FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE INTERGRADE

Oof. Where to start? Bottom line up front: I feel like the game didn't respect my time. They took a two-hour demo and dragged it out into a 40+ hour mess. Maps were janky, it was completely linear, bosses has terrible mechanics that couldn't kill me, but could make the fight 30 minutes long. Decisions were made based on aesthetics rather than gameplay. Stupid Quick-time-events every 30 steps, weird ways to traverse the overworld, and a camera that rivals Super Mario 64 in how bad it is. I had high hopes and only paid $10 while this was on sale, but still feel like my time could better have been used elsewhere.

I finally finished FFVII Remake, and I'm honestly left feeling disappointed. Not because it's a bad game, it clearly isn't, but because I feel like it sacrificed a lot of what made the original Final Fantasy VII unforgettable. Before I get into the criticism, I want to acknowledge what I think the game does really well. The visuals are fantastic. The character models, facial animations, environments, and overall polish are incredible. The interactions between the party members are also one of the game's biggest strengths. Barret, Tifa, Aerith, Cloud, Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge all feel much more alive than they did in the original, and I genuinely enjoyed seeing those relationships expanded. I also think the combat is good... eventually. At first I absolutely hated it because I felt like I was constantly getting staggered or interrupted, and dodging seemed almost useless. But once I understood that guarding is actually a core mechanic and that dodging only works against certain attacks, it became much more enjoyable. That said, I still prefer the pace of the original. In OG FFVII, if I wanted to grind and become overpowered, I could blow through encounters quickly. In Remake, every fight feels designed to play by the game's rules no matter how strong you become. Some people probably love that, but personally I enjoy RPGs that let me eventually feel ridiculously powerful. I also loved that they expanded characters like Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge. That was one of the best additions to the remake. Now for the part that really bothered me. The music. This is probably my hottest take. The soundtrack is obviously high quality. The musicianship is incredible. My problem isn't the quality, it's the identity. To me, it feels over-orchestrated. Instead of memorable melodies, many tracks feel like they're constantly changing arrangements and instrumentation. It's impressive technically, but I rarely found myself remembering the music afterward. When I think about Final Fantasy VIII, IX, X, XIII, XV, or XVI, I can immediately remember specific pieces and instantly relive those moments. Ultimecia Castle in VIII. Meeting Edea for the first time. Zanarkand in X. The battle themes and Eikon fights in XVI. Those songs immediately transport me back to those scenes. With FFVII Remake, I honestly struggle to remember most of the soundtrack. The exceptions for me were Jenova Phase 2, some Sephiroth themes, and the music during the Aerith/mechanical hands section. Those actually stuck with me. Everything else felt like beautiful orchestration without a memorable identity. Maybe that's just me. The bigger issue, though, is the story. I don't actually mind them changing things. Expanding characters? Great. Adding more dialogue? Great. Giving Midgar more life? Also great. What I miss is the mystery. The original FFVII constantly left you wondering what was going on. It trusted the player. Remake, on the other hand, feels like it constantly wants to explain everything immediately. The Whispers are probably the biggest example. Rather than making me curious, they immediately felt like the game saying, "Hey, pay attention to these. They're important." Instead of letting mystery build naturally. The scene that disappointed me the most was the Shinra Headquarters massacre. In the original, that sequence completely changed the atmosphere. The music changed. The building felt empty. There was blood everywhere. Nobody knew what had happened. You slowly realized something was terribly wrong. Even today, I still think it's one of the most memorable moments in the series. In Remake, that feeling is almost completely gone. Everything feels much safer, much more explained, and much less unsettling. I never felt the same dread or uncertainty. That's honestly my biggest criticism of the game overall. It feels like it doesn't trust the player to sit with mystery. Another thing that bothered me was Sephiroth. He's everywhere. In the original, Sephiroth felt almost mythical. You kept hearing about him long before you truly encountered him. You didn't even know for sure what had happened to him, and that mystery made him terrifying. Remake puts him in front of you so often that I feel some of that impact disappears. As for the bosses, some of them are genuinely excellent. The Corneo Colosseum fights, the sewer boss, and the bridge encounters were really fun. But they weren't enough to carry the entire experience for me. Overall, I also couldn't shake the feeling that Remake is... softer. Not necessarily censored. Just softer. The original had this oppressive atmosphere. There was loneliness, hopelessness, darkness, and a constant feeling that something was deeply wrong with the world. Remake replaces a lot of that with humor, constant dialogue, and lighter character interactions. Sometimes it works. I actually loved the Honey Bee Inn sequence, it was hilarious and incredibly well done. But characters like Wedge constantly pulled me out of the mood. The game often feels determined to lighten the atmosphere whenever things start becoming uncomfortable. And that's where my biggest disappointment comes from. I wanted to revisit FFVII. Instead, I felt like I was playing a reinterpretation that values spectacle over atmosphere. I know some people will say I'm blinded by nostalgia, and maybe they're right. The original means a lot to me, so I'm sure that affects my opinion. But I honestly don't think nostalgia is the entire explanation. When I replay the original today, it still creates feelings that Remake simply doesn't. Mystery. Isolation. Unease. Dread. Those emotions are what made Midgar so memorable to me. Remake excels at visuals, character interactions, production value, and cinematic presentation. But for me, it lost the soul that made the original unforgettable.