Final Fantasy VII Remake
Tremendous.
Deep thoughts
This is my second time having beaten FFVII Remake and I just really like this game a lot. I don't even have a particular ton of nostalgia for the original, but this game grows it out of you. It's done with such love and care for the old game, it feels like FFVII came alive. The characters look and sound the way you imagined they would when you played it originally, the soundtrack bigger, fuller, meeting the grandness of the story. The game makes you understand why people fell in love with it so long ago and why it holds such a singular place in Final Fantasy and gaming canon.
read →I listened to a podcast recently, Triple Click, and they had the concept of a canon that they would come back to: ten games that are an example of what they like in games so someone could understand their perspective. I thought this was a fun idea! Another thing I liked was that this was a living document, it was meant for you to come back and update it to show how you've changed.
read →Along the way
This game feels so...welcoming and cozy at times. The sector 7 slums section really just feels like hanging out with friends getting to know each other after a long time which, it is. I also think Tifa's theme feels so warm.
I think the music is definitely doing so much work in this game. Aerith's theme is also so good and comforting. I also don't understand what the church is for. Does Midgar have Jesus? The combat is fun though I consistently feel like I'm just scratching the surface of competency with it.
Still cranking through at a good pace. It's really fun. I feel like I haven't quite gotten combat mastery but it's just a fun game.
One thing I dislike about these kinds of games is the ludo narrative dissonance of having to look for items in every nook and cranny. Quick, they're going to drop the plate! Okay, hold on while I look everywhere.
Got into the first section I think is kind of slow and laggy, the barrage of side quests after the sector 7 plate drops. It's just a weird moment to stall the game out before it really starts to accelerate into the end game.
Didn't finish the pull ups thing. I'm proud of me? I struggled because I was like I should do it now. And then I was like well, I could come back and do it after! I realized though that I would never do it, and not doing it meant I wouldn't get the achievement.
That's okay. Who cares?
Unsure if I'll redo the Yuffie dlc. I feel like I can sneak in finishing a game before Star Wars Zero Company comes out? I'm not saying I'll get it, but it's the first thing I'm very interested in.
I'm not sure the shinra building needed to take longer
Hojo is the fucking worst. "She came of her own free will, what is she your property?" He's just some sort of bad faith internet troll and he sucks so hard.
It's been a minute but the back half of the Shinra building, I think basically after you get Aerith back is when it really starts kicking into high gear. The first time, the Sephiroth being here, everything with the whispers really led to this tension of I don't know exactly what's going on here, but it was exciting to feel like that.
It's like the decision for adaptations not to follow too closely so fans of the thing can also be along for the ride. I think that's a really risky decision, you can turn those fans away, but done well you can really breathe new life into it and I think that's what this succeeds at.
The decision to have the Sephiroth reveal at the Shinra building in Hojo's lab and then the long pointless party switching phs stuff is mind boggling to me. Like there's so much narrative momentum and excitement and then we're just going to waste time dicking around? I literally was like "you know what? I did this once already. I could be done with the game."
I persevered though and got to the glowy Jenova blood trail so now it's really all downhill from here.
One thing that always trips me up is that Cloud is supposed to be some elite Mako infused SOLDIER and then randos like the Turks or Rufus Shinra can go toe to toe with him no problem.
I do like the boss rush nature of the endgame.
Fuck me I died at the motorcycle boss and had to put the game down and puts you all the way at the start of chapter 18 that's so fucking annoying. Why?
Alright, I've beaten it now. Didn't mean to, just didn't realize there was literally no saving after you step through the glowy portal.
I think this game is a rare jrpg that earned it's insane epicness. It makes sense to fight fate here, much more than it made sense for high schoolers to fight the god of control. It seems that by cashing the checks it wrote all those years ago. We understand why these characters have to fight fate and why here, this time, it's appropriate.
I really like this game overall though. I'm not even someone who's that nostalgic for the original. I played it once in high school and thought it was fine!
Probably won't roll directly into Rebirth after? Before I didn't think so for sure, but the ending is so epic it just makes you want to keep going. Might just do Jedi Fallen Order. I might wrap up a few things in Remake too. I have a couple more battle intel to turn in, I could knock out a few achievements. But I'm not really an achievement hunter guy? I dunno, I'll sleep on it.