Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade (PC) review: a fascinating sight that takes FF7 in a bold new direction
Final Fantasy VII Remake sure knows how to make a good first impression. The original’s bombing mission sequence, featuring Cloud and co. detonating the planet-killing mako reactor in the industrialized hellhole in downtown Midgar is already one of the best openings in the Final Fantasy series, but here we have to really improve. advance every last detail of its twenty-four year glow . Director Tetsuya Nomura may be unduly famous in JRPG circles (both for his tangled plot and his fascination with buckles and belts), but in FF7R, the fascination trend is applied with precision. Deadly like a laser.
From Nobuo Uematsu’s freshly staged first point (splendidly rearranged by Masashi Hamauzu and Mitsuto Suzuki for the Remake), to the sweeping camera angles, sharp animated cutscenes, and the ridiculously detailed pores and chin hairs of the center cast, it’s a game designed to make hearts race, fists, and turn every last pair of glasses completely pink. . The first few hours pass in the blink of an eye, nostalgic joy rushing you from one disaster to another.
There are times when it does, and yes, takes its foot off the gas. As you may already know, the FF7R (or Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade for this PC release, also in the Yuffie-focused Intergrade expansion) chronicles only one part of Final Fantasy VII’s overarching story. – the group’s escape from the city of Midgar. It turns what would take you four hours in the original game into an epic 40+ hour movie. To say this game has accompaniment is an understatement. Heck, two of its eighteen chapters could be cut out entirely, as they include nothing but side work for the hectic side quest.
And not yet.
Despite being someone who isn’t really attached to the 1997 original (everyone knows VIII is the best, come on), there’s something about FF7R’s desperate and almost agonizing attempt to regain some of the series’ former glory that has me howling with the rest of them at the time. the last point I saw the credits rolled out. I’ve even come to respect that dull wet-shepherd that is Aerith Gainsborough, Cloud’s favorite-but-not-really-right, whom I formerly despised with all white strength -Hot world’s iconic ending of meteor game. That takes some work, and in the end it’s down to that extra padding. By giving its characters more time to breathe, Final Fantasy VII Remake truly transforms the once-obsessed polygonal puppets into a complete cast of nuanced warriors – and I maintain that. there climbing 59 stairs in the Shinra building is one of the best character moments you’ll ever see in any game you’ll be playing this year.
In fact, you might still be able to cut the game in half and achieve the same results, but doing so would deprive FF7R’s greatest coup: the reinvention of the active-time battle system. its. Some people might say it’s heresy to remake Final Fantasy VII without turn-based, but to them I say “You’re an idiot.” The FF7R’s blend of real-time action and slow-motion command prompts is easily one of the most dynamic and engaging combat systems the series has ever seen. Final Fantasy XVAutomatic buttons crushed and sometimes combined side coordinated by a mile of clean country.
Like XV, enemies are in the world around you instead of being confined to separate battle arenas. Approach and they’ll plunge straight into battle, the tempo of the music rising seamlessly to match the sizzling exchange of blades and bullets. You start off by performing simple attacks in real time by pressing X on your controller or F on your keyboard (though let’s face it, this is the best game to play). with pad), this will build your ATB stick. The bar was initially split into two sections for most party members (later upgrades could split into three), and filling each section allows you to perform a special skill from the command menu. mine. Open it up by pressing A or the spacebar and the action turns into beautiful slow motion, blurring the action to bring the menu forward while also giving you time and space to choose a spell or ability without feeling rushed. This includes dipping into your Item menu to find potions and restore the phoenix, which can really take the stress out when you’re both in low health and don’t have enough juice ATB for a quick pick up.
Happily, chances are one of your team members will be in better shape and you can give them specific commands to help you or control them if you want to change things up. FF7R teaches you the virtue of tit-for-tat between party members, as there are some enemies that Cloud and his oversized sword can’t reach. In these cases, Barret’s ranged cannon or Aerith’s spells make for much better picks and swap between different members of your party to exploit weaknesses, apply pressure, and ultimately Together stagger enemies for a massive hit that makes even the tiniest monster as well as the growling Shinra feel fresh and invigorated.
It’s a gorgeous system in every sense of the word, rewarding decision-making with the show’s flashiest attack animations to date. The latter may well be another nostalgia for returning fans, but it still builds on and improves upon XV’s pure action model in every way. Noctis and his squire never looked as cool or capable as Barret, Tifa, Cloud, and Aerith (yes, even Aerith) do here, and they never really sold the idea of one. cohesive team working together. You’re just a Noctis dog all the time, with occasional puzzles from Ignis thrown into the mix, a quirky greatsword from Gladio, and a scroll from Prompto after it’s all done and dusted. . On the other hand, FF7R recaptures the series’ incredible team management while also looking hot as hell in the process. Dazzling doesn’t do it fair.
However, that doesn’t mean the FF7R’s veneer is completely perfect. While this PC release is a marked improvement on the original PS4 version, I wouldn’t say it looks materially different from the enhanced PS5 version. I’ll wait for the inevitable Digital Foundry comparison video to fully analyze its technical achievements, but even so I was disappointed to find only two graphics options in the FF7R’s settings menu (resolution shading and textures), both of which only allow me to toggle between High or low. Both, I’m happy to report, at least do fix the divine doors (as well as the original PS5 enhancement that came out around the same time as Intergrade) but even the 4K High setting on PC couldn’t save some of Midgar’s finer details from falling into pixelated blur. I’m excited to finally see the Remake on PC, this particular port also makes me yearn for a proper XV-style version of Windows. At least we benefited from a superior frame rate compared to the console, with options of 30 fps, 60 fps, 90 fps and 120 fps available regardless of resolution, but that’s really the only tangible upgrade.
There are also age-old debates about whether it’s worth buying in the first place (especially at these exorbitant prices) as we still have no idea what Square Enix is doing with Part II, or even if they will ever finish it in a lifetime. I’m exaggerating, of course, but part of me is also skeptical about whether we’ll see it end within the next decade. I don’t even want to think about how much we’re going to spend to get there, especially since you could, in theory, watch it all right now through the original release on Steam for a tennis player.
And not yet.
This is where Nomura hits me again, because, as you may have heard (or at least hinted at), the FF7R is not a simple re-enactment of what happened before this. If that’s the case, I don’t think even its refined combat system is enough to warrant such a large investment in terms of time, energy, or cost. It will be great, for sure. But boring. Safe. A passion. However, as the final hours of FF7R have made very clear, Nomura is taking the game in a bold and exciting new direction, and I’m really waiting to see what crap he has in the door. goods for us. There’s a very high chance that they will all fall into the same impenetrable nonsense as Nomura’s Heart Kingdom but the man is alive, i want to hope, you know? That Square Enix was brave enough to do something different with their golden Final Fantasy baby, and not leave fans disgruntled. Considering this is a game that clearly starts out as a great tug of war on nostalgic heartstrings, the fact that it ends with such a daring carpet tug is something I can’t help but admire.
Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade doesn’t just make a good first impression. It also creates a lasting impression, something that has been lacking in recent years in the main Final Fantasies. Sure, the bits in between could be more concise. Chapters can be drawn less; less likely to have to cram itself through endless tight spaces to disguise its loading screens; heck, you fixed those damn Square Enix doors, why can’t you fix the pretty little signs on Ma’s Beverages, huh? Despite all that, and the fact that it’s probably twice as long as it should be, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade almost always has enough highs to balance out the lows. Its action bins along with a cheerful spring in its stride, and even the cinematography leave you gasping for breath at the silly spectacle of it all. Final Fantasy XV may call itself “Final Fantasy for fans and first-timers,” but I think Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade is a much more suitable recipient of this title.
