Words cannot adequately describe what this game means to me... there are days I just sit there in wonder and bewilderment that we live in a reality where this game actually exists. And I am so incredibly thankful that it does!

I grew up playing the original Final Fantasy VII on the PS1. It was easily one of the most formative experiences in my childhood - it helped to shape future life experiences, connections with friends/family, and a general love of stories. The game moved me... the music entranced me... the characters inspired me... it made me laugh, smile, cry. It was a magical time...it is no wonder that it ended up becoming my favorite game of all time.

The feeling I had when playing the OG FFVII was something that is shared by many players who first played it back in the late 90's. A communal experience, if you will, and one that you truly "had to be there" to fully comprehend... but when I see new players, even today, find that same magic when undergoing their own FFVII journey, it fills me with such joy and renews my love for the game even more. It is, and always will be, a timeless classic.

I always think back to the great Samwise Gamgee, as it helps summarize my childhood feelings on FFVII's story brilliantly:

"It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn’t want to know the end, because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened?

But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come, and when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you, that meant something, even if you were too small to understand why.

But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back. Only they didn’t, because they were holding on to something… That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for."


To Remake or Not to Remake


So before diving headfirst into my thoughts on the Remake itself, I needed to set the stage with my feelings on the original game... and the entire story cannot be told in full without bringing up the long, arduous wait that we, diehard fans, had to endure before our dreams finally came true. For YEARS I held out hope that we'd get a Remake, but like being a fan of a sports team that perpetually loses for over a decade, you start to find all your "hopeful optimism" begin to slowly erode away, until finally, there is not a sliver of hope left... nothing remains except a more cynical and apathetic version of yourself.

I was there every step of the way - throughout each "Remake tease" dating all the way back to 2005... I personally blame the PS3 tech demo and the FFVII movie: Advent Children as the catalysts for giving so many FFVII fans hope so many years ago. From what I can remember of the time period, this is what really began the fervor and unquenchable excitement throughout the fanbase of there being a FFVII Remake on the horizon... Square-Enix gave so much attention to FFVII with its Compilation at the time, it felt like a Remake was inevitable... I vividly remember discussing with my friends in high school on the prospects of Square remaking the game - we all thought we were getting our beloved remake in the PS3 era!

Unfortunately, every passing year since led to disappointment upon more disappointment... Yet, life kept slowly drudging on...high school graduation, college, entering the workforce... still there was no word of an official remake.

I frequented the GameFAQs message boards back in those days, and there was a poster there that had a signature I'll never forget...to paraphrase, it went something like this:
"A Final Fantasy VII Remake would be like the second coming of Jesus Christ."

And as we entered the 2010's, it felt more and more like the perfect analogy. A dream of many, but sadly one that just wasn't going to come to pass...

I held onto the slightest bits of hope throughout the 2000's - each interview that was conducted with Square-Enix, I dug through thoroughly, looking for any hint of the possibility of a future announcement. But each and every year, whether it had been an E3 or another show like TGS, nothing ever came...


The Breaking Point


E3 2014... this was the year, I told myself. The message boards were ablaze and more active than usual... it felt like Square-Enix was cooking something up for all us starving fans. Each E3 since 2005, there were always rumblings and rumors as to an FFVII Remake, but this year for some reason felt different. My hopes and expectations were at a fever pitch... "it might actually happen this year!"

And then it came... I still remember it like it was yesterday. Shinji Hashimoto on the stage... the original FFVII logo on the screen. The hype I felt was out of this world! But as he continued to talk, hype started quickly turning into confusion... and then the dreaded words were uttered:

"The PC release of Final Fantasy VII exclusively to PlayStation 4 this spring!"
"Upscaled graphics!"

Disappointment was at levels thus far never experienced before... it was off the charts. This broke the scale and went beyond, straight into pure anger, rage, and frustration territory! "What the fuck was that!?" I was furious, and I know so many others were as well. Was Square-Enix truly so out of touch? Did they seriously just troll us? Play with our feelings? "Fuck it, and fuck them!" I thought. The last decade wasn't kind to them anyway... barely any releases, the shit they did release was mediocre to god awful. Hell, maybe I didn't even want them to remake my beloved FFVII anyways - they'd just screw it up! I was literally jumping through the stages of grief so fast like it was a blur. I was done. Utterly spent. Then and there, I wrote the existence of an FFVII Remake off, and I told myself never to get my hopes up ever again...

...and then next year came...


For they are coming back. At last the promise has been made.


E3 2015... Again, just like deja vu, the FFVII Remake rumors were spreading throughout the video game forums. Claims of a legendary announcement was to be made at this E3. With a full year passing, and my rage subsided, it started to trickle back at the thought. The anger being mostly directed at myself - somewhere deep in the recesses of my heart, there was still a fraction of a percentage of hope that was clinging on... But then I'd quickly snuff it out - "stop it! That is NOT going to happen." At this point, it was a self defense mechanism after being burned so many times.

I remember sitting at my computer desk in my apartment when it happened. I was streaming Sony's PlayStation presentation on my TV in the background, my attention diverting back to the TV screen during each new game announcement - then the "World of Final Fantasy" trailer played. I shook my head and rolled my eyes all the same - "what an absolute joke. Baby's first Final Fantasy game... just what the fans wanted Square! Thanks assholes!"

Then the color scheme changed - it was that ever noticeable "Lifestream green" shade... I looked at it with skeptical eyes. "You are not getting me again..." The presenter was hyping the announcement up as to be something incredibly special - as I watched it, my cynicism began to slowly melt away. "What is this? OK - so this has to be something FFVII, but what exactly!? A new movie? An addition in the Compilation? It is NOT the Remake... it just can't be!"

But it was... and I didn't believe it until I saw the magical words presented across my screen:

REMAKE

I was in denial up until that moment - my mind firmly expecting the worst from Square-Enix. "How are they going to troll us this year!? It is probably a movie..." But no - with "REMAKE" flashing across the screen, what I had been dreaming of was finally going to be realized! They finally listened to the fans and delivered exactly what we were all clamoring for in the last decade. I was in utter disbelief.

I went straight to YouTube to share in the experience of other's reactions to the unexpected announcement - vicariously re-living the euphoria and disbelief of the announcement through them. It was a stupendous and joyous occasion! Damn near brought a tear to my eye seeing the reception to the announcement... "Thank you Square!"


And Now We Wait


I understood that the announcement was only the first step - doubtful that any real dev work was yet done, I knew we had to wait a while, and that we wouldn't see the FFVII Remake until Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts III first saw the light of day. Until then, it was still a far-off fantasy.

The wait for me wasn't as bad as it may have been for others because of this... the announcement was enough to tide me over. However, now my thought process began to change a bit. Like, how were they going to do this? What was it going to look like? Turn-based or action combat? Voice acted? Is Cloud going to be closer to his original self from the OG game, or the terrible iterations from Kingdom Hearts and Advent Children?

There was a nagging thought of worry in my mind: how could a remake of this game ever live up to my childhood experiences? The game in many ways was my childhood. The scope and scale of Midgar, a journey's first steps out onto an expansive World Map, the feelings of loss and death, burning flames of betrayal at Nibelheim, finding oneself, the dreaded despair and hopelessness at seeing the fiery Meteor in the sky... It had its work cut out for it...

But as the year's slowly approached, and we saw more and more of the game, along with its hybrid battle system, I realized that Square-Enix understood perfectly well what made Final Fantasy VII so beloved. Their decision to split the game into parts is something I absolutely respected and appreciated - having more time in the world and the ability to flesh out its original scenarios was like a dream come true. Haters, of course took this as them giving us a partial, unfinished game - I laugh at these fools that claim they'll wait for the "entire package" to release... have fun waiting years and realizing you were utterly wrong in the end.


Quite possibly the greatest game ever made...again!


Finally, we get to the game itself! :)

April 10th, 2020 was quite a time to be alive. It is hard to separate that time period from the early days of COVID-19: all the uncertainty, lockdowns, masking and the like - but upon inserting my shiny new copy of the game into my PS4 Pro, and seeing the reimagined title screen and music for the first time, the outside world and all of its numerous problems faded away. 2020 was the year of FFVII to me personally!

The opening was a powerful rush of nostalgic beauty. As the cutscene played, all of these overwhelming feelings began to hit me all at once. The majesty of Midgar, the gorgeous graphics, the beautiful music - it was an unbelievable moment that I don't think I'll ever be able to re-live or experience again in my life. This game means so much to me... I never thought I'd see the promised day come around again, where I'd be an adult playing through my favorite game of all time for what felt like the first time! Yet, there I was - embarking on an adventure that was both completely new and fresh, yet at the same time fondly familiar, retaining the essence and heartbeat of the original... It wasn't until I started playing through the Opening Bomb Mission that it struck me that this was real. The FFVII Remake is real, and I'm really PLAYING IT!!!

I really don't even know where to begin... all this time I spent on this review, I've spent more on the lead-up to the game itself so you can better understand my perspective going into it... but now that we are here, it is just hard to form the right words... I mean, this game was a transcendental experience, nigh unlike a religious rebirth or reawakening. To summarize my thoughts into more easily digestible pieces, I'm going to list them out below in their own separate categories:


Characters
-- They captured the characters perfectly! Each and every one was exactly as I remembered and envisioned them from the PS1 game. The voice actors deserve a lot of praise here (it was such a good decision to replace the old VAs with new blood). It was incredible to see their talents bring the characters to life. It was as if everyone involved understood the original game, elevating them into the best versions that they could be.

-- What a wonderful cast that has endured over the last 25 years... A lasting legacy of one of the finest JRPG casts ever assembled: both its heroes and villains. Everyone better thank Tetsuya Nomura, not only for designing them in the OG, but also for convincing Yoshinori Kitase to not have the entire cast killed off during the return to Midgar section at the end of Disc 2...

-- Special praise has to be given to them nailing Cloud's character correctly. I was so worried that they'd bring mopey, depressed Cloud from the Compilation/KH back... I still view those iterations of the characters as objectively WRONG, and more akin to an imposter, similarities being in appearance only... (kind of like how they treated Luke Skywalker in the sequel trilogy) That was NOT who he was in the original at all. His character development and arc completely erased. Thankfully, in the Remake he is as badass, goofy, kind-hearted, and endearing as ever - a tough, hardened exterior, with a hidden vulnerable side that he refuses to show the world... Ex-SOLIDER First Class, Cloud Strife! ;) He may very well be my favorite protagonist ever.

I knew from the very beginning, with all the bickering and in-fight banter between Cloud and Barret, that they successfully accomplished the task in bringing him to life... They all understood the assignment so well (and same goes for all the other characters). :)

-- Barret may have been given the greatest glow-up of the entire cast. I loved his character much more in the Remake than I did in the original. I really enjoyed his role as leader of AVALANCHE and the wisdom and self-reflection shown in his character arc... the speeches he gave to his crew throughout the game were excellent as well.

Then there is the undying love and loyalty he shares with his ragtag family and daughter Marlene, which shine through brilliantly, demonstrating that Barret has a heart of gold. He was one of my favorites.

-- Tifa and Aerith are the ultimate girl duo - strong and powerful, yet lovely and kind. Their friendship is a special one. And I love that they kept in the "relationship/attraction" mechanic from the OG to unlock a special scene with your character of preference... and all of them were beautifully written. So many great scenes with these two... and for long-time FFVII players, there are many "Easter egg" moments foreshadowing to future events. Some of which are quite emotional and can bring a tear to one's eyes.

-- The other members of AVALANCHE were another highlight. I really enjoyed the diversion in Chapter 4 that focused more on the Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie trio. Them breaking through Cloud's rough exterior was genuinely heartwarming when he was caught smiling at the goofiness of Wedge's "ass" wound.

-- Red XIII's voice is just so awesome. I love Red so much and can't wait to use him as a fully-fledged party member in Rebirth! He was a party mainstay in the OG for me.

-- The Turks are always great. Reno & Rude take center stage as the main Turks you'll interact with in Part 1, and boy do they deliver. Reno is especially a villain you love to hate. The rivalry with Cloud and boss fights being another highlight - "It's nothing personal...bitch!"
I'm excited to see Elena in Rebirth.

-- Rufus is just too damn cool...did they seriously have him work with Dante & Vergil from Devil May Cry prior to this game? Both from an appearance and screen presence standpoint, he's just awesome. I can't wait to see where they take his character in the sequels...


Story
Don't worry, I won't go into any heavy spoilers in my review, but I will touch upon certain moments without context briefly, so if light non-contextual spoilers are still an issue with you, I advise skipping to the next section.

-- Still one of the most fast-paced, heart-pumping, and bombastic openings to a JRPG ever. One of the all-time best.

-- The localization team did fantastic throughout the entire game in really elevating the source material for me. From its characters, story, world/setting, etc. Incredible job to the team!

-- The core themes of FFVII still resonate strongly to this day. And the way it presents its themes and ideas demonstrates strongly that this will forever remain a timeless and iconic masterpiece. The struggles of the "haves vs the have nots", and the relationship between humanity and the planet, paint a cautionary tale for us in reality. Unlike other games that feebly attempt to tackle political discourse, most of the time trying to force it in where it doesn't belong (especially in the modern era), I feel this game's message is more eloquent in its approach... and because of that, its anti-capitalist / class inequality, and environmental messaging is much more powerful and profound.

-- Can we save her this time? ;(

-- The escape from Shinra HQ is one of my all-time favorite moments in the original game, and now in the Remake.


Gameplay
-- Now THIS is what I want the future of Final Fantasy game's combat to be like... I don't want it to be a pure action game, forsaking all of its RPG elements ala FFXVI. This mixture of real-time and turn-based combat should be the new ATB battle system moving forward. And what I mean by that is, like the old ATB battle system, it should be re-leveraged and re-used over and over again with small variations in its gameplay systems. The core and spirit of Final Fantasy remained the same over the course of a large number of games in the series (being essentially introduced in FFIV and continuing on throughout FFIX). Personally, I feel if they did this, we wouldn't be in such a spiritual crisis for what defines a Final Fantasy game, and perhaps, we'd be able to return to a steady output of titles in a return of form to the 90's golden age... one can dream anyway.

-- The materia system is just the best. I love the customization and creative design of it so much. It will always be tons of fun to mix and match your setup, playing around with different materia combinations like in the original.

-- The boss fights are out-of-this-world epic. From their multiple stages, dynamic music, and design, they were fantastic and a real highlight.

-- Hard mode in New Game+ was such a good idea and tons of fun. I loved the strategy involved in tackling each Chapter without being able to heal your MP... and the bosses changing their tactics were shocking and great to witness! I still remember getting absolutely pulverized by the Guard Scorpion's 2nd tail laser when coming out of hiding too soon. :)


Setting
-- The city of Midgar is spectacular. My favorite setting of any video game ever. The thematic core of FFVII perfectly encapsulated within the city itself - "a floating city... pretty unsettling scenery."

-- The visual splendor on display in the opening cinematic never fails to set the stage - this vibrant city feels very much alive... yet, as you look closer and peer behind the curtain (or under the plate), you will be met with an uncomfortable truth: that Midgar is a lie.

-- When you see the plate high above you for the first time and are introduced to the slums... that was easily one of the more emotional moments for me. It was beautiful... and with the music kicking in at just the right moment... chef's kiss. The new 3D/camera perspective given in the Remake leaves you in awe. Very similar to Bioshock's Rapture or Columbia in a way. Horrifying, yet beautiful and comforting all the same... I understand Aerith... I'll miss the steel sky too...


Music
Be cautious of the music YouTube links for heavy spoilers. Some users have the scene playing in the background muted with the music overlayed overtop.
-- The GREATEST soundtrack of ALL TIME! ...And I'm dead fucking serious... it's the Greatest of All Time! Bar none. Numero uno! The one without an equal. It was more than deserving of the honor of winning Best Music during the Game of the Year awards in 2020 despite some great competition in Hades and Doom Eternal.

-- The game's soundtrack is so extensive and diverse that Square-Enix released it as part of a 7-disc collection. That equates to over 8 HOURS and 156 musical tracks of pure heaven!

-- Seriously, I cannot believe how respectful they were towards Nobuo Uematsu's original work and how they spent so much effort in expanding upon it. Hours and hours of music is here - with different variations of musical themes throughout the game's entire runtime. And all of it is magical.

-- Hollow / Hollow Skies were not in the original Final Fantasy VII... but man, do they ever fit perfectly. The melancholy and nostalgic nature of these songs make it feel like they were always in FFVII. When this played in Sector 5, I just had to let the music wash over me. Perfection!

Now similar to my FFVII PS1 review, I am going to do the same thing and try to list out my Top 20 Favorite Songs from the Remake...these will be in no particular order. With so many bangers to choose from, it was to be expected that this is going to be insanely difficult. But this is how it shakes out for me today (now it is a Top 32... why, you may ask yourself... Because I didn't keep count and as I started stripping down my favorites this is what I was left with... so screw it, here they all are!):

1. Bombing Mission - the legendary opening wouldn't be the same without this accompanying it.
2. Mako Reactor 1 - an industrial sound, not only reminscent of Shinra, but of the entire planet slowly dying...
3. Shinra's Theme - goosebumps during Barret's speech... also, loved Cloud's quippy comeback to Jessie here when giving him a materia and introducing a tutorial - "You do know how to use it, right." "You do know what I was, right." I also greatly enjoyed Cloud's words of wisdom here and a sad foreshadowing of future events... "Survival can be a matter of luck or skill. And you can't rely on luck."
4. The Promised Land, Cycle Of Souls - Advent Children music!? Wonderful. :)
5. Chance Meeting in Sector 8 - those first few notes...so impactful.
6. Tifa's Theme ~ Seventh Heaven - the warm, nostalgic embrace of home comforts.
7. Main Theme of FFVII -Sector 7 Undercity - one of my all-time favorite main themes. It is hard for the tears not to flow listening to this majestic song.
8. Let the Battles Begin! A Merc's Job - favorite version of the re-made normal battle theme. Cloud confronting Corneo's henchman in Sector 7 with the line: "Like I give a shit!" kicking into this badass theme was awesome. All the variations of this theme are fantastic though and do it justice.
9. Ignition Flame || Under Cover of Smoke - god I love this new battle theme and its subsequent escape theme... I hope the battle theme is re-used in Rebirth. It is too damn good not to. The music alone elevated Roche as a character for me.
10. The AirBuster - fucking rocks! THE boss battle theme whereupon all others are measured. Fucking legendary when this came on... and it just gets more epic as the song proceeds on.
11. The Turks : Reno - the frenetic energy this song screams mixed with Reno's constant trash talk...perfection. Makes the player want to prove Cloud's SOLDIER statement and kick Reno's ass!
12. Flowers Blooming in the Church - the beginning of an inseverable and magical bond...a walk on the rooftops of the slums never felt so wonderful.
13. Under the Rotting Pizza - those madlads went and did it... what a recreation.
14. Anxiety - a melancholic masterpiece.
15. Hollow Skies || Hollow - my personal favorite of the brand new tracks. Fits the mood of FFVII perfectly, as if it always was there...
16. Midnight Rendezvous - what could possibly be better than a midnight stroll with Aerith. :)
17. Due Recompense - there is absolutely no reason they needed to go this hard for this damn track. Insane! But I'm so glad they did...
18. Corneo Colosseum - if this doesn't get you hype for a Colosseum style death match, what will? This is the shit I could see playing in the locker room to get that "Mamba Mentality" right.
19. Hell House - went from becoming a disappointed omission (or so I thought when I went on that stroll to Wall Market and it didn't appear), to such a lovely homage to one of FFVII's silliest enemies. Glorious!
20. Ghoul - another wonderful boss theme. How many does this game have!? I mean, I'm still leaving some that I absolutely adore off this list of mine.
21. Come Back to Us - Biggs... ;(
22. Rematch atop the Pillar - Announcement: "Plate separation authorized. Awaiting confirmation." Cloud: "Press it!" Reno: "Now, now... You ain't got shit on us." - one of my favorite boss fights. I can only imagine what first time players of FFVII felt here...
23. A Broken World - all Shinra does is take things from us... I love one of the YouTube comments left here: "It's rare to find strength in despair, but this piece shows it masterfully." I couldn't have said it any better myself...
24. The Day Midgar Stood Still - the view of destructive beauty. There is always a new dawn.
25. The Valkyrie - magnificent! So much so, that I was cheering when they re-used this in one of the earlier FFVII Rebirth trailers.
26. Operation: Save Aerith - as its title implies, this is a theme of the party's unbreakable will and determination to save one of their own.
27. Home Away from Home - mystical. A song fit for the Ancients.
28. J-E-N-O-V-A – Quickening - this arrangement went from one of my most anticipated, to being one of the more disappointing, to then slapping me right across the face with EXACTLY what I wanted. Truly, a "hold up and let them cook" type of moments. God-like!
29. Rufus Shinra - why is Rufus so damn cool?!
30. The Arsenal - we are in the end game now... I was so very looking forward to the escape from Shinra HQ and it did not disappoint.
31. One-Winged Angel - Rebirth - a remake of cosmic proportions of the great, legendary villain, Sephiroth. Everyone knows a version of this song and it never disappoints.
32. Seven Seconds till the End - one of my all-time personal favorites from the original FFVII. And yet another masterpiece.


Special Moments and an Incredible Attention to Detail
-- Seeing the materia actually equipped within their slots in the character's weapons.

-- The two soliders guarding the gate in Sector 7.

-- Cloud, Tifa, Barret - press the buttons at the same time.

-- "Don't step on the flowers! You're gonna catch holy hell!"

-- Hell House... :)

-- The entirety of the Wall Market chapter - that is an expansion of content done right!

-- Jenova Phase 3... when that part of the song hits... I went from being partially disappointed to a smile creeping across my face. A grin I couldn't wipe away even if I wanted to. Incredible.

-- "You can't fall in love with me."


Conclusion

So now here we are... approximately 4 months away from the 2nd part in this epic reimagining of Final Fantasy VII. I for one cannot wait for Rebirth and am soon to be counting down the days... now having full trust in the group to deliver "The Empire Strikes Back" of FFVII. There was so much love shown in this first part, that I expect it to be another otherwordly and unforgetable experience...

And always remember, "the reunion at hand may bring joy, it may bring fear... but let us embrace whatever it brings. For they are coming back!" I wish them all good luck in performing the impossible again in early 2024! :)