Review
Played on: Xbox Series X
Released: 2026
Original release: 2020 (PS4)
It only took five years of Sony locking down the Final Fantasy VII Remake, before the Xbox Series X/S and Switch 2 finally could play it. For some unfathomable reason, they kept paying SquareEnix to stop other players playing this on other platforms. Why, I have no idea, it's not like this game alone was going to make people throw away their PlayStations and jump on another platform entirely.
Luckily, during this five year timespan, SquareEnix has come to its senses and realised there's more copies to be sold and money to earn through being multiplatform. As such, we finally saw a port of part one, Remake, of the trilogy reach both Xbox Series X/S and Switch 2 early this year. With part two, Rebirth, scheduled for summer and the third part for next year on all platforms.
This is my first time playing this remake, and for those unaware it covers the Midgar part of the original 1997 release. As mentioned in my review of the FFVII Advent Children movie, found here, this remake builds upon the FFVII meta series style and presentation. And, thankfully, the flip phones have since gone, buried in the early 2000s. So, how does this remake fair for a veteran of the old 1997 original?
Let's take a closer look around Midgar!
To be clear, alongside greats like Resident Evil and Tomb Raider, FFVII was such an impactful experience in my 90's youth it shaped my perception of games forever.
I was never into RPGs prior to it but after spotting it as Platinum series release, a friend convinced me to buy it. I was totally blown away by how immersed I became in its world, characters, atmosphere, music and how the story spanned so much time making it feel like a massive journey.
From the large and epic moments, down to the small dialogues and thoughtful reflections. It even had time to reflect on earlier events too. All these realisations and the level-based gameplay made me a huge fan of an experience I was not expecting.
With such a landmark title, a remake is something you need to tread carefully with. For newcomers it doesn't matter so much as long as it covers the original experience, while veterans will have strong opinions. There are a few ways to do such a remake, depending on the timespan between the original and a remake.
Doing a 1-to-1, like Halo 1 & 2, is tricky if you want to expand on old gameplay like FFVII. Opting for a prettier pre-rendered version, like REmake in 2001 did for the first Resident Evil, would've been a welcome sight, but from a technical perspective it's a ship that has sailed long ago.
The solution for FFVII Remake has been a full third person conversion, similar to Resident Evil 2 Remake. Basing yourself on the original concept and layout but refreshing and expanding areas to suit the quicker movement of a fully 3D world. Yet, FFVII Remake goes far beyond the scope of simply remaking it to third person and adding a few small extras. It expands the experience massively with lots of added segments and new characters, it's probably the most ambitious remake seen.
So ambitious in fact, they parted it into three whole releases. Thus, FFVII Remake only covers the first 5 to 8 hours of the original; the events within and escape from Midgar. Yet, it's a 30–35-hour playthrough of its own.
The most obvious change are the visuals, but before I get into that I want to talk about the gameplay. Gone are the classic FF battles where you're wandering about the environment, only for the screen to swirl into a zoom and begin its battle music. While the battle music is still present, the enemies are just visible within the environments you're exploring, like most modern FF titles. Encountering them will begin the battle mode.
Within a battle you can move freely about while quickly executing either normal attacks, abilities, magic or take use of items. Dodging oncoming attacks is something I ended up having at my fingertips as I rolled consistently away from oncoming attacks. On the other hand, I was bad at using the defensive button to minimise damage. Attacking an enemy many times will fill up an ability meter, allowing you to execute special attacks, healing or defensive boosts.
This modern action styled battle system works well, although it can have a disorientating camera struggling to keep up with the fast movement. You can partially fix this by locking onto an enemy, or enemy part like an arm or leg, allowing the camera to stay focused on the part you wish to attack. However, I found it a bit unreliable, moving about too much or losing its lock-on in heated situations.
Outside of battles there are plenty of vending machines to buy items, armour and weapons at, alongside a bench to sit down refill HP and MP! A gesture which weirdly results in the screen going completely black for many seconds. In addition, there are shops and stalls to buy from too.
Exploring the environments between main missions will reveal hidden treasures, enemy encounters and side-missions. I found these side-missions underwhelming in their stories, basically playtime filler to grind up a few levels. They at least make usage of the environments, allowing you to familiarise yourself and enter places you wouldn't have access. Don't expect them to be anything close to Bethesda Softworks quality though.
Although I haven't played this remake previously, I've visually been accustomed to it through the excellent remake of the PSP prequel Crisis Core, review here. Which reused a lot of the assets and art direction to make it a cohesive prequel for those to want to learn more about Clouds life prior to FFVII, through playing as Zack. His mentor and trainer during his life as a soldier. A great companion title to check out!
The FFVII Remake visuals are for the most part really good, I appreciate the responsive and sharp 60fps on my Xbox Series X, especially considering this is an Unreal Engine 4 title. UE4 spans back to the days of Xbox One and PlayStation 4, which result in a visual hit and miss. While it truly pushes the engine well, it obviously derives from the PS4 era. There's a ton detail on the main character models, selected buildings and items, both in geometry and textures, while on the flipside reveals mediocre models and rough textures in other parts.
As I mentioned, the main characters look amazing, tapping into that beautiful cross between realism and CGI, but on the other hand, NPCs stand out like a sore thumb in comparison. This discrepancy is evident in the interactivity with buildings too; the main ones that have story segment in them are full of detail, while the background and trivial ones are simplistic and repetitive in nature. It's a balance of how far a PS4 could be pushed, which this current gen version tries to cover with better textures, but it shines through.
That said, I do love the work gone into depicting Midgar at a whole new level of detail and from a new perspective. Walking about the slum and looking up at the distant backdrop of metal plates covering the sky is a stunning experience. Areas like outside the theatre, where Cloud meets Aerith selling flowers on the top world of Midgar, are beautiful with lots of pretty buildings, rain covered streets and charming vintage cars. Industrial areas, like entering the first reactor to a whole mission just beneath one of the steel plates have this industrial charm to them too.
Sure, there are repetitive areas and at times you're trodding through a lot of unappealing generic industrial and slum areas, but overall, it's an impressive and charming depiction of Midgar in detail we've never seen before.
The size of the environments is limited, it's by no means an engine suited for open world, so it's built around linearity. Open town areas feel restricted and corridor based. However, the original never was free roaming in any way in Midgar. So, while the areas a linear in comparison to modern titles, it's far more expansive than the original.
Circling back to what I mentioned about this remake being about Midgar, though; it's an ambitiously large expansion for a limited part of the original. Herein lies perhaps some of its problems, but also, its charm.
For me, the original never really needed expanding. There's a fantastic length to it already, balancing the pacing and with enough playtime to have scenes that reminiscent on early hours of the story. It was about giving the player that crucial sensation of a long journey.
Indeed, every part of Midgar you remember is here, but they last for hours each. This city alone is now long enough to fill a game of its own; a charming revisit for someone used to the original, bonding with those nostalgic moments from the 90's in a new perspective.
On the flipside the pacing is awkward. There are expansive portions which feel like time wasters. This is especially evident in the lacklustre nature of the side-missions I mentioned earlier; they feel incredibly basic in design and have bland dialogue with uninspiring NPCs. At least they're quick and optional.
However, the extra content and extended stories of each character isn't. Sure, it's interesting getting to know the whole of Avalanche outside of just Barret and Tifa better, but did we really need it? It's a classic tale of leaving less up to the imagination and feeding the viewer everything on a silver spoon.
Take a night bike ride to Jessie's parents house for instance; it neatly depicts a richer side to living on the top side of the city. However, it features a reoccurring, over-the-top anime styled, biker dude which never was in the original. His whole appearance and personality is tremendously juvenile and annoying. Killing that whole night segment's mood and is completely an unnecessary addition, adding nothing to the experience but an extra hour of filler.
I feel with the "Compilation of FFVII" meta series there's always been a thin line between nostalgia and cringe, mostly this remake rides that edge on the right side. That said, I've never completely been sold on the modernising of the original characters through the spin-off games and movies. It's their cliché anime style presentation, personalities and attitude I find unappealing.
Hardcore anime and JRPG fans seem thrilled by it though; the juvenile dialogue, crazy action scenes with lots of slow-motion jumping about, overdone bad guys with chad attitudes and a Tifa boob shot in every dialogue she's present. Fan service: not always a great idea, Japan.
Otherwise, when the dialogue takes itself more seriously, or builds sadness for that matter, it works well and the voice overs match the characters perfectly. From Barry's deep, hot headed, outbursts to Aerith gentle and soft voice. It's just how I imagined them speaking when I read the lines of the 1997 original!
Outside of my earlier complaints I don't like the depiction of the dead souls, which plague Aerith from time to time; their presentation look like goofy ghosts. Then we have the end battle with Sephiroth, which is far too comprehensive and long, it takes away some of the mystery to his character getting so close to him this early in the story. He should be shrouded in more mystery.
Hojo's lab is lost in translation too; the build-up of something sinister is just not as effective here. I recall it as being scarier with blood trails on the floor, really shifting the tone of the original in a sinister way.
While I for the most part had a terrific blend of modern FF and nostalgia, it extends and adds parts which feel unnecessary long. Resulting in uneven pacing and massive difficulty spikes towards the end.
Admittedly, I went into this remake on the sceptical side but was quickly drawn in by its quality and my own nostalgia longing for a return to Midgar. Spurred by the recent remake of Crisis Core and the availability on a console I actually own.
Reuniting with all the key moments and characters has been a joyful ride. Strangely enough, one the most memorable moments have been looking up at the steel roof of the slum and just rejoicing in the sheer size of Midgar. Realising I was playing what I often thought about when viewing the original from above.
When it comes to environments and a significant effort in expanding and depicting Midgar this remake does a wonderful job. While it's limited in its playfield, its charming walking about the over and underworld of Shinra's massive city. Especially night scenes bring out a fantastic environment atmosphere; seeing the size of the steel sky above you when you're roaming the slums never seizes to impress. It helps with the classic music cleverly remastered in the background, bringing back my teenage fascination of exploring the original.
This is a must-buy for any FFVII fan and finally something Xbox and Nintendo players can take part in. SquareEnix blends an entertaining action RPG with moment of joy, sadness and excitement in its unique FF way. It's kind of astonishing that they've remade a classic in such a comprehensive and massive way!
Intermission
