Final Fantasy VII Remaster/Remake

Evade wrote: »

It's been a few years since I played VII and I never got around to most of the tie in games but

Shinra didn't blow the reactor themselves before right?

They did not, but it might have been implied that they did.

Played the demo last night, did a single playthrough but spent about an hour on it using the normal battle system.

I'm slightly more conflicted than I thought I'd be after playing it. I knew that I was getting overhyped by this anyway but some things are bugging me about and others have been happy surprises.

I found the combat difficult to get to grips with fully. Until the scorpion boss, it does feel like mash square will sort you out, but the scorpion boss was the first time in a long time I've felt panic in an RPG boss battle as it's a very interesting mechanic that you can't heal without attacking to build your ATB bar. I think there is a bit of depth there I definitely still need to master but the jumping around between characters is not something I've gotten comfortable with yet. In saying that, for the smaller enemy battles, my concern is these will get dull if you're seeing the same 3/4 animations from smashing square while running around, especially over 3 games, or however many we're expecting to get. I'm hoping the different characters, new weapons and maybe an increase in the number of ATB bars will make it more varying, but we'll have to see.

I really enjoyed seeing areas of the original game in fancy high def, the intro movie in particular is very well done and simple things like reading the posters on the walls are nice touches. Thanks to seeing the one about "Stamp" in the train station at the start, a lot of Barret's references later made sense which they wouldn't have if I hadn't been looking, so the "reward" for exploration is there in my mind which I enjoy. But I'd echo others here in that there are definitely parts of the graphics that seem off. And what really throws is some elements will look fantastic and others will then look very out of place. Hoping some of this is resolved before the release or with a patch.

Audio was great and I like the new take on existing tracks. I am actually really happy with the voice acting so far and this is the most accurate version of Cloud I've seen Square throw out in years. I like him doing his sly digs at Barret, who seems to be constantly ready to explode (I love stereotype Barret, I know it's not PC but I think he's hilarious), and his casual indifference is a lot better than the advent children version of Cloud. Even detected a slight hint of flirting with Jessie there which I'd be all for.

The story amendment Evade called out also sits very well with me. I think it shows a greater level of political intrigue and allows for a lot of future potential in how the Shinra interact with Avalanche. But I'd echo again what Retr0 and others said about the pacing, the original's starting mission is fantastic, this feels a bit drawn out. It's better than other long corridors which other games have but it just drags a bit too long for me. I'm hoping for more in term of "slow" segments, where you get to explore the slums, talk to the inhabitants etc, creating dungeons for what were only a few mins long previously has a feel of filler.

Big irritation I had was the camera. For whatever reason it kept moving all over the place, usually falling to the level of Cloud's ankles and shooting up towards the ceiling. I was constantly pressing reset when I was running around the field. It didn't seem to happen in the fights but out exploring, it's a pain in the hoop.

I've already paid my preorder so I'm looking forward to getting my hands on it when it does release, but I think I needed this demo to ground some of my more unrealistic expectations

Played it last night, really enjoyed it. Loved the new gameplay, feels like there’ll be a decent challenge there, and have been reading that each previewed boss fight feels distinct which is great news.

Can understand people issue with pacing, however in the original and remake the first reactor is used as a gameplay tutorial, and the remake has a few more mechanics it’s introducing us to which might throw it off a bit-it might not be the same in the final build.

Anyway, roll on April 10th!

There are camera distance options that make the combat and field exploration much better.

Game is fantastic and i wish we didn't get a single chapter in 1 month from now. Its going to be tough to resist the urge to buy Chapter 1, and at the same time knowing that its not the full game. I'm conflicted

The boss fight felt really great, but as Red said above, normal enemy encounters are a spam square fest. Early part of the game so that could change. I wonder how they will do the open world sections of the game.

Hmm I think the camera is different to the leaked version I played. Not sure if placebo or not

Loved the demo. The graphics, music, chitchat, even his hair, all glorious. Really like the new combat got the swing of it fairly fast and i can see the potential for strategic fights once the enemies start getting more varied.

Overall, it was a breath of fresh air, perfect mix of newness and nostalgia.

My only worry is how they're going to make a 70 euro game out of Midgar. I wish the devs would give a planned outlook even if it might change. I know they said chapter 2 is well in. Development, at least five us the outline of what it might cover.

On that question, when do people think the entire game will be complete?
2023? 2024?

B.A._Baracus wrote: »

On that question, when do people think the entire game will be complete?
2023? 2024?

With the majority of the engine work likely done, which should be shared across each of the games, you're looking at minor tweaks to the engine but huge investments in graphical assets. In saying that, Squarenix have a huge team, so I wouldn't be surprised to see Episode 2 available late 2021, early 2022, and then Episode 3 at the end of 2023.

And you can bet they'll tack on DLC as well for 2024. This has been the sacred cash cow for Square Enix for decades, they will certainly milk this one

I enjoyed the demo but couldn't get the knack of the battle system, I was just Mish mashing the buttons, couldn't really get the timing correct but did manage to finish the demo...

Maybe I should have tried the "classic" mode...

one armed dwarf wrote: »

I don't see how it gets complete before 2028.

They took 5 years to just remake the prologue. The rest should be quicker, but that's still a very long turn around.

Tbh, they will have to compromise at some point and make some hard decisions here. I don't expect them to remake every part of the game.

RedXIV wrote: »

With the majority of the engine work likely done, which should be shared across each of the games, you're looking at minor tweaks to the engine but huge investments in graphical assets. In saying that, Squarenix have a huge team, so I wouldn't be surprised to see Episode 2 available late 2021, early 2022, and then Episode 3 at the end of 2023.

And you can bet they'll tack on DLC as well for 2024. This has been the sacred cash cow for Square Enix for decades, they will certainly milk this one

Retr0gamer wrote: »

How long is a piece of string.

Another thing I just thought about is the PS5 coming out this year.
So come 2024 (for example) surely you'll be getting next generation versions of the game along side current. Probably with part 1 included with part 2 (etc)

I wonder if that will cause more time tacked on

Shapey Fiend wrote: »

Seeing Sephiroth is just a demo bonus for choosing the 20 minute escape time apparently.

Bollox and i made it out in plenty of time as well, will be picking 20 minutes in the full game.

On a second playthrough of the demo the combat felt alot less chaotic. Shortcuts for special abilities and more shortcuts for allied abilities, there really is no need for constant switching of characters like people on here are implying.

The only issue i had with the demo was the music which alot of you are praising. If we compare it to the original soundtrack the songs in the remake just didn't feel as hard hitting. It might be due to having voiced characters and almost constant banter between them, or that the themes where somewhat over-produced and the tune of them was buried under layers and layers orchestra. Finding it hard to articulate what i mean exactly here, hope someone understands.
One of my favourites here. Those bell chimes just hit you so hard. I don't even recall if they where present in the remake. I don't think they where infact.



Also i hope they don't show Sephiroth. I remember going to the top of the Shinra building in the Original and wondering wtf happened here, then you see the Midgar Zolum impaled on a tree. It was so forbidding. But i have to go into this remake with a different mindset and not compare everything. I know who Sephiroth is already and the same scene wouldn't have the same impact on me now, and i think Square know this and are targeting the older audience who played the first game with this release.