Topic: Final Fantasy 7 - Remake

[Jim Bob]

Though I don’t care for this remake myself, I must say that I think that it’s wonderful that so many people are enjoying it.  These are dark times and any form of escapism that is enjoyed is a good thing now.  FFVII has always been one of the ultimate forms of pure escapism and I am overjoyed that said escapism may carry over to a new generation.

[Dewt]

I resent it existing and hope it is eradicated before COVID-19.

[brat-sampson]

Having finished it and listened to about half of the Easy Allies spoiler mode discussion, it's fucking mind-blowing. I had my issues with parts of the game that felt padded or clunky, but overall it's a hell of an achievement. Also, I'm sure the combat system is actually fantastic, it's just that even now I don't feel confident I could hold my own in Hard Mode with no items.

[Jim Bob]

Having finished it and listened to about half of the Easy Allies spoiler mode discussion, it's fucking mind-blowing. I had my issues with parts of the game that felt padded or clunky, but overall it's a hell of an achievement. Also, I'm sure the combat system is actually fantastic, it's just that even now I don't feel confident I could hold my own in Hard Mode with no items.

What was your favourite part of the game, out of interest?

[brat-sampson]

I really enjoyed lots of the quirky nods to the original, levers, stairs, squats, *that* boss etc. Just really nice touches that didn't need to be there but were. Otherwise, the characterisation was great, the visual recreation of so much was just spot-on, and when the combat did click, it felt fantastic. I'd try a boss a couple of times and have my as handed to me, then go back in with some re-jigged materia and change my attentions and wipe the floor with them without even needing to res. In that sense some of my favourite fights were the one-on-ones with Cloud, where you just had to focus and be careful with your actions.

[Jim Bob]

I really enjoyed lots of the quirky nods to the original, levers, stairs, squats, *that* boss etc. Just really nice touches that didn't need to be there but were. Otherwise, the characterisation was great, the visual recreation of so much was just spot-on, and when the combat did click, it felt fantastic. I'd try a boss a couple of times and have my as handed to me, then go back in with some re-jigged materia and change my attentions and wipe the floor with them without even needing to res. In that sense some of my favourite fights were the one-on-ones with Cloud, where you just had to focus and be careful with your actions.

Ah, nice.  Sounds cool :)

[Mobius]

A few hours in and enjoying this but feels like the battles are quite manic, and I keep interrupting the flow of them by pressing buttons that bring menus up. Not used to it but it’s cool

[brat-sampson]

I enjoyed the combat more after watching a couple of youtube tutorials. It's that kind of game. You can probably win normal mode by just playing around and chugging potions/heals, but it'll never feel right. I mean, you don't really need videos, all the info on attacks and things can be seen in the game either in menus or by experimenting, but it helped me really get what the point was in all the different abilities.

[Abnormal Palm]

The combat is all about sequencing/combining your special attacks to build/inflict stagger and then combine for max punishes. The hack and slash elements are there to build meter primarily so you should be cycling through characters and using their different strengths against different enemies, and trying to build everyone's meter together. If you just focus on Cloud and let the others do their thing, they will be much less effective. Couple of combos, then switch, switch, switch. It's much more involved and deeper than it first appears.

Once you get materia which allows you to start with a certain amount of ATB, give that character the Assess materia, use it ASAP and you can quickly form a plan of how to take enemies down. More often than not, breaking limbs and so on is the best route because it nullifies certain attacks (maybe temporarily) and also causes instant stagger a lot of the time. Work on building up stagger and breaking limbs with normal attacks ideally, so you can use your meter to punish. For me, Tifa seemed to be great at building stagger and Cloud was best for punishes. I seemed to use Barret and Aerith more for crowd control and then joining in with the punishes.

[Mobius]

Thanks lads. I've gotten a few more spells, getting more used to flicking between characters in battle. Is there a way to set your characters to like 'Tifa use heal if HP is less than 30%' or do they just do that anyway.

God there's so much walking slow bits and stuff early on. I'm on like 'Chapter 8 now'... please tell me there is actually a World Map and exploration and it actually turns into a JRPG soon

[Dewt]

'Tifa use heal if HP is less than 30%' or do they just do that anyway.

Stop trying to script Tifa you sex-pest

[brat-sampson]

Thanks lads. I've gotten a few more spells, getting more used to flicking between characters in battle. Is there a way to set your characters to like 'Tifa use heal if HP is less than 30%' or do they just do that anyway.

Mate, it's not FFXII. No, all item/ability use is manual, but it is easy to instruct any character at any point while controlling any other character with the real-time combat action essentially paused while you do so.

God there's so much walking slow bits and stuff early on. I'm on like 'Chapter 8 now'... please tell me there is actually a World Map and exploration and it actually turns into a JRPG soon

Hahaha. No. Chapter 9 is probably the peak for a world you experience within the game, though I did think the overall world-building (as in scale of views, realisation of sights and events, rather than just in terms of maps explorable space) was excellent.

[Mobius]

I don’t like this chapter stuff.

At what point do I leave the boring grey area, and when can I ride a chocobo

[Abnormal Palm]

Sorry if this is news but this isn't a complete remake of FF7. This is part one.

[Mobius]

I knew that just wasn't sure where it ended. I guess I haven't played FF7 for a very long time, and am a bit more used to modern FF games where they're more open world. I keep trying to explore before moving the story along, but there just hasn't been much to do (other than some optional missions to kill some monsters) beyond push on.

I just finished playing Persona 5 Royal which was incredible so perhaps I just need to give it more time. I just realised I'm actually only on Chapter 7. Just done some bits with lamps.

[Abnormal Palm]

I would say don't wait for an open world, it's pretty linear even if you do have some areas where you can explore more.

[NoSleep]

Is there a way to set your characters to like 'Tifa use heal if HP is less than 30%' or do they just do that anyway.

This was in FFXII and was called "gambits". A list of automatic commands for each character in a list where priorities (emergencies like low HP or raising KO'd colleagues) were set at the top. You could set the battles to play themselves out or (better) get everyone to follow the lead of a single character that you manually directed. You could manually override any character's gambits as well. You won new conditions that you could program as the game progressed.

[Mobius]

Yeah gambits is what I was thinking.

Just did the bit where you spend ages running over roofs with Aerith then ages walking really slow whilst she talks to everyone.

[Timothy]

I don’t like this chapter stuff.

At what point do I leave the boring grey area, and when can I ride a chocobo

Nearly every area in the whole game is a grey area and you cant ride a chocobo. :(

[Cerys]

Just did the bit where you spend ages running over roofs with Aerith then ages walking really slow whilst she talks to everyone.

Oh, gods - and it's going to be years before the bitch is dead, isn't it?

[Abnormal Palm]

Replaying portions of this on Hard mode, it's remarkable how robust and well balanced the combat system is. It's very engaging as a character action system, with the best bits of the turn-based strategic party dynamics reserved for people with shit reactions. It's not been said but it makes superb use of Bayonetta-style slowdown, as well. Really satisfying and exciting combat, far far beyond anything in the original game. It also changes the dynamics of the game. Where combat in the original was a necessary evil or chore in 95% of encounters, it becomes a real highlight of the Remake. Where some of the corridor battling felt a bit tiresome on Normal difficulty, every fight is a fun challenge on Hard.

Also interesting to read that the texture loading bugs are precisely that, LoD issues with the PS4 and UE4, from memory. The actual hi-res assets exist but the PS4 gives up loading certain files in different areas. Hopefully this will be patched or even revised for the PS5.

[Abnormal Palm]

Enjoying Xenoblade Chronicles and a few other JRPGs at the moment (Tokyo Mirage, FFX, giving Persona 5 another go) but I'm struck by how much better this is than any other modern JRPGs I've played. I guess I just prefer a linear experience these days and enjoy the tighter pacing. On my replay, it's been interesting how many of the side quests are quite tidy and fold back into each other and the main quest, as I suggested during my first play through. Even the 'padding' is pretty lean and well structured. It does require you to appreciate and enjoy the combat and various encounters as a substantial part of the game, rather than feeling they're 'in the way' of the game.

Soundtrack is absolutely amazing, as well. Even the less immediate orchestral pieces open up much more with more familiarity. Of course, they lack the charm and personality of the PS1 sound chip but they're much better suited to a game of this cinematic scale and approach.

[Misspent Boners]

Barrett in a nappy

Just installed the data disk, ready to rock.