Test |Final Fantasy VII Remake - The head in the cloud

Final Fantasy VII, one of the monuments of video games. Impossible to grow up without hearing about it as this RPG from the first PlayStation era of the name has marked millions of players. Ported to countless (or almost) consoles, fans have been dreaming of a remake worthy of the name for years, especially since the infamous PlayStation 3 tech demo. It took until 2015 for Square Enix to finally announce Final Fantasy VII Remake on PlayStation 4, during the legendary Sony conference which also showed the return of Shenmue 3 and The Last Guardian. 5 years later, Final Fantasy VII Remake is available for good on the Sony console (exclusively for at least 1 year) but it is not quite "complete". Indeed, this remake only concerns the first part of the adventure, focusing on the adventures of Cloud and his gang in Midgar, a futuristic city as fascinating as it is oppressive. Is this enough for the pleasure of the players or should we send a red card to Tetsuya Nomura, director of the game? After combing our hair carefully and arming ourselves with a big sword, not without difficulty, we explored Midgar version 2020 to give you our impressions of Final Fantasy VII Remake.

Test carried out on PlayStation 4 using a digital code provided by the publisher

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Bazaar in Midgar

Do we really need to remember what Final Fantasy VII is? Well, after all, there are probably younger readers who have only a vague idea of ​​the original work, so here we go: the game's story takes place on the planet Gaia, composed of 4 continents and a few islands. What interests us above all is the first part of the game in the city of Midgar, since it is the scene of the events of Final Fantasy VII Remake. We mainly embody Cloud Strife, ex-SOLDIER of Shinra, a powerful company providing energy to Midgar but to the detriment of the health of the planet. Indeed, Shinra draws Mako energy from Gaia via powerful reactors, which puts the planet in great danger over time. This does not escape the eco-terrorist group AVALANCHE, which decided to get rid of the reactors and Shinra in the process. At the very beginning of the game, a part of AVALANCHE decides to hire Cloud as a mercenary to carry out an attack targeting one of the reactors. Naturally, being a strong military power as well, Shinra is not letting it go. But that's far from the only threat to Cloud and his gang: there are also several monsters wandering around here and there. In addition, another danger threatens the world (always fans will guess right away what it is). While wandering in Midgar, Cloud meets many people who gradually become his relatives and several conflicts put his life in danger. But with iron determination and his giant sword, he stands against danger to move forward and solve the problems of his past, present and future.

Right from the game's introduction, we're fascinated by the strange and imposing Midgar.

As a remake, Final Fantasy VII Remake naturally follows the main lines of the original game. But if you expect an exact replica with only better looks, you are somewhat mistaken. Square Enix promised to do more justice to the Midgar part of the base work and here it is. Thus, we are witnessing for the most part the same events but in much more depth. In addition to the staging, which is often simply exceptional, and the exemplary graphic quality (but we'll come back to that later), the characters are better written, more natural and more endearing than ever. Of course, we won't go into too much detail to avoid spoiling the surprise for you, but the different interactions between Cloud and the other members of his team are really pleasant as they evolve over time, until we see at the birth of a real family to which one has the impression of belonging for years. In addition, characters such as Biggs and Jessie are much more present than before and, above all, exciting, especially when we learn more about them through new passages. Speaking of new passages, there are a number of them but most of the time they fit perfectly into the Final Fantasy VII experience, to the point where one wonders why it was not present before. Finally, there are cult moments that are brilliantly perfected here and that moved us in many ways. For example, visiting the Wall Market with Cloud and Aerith is a constant delight from start to finish thanks to very funny and “classy” moments, with Cloud taking full responsibility. Final Fantasy VII Remake often makes us laugh, challenges us on major concerns such as ecology and politics, saddens us during serious moments and makes our hearts beat with passion in the most epic moments. An unforgettable experience from start to finish, almost.

However, it's worth mentioning that Final Fantasy VII Remake drastically changes things up at certain points, especially towards the end. Once again, we are not going to tell you anything in particular but just know that there are all the same strange or even doubtful changes here and there, enough to wonder about the exact nature of the rest of the journey (we remind again, not all of Final Fantasy VII is on offer here). Also, the game does not escape certain clichés of the genre, in particular with Barret who expresses himself at the beginning in a strangely angry way not to say anything else (even if he improves a lot afterwards) or Jessie who a little too often expresses the wish to have a "good time" with Cloud. Despite everything, it is clear that Square Enix has done an often remarkable job of rewriting, both in terms of situations and characters. It is interesting to see all the protagonists from a new angle, especially since they are more modernized and pleasant. Thus, Cloud is far from being the ultra cold and taciturn mercenary of the original (he always remains so of course but he allows himself to have more humanity and repartee, among other things), Tifa allows himself some doubts about his actions within AVALANCHE, Barret shows interesting facets over time and Aerith is as funny as she is charming, if a little infuriating at times (but that is due to another fact which will be dealt with later). In short, on the side of the scenario, it is a real pleasure to rediscover the events of Final Fantasy VII in a completely different way, despite small hazards here and there. The rest is also not to be thrown away, far from it.

There is often flirting in the troupe.

Explosive cocktail gameplay but still lacking a tiny bit of flavor

In addition to expanding and improving (subject to certain reservations) the original story, Final Fantasy VII Remake has new gameplay. Exit the turn-based RPG and hello the Action-RPG in 3D. Good pick for Square Enix? Yes, but not completely convincing yet. The game therefore mixes exploration in linear levels as well as real-time combat. As for the first point, it is precisely this one that we have not always liked. Explanations: linearity is not bad, especially in such a narrative game. Well dosed, it's even pleasant and a good part of the chapters of Final Fantasy VII Remake highlights pleasant levels to cross, some being more open and interesting than others. However, others do not escape certain shortcomings, namely passages where there is not much to do apart from following a character, passing through cramped places (especially since sometimes you can clearly see that Cloud and the others could pass much faster than they do, even if we suspect that it is to hide loading times) and so on. Chapter 9 is undoubtedly the most boring of the lot in its early stages since before accessing the (awesome) Wall Market segment, you have to go through tunnels and activate various giant mechanical arms to move forward. Fun once or twice but after that it gets slow and tedious. It's a shame that the pace of the game is slowed down by slightly less worked moments of this kind, especially since in terms of freedom, there aren't that many with a lot of closed places and fairly automated actions (when you want to climb , jump, etc.). Even if some chapters allow you to wander a little in the slums in order to carry out side quests and collect items such as music to listen to (the list here). Moreover, the quests are not necessarily always of good quality, some simply asking to get rid of a few watches, to go and get this or that thing... without this bringing anything to the scenario or even equipment. After so many years of waiting, we were hoping for a little more ambition on this side, especially since you can't visit Midgar at your leisure and the post-game content is disappointing given that there not much to do apart from the story.

But these are more or less the main criticisms that can be leveled at Final Fantasy VII Remake on the gameplay side. The rest is mostly really pleasant or even captivating, to the point of forgetting the little worries. We are not going to go through 4 paths, the fights of this remake, its main attraction, are as epic as they are fun, and this from the start. On the pure action side, you can, with the different playable characters, move around enemies, dodge, block, attack, use spells/objects and perform special actions. If we had only that, it would be a simple and effective base, especially since in terms of impact of blows and pleasure of movement, Final Fantasy VII Remake is very good thanks to visceral, brutal and varied animations. Not to mention the plethora of visual and sound effects that enhance the pleasure of bringing down various soldiers, monsters and other thugs in a chain. Just with Cloud, we feel every sword stroke as it is so well rendered, but the other playable characters, namely Barret, Tifa and Aerith, are not left out. This is also one of the strengths of this remake, to offer 4 playable characters that are very distinct from each other. Thus, with Cloud, we use a big sword that he can handle in 2 ways, "fast" and "powerful", which allows him to perform quite different blows while also changing the way he defends himself. With him alone, we have a fairly satisfying gameplay, but he's not the only one with tricks up his sleeve. Barret is gifted with the ranged attack thanks to her mini-gun arm, Tifa is a melee martial expert and Aerith uses her magic in many ways. Of course, controller in hand, they all play the same way, but it's nice to see that their actions are very different and satisfying. Only small concern of the action part: the aerial melee attacks which are limited and laborious, but it is a trifle.

Cloud is imposing with his sword.

Finally, Final Fantasy VII Remake adds to all this RPG mechanics inspired by the original game but also other parts of the saga. First of all, we have a command menu, an essential that always has its effect. By pressing X, you slow down time considerably (which also creates very beautiful slow motions as the action is extraordinary) and you can choose a command to perform. This ranges from using a potion to summoning a super-powered Esper, all the way to swinging special and magic attacks. Moreover, the ATB gauge is present here and it is rather well thought out since it fills up by giving blows to opponents. Thus, we cannot abuse the commands non-stop because without the ATB gauge filled at least to level 1, it is impossible to heal or otherwise, which adds spice to the clashes. Add to this the Transcendence, another gauge that fills up over time and allows you to perform ultimate attacks to the delight of the pupils and the greatest misfortune of the enemies, since you can then either inflict a lot of damage on them , or considerably come to the aid of the allies. It is therefore fun to change characters often in order to fill everyone's ATB gauges and perform coordinated and breathtaking actions. Square Enix has therefore superbly mixed action and RPG, everything works really well and we always have a certain pleasure when a battle begins. Enough to take care of the most basic side quests with a smile on your face.

Some magic spells are as useful as they are majestic.

We also owe that to the bestiary of this remake, brilliantly redesigned for the modern era. There are many enemies with well-thought-out behavior, forcing the player to constantly adapt to each situation. Among the Shinra alone, we have simple soldiers who shoot from a distance, some who use tenacious shields, others who fly, use magic, do not hesitate to call on ferocious dogs or imposing robots... To describe all that awaits us to fight would take considerable time. Pretty much every enemy is interesting and let's not even talk about the bosses, just amazing. They all have multiple phases and use many attacks, some of which can reduce characters' life bars to zero fairly quickly. Do not forget to equip yourself well outside of combat. The bosses provide a breathtaking spectacle and strain the nerves, especially in the second part of the game and in hard mode (too bad you have to finish the game first to access them). But that is by no means insurmountable. The invocations, which intervene especially against the bosses elsewhere, are not too much and in addition to further intensifying the moment, they give access to other attacks, in particular fatal blows which are often sublime to watch. Fortunately, both bosses and basic enemies have advantages as well as weaknesses. Do not hesitate to analyze them with a special material to see if they are more sensitive to lightning, fire, this or that weapon, etc.

Ah, the materials, another interesting point to discuss and which allows Final Fantasy VII Remake to really stand out in the genre. The heroes of the game have access to several weapons and equipment (which are upgradeable by the way) which can be supplemented with materia. Created thanks to Mako, materia allow various things such as the manufacture of healing spells, poison, increase attack, defense, provide special abilities and many more. It is then interesting to equip the characters with different materia to have a considerable number of options, reinforcing the chances of victory and varying the pleasure to the maximum. Finally, apart from the fights and classic exploration passages, we have a few different moments with mini-games that allow you to pass the time in a pleasant way (except in the gym), especially at the Wall Market with an unforgettable sequence à la Honey Bee, as well as passages of history with a slightly different gameplay, simplified but oh so epic. Final Fantasy VII Remake is therefore ultimately largely fun, but it is still a shame that the exploration has not been worked on more in certain places. However, we insist on the fact that it is more a question of quibbling than a real disappointment because of the 35 hours that were necessary for us to complete the game, we mainly retained pleasure.

Summons like Ifrit command respect.

A remake that shines with 1000 lights?

Finally, where we also expected a lot from Final Fantasy VII Remake, it's on its graphics. Using the Unreal Engine 4, the basis for Japanese developers on this generation, this remake of the cult game from the PlayStation era knows how to drop the jaw many times but there are still some imperfections in the lot. Most of the time, we have the right to sets modeled with great care and benefiting from a multitude of details, all with a realistic artistic direction of the most beautiful effect. Midgar is an atypical city made up of splendid chic neighborhoods (too bad we only see them quickly, that said), depressing slums but which still do not lack a certain charm and variety, as well as factories, reactors and Shinra buildings with a delicious cyberpunk style. On the character side, if we can regret some basic NPCs closer to what we saw in the previous generation, it is also a success with a more modern and worked inspiration than the character design of yesteryear, even if we keep the same outfits and general aspects. They are more alive and glaringly true than ever, especially in the most elaborate cinematic scenes. When it comes to lighting and visual effects, Square Enix again spoils us with a remarkable job, if we put aside some bleak shadows here and there. The rendering of blows, in particular, has a good effect with particles flying everywhere, further emphasizing the impact of this or that attack. Finally, everything is perfectly fluid or almost (a few rare drops in framerate to report), which is a feat when we witness passages (sometimes even in the middle of a boss fight) with explosive staging. This is probably what impressed us the most: the cinematographic work is really crazy at times, with camera shots and animations worthy of a real animated film. More to enjoy the story.

The staging is often superb.

However, everything is not exactly perfect, which is a shame when the general rendering is often at the top of the current generation basket. Main accused: the quality of certain textures and background images. Indeed, we often have a problem with textures that are in low resolution, which somewhat spoils the immersion. Special mention to the fixed funds visible above the slums. If at night, it goes rather well, during the day, we see immediately that these are simple images and not real 3D models. Moreover, towards the end of the game, we see one of these images quite closely, which is very disturbing. Finally, some slum neighborhoods have been given less preferential treatment than others, with rocks that look fake, grass that doesn't even move, wildly carved models... Basically, that only represents 'a small part compared to the rest of the game which is excellent, with plans that will surely enter the legend of Final Fantasy, but it is still a shame that after several days of release, Square Enix has not released any corrective patch in order to improve the worst segments of the game a little.

Yes, there are sometimes horrors like this in Final Fantasy VII Remake.

On the other hand, for the soundtrack, it is simply divine. Thanks to exceptional covers of themes that were already in the past, it is a constant pleasure for the ears. In addition to using new instruments, there are also often surprising and pleasant risk takings, drawing on different musical genres (symphony orchestra, techno, jazz, hip-hop and many more). With a few exceptions, it's flawless, each music helping to convey various emotions and greatly reinforcing our immersion in Midgar as well as in Cloud's daily life, far from being banal. There's also a lot of loud, fun unreleased music, especially in the collectible ones. And once again, a certain passage from the Wall Market will amaze more than one musically speaking, among others. Finally, we took the risk of playing in French and we must admit that it is far from disappointing. Those who watched the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children movie will recognize most of the voices and for Final Fantasy VII Remake, the work provided is quality, especially on the side of Cloud and Tifa. We have some reservations for 2 or 3 characters, especially Barret and Aerith, the first doing a little too much compared to the Japanese version and the second sometimes having a voice that is a little too childish and does not stick to the character, even if we get used to it. It's still fun to play the game in French, especially since it doesn't hesitate to go all the way, both in terms of certain intonations and the text (insults, there are some but never at bad times ). We also tried a little English and Japanese voices, the 2 are of quality so it's up to you to see how to play. But know that none is to be thrown away. The French version does not lack charm in any case, just like the rest of the game.

The Wall Market is a visual treat.

Verdict: 9/10

More than just a remake, Final Fantasy VII Remake is the reinvention of a myth. It is not free from defects but in the end, they are truly derisory compared to the colossal work carried out by Square Enix. We live a formidable and unforgettable adventure in the company of charismatic and deeply endearing characters, while experiencing epic battles and exploring a Midgar more beautiful than ever, proving that it is more than enough for a complete game. Sometimes Square Enix's artwork goes beyond the remake and even changes the underpinnings of the original experience, often for the better. But some fans may be skeptical about certain aspects. Still, it's a can't-miss hit for all Japanese Action-RPG fans and a great new start for the adventures of Cloud Strife's gang. We are now more than eager to replay certain passages that are already cult for the time to get our hands on a sequel that promises to be surprising, to say the least, but undoubtedly captivating.

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Humble navigator on the virtual seas.

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