Final Fantasy VII - RemakePS4

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

Thing is, I like to hand out Materia in ways that I think suit the characters themselves. Cloud being all about offense, Barrett being able to draw attention away from enemies, ect. Being more or less forced to use specific playstyles is a poor fit for an RPG I think, although it's a fine balancing act, as naturally, bosses will have different weakness for the sake of variety. It's just bizarre to me that they have made items off limits, but I guess I need to actually try my hand at hard mode before knocking it too hard.

Yeah, I also prefer to pick a role for a character and just stick with it. It's similar to prior JRPGs when you die in a boss fight, then you have to adapt your strategy.

I dabbled in FFX-2 recently and I'm not a fan of the dressphere. For certain boss fights, you have to switch roles/classes in the middle of the fight, which is a bit of a distraction.

 

[Dave A]

Perhaps going forward, a good way to allow people to stick with character setups they like without changing the depth of stratergy required would be to allow characters to switch in battle. Say you start a boss fight against someone you need to hit with some non-elemental materia but that's equipped to Tifa who currently isn'tone of your active party. You could use ATB to switch one of the active party for Tifa.

There are going to be more characters to choose form at some point anyway, Red XIII should be playable in part 2 at least, so you'll have more capability to set characters up a certain way and just switch to the characters you need at any given time rather than change a characters setup.

 

[Tired Tyres]

I never played the original, or indeed any Final Fantasy game outside of 15, but decided to give this remake a shot after learning that it was no longer turn based combat. Took me 45 hours for my first playthrough, and am certainly excited for the next installments. The story is grand, albeit not necessarily well told as the pacing leaves something to be desired at times. The characters are what keeps me interested. I want to go for the Platinum, but hard more seems rather BS to me. I haven't started it yet, but with items being off limits, it seems to me that the game forces you into min/maxing characters. Certainly, you'll want healing spells and MP restoring Materia on everyone. Also, the squat and pull up challenges.... One thing of interest is how the English translation can hardly be called a translation. I played it with the Japanese voiceovers, and while my Japanese is nowhere near the level needed to understand the more elaborate conversations, the dialogue really seems to have been rewritten in English, only loosely sticking to the Japanese script.

Best parts of the game

- Fluid combat, although some bosses are too relentless for my liking. Perhaps I'm just awful at the game, but with some bosses I often found myself unable to do anything to prevent their attacks, and was locked into lengthy periods of constant healing. In particular, I hate being constantly knocked over, or having actions/spells being cancelled due to enemy attacks.
- Tifa and Aerith are just too damn gorgeous. It's borderline distracting
- Staircase at Shinra HQ was brilliant.
- Trainyard sequence because I got to fight lots of baddies with Tifa and Aerith. The ghost designs were both fun and creepy.
- Everything about Wall Market (except squats and pull up challenges). Dance was epic!
- Keep trying Johnny!

Spoiler: Spoilers for FF7 in its entirety

That Aerith dies is well known throughout the gaming community regardless of whether one has played the game, but I'm really hoping that they'll change it for the remake, and indeed, there are indications that they will, what with the Arbiters of Fate, themselves a new addition to the story, being defeated at the end of this first part. You just can't kill someone so perfect. It's no good! As I don't know when in the overall story she is supposed to bite the dust, I was getting really anxious towards the end of this remake, especially when she was monologuing in front of the "gateway" on the freeway at the end. Until otherwise shown, I believe Aerith shall live on forever! If a sacrifice need be made, then let it be someone else. Not Tifa though... Anyone but Aerith and Tifa. Actually, Barrett would be sad as well... Whelp, guess Cloud has to bite the bullet.

Things that happened then... have to happen again. Plot reasons. I haven't bought this, and won't until the final part is made and if they change that I won't buy it at all.

 

[Dave A]

Things that happened then... have to happen again. Plot reasons. I haven't bought this, and won't until the final part is made and if they change that I won't buy it at all.

It's worth playing, there are differences, but besides one or too odd bits, the game is brilliant. I love the original, it's not a frame by frame remake, it's more of a retelling. It could even be a sequal the way the plot has been written.

The characters and writing are brilliant, some of the best in any game. I was a bit apprehensive before I got it, could it live up to my expectations etc. I loved the original, one of the best games of all time, but FF7 Remake is the most engaging game I've played in a long time.

I think Aerith has to die though, it's so integral to the story.

Spoiler

What might happen, is the main chacters will figure out that Sephiroth is from the future and screwing with the timeline so that he doesn't lose. Becuase Cloud has seen Aeriths death, he will try to stop it happening and they might even hope they can stop it, but then it will be unavoidable. The story is about fate and breaking away from what you are destined to do, but I think that death propels the story and the characters motivations in the original to the next level. If you take that away how do you replicate it? Kill Tifa instead?.

 

[Jawehawk]

Completed the first four chapters of hard mode, and I have to say, I'm not thrilled with it, and I imagine certain bosses to be absolutely awful on this difficulty. Managing MP has not been hard thus far, and after finding out that you can actually use healing spells when not in battle mode, I can rest a bit knowing that I won't have to go into fights with little health. But the damage output of enemies, combined with far too many attacks that stagger you or interrupt your attacks/spell casting, the deaths I've suffered thus far have just felt cheap to me. Either you're on the offensive, or you're losing, with very little in the way of turning the tide. Perhaps that will change once I get back to having three people in the party. I shall SOLDIER on.

Perhaps going forward, a good way to allow people to stick with character setups they like without changing the depth of stratergy required would be to allow characters to switch in battle. Say you start a boss fight against someone you need to hit with some non-elemental materia but that's equipped to Tifa who currently isn'tone of your active party. You could use ATB to switch one of the active party for Tifa.

There are going to be more characters to choose form at some point anyway, Red XIII should be playable in part 2 at least, so you'll have more capability to set characters up a certain way and just switch to the characters you need at any given time rather than change a characters setup.

I was really surprised that I never got to have all four characters in a party and under control. Thought for sure that the end game would have that. While I dislike the solo parts of the game, especially the solo boss fights, I did like the splitting up for the party from time to time. For story purposes, I can see the problem with switching out characters on the fly though. If you allow me full control, it's always going to be the same characters in the party anyway

Spoiler: Chapter 17 boss

In particular, I enjoyed the boss that first attacks Cloud and Barrett in the tunnel, only to then shift to Tifa and Aerith. The boss design and concept of the fight reminded me of NieR Automata, which is always a good thing.

Things that happened then... have to happen again. Plot reasons. I haven't bought this, and won't until the final part is made and if they change that I won't buy it at all.

I can understand and respect that. That said, the game clearly is setting itself up in a way that allows it to present a different outcome, which I think is really clever. Even if they don't change important moments, there is no way to be sure, thus giving the existing fanbase who played the original a sense of suspense that would not have been the case had they simply retold the old story point for point.

It's worth playing, there are differences, but besides one or too odd bits, the game is brilliant. I love the original, it's not a frame by frame remake, it's more of a retelling. It could even be a sequal the way the plot has been written.

The characters and writing are brilliant, some of the best in any game. I was a bit apprehensive before I got it, could it live up to my expectations etc. I loved the original, one of the best games of all time, but FF7 Remake is the most engaging game I've played in a long time.

I think Aerith has to die though, it's so integral to the story.

Spoiler

What might happen, is the main chacters will figure out that Sephiroth is from the future and screwing with the timeline so that he doesn't lose. Becuase Cloud has seen Aeriths death, he will try to stop it happening and they might even hope they can stop it, but then it will be unavoidable. The story is about fate and breaking away from what you are destined to do, but I think that death propels the story and the characters motivations in the original to the next level. If you take that away how do you replicate it? Kill Tifa instead?.

Spoiler: No!

No, no and no. Neither Tifa nor Aerith may die. I cannot take it. Surely, we can sacrifice someone else? I all seriousness though, I do think Tifa might be a potential candidate. It would certainly subvert expectations, while still having emotional impact. Be warned though, rioting might break out.

 

[Jawehawk]

Platinum Trophy attained after nearly 125 hours. I am never, EVER, doing that garbage pull up challenge again...

I hope they work on improving their balancing for the hard difficulty in their next installments, and that they give up on tedious mini games. Other than that, I am very much looking forward to them.

 

[Touring Mars]

After buying this last year, I finally got round to starting to play it and I am enjoying it so far.

One question I saw elsewhere was whether the next installments will be a direct continuation of the first part, i.e. your characters, weapons, materia etc. will all be ported into the next game, or whether the next installment will be a stand-alone game.

Common sense tells me that it will be the former (I mean, it would be crazy not to...) but I also suspect that it might have to be the latter as otherwise people would have to buy the first game in order to survive in the second, and that doesn't make much sense from a commercial point of view i.e. restricting customers for a new game doesn't seem smart.

It strikes me as an odd dilemma - has there ever been a game 'remade' into multiple parts before, and how does it work?

 

[Dave A]

After buying this last year, I finally got round to starting to play it and I am enjoying it so far.

One question I saw elsewhere was whether the next installments will be a direct continuation of the first part, i.e. your characters, weapons, materia etc. will all be ported into the next game, or whether the next installment will be a stand-alone game.

Common sense tells me that it will be the former (I mean, it would be crazy not to...) but I also suspect that it might have to be the latter as otherwise people would have to buy the first game in order to survive in the second, and that doesn't make much sense from a commercial point of view i.e. restricting customers for a new game doesn't seem smart.

It strikes me as an odd dilemma - has there ever been a game 'remade' into multiple parts before, and how does it work?

I'm intrigued to find out what they do, the entire balance of part two would be off if some people started with no extra equipment and at level 1 whereas others who played part 1 were at level 40-50 and had all the summons and best equipment from part 1.

I think most of the people who buy part 2 will have played part 1, perhaps for those who have'nt an option to buy parts 1 and 2 as a discounted bundle will become available.

But I can imagine a scenario where those who played part 1 get some bonuses in part 2, but not a direct carry over from part 1. But from a story continuity perspective it'd be a shame to have to start again. Unless, at the start of part 2 Yuffie steals everything from you.

Whatever the future holds, hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

On a seperate note, this releases on PC tomorrow for those who have been waiting for the PC release.

 

[Touring Mars]

I hit my first bottleneck the other day, as I got stuck at Chapter 17 and feel like I am miles away from getting past it...

Spoiler

When Tifa and Aerith fall into the area with the two Zenenes... even with Revival earrings on both, I'm getting absolutely slaughtered and have now died four times (more than the rest of the game thus far combined!!

A few things I'm concerned about:

1. My HP/MP stats for both players are far lower than a demo of the battle on YT. But I can't fathom how I've missed any opportunities to buff my characters...
2. Weapons, materia and armour etc. are all pretty decent. I've found the rest of the game pretty easy thus far - not lost against a single Boss yet, and yet apparently my characters are not even close to strong enough for this battle...
3. I've got Aerith equipped with 'Magnify' and remove Poison from both players, and start each battle with Tifa casting Barrier, Aerith and Tifa casting Regen, and using Tifa to run around and fight, while Aerith mostly casts health spells.

I'm currently on 'Normal' difficulty, so will try it on Easy - however, the trouble is that neither character's ATB is charging anywhere near as fast as I need - even if they get Revived, they just get slaughtered again within seconds.

My HP stats are something like 4300 for Tifa and 3900 for Aerith, but I've seen someone on YT struggle but pass with stats more like 7600 and 5800, and yet both characters nearly get killed even with those stats...

-

It's annoying because it seems like a totally innocuous battle, and yet there's no way to avoid it and I can't see how I can get my stats up much further than they already are.

Stupidly, I only have one game save, so I can't go back further than the start of the chapter (maybe a bit further back than that), but I can't see where I've missed out on beefing up characters like Aerith who are not even playable until this point anyway...

-

edit: Resolved by switching to Easy mode

 

[Touring Mars]

I completed the story the other day and have started trying to buff my characters and prepare for Hard Mode.

I've enjoyed it, and some moments are really spectacular, and it is quite challenging at times even on 'Normal Mode', so I reckon there is plenty of mileage left in the game for me.

That said, IMHO it is not a patch on the original. Perhaps in time as future installments come out it will eventually rank up there or close to it, but at this point I can honestly say that I'd choose the original any day of the week over the Remake. And for the record, this isn't just nostalgia - I replayed FF7 last year and still loved it, and even in spite of the massive advances in graphics, audio etc., I'd still rate the original game as on a different level.

One major thing for me is the music - the music in the Remake is excellent and should be considering it is done by both Nobuo Uematsu and Masashi Hamazau, but ironically it just doesn't have the impact, magic, scope and originality of the original score. The original score has lots of crazy and even some plain annoying pieces, but it is also awash with stunning music, all the more impressive given that it uses PS1 technology. I just wish the new game was a little more faithful to the original score.

I hope to continue with FF7 Remake though, and I will be buying the next instalments, provided I can get/afford a PS5 that is...

 

[Dave A]

I hit my first bottleneck the other day, as I got stuck at Chapter 17 and feel like I am miles away from getting past it...

Spoiler

When Tifa and Aerith fall into the area with the two Zenenes... even with Revival earrings on both, I'm getting absolutely slaughtered and have now died four times (more than the rest of the game thus far combined!!

A few things I'm concerned about:

1. My HP/MP stats for both players are far lower than a demo of the battle on YT. But I can't fathom how I've missed any opportunities to buff my characters...
2. Weapons, materia and armour etc. are all pretty decent. I've found the rest of the game pretty easy thus far - not lost against a single Boss yet, and yet apparently my characters are not even close to strong enough for this battle...
3. I've got Aerith equipped with 'Magnify' and remove Poison from both players, and start each battle with Tifa casting Barrier, Aerith and Tifa casting Regen, and using Tifa to run around and fight, while Aerith mostly casts health spells.

I'm currently on 'Normal' difficulty, so will try it on Easy - however, the trouble is that neither character's ATB is charging anywhere near as fast as I need - even if they get Revived, they just get slaughtered again within seconds.

My HP stats are something like 4300 for Tifa and 3900 for Aerith, but I've seen someone on YT struggle but pass with stats more like 7600 and 5800, and yet both characters nearly get killed even with those stats...

-

It's annoying because it seems like a totally innocuous battle, and yet there's no way to avoid it and I can't see how I can get my stats up much further than they already are.

Stupidly, I only have one game save, so I can't go back further than the start of the chapter (maybe a bit further back than that), but I can't see where I've missed out on beefing up characters like Aerith who are not even playable until this point anyway...

-

edit: Resolved by switching to Easy mode

I don't recall struggling in particular with those enemies in Nomral mode, I definitely struggled in Hard (and with plenty of others). If I recall, I used my strongest fire attacks on them and special moves that built up stagger as fast as possible.

I agree that the original is still the torch bearer, though this doesn't cover the full story so maybe as part 2 and other future parts are released the balance could shift. Maybe it won't, but I thoroughly enjoyed remake either way.

I replayed the original a couple of years ago, discovered a mod called New Threat for the PC version that adds more bosses and makes some tweaks in a few areas, that I might try at some point as well.

 

[Tired Tyres]

I can understand and respect that. That said, the game clearly is setting itself up in a way that allows it to present a different outcome, which I think is really clever. Even if they don't change important moments, there is no way to be sure, thus giving the existing fanbase who played the original a sense of suspense that would not have been the case had they

As an update, I did end up buying it and had a great time playing through it on PS5. Including the add on.

 

[Sprite]

I completed the story the other day and have started trying to buff my characters and prepare for Hard Mode.

I've enjoyed it, and some moments are really spectacular, and it is quite challenging at times even on 'Normal Mode', so I reckon there is plenty of mileage left in the game for me.

That said, IMHO it is not a patch on the original. Perhaps in time as future installments come out it will eventually rank up there or close to it, but at this point I can honestly say that I'd choose the original any day of the week over the Remake. And for the record, this isn't just nostalgia - I replayed FF7 last year and still loved it, and even in spite of the massive advances in graphics, audio etc., I'd still rate the original game as on a different level.

One major thing for me is the music - the music in the Remake is excellent and should be considering it is done by both Nobuo Uematsu and Masashi Hamazau, but ironically it just doesn't have the impact, magic, scope and originality of the original score. The original score has lots of crazy and even some plain annoying pieces, but it is also awash with stunning music, all the more impressive given that it uses PS1 technology. I just wish the new game was a little more faithful to the original score.

I hope to continue with FF7 Remake though, and I will be buying the next instalments, provided I can get/afford a PS5 that is...

I've only played the Demo version of the remake so far. I was hoping for a full release after all the instalments were done and out. I'm guessing that is going to be a very long wait. I still have my PS1 copy of FF7 and its in my all time top favourite games no matter the platform.

Is it worth picking up what is currently available or would waiting for everything to be released?

 

[Dave A]

I've only played the Demo version of the remake so far. I was hoping for a full release after all the instalments were done and out. I'm guessing that is going to be a very long wait. I still have my PS1 copy of FF7 and its in my all time top favourite games no matter the platform.

Is it worth picking up what is currently available or would waiting for everything to be released?

It depends how long you're willing to wait. If you enjoyed the demo of Remake I would go for it, the demo represents the quality of the game well rather than all the best bits being in that opening chapter.

You could be waiting another 6,7 perhaps more years for it to all be completed, as the games aren't coming thick and fast (which is good for quality) and there's no time frame been revealed.

We don't even know how many games, DLC chapters etc. the series will have at this point, but I'm personally invested regardless. FF7 on PS1 is arguably my favourite game of all time too. The remake doesn't replace it but does a good job of reimagining and playing on that nostalgia IMO.

 

[Sprite]

It depends how long you're willing to wait. If you enjoyed the demo of Remake I would go for it, the demo represents the quality of the game well rather than all the best bits being in that opening chapter.

You could be waiting another 6,7 perhaps more years for it to all be completed, as the games aren't coming thick and fast (which is good for quality) and there's no time frame been revealed.

We don't even know how many games, DLC chapters etc. the series will have at this point, but I'm personally invested regardless. FF7 on PS1 is arguably my favourite game of all time too. The remake doesn't replace it but does a good job of reimagining and playing on that nostalgia IMO.

Thanks fella, may have to jump on it then as I did enjoy the Demo.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

I would echo the same. It depends mainly on if you can wait to play it all at once. As far as I know there will be two more games released to complete the remake. By the time those roll around I'll need a refresher on the story.

It took me about 50-60 hours to complete this part at a leisurely pace. And I don't really have any complaints with what they did, other than waiting for the next parts.

 

[Dave A]

Thanks fella, may have to jump on it then as I did enjoy the Demo.

Just as an FYI I would recommend getting it on PS5 (if you can), PS4 otherwise, the PC version is a bit buggy with frame rate issues and stutters. Modders have found fixes but you would need to be willing to mod the game (or wait for a patch that may or may not come around). It's still playable, but you will get stutters regardles of your PC's specs or the graphical settings you choose. I believe it's due to the dynamic resolution scaling the game uses.

 

[Sprite]

Just as an FYI I would recommend getting it on PS5 (if you can), PS4 otherwise, the PC version is a bit buggy with frame rate issues and stutters. Modders have found fixes but you would need to be willing to mod the game (or wait for a patch that may or may not come around). It's still playable, but you will get stutters regardles of your PC's specs or the graphical settings you choose. I believe it's due to the dynamic resolution scaling the game uses.

Well hopefully I'll have a PS5 by the end of the month as Game have just taken the money today and state should be posted to me from 20th. Its currently on Sale too for both parts released so far.

Question...

Can the HUD be dimmed down. I'm trying to limit games using HUD's which may cause issues for my TV. I play GT Sport with No HUD at all and Tsushima has barley any HUD time in gameplay.

 

[Touring Mars]

I'd definitely recommend it as a stand-alone game, and I believe you can download it for free on the PS5 if you already bought it on PS4, though there's some weirdness about a DLC package that you can only get on the PS5 but only if you bought the game on PS5, and not merely upgraded your PS4 purchase onto a PS5, which seems pretty stupid to me, but hey (and I might be totally wrong about that).

 

[Dave A]

I'd definitely recommend it as a stand-alone game, and I believe you can download it for free on the PS5 if you already bought it on PS4, though there's some weirdness about a DLC package that you can only get on the PS5 but only if you bought the game on PS5, and not merely upgraded your PS4 purchase onto a PS5, which seems pretty stupid to me, but hey (and I might be totally wrong about that).

I think if you own the PS4 version and upgrade to the PS5 version for free you have to buy the Yuffie DLC chapter seperately. But if you just buy the PS5 version it comes with it, though I beleive it costs £10 more, but haven't checked the prices for a while.

Question...

Can the HUD be dimmed down. I'm trying to limit games using HUD's which may cause issues for my TV. I play GT Sport with No HUD at all and Tsushima has barley any HUD time in gameplay.

Not sure to be honest, but it doesn't stay on screen all the time, only when you're in fights and doing actions that require it. It's mostly invisible when you're just walking around, you can toggle the mini map though.

 

[Sprite]

@Touring Mars

These are the prices I’m currently getting on PSN Store.

 

[Dave A]

The PS5 Standard or Digital Deluxe editions both include the Integrade DLC. I think the Digital Deluxe Edition may include some additonal summons for the main game, not sure if they are included in the standard PS5 version or not. Nothing you need but you may or may not want them.

Best just to read the info to see what each version comes with.

The PS4 versions don't include the Integrade DLC, so if you want to play the Yuffie chapters, avoid those.

 

[Sprite]

@Dave A , It's more than likely I'll pick up the PS5 version at some point. Just need to take delivery of the PS5 and get everything set up.

 

[Touring Mars]

@Touring Mars

These are the prices I’m currently getting on PSN Store.

View attachment 1103670

Ah, FFS!

I bought it full price last year but only started playing it 4 weeks ago... but I ws consoling myself with the fact that PSN doesn't let you see the new price for a game you already purchased, so thanks for that...

Oh well, £23.99 is an absolute steal for the game though.

 

[Sprite]

Ah, FFS!

I bought it full price last year but only started playing it 4 weeks ago... but I ws consoling myself with the fact that PSN doesn't let you see the new price for a game you already purchased, so thanks for that...

Oh well, £23.99 is an absolute steal for the game though.

Sorry

 

[Jawehawk]

As an update, I did end up buying it and had a great time playing through it on PS5. Including the add on.

Glad you liked it. I've played through it an additional three times after getting it on PS5 and still enjoy it very much.
It's really the characters that do it for me. The story is fun, and I like the gameplay and soundtrack, but more than anything it is the characters that keep me coming back to it. The Yuffie DLC was pretty great too. Going to be fun to see how she will interact with the main cast. I was hoping the photo mode would provide some extra incentive to play, but sadly, it is just about the worst photo mode I have experienced in a game. you have so little control of the camera and the characters vanish if you get even remotely close to them, making it difficult to take good shots.

On a side tangent, I recommend watching Team Four Stars abridged version of FF7 (the original). As I don't want to spoil the main story (I never played the original) I haven't seen more than the first two seasons, but damn if they aren't comedy gold. I get a crack out of comparing their version of the characters with the ones in the Remake as I play it.

 

[Jawehawk]

Part 2 confirmed with the title Rebirth and coming "next" winter.

One might assume that means winter 2022-23, but seeing as another game in their live stream said "this" winter, "next" presumably refers to winter 2023-2024. Somewhat disappointing if that is indeed the case. Also no Tifa in the reveal trailer

 

[o000o]

I wonder if Sephiroth here would be used as the overpowered/stacked starting tutorial character in this game using the flashback. For racing games equivalent, something like NFS (MW & Carbon) having you drive the BMW M3 GTR at the beginning when starting the game or Forza Motorsport 6 using 2017 Ford GT in the introduction race. Not GT6 though, the tutorial was only lapping and had you using Reno Sport Clio RS.

 

[Dave A]

Part 2 confirmed with the title Rebirth and coming "next" winter.
One might assume that means winter 2022-23, but seeing as another game in their live stream said "this" winter, "next" presumably refers to winter 2023-2024. Somewhat disappointing if that is indeed the case. Also no Tifa in the reveal trailer

I'm looking forward to this, be a shame to wait another 18 months. I expected the trailer to be more cinematic than it was, but this will probably be the game I buy a PS5 for.