In a post-Rebirth world I decided to revisit this game and not only see how it held up, but also to finish off the trophy list after I appreciated the former so much. And upon my replay I found that while it definitely has its shortcomings in hindsight, it’s still a great experience and did a great job fleshing out the city of Midgar and the early parts of FF7 and its world.
The combat is where this game shines with the ATB system and the materia system working in tandem to create battles that are both exciting and allow for a ton of user preference in how they want to tackle fights. Each character shines in their own way, but I found that Cloud and Tifa were by far the standouts, especially in Hard Mode which puts a bigger emphasis on pumping out damage while minimizing risk in whatever ways possible.
The story changes from the original are divisive (and rightfully so) but overall I think they work and once the remake saga is complete I think we’ll have a much better idea of what they were going for and if they actually land. What you lose in changes or omissions are more than made up for with how fleshed out everything feels like characters (Avalanche actually feels important now) and locations (Wall Market and the slums are particularly great).
Also, the Yuffie DLC was exactly what additional content should be. A fun story that doesn’t overstay its welcome, introduces an interesting plot that remains important for the other games in the saga, and gives us a taste of Yuffie and her gameplay style which was insanely fun and was in hindsight just a teaser for her full introduction in Rebirth.
Overall, this game is a wonderful time and I appreciate it quite a bit as being my first introduction to Final Fantasy, a rabbit hole I look forward to going further down in the future with other entries.
The combat is where this game shines with the ATB system and the materia system working in tandem to create battles that are both exciting and allow for a ton of user preference in how they want to tackle fights. Each character shines in their own way, but I found that Cloud and Tifa were by far the standouts, especially in Hard Mode which puts a bigger emphasis on pumping out damage while minimizing risk in whatever ways possible.
The story changes from the original are divisive (and rightfully so) but overall I think they work and once the remake saga is complete I think we’ll have a much better idea of what they were going for and if they actually land. What you lose in changes or omissions are more than made up for with how fleshed out everything feels like characters (Avalanche actually feels important now) and locations (Wall Market and the slums are particularly great).
Also, the Yuffie DLC was exactly what additional content should be. A fun story that doesn’t overstay its welcome, introduces an interesting plot that remains important for the other games in the saga, and gives us a taste of Yuffie and her gameplay style which was insanely fun and was in hindsight just a teaser for her full introduction in Rebirth.
Overall, this game is a wonderful time and I appreciate it quite a bit as being my first introduction to Final Fantasy, a rabbit hole I look forward to going further down in the future with other entries.