Boy oh boy, the price of freedom is steep!
TL;DR game isn't very good but the story is iconic.
This is a prime example of an old game coming back and not aging well. The gameplay feels shallow and sometimes even intrusive. So intrusive that in the last third of the game I was hugging walls to hopefully avoid combat encounters to keep the story chugging along. Mashfest w/ certain commands, not much depth here. The mission mode feels bland and repetitive and from a bygone era of gaming. Stopped doing all the side content the further I got into the game because I was getting sick of it and just wanted to see the end.
The story though? Awesome. A lot of weird fluff and decisions that feels KH-esque (because Nomura) to the FF7 universe. At the same time, lots of cool characters and moments here. Zack Fair is such an upbeat good dude. Watching the plot unravel as you KNOW things will eventually get bad (as is the nature of prequels) is a fun feeling. The ending hit me right in the feels despite knowing the story for over a decade. The music gets the job done with some great FF tunes, and a lot of the old vintage cutscenes ooze that mid 2000s nostalgia. Found myself smiling at the presentation because of it.
All in all, an interesting game that quickly becomes bland. FF7 fans will probably hop on this and feel the same to get the story bits, otherwise not really worth the average action gamer's attention.
TL;DR game isn't very good but the story is iconic.
This is a prime example of an old game coming back and not aging well. The gameplay feels shallow and sometimes even intrusive. So intrusive that in the last third of the game I was hugging walls to hopefully avoid combat encounters to keep the story chugging along. Mashfest w/ certain commands, not much depth here. The mission mode feels bland and repetitive and from a bygone era of gaming. Stopped doing all the side content the further I got into the game because I was getting sick of it and just wanted to see the end.
The story though? Awesome. A lot of weird fluff and decisions that feels KH-esque (because Nomura) to the FF7 universe. At the same time, lots of cool characters and moments here. Zack Fair is such an upbeat good dude. Watching the plot unravel as you KNOW things will eventually get bad (as is the nature of prequels) is a fun feeling. The ending hit me right in the feels despite knowing the story for over a decade. The music gets the job done with some great FF tunes, and a lot of the old vintage cutscenes ooze that mid 2000s nostalgia. Found myself smiling at the presentation because of it.
All in all, an interesting game that quickly becomes bland. FF7 fans will probably hop on this and feel the same to get the story bits, otherwise not really worth the average action gamer's attention.