Final Fantasy 7 might be my favorite game of all time, so I'm terrified I might be disappointed. Are you saying I won't be?
I've read that it will eventually move to both Xbox and PC within a year or two, but I have no way of verifying if that's true. Honestly, I think a PS4 is worth the purchase at this point, and they should be getting cheaper and cheaper as the release of the new systems approaches. God of War is a Playstation exclusive, and it's one of the best games I've played in a long time. Detroit was another one, and I think it's exclusive as well. Those two games alone justify the purchase for me, and that doesn't even include FF7 Remake or Spiderman (which I didn't play much but other people have said is great).
I started Spider-Man again. I forgot how fun it is. Even the grind stuff is fun. I’m enjoying it more the second time. Beating the hell out of hordes of minions hasn’t gotten old and the boss fights aren’t ridiculously stupid either.
So went back to check and the FF7 Remake is a limited time exclusive to PlayStation. Exclusivity is through 4/10/2021, so next year you can most likely get it for PC.
Hopefully none of you are playing with buddies in China https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3916690
FF7 Spoiler Alert: I've really enjoyed the FF7 Remake through the first couple hours. I like what they're doing by adding a ton of narrative to the early characters and the portion of the story that the original game just sort of breezed through, but at the same time, I can't help but feel like I'll be disappointed, knowing that the game will end when the Midgar story ends. I also don't know that I'm crazy about how they're handling Sephiroth. I still remember being shocked as a kid when I rolled up into President Shinra's office, saw that giant sword sticking out of his back, and realized that the real villain had finally made an appearance. Back then, I honestly thought Shinra was the end game, but this game makes it very clear from the beginning that there's a greater enemy looming. Not sure I like that.
It might be that you are a little more aware of narrative building now than when you were like 9 or whatever. FF6 had a similar structure, with big bad empire but the real bad guy turning out to be a particular general. You could see Star Wars in the same light, where they introduce a bad guy (Vader, Darth Maul, Kylo Ren), then reveal there to be a real bigger bad (Palpatine, Dooku/Palpatine, ... Palpatine).
Deep down I still want the HD frame for frame remake of FF7 that will never happen. But I've enjoyed the remake. I'm still coming to grips and accepting its FF7 Remake and not FF7.
I'm sure that age plays a part. I've replayed 7 a few times through, though not in a while. I do feel like I remember the game mentioning Sephiroth prior to his return in the Shinra building. But even then, if memory serves, the narrative was that he died/disappeared a long time ago. Maybe the whole thing wouldn't be as surprising or feel as well done if I was playing it through for the first time now, vs back then (as a kid), but I'm not so sure. It's difficult for me to forget the memory of waking up in that holding cell in Shinra, seeing blood everywhere, and thinking to myself "what the hell happened?" It just seemed completely out of left field at the time. Maybe it wouldn't feel that way if I was playing for the first time today, but again, I'm not so sure. And so his introduction in this game just feels too easy. Sure, a big portion of the people playing the remake probably played the original, so they know who he is anyway. But I feel like those people playing FF7 Remake as their first FF7 experience (like my younger brother, for example), are missing out on something by playing this one first, rather than starting with the original. Never played 6. FF7 was my first, and the next I played after that was 10. I haven't been a huge fan of any of the FF games since 10.
I think its also clear the story is geared towards those who played 7. I'm almost 10 hours in and just am now going to the 2nd reactor. The fact that we're getting 2 (maybe 3?) 25-30ish hour games as opposed to one means the story has to be a lot deeper. So they're really leaning into the Sephiroth stuff early because something has to be happening story wise while you play. I'm viewing it more as a retelling with embellishments to the original story. FFXIII was the only decent one after X IMO. Battle System was different and lead to some unique strategies.
I see the multiple installment strategy as nothing more than a money grab. They know everyone who wants to play the remake will buy 2 (or 3) games if necessary, so they chose to stretch it out. They obviously couldn't go the entire first installment without introducing the villain for the series, so they chose to do it this way. I'm not crazy about it, but I don't hate it. I thought 12, 13, and 15 were all okay and enjoyed certain aspects of each of them. My problems with 13 were that it was so linear, the characters were always paired off, rather than being a full party, and it lacked an open world until the very end. Just didn't feel a Final Fantasy game. 12 seems to be remembered fondly by a ton of people looking back, though I'm not really sure why. I've always been a story guy when it comes to Final Fantasy games, and nothing has ever lived up to my expectations after 7 and 10. I've been told that I would enjoy 8 and 9 if I played them, but I've just never gotten around to doing it.
It'd be hard for you to go back to SNES graphics, but FF6/3 was right there with 7. If they ever do a remake for it, it'll be worth your time.
2/5 was the one that got me interested. I never bought 3/6 because I didn’t think it could live up. Didn’t end up playing until years later on a PC emulator.
