Final Fantasy 7 Remake was a game that I played at Pax East in 2020, and really loved the demo of. The demo was visually impressive, and the boss fight felt extremely fresh.
Skip to a month later, and I find myself in a situation where I am stuck. 5 hours in, and the combat is the most grueling experience I have ever had in an action game. Honestly, it's some of the worst I have played. The experience of the combat can be described as punching enough times, to then unlock the ability to kick. The ATB system where you stop time to do spells, use items, and other actions that aren't pressing the square button is cool in concept. In reality, it feels so annoying when you have to use a bar which could be used for an attack, to heal yourself. Healing items should have costed half a bar, but using a full bar makes it so the fights take longer and thats where we get to another issue I had. The main combat mechanics are so boring its wild. Cloud has 2 buttons, sword, and harder hitting but slower sword. Barret has 2 buttons, gun, and big gun blast. Tifa has 2 buttons, punch, and big punch. Seeing a pattern? The main combat mechanics are the exact same combos over and over and over again, which after 5 hours, make the game feel really repetetive. I understand that there are special moves you can use which use ATB, but they don't feel satisfying to use in a combo because you stop time, and scroll through a menu. I know there is a shortcuts option, but it still didn't feel satisfying to hit these attacks.
And then there's the story, which to me, was very boring. I didn't care about the characters by the ending of the game really at all, which makes me sad, because the story of Final Fantasy 7 is so acclaimed.
My final complaint has to be the level deisgn. Oh boy, it sucks. Hallway after hallway after puzzle after puzzle after "platforming". It really feels so repetetive and sluggish to play.
I really wish I just played the original game, because this game is one of my least favorites that I have ever played.
Skip to a month later, and I find myself in a situation where I am stuck. 5 hours in, and the combat is the most grueling experience I have ever had in an action game. Honestly, it's some of the worst I have played. The experience of the combat can be described as punching enough times, to then unlock the ability to kick. The ATB system where you stop time to do spells, use items, and other actions that aren't pressing the square button is cool in concept. In reality, it feels so annoying when you have to use a bar which could be used for an attack, to heal yourself. Healing items should have costed half a bar, but using a full bar makes it so the fights take longer and thats where we get to another issue I had. The main combat mechanics are so boring its wild. Cloud has 2 buttons, sword, and harder hitting but slower sword. Barret has 2 buttons, gun, and big gun blast. Tifa has 2 buttons, punch, and big punch. Seeing a pattern? The main combat mechanics are the exact same combos over and over and over again, which after 5 hours, make the game feel really repetetive. I understand that there are special moves you can use which use ATB, but they don't feel satisfying to use in a combo because you stop time, and scroll through a menu. I know there is a shortcuts option, but it still didn't feel satisfying to hit these attacks.
And then there's the story, which to me, was very boring. I didn't care about the characters by the ending of the game really at all, which makes me sad, because the story of Final Fantasy 7 is so acclaimed.
My final complaint has to be the level deisgn. Oh boy, it sucks. Hallway after hallway after puzzle after puzzle after "platforming". It really feels so repetetive and sluggish to play.
I really wish I just played the original game, because this game is one of my least favorites that I have ever played.