Final Fantasy VII Remake is a redevelopment of the classic RPG game, but it only covers part of the story, leaving much of what distinguished and improving the original game and also changing changes that make it a complement to the original rather than an alternative game.
The combat system is another big change, so instead of taking turns, you can hit, repel, and avoid freely, and there is a regular hit and another special (for example, the cloud becomes faster and he can return the blow, but his movement becomes limited), but there is a counter when it is full you can use the properties, materials and magic, and your team is a component Of 3 characters that control one of them and can give orders to the other two characters and even switch between them. The goal in combat is to overthrow the enemy so that they will be exposed to powerful successive strikes, and there is a special ability counter for each character that is filled with the character's injury and another for Summons. The combat system is cool, fun, and full of action and epic moments with special bosses.
Graphics are the most powerful thing you can find in the game, especially the characters that have benefited from their presence over the years in films and other games, and here its design was wonderful and with many details, and the main characters as you wished (except perhaps Tifa) as well as the city of Midgar, which has been embodied in a much larger way. On different areas like the Slums, Wall Market, Shinra Company Building, Train Cemetery etc. The fees are generally good, albeit less than the 15th part.
The original game's music is legendary and has been re-composed and new tracks added, and it succeeds in making the fights and spirited scenes epic, as well as creating the right atmosphere, whether sad or joyful. This is music that will touch the feelings of fans of the original game and attract new fans of it, although it is not necessarily a substitute for or superior to the original music. The audio performance is also good in both Japanese and English
Like their counterparts, the level of your team develops with the fight and the collection of experience points, and there are several weapons for each character that you can develop with continuous fighting, and each weapon has a special strike that you learn for all weapons after you master them, and the crystals (Materia) from the original game return, which gives you when you put them in the weapons and armor properties and magic Various such as processing, fire, speed, poison, and more.
Even with the change in the combat system, it is still a tactical system, so the avoid button is to move away from strong strikes and not to avoid close, you are still vulnerable to strikes, and also when using magic, enemies can interrupt you and each magic has a different time to release it, which means that you need to plan when to use it and set the duration in your mind. Equipping your character to fight and using the right magic are important, and you will notice the teams prepare and change plan when fighting bosses.
The characters, their dialogues and their interaction with each other is the best of this part, as the dialogues have improved from the original and the characters have emerged more, whether Cloud and its coolness that gradually disappears or Aerith and its kindness mixed with humor, and its interaction with Cloud is excellent and very elaborate and even the other main characters and even the side are elaborate and appear more deeply here As well as the interaction and development of characters and the evolution of their relationships is highlighted excellently.
As a re-development, the story and characters were the focus of greater interest and question, and although the game contains most of the events from the original, there is a lot of change and expansion, and you will see many areas in a larger and larger way and some quick scenes have become a complete chapter. There are several iconic scenes that have been beautifully modernized and expanded. The game metaphorically (and sometimes literally) feels like a museum of the original game world.
The construction in the game is excellent, in addition to the previous point you will get to know the elements of the original game better, whether your team members, your enemies or regions, and there are a lot of side conversations during the game that build the development of relationships richly.
The question was also about the content of the game and the way to end this part of the story, as the content is very acceptable in its size and there are quite a number of leaders, main and side missions and events, as well as some secrets, while the end of the game is epic and crazy as we are used to from the series.
NEGATIVES
Not all of the new elements in the story are successful in the way they are presented, and the fact that the story is not finished yet means that we can only judge these elements and their impact on the story from this part.
Some of the parts in the game were too long and made me bored, as well as there are many times the game becomes excessively linear, so you cannot even explore a place next to you, but rather the game takes you back on the road to the goal or moments where you slowly walk behind another character to serve the story. I don't want it an open world game, but I want freedom within the same isolated place. The Wall Market area is excellent in its bifurcation and freedom, and I wished the rest of the game like it, and I also wished that instead of chapters, the game's events were divided into separate areas.
The graphics are generally good, but some elements like rocks and dirt in the slums are noticeably lacking in detail as if they are from another game, and on the regular PlayStation 4 the game suffers from some technical bugs. Also, the white line of texts is difficult to read in daytime scenes.
The artificial intelligence of your team members that you do not control are sometimes frustrated, you may find them standing still and using special commands only on low difficulty. Of course, you can give orders to them, but for normal strikes you need to swap them or rely on artificial intelligence.
FINAL EVALUATION
8.5/10
If you do not consider it a replacement for the original game, but rather a complement to it, this is a beautiful game with an excellent combat system and great characters that build on most of the points of the original game and expand it and at the same time offer a different experience, but it suffers a little because it is linear and lengthens some parts of the game.