FIRST IMPRESSIONS -- Final Fantasy 7 Remake (Demo)

The demo for the highly anticipated Final Fantasy VII Remake video game released Monday, March 2, 2020 exclusively on PlayStation 4. It offered players to experience the opening of the game where Cloud and Barrett assault the first Mako reactor with the original members of Avalanche.

This news went out early Monday morning that the demo would be made available for download for all PlayStation Network users on PlayStation 4 to try out the game prior to the upcoming release in April 2020.


The demo isn't very long. It's roughly a hour of gameplay with some story elements shared throughout to give players a sense of how different this remake will be from the original game.

(Sighs) Don't worry this write-up isn't going to be long... Well, at least I hope not (laughs).

VISUALS

If it's one thing Square Enix knows how to do over most other companies in the gaming industry, it's how to make some beautiful character models and cutscenes. Everything about this reimagining of Midgar is absolutely gorgeous, even though I'm not impressed in the fact that a lot of the backgrounds/environments are interactive in the least. I tried making a few sword slashes at the walls and such, only to minimal if any effects at all. That's one thing that they recycled from the original game that the environments were all vast and beautiful to look at but lacked any sort of interactive qualities to them. That was fine back in 1997 where this game was mostly hi-res images for the surface maps of the environments while 3D character models were layered on top of those for limited exploration. If Square Enix was going to go this far into "expanding" Midgar to justify this remake then I thought some finer attention to detail would have been put into making the environments destructible in a sense. Not so destructible that players would be making their own shortcuts or breaking sequences, but enough that after a few minutes of play that I wasn't left with the impression that all of these rooms, why pretty to look at, were essentially lifeless and devoid of anything other than moving from point A to point B. I can't fault this game for that as a LOT of open world games have this problem and not just this remake. On top of that, this is a demo so I doubt many resources will be spent to make everything as interactive as it would be with the full release product.

I don't know what it is about a lot of the character models but it seemed like all of them had a washed out coloring effect or the sharpness was turned up really high in terms of resolution. I was not playing on a PS4 Pro, but just a standard PS4 Slim that ran the game fine without any load times by the way. I should explain what I mean on the character models with a few comparisons.

Cloud's model is the top culprit that I have to point to over all else as it got to the point where it was distracting during the demo

The evolution of Cloud's character model from the original game's designs and artwork to the current remake. Even with his appearances in Advent Children and the Kingdom Hearts series, I didn't see him like those designs. This is more akin to how I envisioned Cloud to look in modern technology.

Ever since the concept art was floating around for the redesigns for this remake and the initial trailers/teasers, I have been a fan of these modern looks for these iconic characters. The only problem I have is that the demo seems to have some sort of odd discoloration. 

Look at Cloud's shoulder. Why does his shoulder armor piece have that odd discoloration to it? It's really glaring, especially when you look at that screenshot alongside some of the other images for the remake so far. Barrett's model looks fine for the most part though. He looks more battle-hardened than he did in the original game.

AUDIO

The background music in this demo from the iconic opening score to the music within the Mako reactor was excellent and brilliantly well done. My only complaint is that they have butchered the boss theme.

Let's compare the two shall we?


Here's the original track, "Still More Fighting":

Now listen to the remix for this remake, "Those Who Fight Further":

Both tracks are good, but I can't say that I'm a fan of the new version. It sounds like they were trying to mash it up with the event battle theme from Final Fantasy XII to mixed results. As much as I liked Final Fantasy XII, it's music wasn't a strong point if I'm perfectly honest, even though I only like a handful of tracks for that game, despite I have the entire soundtrack on my Google Play account.

I'm going to mention the voice acting so far on this remake briefly. I'm fine with the voices so far, even though I'm not a fan of Biggs' voice. That stuck out like a sore thumb during his brief lines during the demo. I was like holy shit that doesn't sound good. Barrett's voice comes across a bit too much like his voice actor is trying to do a Mr. T impersonation, in which I thought we were leaving that negative connotation for the character back in 1997. It wasn't good back then and it definitely won't fly now. I suppose it could be a lot worse, such as that one English dub of Dragon Ball Z with that Killa character during the Martial Arts Tournament in the Majin Buu Saga, who spoke incoherent broken English.

I wasn't going to speak too much about the game's story that was shown here in the demo, but one thing irked the hell out of me by the end of the demo. Barrett goes from being leery of Cloud the entire mission, then completely chummy with him by the time they are done fighting the Guard Scorpion. Did I miss something? I liked how Cloud came off as a complete snarky wise ass to everyone in Avalanche though. His voice actor did a great job conveying that he's merely there to get paid and nothing else.

GAMEPLAY

Alright, let's go ahead and talk about the biggest elephant in the room. I don't know why this hasn't been addressed nor mentioned when YouTubers and press who were lucky enough to try the game out at E3 last year got to play this very same demo, but there's a massive issue with the targeting icon and camera that follows your target. I found myself fighting against the camera more than the enemies that were presented in front of me. That problem was amplified when dealing with the Guard Scorpion (Scorpion Sentinel I've seen it called too) boss at the end of the demo where you have to target his specific weak points to deal considerable damage to that foe. That alone convinced me NOT to pre-order this. That's a problem back from PSX and PS2 era gaming. No way in hell should something in 2020 have camera and targeting issues in this day and time, especially from how long this game has been in development. I hate to see what other bugs are going on underneath the hood of this game when the full game releases in retail next month. It should be noted that other gaming sites are reporting the camera and targeting issues even in their press release demos too with sections further in the game's story, so that really makes me leery about the full game in less than a month away.

I have to mention something that I'm going to refer to Cloud's animation "cooldown". When you're free roaming throughout the Mako Reactor, you're encouraged to destroy destructible boxes in the environment for items, such as potions or recoverable mana points from Shinra Corp boxes, with the use of Cloud's Buster Sword. Here's the thing that irks me about this. The game wants you to run around trying to slash through objects to destroy them, but you can only do ONE slash until Cloud's animation for this cools down, meaning that you can't do this attack again (at least in non-combat) until Cloud completely swings his sword and sheaths it back onto his back. That attention of detail was cool the first 2-3 attempts until it got downright annoying that you're locked out of doing this simple action until Cloud completely performs that sheathing animation. That's up there with Final Fantasy XV overlapping the interact and jump buttons on the same button in terms of the lack of developer oversight in terms of gameplay.

As for the gameplay control changes from the original, I'm honestly split about it. On one hand, I love the Kingdom Hearts/Final Fantasy XV approach to the combat in terms of making it more real-time action based, but at the same time, I was going through the menus and using the shortcut inputs faster than actually doing the manual attack combos for them in "real time". I think I would enjoy this better in the retail release with the classic gameplay option with the traditional menus and ATB bar. Either way, you're still dependent on the ATB bar to fill up to do specific actions, so I don't see why this massive change to the original gameplay was needed. My only guess is that since the same team that worked on Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts III were on board for making this title a reality and they wanted to reuse coding that they already had established instead of reinventing the wheel with something entirely new or going back to retool the classic turn-based battle system that Square Enix has mostly abandoned for most of their recent RPGs.

WTF is this shit?

I honestly laughed at the dodging of lasers like this was a traditional action game. I wonder what other hoops that the remake has in store of us down the road just to garner more game time just to justify that this title is not only being remade, but going to re-release in multiple separate entries down the road. That's like going back to 1997 and telling me that I have to pay $49.99 for each disk of the original Final Fantasy VII separately. Fuck that noise.

I do want to applaud the new feature to swap characters on the fly since each character has a specific strength that players would want to take advantage of in combat versus the different enemy types. I won't lie. I got through the Scorpion boss by the skin of my teeth and it was the same monster dealing with some of the enemies that the demo threw in your direction during the escape sequence out of the reactor. It makes me wonder how the different Materia that you got in the original game, such as Long Range and Slash-All, helped your more close-range oriented party members deal with flying or long range threats instead of having to rely on party members with firearms to deal with those enemies. If you think about it, without those types of Materia or abilities to level the playing field, weaker party members like Aeris are going to be flat out useless in this remake outside of spellcasting or healing. In that regard, we won't know what we're dealing with on that front until the retail release drops next month. For right now, this seems perfectly fine as it forces players to think more strategically when it comes to how to use their party members in combat.

Barrett bringing the heat.

You get to perform Limit Breaks in the demo like in the original game, but I was a tad underwhelmed that they weren't as "theatrical" as the original game. You get a brief shot of your character doing their signature attacks, but they aren't much more distinctive than your normal Abilities, some of which that Cloud and Barrett have that were their actual Limit Breaks in the original game. For example, one of Cloud's abilities is Braver, which was one of his two Level One Limit Breaks in the original game. Cloud has a distinct new style in this remake too. He can switch from Punisher and Operator Modes. While moving throughout the game normally, Cloud performs under Operator Mode. Once he switches to Punisher Mode, this makes Cloud's movement much more slower, but more methodical as he can automatically counterattack after successful blocks from enemy strikes - something that makes dealing with those pesky enemies during the bombing escape sequence much easier. He also has the means to hit harder with stronger normal attacks as well. In contrast, Barrett has the means to fire powerful ranged attacks with his Overcharge ability. Barrett can recharge this skill quicker by holding down the Triangle button to make Barrett "reload" his arm cannon to hasten the recovery gauge to this skill.

After talking with a few friends about this, I think I should mention your party members' AI behavior. This is going to come to a surprise to many but your party members don't do anything aside their primary attacks when left to their own devices outside of your control. I would like to assume that these actions can be customized in the full version of the game, but here your party members won't even heal themselves, despite the fact that Barrett is equipped with Cure Materia for the demo. I would like to see your party members function like your allies in Final Fantasy XV or the original .hack// series where you don't have to "babysit" them if they do their own thing but at the same time, they are still being productive in combat. We don't have to get as in-depth as the Gambit system that I absolutely LOVED in Final Fantasy XII (I'm definitely revisiting Zodiac Age eventually after I sunk about 200 hours in the original on PlayStation 2) in terms of customizing your party members' battle AI, but I would like to think that I can switch characters and not have the creeping thought of "Oh god, he's going to do something stupid..." like this is Cosmo in The Fairy Oddparents. The only thing your party members are really good at in terms of combat behavior is their witty banter that suggests the best plan of action. They will tell you to watch your health or try something else more akin to what you're doing that's clearly not working. So I'll give the game kudos in that regard.

The Scorpion Sentinel serves as the "boss" of this demo. Many players should remember this enemy as the Guard Scorpion at the end of the Mako Reactor in the original FF7.

I did like how they turned the simple Guard Scorpion/Scorpion Sentinel boss into a multi-layered boss fight in the remake. This adds a tad more depth to a boss that was easily forgettable in the opening moments of the game while simultaneously adding more shock and awe in anticipation of what more "big" changes like this will we see in the full release, especially with the title's more iconic bosses and moments.

The Scorpion Sentinel can "capture" one of your allies, forcing you to have to switch to another party member to rescue them.

If there's anything that I'm really looking forward to seeing over anything else in this remake, it's to see how they have changed up all of the bosses for the better in this manner.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Look, I know a lot of people are going to read this and dismiss my opinion altogether (much like a lot of things in general...) because I have said it time and time again that I don't think of Final Fantasy VII as one of my all-time favorite titles in the series. Sure, I share some of that nostalgia for it as it was my first exposure to the JRPG genre like it was for a lot of people over the last few decades, but I wasn't crying with joy and foaming at the mouth when this remake was announced after years and years of Square Enix pulling our legs about it with teases. People are going to play this demo and run out and put down even more money (if they haven't done so already) for pre-ordering this game, especially if this is your first exposure to anything related to Final Fantasy VII. As someone who has played the original and looking forward to seeing how this actually plays after hearing SOOO much praise about it, I have to say that for me I thought playing this turned out to be a massive letdown - at least in terms of how much people have over-hyped this game into the heavens. Take Maximillian (popular YouTube/Twitch content creator for the FGC) for example. He was invited by developers specifically to try out the game at E3 last year and comment on it. Y'know what, I'm going to link that ENTIRE testimonial he did on that below for you can see how much he carried on like this game was going to be the second coming of Jesus Christ or something.

I'm sorry to say that this demo wasn't as phenomenal as Max made this out to be.

This was good (by Square Enix standards anyway...) but nothing really mind-blowing. Capcom got into players good graces with a remake of the beloved Resident Evil 2 from same console era as Final Fantasy VII last year and they are set to release the remake of Resident Evil 3 next month to compete with this game. Out of the two nostalgia acts coming to modern consoles next month, I'm more inclined to put down money for RE3 rather than FF7R just from what I played here. In all honesty, I'm not too thrilled about the media as a whole and not just gaming industry taking advantage of and seeking to profit off my childhood nostalgia when they can't cook up with anything new and original to bring in the bucks. Gaming has this problem right now without any signs of it ending as long as people are willing to run out and rebuy games that they have owned in years past on the current consoles/platforms. It's bad enough when games of the last console generation are being "remade" and sold again on the current market. WWE definitely has a problem with nostalgia that seems to be detrimental to the future of their brand as a whole. Hollywood has this problem with TV shows and films that seems to increase as time goes on, especially when it comes to most properties associated with nerd culture or beloved franchises from decades long gone.

I said this back on Facebook and Twitter a few months ago, but I'll say it again in relation to FF7. Final Fantasy VII never went anywhere. It had a full length sequel in the form of a movie, Advent Children. It had an OVA spin-off anime. Whether you loved or hated them, the game had that Compilation of FF7 series of sequels and spin-offs that included the previously mentioned Advent Children. The characters guest-starred in roughly every Kingdom Hearts title to date, the Dissidia series, even other various Square Enix titles (such as Cloud guest-starring in Final Fantasy Tactics or Cloud, Tifa, Yuffie, Sephiroth, Red XIII, Vincent, and even Zack were all guest fighters in Ehrgeiz: God Bless The Ring) and even currently Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. fighting game series. Hell, FF7's characters are set to appear in another Square Enix title leading up to the release of the remake for yet another cash grab.

I give Maximillian a lot of shit for how much he gushes all over FF7 and especially over this upcoming remake, but he's right about one thing here.

Final Fantasy VII is important to a lot of people in the same way that Dragon Ball Z or Cowboy Bebop was for fans getting introduced to anime in the means that it was the first video game that many people were exposed to that was more than just being a series of objectives. It opened the doors that games can be more than just a redundant task. It could be "experienced", much like films and television shows with a full length, immersive narrative. I have played a lot of JRPGs following FF7 but nothing can't changed that it was of one of the first "gateways" to more games not only in this genre, or rather opening my eyes that games can be looked at as an art medium as well.

At the end of the day, I doubt I'm going to purchase Final Fantasy 7 Remake upon release like a lot of people highly anticipating this title. I (still) haven't played Kingdom Hearts III and that had just as much, if not more hype behind that final chapter in the trilogy. It's not going to be the end of the world if I don't experience this (again) with everyone else simultaneously next month, much like my best friend wants me to do like we did back in middle school for the original release when I got my original PlayStation. If this is your cup of tea to sink your hard earned dough into, then go for it. Don't let me dissuade you. I just have a few concerns in terms of red flags that I want to see that are addressed before I purchase the full release.