An infuriating experience even compared to its less-than-stellar prequels. It backtracks on the obnoxious combat encounters from the second game, but in turn has the most baffling puzzles in the trilogy. Items are placed seemingly randomly and sometimes will be basically invisible. Without the assistance of a guide, I would have found this game impossible.

At least it has some funny set pieces. The first game, despite its major flaws, manages to be the best of the first three. Frankly, two and three are not worth the effort.

A definite sequel but not necessarily a better one. While there are a few minor improvements to the gameplay, it abandons what people liked about the original for a more action adventure experience. The game has a much heavier focus on combat which is only slightly expanded from the first game and barely more functional. Encounters can feel extremely unfair in some cases. Other times it's a total crapshoot whether or not you make it out unscathed. My sentiment towards this game is about the same as its predecessor, but one would be better off playing that one versus this misguided sequel.

Peaks and valleys with this one, but overall I think its a good game. If I were to list off every issue I had with the game this review would probably never end. Thankfully, the good manages to outweigh the bad, but I wont deny it walks a fine line. If not for the stellar presentation and characters I would definitely be singing a different tune.

As far as open worlds go, I think this one is pretty mediocre. The gameplay just doesn't lend itself well to the format. Navigating the environments doesn't feel good at all because of how rigid the movement is. There's nothing special to discover in the world, just marks on the map to walk between. Maybe you will stop to sniff out an item or grab a few chests in a "point of interest", but those aren't memorable, interesting, or even worth it. FF7 as an open world feels obvious but this execution is not it. If you don't get the inherent dopamine hits from filling out a map I can imagine this is probably a nightmare.

Peaks and valleys with this one, but overall I think its a good game. If I were to list off every issue I had with the game this review would probably never end. Thankfully, the good manages to outweigh the bad, but I wont deny it walks a fine line. If not for the stellar presentation and characters I would definitely be singing a different tune.

As far as open worlds go, I think this one is pretty mediocre. The gameplay just doesn't lend itself well to the format. Navigating the environments doesn't feel good at all because of how rigid the movement is. There's nothing special to discover in the world, just marks on the map to walk between. Maybe you will stop to sniff out an item or grab a few chests in a "point of interest", but those aren't memorable, interesting, or even worth it. FF7 as an open world feels obvious but this execution is not it. If you don't get the inherent dopamine hits from filling out a map I can imagine this is probably a nightmare.