Final Fantasy VII Remake Megathread - Intergrade, Rebirth, Reunion and more

[Luminary]

According to Maximillion Dood, there's apparently a lot more left to the flashback than the demo showed. I wonder if a certain bossfight from CC is reenacted.

I was wondering that myself. I think what we saw is complete from the scene in the truck up to the Nibelheim fire. But obviously it has to go all the way up to Cloud confronting Sephiroth in the reactor. There has to be some new developments in that section compared to the original game or SE would bother signing people to NDAs about that portion.

One theory I have is that Tifa will actually push back on Cloud about his version of the story and that will lead to some tension between them. It has always been a complaint from people that she didn’t really speak up about it in the original game.

Also, there’s a portrait of Lucrecia and Hojo on the second floor of the Shinra Manor. Love those little added details.

Also, I kind of wish the “walking through fire” scene had been a Visual Works scene. It looks great and I know changing the graphic style for that moment might have been jarring. But I would have appreciated it as a callback to the original moment when it transitions from the basic graphics to the CGI scene.

 

[Luminary]

The demo will be getting an update to fix some of the graphical issues with performance mode and these will be applied to the full game as well.

Less than two weeks to go!

 

[Luminary]

If you want to avoid spoilers, it is time to go dark. Leaked copies are out in the wild. The review embargo also gets lifted Thursday. It looks like most content creators won’t be getting the game until release day thankfully, but there will still likely be some leakers posting spoilers in YouTube thumbnails, etc.

Going to start a run through of the OG tomorrow for the 7 day count down!

 

[Deleted member 282472]

I feel like Reunion would've been a better subtitle while Rebirth would be better for part 3.

I'm looking forward to playing it later in the year. I'm hoping the other Before Crisis turks pop up too. Same with the other members of Deepground.

 

[Keyblade Knight 1st Class]

On my way to the theater to see Advent Children Complete. I've had the original version on DVD since it came out (I actually pre-ordered it) but I've never seen the extended cut.

 

[Recon]

Could Junon be any rockier? Seriously, the terrain is sooo rocky. Cloud just bobs up and down in most places.

Open world exploration is awesome. The map is way bigger than I expected! You could seriously lose yourself in the map for a few days without heading to objectives or doing side quests

 

[Luminary]

Rebirth has a 93 Metacritic score with 114 reviews as of right now! That’s a significant jump from Remake’s 87!

If it doesn’t get a GOTY nomination, I’m gonna have some choice words for Geoff Keighley. Lol

 

[MATGSY]

Rebirth has a 93 Metacritic score with 114 reviews as of right now! That’s a significant jump from Remake’s 87!

If it doesn’t get a GOTY nomination, I’m gonna have some choice words for Geoff Keighley. Lol

So far 2024 appears to be a much lighter field than '23. They won't have many other options.

 

[Chaser]

Could Junon be any rockier? Seriously, the terrain is sooo rocky. Cloud just bobs up and down in most places.

I was playing the demo and my boyfriend wondered why there are bus stops out in the middle of such a rocky and awful area.

I liked the little Junon area but I wish they went for the grasslands, something that visually looked a bit better than browns and dead grass.

 

[Recon]

I was playing the demo and my boyfriend wondered why there are bus stops out in the middle of such a rocky and awful area.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the bus stops are abandoned and you're essentially reviving and/or repurposing them. That's what I think anyways.

I'M READY! I've replayed Remake, beat Reunion, beat INTERmission, and now finishing up FFXVI to pass the time until Rebirth.

 

[Chaser]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the bus stops are abandoned and you're essentially reviving and/or repurposing them. That's what I think anyways.

Oh yeah that's the in-universe reason. But I'd hate to have gone on them when they were functional and have the bumpiest ride ever.

 

[PikaPal]

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is officially out today and if you thought that Additional Voices list was already big with Remake well, I think I'll let the big block of notable names speak for itself...

 

[Luminary]

Official congrats post from the Japanese KH Twitter! It’s referencing the real life Sephiroth takeover of Shibuya.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1763215930925187342

 

[Idreamaboutcats]

Personal review with very few spoilers, but still be warned:

Yea, I should’ve waited until this thing was on sale.

Spoiler Show

That ending was bait; it’s total bait! It was so vague and surreal you can’t even tell if a certain game-altering scenario actually happened or not. IMHO, it cheapened one of the most iconic video game moments into a total pander-fest! An iconic moment is an iconic moment for a reason. The way it was just so…convoluted and unclear, even if it raised the possibility of a different result from what was the original script, made it seem less meaningful and very disenfranchised. Make it decisive! If it follows what’s written, then stick to it; and if it defies the original and unlocks a new possibility, then stick to it!

We get it, yea, it's supposed to be a different story from the original, but a good story, whether an original or a remake, always has a decisive ending. It doesn't have to be a happy one, just decisive and clear.

Ugh don’t even get me started on the dating system. It’s going to get shippers flared up all over again. Hell, it’s going to be worse now that the game is released and that ending is so vague.

Combat system’s okay, I guess. Music was nice, but not something that’ll induce Last Song Syndrome. Actually…I’ll be honest, it’s very forgettable and a lot of them were just rearrangements of the original soundtracks.

Clothes are cute. The pacing of the story is good. A few people might be disappointed about certain elements in the game, such as certain characters being unplayable, or there were scenes in the original that was cut off from this game, but all in all, it was fine, though I still feel I should've waited and bought it on sale, if only for spite at my personal feelings about the ending and some small complaints here and there.

Spoiler Show

 

[MATGSY]

Things that cause me irrational anger Part 1 of likely many:

The sleeping etiquette of these idiots at the Kalm inn. Tifa and Aerith sleep under the tiniest fucking sheets that don't even cover half their bodies while ignoring the larger blankets beneath them. Barrett sleeps with his gun still attached, cuz that's totally safe. Red's a damn charmander with his tail and they're letting him sleep on a bed. Nobody's turned off any lights. Hell the lights are still on in the morning and there's a fire going in the fire place! What did they need those lights on for?

I am looking around and I can not find a light switch anywhere. Nothing about any of this makes any sense. And now the management has left me a complimentary children's card game. would've preferred breakfast.

 

[Deleted member 282472]

Personal review with very few spoilers, but still be warned:

Yea, I should’ve waited until this thing was on sale.

Spoiler Show

That ending was bait; it’s total bait! It was so vague and surreal you can’t even tell if a certain game-altering scenario actually happened or not. IMHO, it cheapened one of the most iconic video game moments into a total pander-fest! An iconic moment is an iconic moment for a reason. The way it was just so…convoluted and unclear, even if it raised the possibility of a different result from what was the original script, made it seem less meaningful and very disenfranchised. Make it decisive! If it follows what’s written, then stick to it; and if it defies the original and unlocks a new possibility, then stick to it!

We get it, yea, it's supposed to be a different story from the original, but a good story, whether an original or a remake, always has a decisive ending. It doesn't have to be a happy one, just decisive and clear.

Ugh don’t even get me started on the dating system. It’s going to get shippers flared up all over again. Hell, it’s going to be worse now that the game is released and that ending is so vague.

Combat system’s okay, I guess. Music was nice, but not something that’ll induce Last Song Syndrome. Actually…I’ll be honest, it’s very forgettable and a lot of them were just rearrangements of the original soundtracks.

Clothes are cute. The pacing of the story is good. A few people might be disappointed about certain elements in the game, such as certain characters being unplayable, or there were scenes in the original that was cut off from this game, but all in all, it was fine, though I still feel I should've waited and bought it on sale, if only for spite at my personal feelings about the ending and some small complaints here and there.

Spoiler Show

Spoiler Show

That's one way to solve the shipping wars lol.

.

 

[MATGSY]

3 days later and 15 hours logged, I finally beat Chapter 2.

This may take a while.

Edit: and 27% of trophies I should add.

 

[gulava]

3 days later and 15 hours logged, I finally beat Chapter 2.

This may take a while.

Edit: and 27% of trophies I should add.

i had to physically and mentally stop myself from doing side content after i spent 8 hours on chapter 2

 

[Luminary]

This is easily one of my top 3 FF games and the best since the PS2 era.

The party dynamics and character building are one of the biggest highlights for me. Seeing their unique relationships with one another is what really makes this remake series worthwhile. I love how they’ve tied that idea into the gameplay too with the synergy and party leveling system. It’s very cool seeing your back line party in the background of fights too and having them lend a hand if you get in a pinch too.

The world is way bigger than I expected. I barely explored the last four regions outside the critical path and still got 50 hours out of the game. There’s plenty of stuff to do as well that feels worth taking the time to complete. I’m already going back into complete everything. The towns and dungeons are all incredibly well done too which is something that has been sorely missed from the single player FFs since FFXII I’d say. They did an excellent job executing the idea of it being the original world map just in a realistic scale. I want this type of world design to be the blueprint for FF’s going forward.

Also, maybe it is just me but Hard Mode feels way more challenging than Remake’s. I’m stuck on the Midgardsormr currently. Maybe because you have more options for buffs and debuffs the game expects you to use, but it feels like MP values weren’t really adjusted for that to be a viable tactic when you need to heal frequently. I guess it’s also more important to plan which characters to bring into battle this time around since the party was fixed in Remake.

Now my spoiler thoughts:

Spoiler Show

Most importantly… WAS ELENA EATING SEA SALT ICE CREAM!? I hope that was a subtle nod. I do think Galactic Saviors is heavily inspired if not outright carbon copy of the KH gummi ship missions. I would not be surprised at all if the same devs from Einhander who helped with KH3 did this too.

I thought the story was incredibly strong up until the last two chapters. To me, I loved how they expanded on moments from the original game, even with small ones like sliding down the pipes in Mt. Nibel or finding the chicks on Mt. Corel. (I would die for Cloud Jr.) Or the ridiculous stuff like Red XIII in the infantry outfit and riding the dolphin.The game doesn’t take itself too seriously and it’s refreshing.

Speaking of Nanaki, he was my favorite character both in the story and to play as. I loved the little moments where we saw his true personality break through. And that he felt safe being himself around Aerith. Their connection was really sweet. Using his special ability to cast Haste+Magnify without using MP is going to be huge for my hard mode playthrough. (I was a little disappointed his name doesn’t change in the subtitles though.)

I appreciate how they are addressing many of the flaws from the OG like adding more context to why the party travels to each location. Like needing to go to Nibelheim to access the Shinra terminal. Using the Gi to explain the Black Materia and why it should be a concern for the party was a nice touch. Another example is the conflict between Tifa and Cloud’s recollection of the Nibelheim events. Having Cloud eventually remember Zack, but thinking they were both Soldiers there together allowed that plot thread to advance while still keeping him in a state of delusion going into Part 3.

As for what kept it from being a full 10/10 for me…

The end of chapter 13 and chapter 14 was the weakest part of the game in my opinion. There were still plenty of amazing moments. But the depiction of the multiverse stuff was much more confusing than it needed to be. It felt like this was meant to clear things up, but it didn’t really do that. I’m fine with the concept itself, but they just need to simplify it a bit. For example, Zack choosing to help Cloud over Biggs, but then being with Biggs in the next scene. It seems this was another alt timeline but it wasn’t super clear.

Also sad to say that I am happy you can opt out of Zack’s story in replay mode. I loved the interactions he had with Biggs, Marlene, and Elmyra. But it would have been better if that was just the prologue to the game or its own chapter near the end. The cuts to it just slow down the main scenario without adding anything to it. I also would have liked the whole scenario more if it wasn’t basically just walking around to trigger a cutscene. Zack has a full kit in the final fight, so why not let us play a bit more with him?

Also, the Glenn/First Soldier stuff was a kind of confusing too. I haven’t played Ever Crisis, but it seems he’s a Sephiroth clone and was killed by Rufus without really contributing much to the plot? Or was that just Jenova/Sephiroth using Glenn’s face?

I thought Vincent’s inclusion was pretty good to set him up as a playable character in Part 3. His characterization is perfect. My only question was why he is serving as “security” for the lab. It seems this version is Hojo’s guard dog essentially. That doesn’t really line up with the OG where he’s sealed himself away in exile although it would explain why Shinra allowed him to stay there all those years.

Cid’s personality was portrayed well too, but I was disappointed that there were no references to Rocket Town or his part in the space program. I don’t know if they even mentioned him designing the Highwind? Hopefully all will be explored in Part 3, but I think they could have planted those seeds now if they were still going that direction.

(The above is going by main story, so not sure if they get more background in any side stuff and would appreciate it not getting spoiled if so. But feel free to say there’s more to it. Lol)

Overall, I think they did an incredible job with this game and I’ll be putting a lot more time into it to 100% everything. No spoilers, but there are some really fun things added in the post game. It definitely deserves a GOTY nomination and may have a shot at winning depending what else comes out later this year.

 

[HakaishinChampa]

I never played the OG FF7 but Imma have to play it after finishing Rebirth.

I wonder how much of the OG game is left to cover in the 3rd game.

After the 3rd game releases, I wonder what the next Final Fantasy remake will be. I haven't really played any FF games outside of the two FF7 remakes, FF16 and Kingdom Hearts (if that counts). FF8 would be kinda cool because I want to see the whole deal about Leon/Squall.

The wait is going to be horrible, I remember the KH3 wait and the current KH4 wait. I never got this excited about an FF game of all things.