FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE Demo: Unlike the Original, but Possibly Better?

I know, it is blasphemy to say Final Fantasy VII Remake is as good as or better than the original Final Fantasy VII, but let’s talk about how the remake in general is shifting things around but still staying true to the original.

When playing through the demo, it felt exactly like Final Fantasy VII. The character’s banter, the epic fights and coolness of Cloud came out just like the first time I played Final Fantasy VII from all those years ago. The original brought us to a living and breathing world filled with people, personality and amazing battles. I feel like the remake has brought that same feeling of wonder to us again but for more modern audiences. The graphics for the demo are just a little rough around the edges; I am sure the full game or being on a PS4 Pro would help with some of the pixelated details or out of focus characters. But overall, the game looks almost like Advent Children, which still amazes me after the hour long demo. Like I mentioned before, the story, the mission, the conversations between Cloud, Barret, and other characters all felt like the original in theme and style. It feels as if the original designers got to come back and make the game exactly how they wanted it to be originally.

Now, let’s talk about combat. Obviously, the combat takes a lot from Final Fantasy XV, which is going to either attract or repel a lot of fans. However, Final Fantasy VII Remake goes a few steps further into the strategy side of gameplay. As people can see in demos and as has been explained, while players slash, shoot or punch, the ATB meter on individual characters will go. Those ATB meters can be used up to stop time (for the most part) and make strategic decisions like using various types of magic, items, or abilities. I expected the game to be 70% general action with 30% ATB moves. But I was very wrong, and if you are playing like that, then you’ll miss out on a lot of the strengths and innovations of the game (and frankly get stomped by the enemy). I would almost say it is 50/50 between ATB usage and general attacks. Some battles are easier, which only require you to slap those robots around with a sword. But other battles that involved tougher enemies had me using my ATB moves the very second that I had them available. Between action, style, solid combat and juggling the ATB gauges of Cloud and Barret in this demo, I was impressed how dynamic and engaging the battles were.

I could see some issues coming up like FFXV had, where players could just load up on a million potions and take on just about enemy or area and throw strategy out the window by spamming healing. But I think FFVII Remake is going to require a bit more thought than that and allow more room for strategic play styles. Check out the demo on PS4 right now and let us know what you thought of the game, gameplay and voices of these iconic characters!