Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade PC Review

Even though I’m familiar with the Final Fantasy series, I can certainly consider myself a beginner. I spent the most time in the MMORPG iteration Final Fantasy XIV, which, however, deviates significantly from the tried and tested standards of a much-loved Japanese title. The JRPG genre emphasizes carefully crafted stories set in worlds filled with immersive magic, and you’ll often wonder where the creators go for these ideas. The original Final Fantasy VII, released in 1997, was like a bolt from the blue. At that point, she was at the forefront both in terms of technology and in terms of script. That is why this episode is considered by many to be the best in the series. When the remake (review of the PS4 version) was released on April 10, 2020, a dream come true for many longtime fans. The title received very positive reviews, but there were also those who were disappointed. Mainly due to the division of the story into several parts and interventions in the original story. In December, more than a year and a half after the release on PlayStation 4, the game also made its way to PC screens, so many newcomers can head to the winding streets of Midgar. Cities that never sleep.

• Platform: PC (PS4, PS5)
• Publication date: 16. 12. 2021
• Producer: Square Enix (Japan)
• Genre: japanese role playing game
• Czech location: Not
• Multiplayer: Not
• Data to download: about 100 GB
• Game time: 30 – 60 hours
• Availability: 16+
• Sales version: digital
• Price: 2.119, – CZK Epic Games Store

Avalanche Shinra

The protagonist is Cloud Strife, a former elite soldier who worked for the Shinra Corporation. With the help of his power plants and their reactors, he extracts Mako – the life energy of the planet Gaia, on which the city of Midgar is located (not to be confused with Midgard in God of War). Thanks to the Maku, Shinra rules Midgar with a technological fist that constantly reinforces with new inventions. As a soldier, Cloud has really been through a lot, so having lost all naivety about the company he’s fighting for, he joins his childhood friend Tifa Lockhart, who works with the Avalanche eco-terrorist group (Greta approves). Here he catches himself in the role of a mercenary. In addition to Cloud and Tifa, the group of determined fighters for a better future includes rude Barret Wallace, Biggs, fat Wedge and Jesse Raspberry. Later, another character will be added (theoretically two), but I won’t tell you this, I would spoil the impression of the story. The campaign against the Shinra Corporation can begin.

The main character is Cloud Strife.

The game’s story focuses mainly on the streets of Midgar and the interior of the Shinra Power Plants. Forget about traveling around the world, like in Final Fantasy XV. But Midgar seemed incredibly good to me. The industrial architecture is very well intertwined with magic, and the vertical layout of the city is a great design solution. More than once I stopped to enjoy the view from the slums at the very bottom, where the next levels of the metropolis rise to a dizzying height. However, I had a problem with the overall clarity of the story in the later stages of its recombination as well. I often lost the thread. The memories helped a little, but I would still appreciate a simpler form. However, I do not think that this will be a problem for old fans of the series. Maybe they’re talking about remakes and adjustments. Outside of the main storyline, the game offers many side quests with their own plots. Players who enjoy exploring every nook and cranny can look forward to over fifty hours of content. The remake also includes an additional continuation of the story – INTERmission (review of the PS5 version), which is definitely worth going through the main line. The DLC takes about seven hours to complete.

Spectacular fights

The fights in Final Fantasy VII Remake are simply amazing. Unlike the original, where combat was turn-based, now you can fully participate in it. The reward is action carving with effects that seem to fall out of the classic anime. Don’t worry, you’re still issuing orders to your team members, but it’s all faster, more action-packed, and more interactive. But if you are stuck in the duel format from the original Sedmičky, then the creators offer the so-called classic mode. In it, battles take place automatically and you only give commands to individual characters. However, on a higher difficulty, this is somewhat problematic. Characters often react stubbornly and slowly, so the classic mode I would only recommend for an easy option. I definitely have to highlight the boss fights, which there are really a lot of in the game. It’s a thrilling spectacle, accompanied by great music, and you’ll often get sweaty on the higher difficulty.

You sweat in boss fights.

You will make extensive use of materials, especially at higher difficulty levels. Magic stones with various abilities. I see a big plus in the ability to equip characters with any combination of materials, so you can tailor each team member to your preferences. Cloud can suddenly become a healer or a fire mage. In addition to customizing abilities and improving them, the focus is also on character equipment. And in the form of weapons and armor. You level up weapons by using them, and then unlock talents with skill points. RPG elements are solid and the variability of builds will definitely not offend. The chapter itself then consists of so-called invocations. After recharging the pointer, you can summon an entity that will come to your aid. For example, such an ifrit can splash fiery visual throws onto the screen.

He doesn’t skimp on embarrassment

Since I’m not very familiar with the JRPG genre, take the following paragraphs with a grain of salt. These are purely subjective impressions. A third of the playing time is made up of cutscenes and cutscenes. It wouldn’t be such a problem, but the dialogue is sometimes awful, infantile, and awkward. Yes, I know this form of expression from, for example, Asian film and TV productions, but in the Final Fantasy VII remake, it completely disturbs and annoys me. Constant shouting over the main characters, bad jokes, wrong gestures and grimaces. This is too common in the game, and it definitely ruined my experience of the story.

The dialogue is just awful.

But I can’t say that there is no chemistry between the characters, I would lie to you. For example, this connection between Cloud and Typhus has a solid foundation, but it’s probably Typhus. Because Tifa is really a piece. I have no complaints about the characters of Cloud and Biggs, but the badass Barret imitator, the insatiable Wedge and the fighter Jessie did not suit me very much. But even they don’t reach the ankles of Rochem and his motorcycle bit. Oh my god, why… For the matadors of the JRPG genre, this probably won’t be an obstacle and they are used to it, but you, rather a beginner, will have a lot of surprised looks towards the screen. Yes, I’m talking about the dance club scene. Brrr.

technical libel

Port on PC earned? No. Absolutely not. This is a completely sloppy job, and I personally consider the sale price set above 2100 CZK to be impudent. Instead of playing, I spent the first few hours editing and tweaking game files to make the game look and play at least decent. Although the remake looks very nice and does not require hardware, so-called stutters – freezes and failures to use the video card (especially in more open locations) often occur. All this is dominated by dynamic resolution, which cannot be turned off in the menu. Masked outside the frame rate per second, which is divisible by 30-120. The higher the frame limit, the blurrier the image will be. The game tries at all costs to stick to the value you choose. You can get around this by downloading the mod and then editing the files in Notepad. Once I increased the fps limit this way and disabled dynamic resolution, the game looked and played much better. Next, I had to change the version of DirectX used directly in the Epic Games Launcher in order to eliminate the hang as much as possible.

This is a completely sloppy PC port.

The fact that the setting offers only two types of quality – low and high – does not add anything. In 2021, I expect developers to give us more options. Especially with the highly anticipated game, which is undoubtedly Final Fantasy. Catastrophic and control on the keyboard, which clearly borders on insanity. Unintuitive, complicated and pointless. This game is made on drivers and if you don’t have compatible ones you’ll be in for limbs intertwined hell. But that is not all. Even connecting the Xbox driver did not go without complications. The game does not recognize the driver and you have to click a few screens to activate it. The game constantly chose the joystick as the input device, which I did not even turn on. From a technical point of view, this is a complete mess. Shame. Especially for the price.

Obvious choice for fans, risk for newbies

I know that the last two chapters of the review are heavy, but I can tell you that I am completely honest. Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade is definitely not a bad game. But the PC version is a very poor port. One of the worst games I’ve ever played. Without file modifications, you will suffer from dynamic resolution and stuttering even on very strong reports. Keyboard control is more of a torture than a game. For those who played and loved the original, this is probably a duty, but in places it will be accompanied by the bitterness of interfering with the original game. Newbies take risks. If you are concerned about the behavior of characters typical of Japanese games, films and TV shows, then avoid playing in an arc. If you like the JRPG genre and are used to it, go for it. The rewards will be a great combat system, beautiful Midgar aesthetic, a solid storyline, and Tifa. But I definitely won’t break my stick because of Sedmichka. Perhaps soon we will see the continuation of the story that has rightfully won the hearts of millions of players. But you’d better play the first part on the PlayStation. The displayed price tag clearly does not correspond to the “qualities” of the PC port. Damage.