HOT FFVII REMAKE NEWS - yes a thread that’s on topic

Fei Ayanami · Post by **Fei Ayanami** » Thu Apr 16, 2020 10:54 pm

Toriyama + good pixel artists = good (or so the evidence suggests)

Cybernetic Empire · Post by **Cybernetic Empire** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 12:02 am

I can't reliably parry attacks (in operator mode into punisher) and I'm 60 hours in. Either I don't know how any of this works, or it's all bullshit. Not letting me equip materia before a boss fight when you keep splitting my group up is bullshit too. FUUUUUUUUUUCCCCKKKKK I'm getting pissed.

Cybernetic Empire · Post by **Cybernetic Empire** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 3:33 am

Double post because I just beat it. The ending is complete fucking nonsense. Jesus Fucking Christ...

Cid · Post by **Cid** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 6:05 am

Should we close one of these FF7 threads and make a spoiler discussion one so we don't have to fiddle with spoiler tags and hiding/unhiding them for a multitude of posts?

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 8:00 am

Cybernetic Empire wrote:I can't reliably parry attacks (in operator mode into punisher) and I'm 60 hours in. Either I don't know how any of this works, or it's all bullshit. Not letting me equip materia before a boss fight when you keep splitting my group up is bullshit too. FUUUUUUUUUUCCCCKKKKK I'm getting pissed.

60 hours? I'm 35 hours in and I assume I'm near the end.

Lord Golbez · Post by **Lord Golbez** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 5:14 pm

I'm spending a lot of time with side quests in Chapter 14. 60.hours still seems like a lot but I'm over 35 and not done with those side quests so depending on how long the following chapters are I might be able to see it. I'm also only level 25 or 26 and there's a trophy for level 50 so I can see grinding getting you there easily and there cpuls be considerable incentive to grind if the last chapters throw really hard boss fights at you.

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 5:20 pm

I finished all the side quests in the game and played some extra stuff to get trophies, so I guess I'm just better/quicker at battling.

Lord Golbez · Post by **Lord Golbez** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 6:53 pm

Or maybe you don't care about what people are saying. Since you can't press a button to talk to most people in the game, I've spent a good chunk of time walking back and forth around them to hear what they're saying.

Cybernetic Empire · Post by **Cybernetic Empire** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 7:03 pm

Damien wrote:I finished all the side quests in the game and played some extra stuff to get trophies, so I guess I'm just better/quicker at battling.

What chapter are you on?

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 8:14 pm

I'm on the final chapter rn.

Lord Golbez · Post by **Lord Golbez** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 8:26 pm

Don't spoil the ending. Not because it's good, but because from everything I've heard it's terrible. It might be so bad that I won't be able to enjoy the rest of the game if I know it ahead of time.

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 8:30 pm

I'm not spoiling anything. Not even gonna say what I thought of it.

Cybernetic Empire · Post by **Cybernetic Empire** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 10:42 pm

Cybernetic Empire wrote:
Damien wrote:I finished all the side quests in the game and played some extra stuff to get trophies, so I guess I'm just better/quicker at battling.
What chapter are you on?

I guess I'm not sure how people are beating it so fast. I wasn't exactly slow, but I did do all the quests, and all but one sim battle, and all of the coliseum. I also did very minimal backtracking, so I dunno. Maybe I accidentally left the game running with the timer going for a long stretch without realizing it.

Lord Golbez · Post by **Lord Golbez** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 11:02 pm

Fuck the sim battles. I haven't even beaten [spoiler]Fat Chocobo[/spoiler] yet. I plan to do that one because I was so close on my last try, but I might forget about doing any other ones.

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Sat Apr 18, 2020 7:18 am

Most of the bosses (including those) I beat on my first try. People did keep saying I was making the game look too easy and accusing me of playing it on easy (had to keep going into options to prove I wasn’t) when I streamed it a couple of weeks back. Perhaps I’m just accidentally good at it.

WaWard · Post by **WaWard** » Sat Apr 18, 2020 12:03 pm

Finished all the Chapter 3 side quests (I know of).

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Sat Apr 18, 2020 2:56 pm

Go to the map and then press R2. You'' see if there's any unfinished. Chapter 3 has 6 of them.

Lord Golbez · Post by **Lord Golbez** » Sat Apr 18, 2020 5:02 pm

I missed some side quests in Chapter 9, apparently, so I can't get the all sidequest trophy on this run.

Fei Ayanami · Post by **Fei Ayanami** » Sat Apr 18, 2020 7:10 pm

FFVII:R fail

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Sat Apr 18, 2020 7:26 pm

Do you have an earlier save file you can go back to?

I've now finished the game myself btw.

Cid · Post by **Cid** » Sat Apr 18, 2020 9:24 pm

Lord Golbez wrote:I missed some side quests in Chapter 9, apparently, so I can't get the all sidequest trophy on this run.

Once you beat the game you unlock chapter select and can go back and complete whatever you missed.

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Sat Apr 18, 2020 9:57 pm

That too. I don’t fancy playing hard mode. Didn’t find normal mode particularly hard, but I have too many games in my backlog to be playing the same game though twice.

Lord Golbez · Post by **Lord Golbez** » Sun Apr 19, 2020 7:58 am

Damn having the appropriate materia setup for a battle counts for a lot in this game. I had a group of enemies wipe me out then tweaked my materia a bit and defeated them almost instantly and with virtually bo damage to myself.

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Sun Apr 19, 2020 8:15 am

That's my biggest gripe in this game. You're often thrown into battles without preparation, sometimes with your party switched up. Quite often, the battle requires a specific materia setup that you obviously haven't been able to prepare for. Many of these I was eventually able to win, but I had a better, quicker strategy in my head that I just wasn't given the chance to execute.

Saying that, some of the last few bosses in the game are some of the most fun boss fights I've ever experienced in an RPG.

Cybernetic Empire · Post by **Cybernetic Empire** » Sun Apr 19, 2020 4:29 pm

Damien wrote:That's my biggest gripe in this game. You're often thrown into battles without preparation, sometimes with your party switched up. Quite often, the battle requires a specific materia setup that you obviously haven't been able to prepare for. Many of these I was eventually able to win, but I had a better, quicker strategy in my head that I just wasn't given the chance to execute.

Saying that, some of the last few bosses in the game are some of the most fun boss fights I've ever experienced in an RPG.

Allegedly, the square icon pops up in some cutscenes before bosses to let you prepare, but I never personally noticed it in my entire playthrough.

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Sun Apr 19, 2020 6:51 pm

I saw it once (between some of the latter bosses) and I pressed it (though it doesn't explain what the button is for during the cut scene and I was worried I'd be skipping it).

Lord Golbez · Post by **Lord Golbez** » Sun Apr 19, 2020 8:01 pm

Finished it. Last chapter was [spoiler]so stupid[/spoiler].

Fei Ayanami · Post by **Fei Ayanami** » Sun Apr 19, 2020 8:49 pm

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Sun Apr 19, 2020 9:01 pm

[spoiler]It actually makes me a lot more excited for the next part. Knowing that it now probably won’t follow the story we already know makes the wait of however long it is more worthwhile. After reading some partial spoilers not long after I started playing, I was expecting a total nosedive to sub Kingdom Hearts nonsense, but really all they’ve done is altered the story, perhaps making this more of a sequel than a remake. The ending was pretty coherent, if twisty. I’m keen so see where it goes from here [/spoiler]

Lord Golbez · Post by **Lord Golbez** » Sun Apr 19, 2020 9:24 pm

Serious spoilers follow, not like my last post which was just how I felt about it.
[spoiler]Honestly, if they were just going to change the story (which I emphatically do not approve of, especially if it means removing one of the most iconic moments of video games), I'd have preferred they just do it rather than adding a meta-plot point like the original FF was the fated plot and this is the altered destiny. Rather than serving as an "excuse" for a changed plot, it just makes the plot of this version dumber no matter what direction they take it in from there. And by the way having them fight Fate is a very KH nonsense type plot device. The one bright spot in them fighting fate is that hopefully we won't get more of this whisper shit affecting every goddamn plot point so that the character's actions don't seem to matter and everything good or bad that happens is mostly attributable to the stupid Whispers (but I suspect they'll still show up, so no real bright spot). But the thing is that wasn't the only bad thing. The whole chapter suffered from an obvious desire to make the end of this part bigger and more epic than it needed to be or should have been. In principle, I don't have a huge problem with the idea of them fighting Sephiroth at the end of this part, but they definitely took it too far with all the one winged angel stuff. It felt like some Advent Children shit at the end. Basically, because they felt the need to make it so epic, they're borrowing against the next parts to the detriment of both. Or like I said so....stupid. It was a really good game, but they didn't stick the landing even though all they really would have had to do was let it end after the motorcycle part. The last part was completely unnecessary and I daresay didn't advance the story at all except in terms of some meta-shit that just isn't vital.
[/spoiler]

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Sun Apr 19, 2020 9:51 pm

[spoiler]If anything, the plot kinda reminds me of Bravely Default and Dragon Quest XI more than Kingdom Hearts[/spoiler]

Lord Golbez · Post by **Lord Golbez** » Sun Apr 19, 2020 10:15 pm

I can see the connection, but I do think the differences are crucial.

Cid · Post by **Cid** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 12:27 am

Lord Golbez wrote:Serious spoilers follow, not like my last post which was just how I felt about it.
[spoiler]Honestly, if they were just going to change the story (which I emphatically do not approve of, especially if it means removing one of the most iconic moments of video games), I'd have preferred they just do it rather than adding a meta-plot point like the original FF was the fated plot and this is the altered destiny. Rather than serving as an "excuse" for a changed plot, it just makes the plot of this version dumber no matter what direction they take it in from there. And by the way having them fight Fate is a very KH nonsense type plot device. The one bright spot in them fighting fate is that hopefully we won't get more of this whisper shit affecting every goddamn plot point so that the character's actions don't seem to matter and everything good or bad that happens is mostly attributable to the stupid Whispers (but I suspect they'll still show up, so no real bright spot). But the thing is that wasn't the only bad thing. The whole chapter suffered from an obvious desire to make the end of this part bigger and more epic than it needed to be or should have been. In principle, I don't have a huge problem with the idea of them fighting Sephiroth at the end of this part, but they definitely took it too far with all the one winged angel stuff. It felt like some Advent Children shit at the end. Basically, because they felt the need to make it so epic, they're borrowing against the next parts to the detriment of both. Or like I said so....stupid. It was a really good game, but they didn't stick the landing even though all they really would have had to do was let it end after the motorcycle part. The last part was completely unnecessary and I daresay didn't advance the story at all except in terms of some meta-shit that just isn't vital.
[/spoiler]

Exactly.

[spoiler]People are putting everything on the ending, but honestly every time the retcon wraiths appear it completely undermines the story. Events that happened in the original are robbed of their agency because now it's not the actual characters responsible, it's the ghosts. Shinra fails to drop the plate but story spooks make it happen. Jessie's death goes from a somber reflection on her actions to comically getting blown up by a divergence deleter throwing her grenade back at her. And the new events that weren't in the original are often absurd, like Barret dying and immediately being revived or Hojo being stopped from revealing Cloud's past by being yanked offscreen by the ghosts. None of this adds anything to the story. If they wanted to change things they should have just changed them rather than ruin any semblance of emotional weight a majority of the scenes have because spooky ghosts are flying around everywhere.

FF7R could have learned a lot from RE2 Remake. RE2R changes plenty of things but no change is so completely off the wall that it's unrecognizable as the original story. Imagine if in the remake Leon dodged the bullet from Annette, then a time ghost comes out of the wall and shoots him anyway. How would that improve the story?

Also, they couldn't follow the original story for the next parts even if they wanted to. In the original game the party regroups at Kalm and spends a while talking about Sephiroth and how completely out of their league he is, which is reinforced by the snake on a pike scene shortly thereafter. However, in the remake they just spent a couple hours killing god and flying around slicing buildings in half. I can't see how anything going forward could believably be a threat to them unless they just ignore all of that happening because it was in Nomuraland and didn't count or whatever.

My money would be on the next parts being very loosely based on the original and otherwise completely off the rails. I wouldn't even care about that if they had marketed this one appropriately. It's not a remake at all, it's a sequel. [/spoiler]

Lord Golbez · Post by **Lord Golbez** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 12:35 am

It does make me want to replay the original though.

Cid · Post by **Cid** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 12:54 am

Lord Golbez wrote:It does make me want to replay the original though.

Same, I'm doing that right now. I got a mod that upscales all the backgrounds and another that replaces the 3D models with higher fidelity ones inspired by the concept art. Barret's chibi model looks kinda goofy but the rest look pretty great so far.

https://youtu.be/DkufpRg8aSs

Cybernetic Empire · Post by **Cybernetic Empire** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 4:48 am

[spoiler]If it would have been marketed as a Nomura shitfest, meta, multiverse sequel, I would have opted for the standard edition with no pre-order. I can't help but feel taken advantage of with my 1st Class Edition purchase, having been falsely led to believe this would be a mostly faithful remake of a personally beloved game. If you were a preteen when KH came out or FFVII wasn't on your radar, I get why you probably like this. However, you probably would have loved this game without fate ghosts distracting from pivotal scenes, defeating a god (when the stakes an hour before were to not get caught by corporate security forces and then surprisingly being confronted by The Thing), and a much more subdued Sephiroth fight whose "epicness" completely kills the stakes of everything that comes after this. FFVII stands on its own and was already bombastic enough with its steampunk setting, ragtag group, cosmic horror, psychological thriller, kaiju battle, space travel, armageddon self. If they didn't want to remake 7 like they promised, they should have just continued telling us no and moved on with XVI to be completely honest. This game should have been titled FFVII: You (Cannot) Go Home Again. Oh well, I'm sure people will clap and tear up when Zack comes out of an Endgame Portal in the 11th hour, and in the mid credits stinger Mickey leads everyone to Traverse Town.[/spoiler]

I posted this on the Kinda Funny Youtube comments section, so when I get swatted and my entire family is gunned down. You know why.

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 6:36 am

End scene aside, the game is immensely enjoyable. If I had the chance of replaying this or the original, I’d pick the remake every time.

Cid · Post by **Cid** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 8:29 am

Cybernetic Empire wrote:[spoiler]If it would have been marketed as a Nomura shitfest, meta, multiverse sequel, I would have opted for the standard edition with no pre-order. I can't help but feel taken advantage of with my 1st Class Edition purchase, having been falsely led to believe this would be a mostly faithful remake of a personally beloved game. If you were a preteen when KH came out or FFVII wasn't on your radar, I get why you probably like this. However, you probably would have loved this game without fate ghosts distracting from pivotal scenes, defeating a god (when the stakes an hour before were to not get caught by corporate security forces and then surprisingly being confronted by The Thing), and a much more subdued Sephiroth fight whose "epicness" completely kills the stakes of everything that comes after this. FFVII stands on its own and was already bombastic enough with its steampunk setting, ragtag group, cosmic horror, psychological thriller, kaiju battle, space travel, armageddon self. If they didn't want to remake 7 like they promised, they should have just continued telling us no and moved on with XVI to be completely honest. This game should have been titled FFVII: You (Cannot) Go Home Again. Oh well, I'm sure people will clap and tear up when Zack comes out of an Endgame Portal in the 11th hour, and in the mid credits stinger Mickey leads everyone to Traverse Town.[/spoiler]

I posted this on the Kinda Funny Youtube comments section, so when I get swatted and my entire family is gunned down. You know why.

[spoiler]After a year of telling everyone it's a faithful remake it turns out that not only is that not true, but if you wanted a faithful remake Square actually put you into the game as an antagonist and your beloved characters kill you as a giant "fuck you we'll do what we want."

I just got to President Shinra's death in my replay of the original tonight. The section from exiting the prison cells to finding his corpse was so eerie. When Palmer comes out from behind that pillar and tries to make a run for it you really feel like he's scared shitless from what he saw, which you only get a second hand account of.

Meanwhile in the remake the same scene has Barret make a long speech, then Shinra makes a long speech, then Shinra gets stabbed and dies, then Barret gets stabbed and dies, spooky ghosts fly everywhere, the party fights The Thing, then a ghost gives Barret a BJ that brings him back to life, and finally Sephiroth looks around before comically flying away like Mary Poppins.

Change in and of itself isn't bad, but how do any of those changes to the scene improve upon the original? The scene goes from tense and horrific to downright hilarious. I'm sure there are plenty of ways a modern remake of the scene could improve upon it, but instead they changed it into bad fanfiction, and that issue extends to much of the story.[/spoiler]

Fei Ayanami · Post by **Fei Ayanami** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 11:38 am

Cid wrote:
Lord Golbez wrote:It does make me want to replay the original though.
Same, I'm doing that right now. I got a mod that upscales all the backgrounds and another that replaces the 3D models with higher fidelity ones inspired by the concept art. Barret's chibi model looks kinda goofy but the rest look pretty great so far.

https://youtu.be/DkufpRg8aSs

Isn’t there also a mod with a greatly improved translation? Are you using that too?

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 12:17 pm

I kept thinking of this post (from the other thread) and chuckling as I played it.

Calbrena wrote: Also, I assume they might plan for an international release date, since the game has already been translated? In that case just before Christmas 2016 or 2017 might be a better time to release it?

Just love the idea that they'd be able to slap the original translation onto this

Fei Ayanami · Post by **Fei Ayanami** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 1:08 pm

Off course!

WaWard · Post by **WaWard** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 3:02 pm

This guy are sick

Cid · Post by **Cid** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 4:32 pm

smeared ink wrote:Isn’t there also a mod with a greatly improved translation? Are you using that too?

I'm not using it but yeah, there's a complete fan retranslation called Reunion.

http://forums.qhimm.com/index.php?topic=14914.msg209231

I didn't end up using it because:

1. it's a mod framework all its own so it is incompatible with 7th Heaven, the mod framework I used to easily install the new models and upscaled backgrounds.

2. it removes the bad quirks of the original but also the quirks I enjoyed, like Barret talking like Mr. T, Mukki calling Cloud "bubby," etc.

After I finish this run and the old dialogue is fresh in my head I'll give it another go with the new translation to see the difference.

HKK · Post by **HKK** » Mon May 04, 2020 7:44 pm

Nitpicks aside, this was an incredible game.

The ending was either stupid, ballsy, or genius. I'm personally leaning on genius. I can't stop thinking about it.

This game completely reinvigorated something I lost a decade ago: my FF fandom. Ordered XIV, going to play XIII-2, LR, and Type 0 as well.

More than that, I can't believe I'm excited for something new related to FFVII. What a mind fuck. The possibilities are endless and it's great.

They did a fantastic job of replicating the feeling of playing FFVII. The ending, for example, reminds me of the pages and pages of FFVII analysis we had on SG back in the day, and the constant discussion of the Remake's ending mirrors that. Even while not even being true to the original they're being true to the original. To think they translated the "What happened?" "What happens next?"of the original to the remake is nothing short of incredible. They have remade the experience of playing the original and that should be lauded.

I find it superior to the original in most areas. It feels nice to go back to the game that started it all for me. Funny how the game that made me fall in love with RPGs has single handedly rekindled my passion for them and the series. I went into the remake expecting trash. What I got was a humbling experience. Since playing it I have grown into a more positive and less cynical person. It has taught me to give things a chance and to not be too hard on things. It's fun to learn to enjoy things again.

I was replaying the original before it and I can't articulate how much it bores me now. The remake breathed new life into it and rekindled so many memories. I forgot how much I love FFVII and after playing it so many times its luster dulled. This was the perfect shine the original needed.

By far one of the most emotional game experiences I've ever had. I really loved this remake and I'm full on board with whatever comes next.

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Mon May 04, 2020 8:49 pm

When I saw you'd posted, I really didn't expect to be reading such positive opinions and so many that I agree with

I also thought it was a great game and the direction the story took very much intrigues me.

HKK · Post by **HKK** » Mon May 04, 2020 8:52 pm

Perfect is the enemy of good and FFVII Remake is the best FF since X. Game was pure Squaresoft quality. I still can't believe it. The ghost of my FF fandom is knocking on my hearts door.

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Mon May 04, 2020 9:02 pm

My main gripe is that I don't think I ever quite "got" the battle system. While I did grow to get along with it better while I played the game though and still found the system fun, there was a constant nagging feeling that I was doing something wrong (or in a very inefficient way). Some of the latter bosses are some of the most fun battles I've had in an RPG htough.

HKK · Post by **HKK** » Mon May 04, 2020 9:04 pm

What are you struggling with? I have a good handle on the system.

Beginning of the video has me fighting and beating Shiva with just Cloud and Aerith.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olT2xuFpfqA

Damien · Post by **Damien** » Mon May 04, 2020 9:06 pm

Guarding, parrying, constantly using healing items and spells, time wasting, getting hit while I'm about to take an action, boss battles generally taking too long. I just feel I was cheesing my way through most of the bosses rather than doing it the designated way.

HKK · Post by **HKK** » Mon May 04, 2020 9:12 pm

Despite being "action", it plays very much like a turn based game. Enemies will full on stand there after doing an action. There's a back and forth between player and opponent. Consider each action your "turn". Because spells have a charge time like in IV and X-2, you need adequate space to cast. Don't waste your turn or it will be cancelled out for you and you'll lose viable resource (mp, ATB). Consider flipping between characters. Enemies generally target the character being played. One tactic is to guard and then switch characters. The character will guard for a while. Treat it like a command based game and attack and guard more like shortcuts rather than something you select from a menu.

Boss battles do take a long time and it's one of the games flaws, however. But there's hope that post-game equipment will help with that.