Final Fantasy VII retrospective

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Lucifixion
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Joined: January 4th, 2020, 6:32 pm

Re: Final Fantasy VII retrospective

Postby Lucifixion » January 27th, 2020, 11:06 am

I've probably crushed this game completely at least 3 times in my life. It will always be one of my favourite games of all time as well. Graphically it may not have aged so well, but this is also part of the charm that makes it what it is. The music, however, is absolutely amazing. Uematsu outdid himself with the vast multitude of different styles and the ability for each and every style to evoke a certain emotional response unto itself. As for the gameplay, it is the natural progression of your standard JRPG of the day. Random battles may be tough for some to handle, but not if you grew up playing earlier games of the series or most other RPGs prior to 1997. It's certainly not the kind of gameplay for those into fast-paced action. The translation was definitely wonky, though it was also an improvement over many previous Japanese to English releases. In spite of the sometimes iffy translation, the characters still come off with lots of depth, which makes it much easier to become attached to them. It took me somewhere in the neighbourhood of 80 hours to do and see everything there is to FFVII, which includes breeding a gold chocobo in order to get Knight's of the Round materia, which is a virtual necessity for defeating the Ruby and Emerald Weapons.

As for the remake...

Let's just say I'm less than enthusiastic about it. I suppose it would be kind of redundant to keep the gameplay that made the original so enjoyable to so many. But from what little I know, it's not really going to be the same. I worry based on many artists and videogame franchises rebooting classic material and completely failing to bottle lightning a second time. Most often it's done as a cash-grab, or in the case of bands re-recording old albums, because they don't own the rights to continue benefitting financially from the original products. This isn't merely like remaking FFIII and FFIV for DS, as those games (well, IV for sure. Never did play the original FFIII) stayed very close to the original source while giving a graphical overhaul and a spitshine. And I suppose even Secret of Mana was reasonably well-redone for PS4 (though it didn't take long before I switched to the original soundtrack). Sometimes a piece of art is best done given the limitations of its medium. I don't think people are clamouring to have high-resolution, 8'x12' reproductions of the Mona Lisa emblazoned all over art galleries just because it was an iconic piece (then again, with modern society...). FFVII was an amazing game for what it was, relative to all of its peers. By now, technology has torn down all those limitations and it's more a matter of time and energy that holds a game back than the hardware's capabilities. Given the virtual freedom to do whatever one can conceive and program, it can detract from the focus of what truly makes a great game. I'm sure the game will look and sound very modern. Uematsu is supposed to return, albeit in an ''undisclosed role''. Who knows? I'm more than a little skeptical, but it could be good. One certainty for me is this whole 'episode' release thing will prevent me from playing this until it sees a physical release. I've spent enough money on games that can no longer be played because of various hardware failures, expired rights, or upgrading my hard drive to an SSD which apparently locked me out of all the downloaded games on my PS3 (yes, I did everything correctly from the backup to the restore).

All hail the original FFVII! Let history decide how to view the remake.

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MSR1701
Posts: 1509
Joined: April 29th, 2019, 7:53 am

Re: Final Fantasy VII retrospective

Postby MSR1701 » January 27th, 2020, 11:33 am

For the remakes, I found that I enjoyed the FFIV PSP remake far more than the DS remake, due to both aesthetics (graphics and soundtrack) in addition to game play (the DS remake of IV has an enemy limit during battles, whereas the PSP remake retains the SNES original battle formations). Also on IV Remakes, the Wonderswan Color version is impressive given the hardware, yet the GBA remake is clearly not optimized for the system like the remakes of V and VI.

Also on Remakes in general, I find myself playing the originals far more than the remade games, as the remade games try too hard to add new elements into the game to modernize it and/or cater to the newer generation of game trends.

Such cases include (but are not limited to) the games below:
* the Switch Link's Awakening remake, which, while a good game in its own right, is just not as fun to me as it's original (though this is due to me being used to the nuances and quirks in the original B/W version).
* I rather play the original Metroid II than the 3DS rework (or even the fan-made AM2R), as the reworked Metroid Fights make them very, very tedious.
* I loved Mega Man X on the SNES, yet have a very difficult time getting into playing the PSP remake. It's not a bad remake, just not as enjoyable
* I enjoyed Final Fantasy Adventure on the Game Boy, and do not care for either the GBA Remake as Sword of Mana (where it tries to add in as many elements and aesthetics from later Mana games as it can, to the detriment of the game), or the Adventures of Mana mobile/downloadable game, where the hit detection was all over the map and the camera angle hindered more than enhanced the experience.

Zack Burner
Posts: 1209
Joined: May 3rd, 2019, 6:01 pm

Re: Final Fantasy VII retrospective

Postby Zack Burner » January 27th, 2020, 12:28 pm

Thank you lucifixtion! Yes, the original FTW! I’m grateful to have it as an app.

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MSR1701
Posts: 1509
Joined: April 29th, 2019, 7:53 am

Re: Final Fantasy VII retrospective

Postby MSR1701 » January 28th, 2020, 10:45 am

Has anyone tried the FFVII Switch Remaster? Any good?

Zack Burner
Posts: 1209
Joined: May 3rd, 2019, 6:01 pm

Re: Final Fantasy VII retrospective

Postby Zack Burner » March 6th, 2020, 2:07 pm

More revealed of the remake and I'm sure a lot of you will be disappointed. Red XIII appears in this remake, but he's uncontrollable (A.I) and the director said that's because he appears so late in the game. Makes the original version more cherishable. Oh well, at least he LOOKS terrific!


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