final fantasy vii remake pc release time

You go from actively dodging and countering attacks like you would in a modern action RPG to opening up menus that drastically slow down combat and let you carefully consider your next move. The system is a hybrid of typical action RPG combat and turn-based gameplay. Abilities, spells, and summons can dictate battle outcomes, and they’ll be familiar to fans of the original game. Once you fill a character’s ATB meter, you can slow down time and use that character’s abilities, spells, items, or summons. As battles progress, each character’s active time battle (ATB) meter fills up. During combat, you control one party member at a time and can move, dodge, and use basic attacks in real time. Unlike the original’s turn-based battle system, the remake introduces action-based combat that borrows elements from the original game. Minor characters from the original get more time to shine in the remake.įinal Fantasy VII Remake’s combat system is one of its selling points. However, I usually found the rewards too enticing to pass up. Fortunately, since these sections are mostly optional, you can get through them quickly if you aren’t enjoying them. The game’s momentum comes to a screeching halt when it follows up a high-octane action scene with mundane sidequests for an NPC who asks you to find their lost cat or kill some rats. Others are dull and add little to the plot or characters. Some of these sections, like the remake’s take on the bustling Wall Market, turn a short but memorable portion of the original game into a smorgasbord of hysterical sidequests and minigames. The sidequest-heavy segments are a mixed bag. You find most of this padding in the game’s optional sidequests. Unfortunately, the remake includes padding that does little to advance the plot and isn’t the most engaging.

When the game is at its best, this is how it translates scenes from the original game you get everything the original offered and more. The game’s lovingly orchestrated soundtrack, which pays homage to the original game but never becomes too predictable, accompanies this stellar opening and helps it feel like a big-budget action movie. Final Fantasy VII Remake manages to take everything great about that opening - from its fast pace to its impressive worldbuilding - and add beautiful environments and characters, revealing dialogue, and exciting cinematography. I’ve long felt that Final Fantasy VII leads with the best opening hour in video game history. The remake’s stunning presentation improves upon many moments from the original game. While I like some of its changes more than others, I appreciate that the narrative changes make the remake feel like a fresh new experience, even for someone who knows the original like the back of their hand. The original game’s spirit is present, but the remake offers something close to a new story. It helps to think of Final Fantasy VII Remake as a reimagining instead of a remake. All the blockbuster moments from the original game are here, but the remake alters the themes of the story and some major plot elements. Additionally, the story is not just a one-to-one retelling of the original. Naturally, this means the plot has new elements, characters get more screen time, and small areas have been expanded to hours-long portions of the game. It’s a 30-hour version of a six-hour portion of the original game: the party’s journey in the industrious city of Midgar. I was a little trepidatious because I’ve had mixed experiences with console-to-PC ports, but Final Fantasy VII Remake played smoothly for me from start to finish.įinal Fantasy VII Remake is a bit of an odd remake. I played the remake on PlayStation 5 a year ago, and I was ecstatic to jump back into the game with the PC release. The original remains one of my favorite RPGs, and when Square Enix announced the remake would be a delayed release for PC, this motivated me to buy a PlayStation 5. Final Fantasy VII Remake was one of my most anticipated games of all time.

Final fantasy vii remake pc release time