The box hands outside of combat were a target too, but nobody cared because the combat looked good for the time. And the summon animations that everyone thinks are a waste of time now were the best thing ever back then. But the prerendered cinematics (NOT the backdrops) were bashed for being below the standard even then, plus their kinda-sorta-halfway anime look. I remember it partly because those criticisms in several reviews of the time were a hot topic in my nerd group back then and partly because it came up again when FF8 was basically the reverse, with gorgeous prerendered cinematics and awful gameplay/combat design.
I just can’t imagine them dragging this out 8-10 years with 3 more releases. Maybe 2, plus remastering this one on PS5 for extra cash.
Bro.
I recall a point in VII that becomes just a terrible fat slog. Maybe after Airhead dies. (Disc 3?) They should probably gut some of that in remake. Also they should make sure the story makes sense this time and not make Stephwrath the dumbest of villains.
You’ll get no disagreements from me on this point. Its story—like most every JRPG I remember playing in the ‘90s, even the good ones like Final Fantasy Tactics—goes to complete hell just before the end of disc one. Cloud’s whole backstory is a mess and Sephiroth is kind of a sucky villain when viewed through the eyes of an adult. Plus there’s all that stuff about mana streams and clones. I’m hoping the gameplay and world exploration are good enough to overcome it. I do remember VII having an enjoyably ridiculous world that I’d love to see in lux modern graphics.
Apparently streamers have been released.
This really seems to be pushing the PS4. There are some hilarious low-res textures, especially when juxtaposed next to the good ones.
Having started the full game tonight, I will happily pay $60 for 30-50 hours of content executed at this level of quality any time Square wants.
The notion that FF7 got “hammered” for its cinematics is bonkers. They were considered as some of the best in the industry way back. Both, the amount and the execution.
Today this stuff looks pretty rough and awkward. Like pretty much all CGI cinematics from old games. But way back? It was what set Square on the path to sink money into and release a full motion picture in theaters only four years later.
There aren’t many online reviews left from that era, but let’s go with something we can consider mainstream then: Gamespot.
This is the most dazzling visual experience to date on any console. Film-quality computer-generated cinematics blend seamlessly with pre-rendered background artwork to create the strikingly realistic world of Final Fantasy VII, both beautiful in its grandeur and terrifying in its detail.
As for this:
And the summon animations that everyone thinks are a waste of time now were the best thing ever back then
It’s like you’re from the mirror universe. The summon animations looked superb, but were one of the things that definitely got widely complained about way back. Regardless of how nicely they were done, they got super-annoying after you’ve seen them two times even in 1997. Unskippable cutscenes were never sexy at any point.
This is where I’m at as well, just based on the demo. Getting great reviews and being a lengthy and enjoyable experience is all I need to buy any game, especially one I’ve already enjoyed the gameplay loop of via demo/early look.
Honestly, a lot of other franchises do this anyway, like Call of Duty. People pay $60 per year or so for a new version of that, and they aren’t getting a 35 hour campaign.
Would I prefer that FF7 be the full, original game? Yes! But I say that not having experienced what they did - maybe after playing part 1 I would change my mind and enjoy a long, lesiurly stroll through this world. Hard to say just yet!
So this trailer is important for one very good reason, at least to me:
That might not mean anything, but we’ve already heard rumors this was going to be coming to PC and it seems very likely it would given the other FF games also came to PC. Given my inability to pick this up right now anyway, and given that this will almost certainly be a better experience a) later after a patch or two and b) on PC, I think I’ll wait for the PC version!
No, they’re getting hundreds of hours of multiplayer, mostly.
Sure, most of them, but my point still stands - it’s largely the same game even, they keep buying it every year. This wouldn’t be too far off from that setup/experience. Just aimed at an audience not really used to it, I suppose.
I’m not a CoD buyer, but I don’t think the two things are comparable. CoD is more like a sports franchise game where what you are buying is the “roster,” which in CoD’s case is the other people who make up the bulk of the experience.
We’ll have to agree to disagree then. While I agree they aren’t completely the same, I also only used CoD as an example. There are lots of sequels that come out every few years (such as Far Cry or Assassin’s Creed) that people buy every time for full AAA price. My greater point.
I have no reason to believe Square will deviate from their pattern of releasing an identical PC version a few months later for inscrutable Japanese reasons.
Those are different, too. When I play a Far Cry or an Assassin’s Creed (other than the inane framing story nobody cares about), I get the whole story. Not so here. This is an episodic game, not a franchise release.
I’m pretty sure the reason is still the boogieman of piracy. We can’t give it to the evil PC gamers at the same time or they’ll make pirated copies that will take away console sales. That a few people also double dip doesn’t exactly discourage them.
I was always assuming it would come to PC since, as noted, most Square Enix games do eventually. However, though I do not have a source on hand, I do recall reading that it is set to be a one-year PS4 exclusive. I do not know if that is limited to being console-exclusive opening the possibility of a PC release prior to the end of the one-year window or not.
I found this review interesting.
I have to say I’m intrigued. On the one hand, bloat is one of my biggest game design pet peeves.
Ugh. I’m not sure any exchange was brilliant enough to be stretched like that.
On the other, Midgar is the best part of the game. It only makes sense to expand upon it. A 40-hour game that’s just Midgar sounds good to me. Then again, I can imagine this is going to be some first part of a 120-hours trilogy… :-/
FF7 is unlikely to be improved by its writers being impressed with themselves.
Barrett’s dialogue in the demo was exactly the kind of “Japanese writers doing edgy American character” nonsense I can’t stand. Plus the cussing was just unnecessary and means I don’t want to play the game with my kids around.
I suppose I could play it with JP voices and subtitles, heh.
e: crap, the 6yo is a good and fast enough reader that won’t work either.