Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020) (PS4) (Square Enix)
0My background as a decidedly PC-centric gamer during 1995-2003 isn't something I think about a lot these days. Having played plenty of console games during the last 15+ years, I never get the sense anymore that there are these exotic dimensions of the gaming culture (i.e. platforms aside from the PC) which I'm either not understanding much about or haven't even heard of.
However, there's a few specific blindspots from my days of personal computer exclusivity that still come up now and again. One of these are the fact that I never played Final Fantasy VII when it was released in 1997, since I didn't have PlayStation at the time and also decided against picking up that infamously crappy first PC port. Thus, any discussion of FF7 will most likely result in a blank stare from my part (not unlike the protagonist's general look, by the way). While I did play a fair amount of FF8 - yes, I got the similarily atrocious Windows release of that game - during the critical period when JRPGs had their real breakthrough in the gaming mainstream I was off on the sidelines wondering what all the fuss was about. Still to this day, the only Final Fantasy game I've finished is FF13, which I thought was merely OK.
After having spent about 10 hours with the hotly anticipated remake imaginatively called Final Fantasy VII Remake, I don't think I'm going to "get it" this time either. The vastly revamped combat system has been fairly well-received in general, but I've personally found it to be a tedious slog so far. I'm clearly not understanding the overall structure and rhythm particularly well despite the game's lengthy tutorials, and most larger fights overstay their welcome by at least 10 minutes each. And for all their visual splendor, the dungeons still revolve around navigating maze-like corridors, pulling switches and opening chests - old-fashioned activities which stick too close to the original 1997 template for my current tastes.
As for the much-beloved story and characters, for the most part I get a fairly generic anime vibe from the whole thing. There are quirky female love interests, histrionic villains, outrageous clothing choices and comic relief based on fat-shaming as well as other questionable topics. That said, some of the early cutscenes (most likely added specifically for the remake) do make a few good points about how the dominant ideology works in a nominally free capitalist society, and what the role of violent rebellion is and can be in such a context. But what I've seen so far is not enough to make me abandon my puzzled "I guess you had to be there in 1997?" look.
For a different and endearingly heartfelt take on FF7 Remake, check out Tamoor Hussein's excellent review over at Gamespot;
https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/final-fantasy-7-remake-review-limit-break/1900-6417445/