Final Fantasy VII Remake Review

The Final Fantasy VII Remake has generated equal amounts of hype and controversy. The game has been a long time coming, giving gamers plenty of time to debate if they want to pay $60 for only part of the story. After all, this release is limited only to early adventures in Midgar. Despite all of the love for the original Final Fantasy VII, the big question remains: is the remake worth it?

The answer is an absolute “yes.” Square Enix turned what could have been a glorified remaster into something new and exciting. The game is great for those who have played the original, but it is surprisingly-friendly to newcomers. What makes this game so great? Our comprehensive review has all the answers.

Dynamic Combat

Combat is by far the biggest change in the remake. The original game had characters act when their Active Time Battle (ATB) gauge filled up and basically had each side taking turns until battle was over. As a player, you could just sit back and plan your next attacks at your leisure.

In the remake, the default combat is fully dynamic. You run around three-dimensional spaces and pelt your enemies with standard attacks. These fill up your ATB gauges, allowing you to use items, abilities, magic, and your deadly limit breaks.

It may sound too fast-paced, but time slows to a crawl when you hit the command button. This lets you plan strategic attacks, meaning combat doesn’t feel like one big “hack and slash.” And you’ll need to balance different attacks and stances in order to “stagger” enemies. This puts them in a state where they take extra damage.

If this seems overwhelming, or you just want the new game to play like the original, select Classic Mode. In this mode, the game controls all combat movement and attacks. You can just kick back and select the right special attacks and targets as you see fit.