by Anthony O’Connor
The original Final Fantasy VII had a massive impact on gamers across the world. Coming out on the PlayStation in 1997, it showed an uncommon depth of story, gameplay and was bloody enormous to boot. The game was a phenomenon and even the most JRPG agnostic had to respect it. Having said that, to be entirely honest, I have trouble remembering the bloody thing! That’s probably because bucket bongs were also in the cultural zeitgeist of ‘97. So, while I was looking forward to getting my hands on Final Fantasy VII Remake at a recent demo hosted by Bandai Namco at Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum, it was based on a rather muted sense of nostalgia rather than an obsessive fan fervour. All the more impressive then, that after three hours of gameplay it’s shot up the list to one of my most anticipated titles of 2020.
First thing’s first. FFVII Remake isn’t one of those remasters where the game’s given a fresh coat of paint and sent out to market. This is a from-the-ground-up recreation using the best modern technology available and it’s spectacular. It’s also a massive undertaking, with the first game only comprising a fraction of the original’s length and still requiring two blu-ray discs to hold it all! That’s more than likely due to the gorgeous graphics on display and silky animation, which is absolutely jaw-dropping. Still, no matter how pretty the title is, it needs to deliver on gameplay (looking at you, Death Stranding) and FFVII Remake delivers a pearler of an experience, offering combat that pays homage to the turn-based shenanigans of old but with a modern twist (it should also be noted that the game can be played in Classic Mode for traditionalists).
After three hours, my feelings were as follows. Final Fantasy VII Remake offers a gorgeous world, solid voice acting, intriguing exploration, genuinely strategic (and in later levels, quite tough) combat and a soundtrack designed to melt the hearts of even casual fans. Whether it can sustain the story over an as-yet unknown number of episodes remains to be seen, but in terms of the first outing, it’s absolutely stunning and April 10 can’t come soon enough.
Please enjoy 45+ minutes of hands on Gameplay by the mighty GrizGaming:
