! Yes it has texture issues... but that doesn't take away from the entire experience... All I can say is that I cannot wait for part 2... Its scary what will happen    tl;dr : The game is amazing and really worth the wait/purchase price!

    Years of waiting, fears and doubts we're blown out of the water for me with the release.... The music, the story, graphics and gameplay are just amazing! Yes it has texture issues... but that doesn't take away from the entire experience... All I can say is that I cannot wait for part 2... Its scary what will happen from here on out after the ending and how this wil tie in to the next parts of this game...

    A must have for me, but perhaps not everybody. Thank you to everyone who made me cry with happiness playing this game and stare with longing whilst the credits rolled past. Thank you.    … Expand
  26. Murador
    Apr 13, 2020
    5
    Great game, great combat and great characters.

    Overall it could have a little more hours with better sidequests, it has some grafics issues that I believe will be fixed soon and I'm not sure how I feel about some changes in the story, tho I have not seen the end so far. After finishing the game, I went back here to change the score of the game from 9 to 5. To be honest, the    Great game, great combat and great characters.

    Overall it could have a little more hours with better sidequests, it has some grafics issues that I believe will be fixed soon and I'm not sure how I feel about some changes in the story, tho I have not seen the end so far.

    After finishing the game, I went back here to change the score of the game from 9 to 5.

    To be honest, the remake is done, next game will not be a remake and the story probably will be all new. I dont get it... if SE and Nomura wanted to do a new story why they didnt made a new FF or even remade FF VII but telling everyone that this game would be a completely total new game with a new history.

    FF VII remake turn out to be very similar to the OG till the ending where it implies that the history will change.... man that **** of keepers of fate... producers always had the power to redo the story how they please... they dont need this stupid excuse of keepers of fate... just redo the dam game with a complete new history but tell the fans so.... What SE did was to announce a remake that would be faithfull to the original and in parts.... What I understood was that all parts would be similar to the OG, but in reality they made the first game very similar to the OG and inserted in a crappy excuse, that they didnt really needed, to chance to story in the next parts. Producers may change anything, they dont need this silly excuse that mades everything so confused... It would be much better if they announced a FF VII in parts that would be a complete new story... ppl wouldnt be so disapointed...

    I´ll probably buy the next games no matter what, the game is good, the combat is very fun... I just got very disapointed because I was hoping (implying to what SE said, that this ramake would be very similar to the OG) to see the same events...    … Expand
  27. tyber16
    Apr 10, 2020
    4
    It's an okay game. The story has many **** filler kingdom hearts part but the game is a decent action-rpg. If you don't know the original than this will be a complete game like a first season of a series.
  28. MasTerGola
    Apr 15, 2020
    10
    This is one of the best JRPG I have ever played and believe me I have played a lot. This game has everything in a story, funny moments, haunted chapters that give goosebumps, it got it all, even mini-games feel good, My whole family is doing the exercise mini-game in the gym to beat my high score. You feel attached to the characters and feel the need for the urgency to take down bad peopleThis is one of the best JRPG I have ever played and believe me I have played a lot. This game has everything in a story, funny moments, haunted chapters that give goosebumps, it got it all, even mini-games feel good, My whole family is doing the exercise mini-game in the gym to beat my high score. You feel attached to the characters and feel the need for the urgency to take down bad people because you care for characters. I have never played original but once I complete i am going to start that, as I need more of Cloud Strife.… Expand
  29. Mgp6129
    Apr 15, 2020
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I was in love with this game from start to about the last couple hours of the game. The team at Square Enix did everything right to retell the story from Midgar in a modern way. The battle system is on another level and in my opinion has set a new standard for the genre. The pacing was also on point, it never really had slow spots. I was going to give it a perfect score until the end. Not to say I’m infuriated by it, but the original made a big impact on me and I was really looking forward to the almost 1:1 remake. But if they put as much effort into the next installments as this, I have no doubt they will succeed.… Expand
  30. jstmc7
    Apr 12, 2020
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is beyond next-level in terms of visual, gameplay, story. Some glitches with camera, but overall truly immersive. So called padding material is really geared for those new to FF7 and gets players slowly built up and emotionally invested in the world and its characters, all games have them. And the injected extra angle with fate really perks up the novelty of what is a 23-year old game, maybe we can save Aeris/Aerith after all. SE deserves kudos and support for this project, there's so much TLC evident in this first chapter.… Expand
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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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