Final Fantasy 7 Remake Review - 6 Ups & 5 Downs

1. The Original Is Still Better

Over time, Square Enix have referred to this project as a number of different things.

First it was a "full remake", then it was going to be released episodically, then they were still calling it "the Final Fantasy VII Remake", but the rest of the story is coming at some point in the future. THEN during many interviews and a press event I attended, it was referred to as the "Final Fantasy VII re-imagination project".

Clearly, this has been a mammoth task to bring together, and the final game is something that ticks many boxes of the original with aplomb. However, production schedules or other whims have resulted in great characters, plot beats, overall pacing and memorability being sacrificed to try and force an opening section to be a full game.

It's noticeable, I imagine even to newcomers, and for all the reasons I'm mentioning, I'd still recommend the original as your overall introduction to this mythos.

Final Fantasy VII Remake is still an outstanding game in many respects, but fundamentally, it does not replace its stellar 1997 release.