Final Fantasy VII Remake |OT| The Unknown Journey Will Continue

[Bebpo]

Ok, read up on the ending. It's sitting a little better with me, but it's still a mess. My main problem isn't the concept but the execution. For a game that's very slowly paced showing each step of the way and developing why characters would act as they do, the end is so rushed it feels incomplete (yet also feels overly drawn out like with the boss rush battles, especially the Barrett/Aerith mecha). I think it needed about 2 cutscenes that would've made it feel a lot smoother.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

#1 they needed a dialogue cutscene of the group talking at Shinra HQ or on the motor road to explain why suddenly after invading Shinra HQ and rescuing Aerith they all need to ditch Midgar (including Barrett ditching Marlene which would be hugely out of character for him) and suddenly go chase after Sephiroth instead for the next arc of the story.

Like Aerith saying "Sephiroth is the true enemy of the planet and is bad and going to kill everyone" works for the 1997 PS1 game, but her saying that and everyone is like "alright, let's all leave Midgar" and Barrett saying "cya daughter!" just doesn't work here. Yeah, he stabbed Barrett, but Barrett doesn't really seem to take that personal afterwards.

Have a slow down scene where everyone talks and discusses Sephiroth and what to do next and they have to get out of Midgar because the heat is too hot after invading Shinra HQ and need to get Aerith somewhere safe outside the city, etc....make up some logical fucking reasons that the team decides to leave Midgar after escaping Shinra HQ without so much as a goodbye to the people in the slums.

#2 After they make the decision to leave Midgar, they see Sephiroth and decide to try to fight him. The destiny whispers make a wall blocking it and Sephiroth/Aerith cuts a hole through to the Whisper realm. Here is where you add the other much needed cutscene where Aerith explains to the party that if things go along as they are, nothing will change, it'll be bad, etc..etc...etc... and if they're going to make a difference and really have a standing chance, they need to cut the strands of fate completely and make their own unknown future. Then you have the scene where everyone gets on board with "fuck fate, let's do this" that you got in the game. It was just missing that logical transition of why everyone is going from being ambivalent about the whispers to suddenly alright let's kill them all.

Finally, I think another change should've been that when they go into the portal it should've been a true final otherwordly dungeon with the true final whisper harbringer boss at the end. FF games and rpgs always have weird otherworldly final dungeons and pacing-wise I think if they were going to introduce this new "enemy" with the whispers and then have them be the final boss/obstacle, they should've had a final dungeon to give some build up and better transition.

Then afterwards, by beating fate and opening up new possibilities you get a throw away Sephiroth boss battle just to show the party is now not constrained by the destiny of the original plot and can do new things and Sephiroth leaves and they go on their chase for him. This was in there, it just wasn't executed very clearly and didn't give the satisfaction because of the muddled build up and execution of what was going on.


Like in retrospect that they wanted a FIGHT A GOD jrpg final boss at the end of Midgar for pt.1, I'm ok with the whole whispers plotline and ending and I'm even ok with Sephiroth fight in the ending because after you kill fate you have to show some consequence of not being bound by the original plotline anymore and that was the simplest way to do it was have you fight Sephiroth at that point. Execution is just messy.

[close]

Fantastic game. Might sit down and replay the original before pt.2. Like it had been so long I didn't even remember that

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Jenova was a lovecraftian space alien and that FF7 is a sci-fi fantasy.

[close]

[Himu]

An extra scene for Barret and Marlene isn't needed. He already explained to Marlene when he originally left that he's fighting for the planet and for her future. Sephiroth is as much a threat to the planet and her future as Shinra.

[Joe Molotov]

Surviving the corona thanks to vtubers and Squeenix.

[Himu]

Surviving the corona thanks to vtubers and Squeenix.

This is amazing.

[Bebpo]

An extra scene for Barret and Marlene isn't needed. He already explained to Marlene when he originally left that he's fighting for the planet and for her future. Sephiroth is as much a threat to the planet and her future as Shinra.

Yeah, but I never got the feeling Sephiroth was a big threat from what's actually shown in this game. All the characters got was seeing him kill some Shinra guys and Aerith saying he's a big baddy and they should stop him. Considering they're concentrating on Shinra and Midgar the entire game, to suddenly turn around and leave Midgar to chase Sephiroth is lacking motivation.

I'm saying the motivation was paper thin in the original and that was fine for back then, but within the realm of how the characters act and plot progression occurs in this remake, there needed to be a stronger motivation for them to suddenly go after him. Cloud/Tifa makes sense to chase him given their backstories...except the backstories aren't shown in this game. It just could've been improved a lot off the original.

[Himu]

There's an entire video of Sephiroth destroying the world with meteor at Shinra HQ and Aerith flat out saying he's the real threat and not Shinra.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Sephiroth flat out kills Barret and they fight him in the final boss of the game

[close]

and you think the game didn't establish Sephiroth as a big enough threat to justify leaving Marlene?

[Raist]

I kinda get what bebpo is saying.

At the same time, this particular aspect was massively improved compared to the OG game. Cause it was more or less "Hey guys remember the Wutai war hero who died 5 years ago? That was his sword pinning Pres Shinra to his desk. Let's go".

[Himu]

Also the premise is silly to begin with. What, they're going to escape to the slums after breaking out of Shinra HQ, being involved in massive events such as the killing of the president and attacking the new one? They're chased on a highway by Shinra army men and they're supposed to NOT leave Midgar? Let's just go visit Marlene for a picnic? Wtf are y'all smoking?

[Bebpo]

There's an entire video of Sephiroth destroying the world with meteor at Shinra HQ and Aerith flat out saying he's the real threat and not Shinra.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Sephiroth flat out kills Barret and they fight him in the final boss of the game

[close]

and you think the game didn't establish Sephiroth as a big enough threat to justify leaving Marlene?

That video didn't make any sense and everyone in the party even commented they had no fucking clue what they just saw. If they had done that video better and get everyone in the party to go "oh shit, this is bad, we better stop this guy" that would've been a fine point of turn in the plot. But it wasn't. It was presented as nonsense.

Like I said Barrett didn't seem like revenge was his priority after that. They basically just go after Sephiroth because Aerith tells them to.

[Bebpo]

Although in the defense of VIIr's plot, I like the idea of the game being presented through an unreliable narrator in all the scenes where you control Cloud given all his headaches. So maybe what was actually happening in that video and on Shinra HQ might've been more motivating for the others.

[Rahxephon91]

Seph sucks in this game. There maybe 3 or 4 of them acting independently, but the game does a poor job telling you wtf he is or what his agenda is. It’s the one element of the game that is really trading on the fact that you’ve played the original. It really needed something that explained why he’s the bad guy and who he is. I think we should have seen more of the Nibelheim flashback and scenes where Areith catches glimpses of him and realizes he’s a threat. As it is, you get a few scenes of this random guy talking...I mean seducing cloud and then all of a sudden the end where Areith is like “oh he’s wrong”.

Or don’t even have him as the end villain. Use that Roach character they did nothing with. Have him be the first sign of the clones of Seph. Use him to hint at what Jenova really is and what Seph is up to. It’s the first part, no need to go all in with the main villain.

[Rahxephon91]

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Like am I even correct here? The Seph at the Shinra building is the present time Seph(well actually one of the clones)that’s doing the stuff Seph did in the regular game. The one we fight is maybe some future Advent Children one, but not the one that stabbed Barret.

Or maybe they are all Seph and being one with the Lifestream here also has something to do with time now and this game isn’t actually a sequel at all, but everything’s existing at the same time.

Toriyama I guess was involved in the writing and well XIII is also about characters fighting aginst a destiny handed down to them. Maybe that theme really appeals to him. Up in the air if it fits VII.

[close]

[Positive Touch]

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Seph appeared constantly throughout the game and was paired with the image of meteor over Midgar multiple times iirc. new players don't get his backstory but it's clear that he's dangerous bc the other characters are so scared of him, and it's clear how powerful he is when shown next to meteor.

then they tie it in with the destiny storyline by having him literally absorb and erase meteor and have his final scene under a clear sky. i dunno, his role in the remake seems pretty fucking clear to me. i think y'all are just overthinking it.

[close]

[demi]

They ARE just enjoy the ride what the everliving fuck

[Rahxephon91]

That is the ride.

[Bebpo]

Look, there's a great, even amazing game there for like 90% of it. It's not weird to expect the final 10% to be consistent with the GoTY quality from the rest of it instead of janky mess KH wtf.

Still great ride, but I was gonna give this a 4/4 and I ended up giving it a 3.5/4 because it has a few issues (pacing in train graveyard, ending mess, some boring long boss fights). Was feeling GoTY 2020, but gonna put RDR2 which I played a couple months ago slightly over this in the end. Still probably 2nd best game I've played in 2020 so far.

[Bebpo]

Also I don't understand why hard mode doesn't allow items. Items are a part of every rpg and a part of the strategy in this game. Especially when magic is important and you burn through MP quick and MP regen is a joke and MP drain is a joke (oh wow, drained 9 MP). I pretty much just used items for ether spamming, but it definitely makes me not interested in a hard mode run because without items it's like wtf do I do when I run out of magic.

[demi]

People have been discovering speedrun tricks for this game, and one of them is being able to get past the "warning" barriers you come across.

Turns out you can skip all of Chapter 13 and Part of Chapter 14, allowing you to go straight to Chapter 15 pretty quick

[Trent Dole]

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I love that anything can happen and how they twist veteran players arms with expectations. The change to the presidents death was fantastic. You go in expecting to see a sword in him but the chair is empty. You hear someone yelling for help so, having played the original you think it's Palmer because he was hiding in the OG. Turns out it's the Prez. Then Sephiroth comes and kill him. Then kills Barret too. The game does a great job expecting you to know that you shouldn't expect things to be the same. The first major hint being when Wedge is alive. And now Zack is alive and Biggs. Anything can happen and it's a fantastic way to promote hype and discussion for part 2

[close]

I need Part 2 yesterday.

I thought I didn't care about spoilers and clicked this. Holy shit.

[Huff]

So while I'm not quite finished with the game, it's given me to itch to play the original after

Is there a best version now? Stream vs ps4  vs switch? Thoughts?

[Joe Molotov]

So while I'm not quite finished with the game, it's given me to itch to play the original after

Is there a best version now? Stream vs ps4  vs switch? Thoughts?

Vita, dat OLED

[demi]

So while I'm not quite finished with the game, it's given me to itch to play the original after

Is there a best version now? Stream vs ps4  vs switch? Thoughts?

All the "ports" are based on mobile so they have this ugly filter / smoothing.

The original is still the best way imo (emulator / etc) but if you're lazy and want to play it on switch then any of the ports will be fine.

[Huff]

So while I'm not quite finished with the game, it's given me to itch to play the original after

Is there a best version now? Stream vs ps4  vs switch? Thoughts?

Vita, dat OLED

Wonder if I could still find my vita if I really wanted to

[Himu]

So while I'm not quite finished with the game, it's given me to itch to play the original after

Is there a best version now? Stream vs ps4  vs switch? Thoughts?

Modded Steam.

[bluemax]

So while I'm not quite finished with the game, it's given me to itch to play the original after

Is there a best version now? Stream vs ps4  vs switch? Thoughts?

I think Steam version is still based on the old PC version but they finally fixed the music. I was playing on PS4 and the built in cheats are kind of nice if you don't want to grind or what to speed things up in general.

[Bebpo]

So while I'm not quite finished with the game, it's given me to itch to play the original after

Is there a best version now? Stream vs ps4  vs switch? Thoughts?

Modded Steam.

Can you mod it to be super speed? If I replay FF7 the main thing I care about is making the replay quick and I think the switch ones and stuff have like 4x battle speed or something.

[Himu]

So while I'm not quite finished with the game, it's given me to itch to play the original after

Is there a best version now? Stream vs ps4  vs switch? Thoughts?

Modded Steam.

Can you mod it to be super speed? If I replay FF7 the main thing I care about is making the replay quick and I think the switch ones and stuff have like 4x battle speed or something.

Super speed version comes from the steam version so yes.

[Great Rumbler]

https://twitter.com/DominosMY/status/1258017283298844672

[Himu]

Remembered this article tonight. It was a great summary of what it was like to play FFVII in 97/98.

https://kotaku.com/that-time-final-fantasy-vii-ended-without-explaining-an-1747909454

[Positive Touch]

lmao @ the story of the dummy who broke the disc after watching the ending

[Svejk]

https://twitter.com/DominosMY/status/1258017283298844672

That looks so appropriately, disgustingly awesome.

I hope to wrap this game up this weekend.  On Ch. 13 iirc.

[bork]

https://twitter.com/drellatsun/status/1258465257212739585
https://twitter.com/drellatsun/status/1258469402682556417

[bork]

https://twitter.com/drellatsun/status/1258083691730960388

[Ghoul]

Just finished HOLLLLYY SHIT. That was wicked. Chapter 18 just keeps hitting wow.

[Svejk]

Bout to climb the wall.  Kinda ready to wrap it.  How many more hours would y'all say?

[Rahxephon91]

Bout to climb the wall.  Kinda ready to wrap it.  How many more hours would y'all say?

hehehe, you're not close to wrapping it up. Shinra Building is like a good chunk of the game.

I remember coming home from work around 10pm and thinking "oh I'm at the Shinra building, probably the last dungeon. Like an hour is probably left, I'll wrap it up tonight"

Well I was wrong.

[Svejk]

Ok, that's not bad then..  I should have it done by this weekend.  I don't know if my hype is wearing off, or if the past 3 chapters I found pretty boring (Ch. 12-14), but I've just ready to finish it and move on.   It's weird, I have no trouble with larger main bosses, crushing them, but 3 little frog like creatures will practically wipe the floor with my party and I skirt by.  Just seems kinda strange.

[recursivelyenumerable]

https://twitter.com/DominosMY/status/1258017283298844672

That looks so appropriately, disgustingly awesome.

I hope to wrap this game up this weekend.  On Ch. 13 iirc.

https://twitter.com/NaoraYusuke/status/1259453730711166977

[Rahxephon91]

Ok, that's not bad then..  I should have it done by this weekend.  I don't know if my hype is wearing off, or if the past 3 chapters I found pretty boring (Ch. 12-14), but I've just ready to finish it and move on.   It's weird, I have no trouble with larger main bosses, crushing them, but 3 little frog like creatures will practically wipe the floor with my party and I skirt by.  Just seems kinda strange.

Obviously your opinion may differ, but I found the last quarter significantly better then those down time chapters. 

[Svejk]

Ok, that's not bad then..  I should have it done by this weekend.  I don't know if my hype is wearing off, or if the past 3 chapters I found pretty boring (Ch. 12-14), but I've just ready to finish it and move on.   It's weird, I have no trouble with larger main bosses, crushing them, but 3 little frog like creatures will practically wipe the floor with my party and I skirt by.  Just seems kinda strange.

Obviously your opinion may differ, but I found the last quarter significantly better then those down time chapters.

Well, I'm assuming things are about to ramp up once I hit that wall climb... I stopped there (till my next play sesh) to savor it... Going with my assumption. 

[Pissy F Benny]

Was replaying chapter 4 and what’s the point in Roach?

They make him seem like he’s gonna be a recurring boss throughout the game but never shows up again

[Himu]

Given his overly silly antics, that's a good thing. Crap character.

[Bebpo]

Nah, he's fine because a lot of FF7r is bringing the over the top ridiculous anime-factor of Advent Children to the game, which is ok by me.

Was replaying chapter 4 and what’s the point in Roach?

They make him seem like he’s gonna be a recurring boss throughout the game but never shows up again

Yeah, he's definitely positioned in a recurring boss, just recurring along the episodes it seems.

[Himu]

Nah he fucking sucks.

[Great Rumbler]

I like the over-the-top stuff in FF7R, but Roach was just dumb.

[Positive Touch]

i started replaying crisis core today and it still rules fuck yall

[Joe Molotov]

i started replaying crisis core today and it still rules fuck yall

Careful, you don't want to end up saying Advent Children was good or something.

[Rahxephon91]

Yeah but Advent Children was never good.

[BIONIC]

Roach was hilarious. Loved that crazy fuck. Hope he shows up in the later parts 

[Himu]

CC sucks and is average at best imo.

[Rahxephon91]

Honestly beyond my "maybe use Roach as a copy of Seph idea". I really think another chapter set on the top plate before the Shinra building wouldn't have been a bad idea. The party climbs up through wreckage and then is all of a sudden "bam at the Shinra building". Have Roach attack the party again, have him show more signs of cellular degeneration, and then let the party go so he can I guess fight Cloud again. It would have felt like anime filler, but I mean he already is that and I just think seeing more of the top plate would be nice.

Also I don't remember much about CC. Some enjoyable stuff, but I mean the combat did'nt leave an impression. The bite sized levels and missions are well "yeah this is a PSP game". And the story got really goofy with everything that wasn't Zack and Cloud. It was enjoyable I guess, but certainly not something that could simply be ported up and be awesome.

[Himu]

The fact you can't explore the top plate is the games biggest disappointment.

[Positive Touch]

i rewatched advent children last year and i can tell you that it is still dull as hell

[Himu]

Complete or original?

Advent Children complete isn't great, much less good. But it's still better than the original.

[Positive Touch]

complete. it is much much better, but still not very interesting. NICE GRAPHICS THO

[Great Rumbler]

I'd rather watch Spirits Within again than Advent Children.

[recursivelyenumerable]

https://twitter.com/lyricalluscinia/status/1260516030130139137

[Positive Touch]

I'd rather watch Spirits Within again than Advent Children.

bro lets not say things we cant take back

[tiesto]

Yeah I'd have liked another section on the top plate instead of say... going through the sewers a second time to help out Don Corneo's bouncer (out of all the characters that had extra exposition, did we REALLY need to learn more about him?)

Finally beat it yesterday, now going through Ch 9 a second time to do the redneck guy's quests instead of the hawt masseuse's quest.

I had some grievances, but overall, I really liked it... much more than the last few FF titles at the very least.

[Great Rumbler]

https://twitter.com/oatmilksamurai/status/1260980563445514245

https://twitter.com/oatmilksamurai/status/1260981500000034818

https://twitter.com/oatmilksamurai/status/1261153921395032067