The experience of playing Final Fantasy VII Remake is completely incongruent with the experience of playing the original Final Fantasy VII. This is 100% what I desire with retreads of old games. Adapting a Playstation 1 title into a Playstation 4 title is almost like taking that original into a different medium. The feeling of seeing this game from over 20 years ago being obsessively rendered in current high fidelity is hard to put into words. The icing on the cake is that by the end of it, Final Fantasy VII Remake is actually not even Final Fantasy VII. Most of the game sticks strictly to the script of the original besides the Whispers (i.e. Fate) appearing to make sure nobody goes off script. The aftermath of the final boss battle makes clear that it is not a certainty that you're going to see the rest of Final Fantasy VII as it appeared in the original. The possibility space is completely blown wide open. The act of playing Remake, though, is something that gives me less excitement. The core of the battle system is enjoyable enough, but didn't completely suck me in. Each character plays very differently and require you to use different tactics. Staggering enemies and watching their health drain is a good time. I like that, at least in your first play through, most enemy encounters can be dangerous. Battle system, not bad. When you're not battling (and sometimes even when you are), FFVIIR luxuriates in its cutscenes a little too much for my tastes. I spent a lot of time watching cutscene Cloud do cool shit wishing I was playing a video game at that moment. The buffet of new story beats really flesh the world of Midgar out a lot. But on the other side of the coin, a lot of it feels like filler for Final Fantasy VII. It's really neat to understand more of Midgar, but also kinda boring at the same time. There are a few neat additions/changes, but for each one there is a lot of fluff. Every sidequest in the game is a chore, only sometimes worth it in a mechanical sense. I mean, sidequests are almost definitionally chores, but engaging gameplay, they are not. If you want to enjoy FFVIIR to the fullest, I'd suggest not worrying about missing out on collectibles or obscure weapons and just beelining through the game. As an action/adventure title, it works pretty well. Once it gets RPG-y, it is less than stellar.