Final Fantasy VII Remake

[SozzlyJoe]

You... you.. hate... Aerith??!?!?!

 

Anyway, I think you'll find we cool hipster kids refer to her as her original name 'Aeris'.

 

[sprite]

I think your opinion may change @Strafe but we shall see  

 

So I'm thinking of getting Intergrade on PC.

 

I completed the original Remake (whaaat) on PS4, loved it, want to play it again.  I don't have a PS5 but I do have a good PC that I like putting through its paces.

 

So can anyone help guide me as to whether it is worth the re-purchase and what I get on PC?  I've tried googling, it's not proving overly fruitful.  I think some things have been re-worked in the main game, I assume it'll look much prettier, and the Yuffie DLC.  How long is the latter?

[Sarlaccfood]

24 minutes ago, sprite said:

I think your opinion may change @Strafe but we shall see  

 

So I'm thinking of getting Intergrade on PC.

 

I completed the original Remake (whaaat) on PS4, loved it, want to play it again.  I don't have a PS5 but I do have a good PC that I like putting through its paces.

 

So can anyone help guide me as to whether it is worth the re-purchase and what I get on PC?  I've tried googling, it's not proving overly fruitful.  I think some things have been re-worked in the main game, I assume it'll look much prettier, and the Yuffie DLC.  How long is the latter?

I believe the DLC is good and deffo worth playing but the visual upgrades (going off the breakdown video they did on release) just look kind of….different rather than better?
 

It was a stunner to begin with to be fair so it really depends on how important 60fps is to you.
 

But maybe someone who has played both can weigh in. I’m due a replay on PS5 soon and will grab the DLC but haven’t got round to it yet.

[Qazimod]

@sprite I think I finished Yuffie’s DLC in a little under five hours (I’d have to load my save) but I did skip some optional stuff.

 

I’m not sure (because I bought the base game, got the free upgrade and then got Yuffie’s DLC all as separate things) but from what I can tell, Intergrade on Steam gets you the base game, Yuffie’s DLC, and the quality of life additions that were thrown in for existing owners, below:

 

Quote

Improved textures, lighting, and background environments. Switch between the game modes "Graphics Mode" which prioritises 4K high-resolution graphics, and "Performance Mode" which prioritises smooth action at 60 frames per second. "Photo mode" allows you to preserve memorable moments from the game.

 

https://support.eu.square-enix.com/faqarticle.php?kid=80045&id=18725&la=2&ret=main

[sprite]

Thankls @Qazimod and @Sarlaccfood ... sort of seems like I can spend my £50 better elsewhere...

 

Like in a savings fund for a PS5  

[Qazimod]

Yeah, I just checked my save for Yuffie's content and I finished at just under five hours (4:52) so for some people it might be hard to recommend at full price, but I did enjoy the combat and some of the new characters in the new chapter, and like I said there’s optional stuff in there that I’m sure I missed or left unfinished.

[Strafe]

1 hour ago, sprite said:

I think your opinion may change @Strafe but we shall see  

 

So I'm thinking of getting Intergrade on PC.

 

I completed the original Remake (whaaat) on PS4, loved it, want to play it again.  I don't have a PS5 but I do have a good PC that I like putting through its paces.

 

So can anyone help guide me as to whether it is worth the re-purchase and what I get on PC?  I've tried googling, it's not proving overly fruitful.  I think some things have been re-worked in the main game, I assume it'll look much prettier, and the Yuffie DLC.  How long is the latter?

You’ll get the Yuffie DLC and performance matching a next gen console if your rig is up to it. I’m no expert in PC settings by a long stretch but there is very little in the way of options. You get a few gubbins as well (material, armour, potions or some such). It’s very much a bare bones port by all accounts.

[Strafe]

You can pick it up for £40 on greenman gaming using a code from here which are reusable

 

https://steamcommunity.com/app/1462040/discussions/0/4748497451434978042/

 

(Note, this worked on Saturday, I don’t know if they’ll still be functioning but you’ll find out before you have to cough up)

[BadgerFarmer]

2 hours ago, Qazimod said:

@sprite I think I finished Yuffie’s DLC in a little under five hours (I’d have to load my save) but I did skip some optional stuff.

I think I spent about 9 hours on it, a good chunk of which involved playing games of Fort Condor, which is surprisingly great. So you can certainly get that much out of it if you do everything.

[Triple A]

4 hours ago, Qazimod said:

@sprite I think I finished Yuffie’s DLC in a little under five hours (I’d have to load my save) but I did skip some optional stuff.

 

I’m not sure (because I bought the base game, got the free upgrade and then got Yuffie’s DLC all as separate things) but from what I can tell, Intergrade on Steam gets you the base game, Yuffie’s DLC, and the quality of life additions that were thrown in for existing owners, below:

 

 

https://support.eu.square-enix.com/faqarticle.php?kid=80045&id=18725&la=2&ret=main

Supplementing the text about QOL/other improvements made to what was the PS5 version of Remake - the PC version supports 90fps and 120fps too.

The DLC is terrific as well and gave me 10+ hours of play time.

And of course, the PC version also supports mods!

Getting the PC version is a no-brainer if you're remotely into FF.

[Alan Stock]

Yuffie DLC is definitely worth a shot if you enjoyed the main game, but I wouldn't recommend buying the game again just to play the DLC at full price. You should get around to it at some point though, preferably before the next game in 10 years because there is some plot stuff from the DLC that feeds into it. 

[sprite]

10 hours ago, Triple A said:

Supplementing the text about QOL/other improvements made to what was the PS5 version of Remake - the PC version supports 90fps and 120fps too.

The DLC is terrific as well and gave me 10+ hours of play time.

And of course, the PC version also supports mods!

Getting the PC version is a no-brainer if you're remotely into FF.

 

Yeah I'm not the target demographic for these sort of mods.

[Triple A]

I thought that might rile some!  Got your attention.

Just as well that audience targeting is more behaviour than demography based these days - so you don't like Sailor Moon then, cool.  It's not for me either.

[Laters]

22 hours ago, sprite said:

Thankls @Qazimod and @Sarlaccfood ... sort of seems like I can spend my £50 better elsewhere...

 

Like in a savings fund for a PS5  

 

You'll also get the game free with PS plus. Playing at the moment. It's the PS5 version and seems to have the DLC as well.

[Number 28]

Looks like there's some madcap FF7 fans in my local neighbourhood

I'm tempted to scrawl CAIT SITH 4 LYF underneath. Maybe add a couple dice (die?)

[Keyboard Koala]

Eriz woz her

[Spacehost]

2 hours ago, Number 28 said:

Looks like there's some madcap FF7 fans in my local neighbourhood

I'm tempted to scrawl CAIT SITH 4 LYF underneath. Maybe add a couple dice (die?)

Wildly off topic, but when I was 14, me and my mates marched off three and a half miles into the uninhabited woodland outside my hometown. There could be found a ruined 13th century castle, and within, a branch of supple birch, into which the following legend was inscribed in harsh, black ink:

 

"TECHU IS NOT A 7/10 EDGE"

[Strafe]

On 21/06/2022 at 22:07, Triple A said:

Supplementing the text about QOL/other improvements made to what was the PS5 version of Remake - the PC version supports 90fps and 120fps too.

The DLC is terrific as well and gave me 10+ hours of play time.

And of course, the PC version also supports mods!

Getting the PC version is a no-brainer if you're remotely into FF.

Is there a mod to kill her off in the first 2 minutes?

[Mars]

2 hours ago, Keyboard Koala said:

Eriz woz her

 

Woz 😥

[Benny]

I finally got round to playing through this this week for the first time. I also managed to avoid any

 

Spoiler

Spoilers for what is different about it. When I realised what they were doing I was even more involved - because while it would work fine for newcomers, what they were doing with the story in the way it reframes things and the fact its effectively a commentary on the original work, as well as doing its own thing, whilst also honouring the best aspects of it is probably the best possible way you could do this remake. I think it's enormously clever.

 

It seems a few people complained that it wasn't a slavish direct copy of the original, which completely misses the point of what it's trying to do, which is something original and special. I kept being surprised how they chose to tackle different elements as well as intrigued as to the new stuff they were doing. It was dreadfully exciting for over 30 hours.

 

Basically, loved it.

[SuperCapes]

For me, cool new stuff aside, was how it managed to handle all of the spectacle. It was as cinematic as my child brain put together back in the day.

 

I just cannot wait for that bombast to continue in the sequel. 

[Benny]

Yeah on the subject of spectacle: it's probably got some of the most amazing set pieces of any game I've played. The way they've made the battles feel dynamic with scene changes in some big battles is very well done too. You can practically taste the expense dripping off the whole production.

 

The way they've done the music is probably the best part: remixes and twists on old favourites but where some of the pieces actually evolve to reflect the context. And the way the music builds as the major battles progress by layering different tracks and shifting them at key points in the tempo is absolutely genuinely epic. Feels like iMuse or some other dark coding magic.

 

A late game spoiler

 

Spoiler

I was initially disappointed by the Jenova theme as it seemed less impactful to the original, but I was being stupid and was forgetting what the music had been doing for the rest of the game apparently, because when the full blown remastered track kicks in it was fucking brilliant.

 

[Benny]

Something the ending reminds me a lot of actually (and some general thoughts on it):

 

Spoiler

Evangelion. Or more specifically the more recent film "remake" that is a retelling of the series (can't remember what it's called exactly). That film does a very similar thing of "reimagining" the story and as such working as a commentary upon itself and all that came before, including End of Eva. It seems this has references to other FF7 media as well in the same way, like Crisis Core etc (which I haven't played).

 

Also, they are introduced a bit abruptly, but I like the idea of the Whispers, as a kind of commentary on the perils of revisiting nostalgia itself, as it can also be a capricious beast and not always something positive to be yearned for. I really want to join these characters on their quest to break out of the confines of their own story now and see where it goes.

 

It will also be interesting what they do with Aerith: back in the late 90s the proto-Web was awash with guides and rumours that you could bring her back. It was a really big thing among players back then, as it clearly left enough of either an emotional or even just frustrated mark to make it take shape as much as something like "Sheng Long" did in people's minds.

 

So I will be interested to see if the message of the story is going to be: it's okay to wish for those things, that it's okay to want to save everyone and challenge fate. Or, if it's going to go for the more tragic route again, but as if to say: sometimes you just have to learn to accept loss and move on, after all these years. The great thing is, with the context they've created with this now, BOTH those possibilities can now work and be profound ideas either way.

 

[Unofficial Who]

Some great takes @Benny. I still think about this game every other week and I'm gobsmacked by how brave they were with the direction they went when appeasing the loudest fans would have been the easiest route.

[Alan Stock]

Wild conjecture ahead:

Spoiler

I feel like they'll subvert what we think about Aeriths death since Remake. Now we're thinking maybe she won't die and someone else might instead. So I think they'll kill her to defy that, probably later in the plot than the original game. But crucially, dying will be her decision, probably to save someone like Cloud.

 

Although the best twist would be that Cloud actually gets killed instead of Aerith. In fact that actually sounds plausible when I think about it, because they've introduced a current timeline Zack who could take his place. Unbridled speculation ahoy!

 

[Benny]

I've seen some comments earlier in the thread about the writing being bad. I'd agree it's not all that great, but I wonder if those people were playing with English voice acting. I would imagine that would exacerbate the issue if the actors weren't great.

 

I played through in Japanese and mostly ignored the actual text and just took the meaning from it and how the characters acted rather than focus on the literal words themselves, as it did come across like fan translation of an anime a lot of the time. If the voice actors were then speaking those lines it probably would come across pretty bad.

 

It was obvious that the translation was very different from the original dialogue, as you'd get characters saying things like "Look out!" in the subtitles, but the Japanese voice actor actually said "Cloud!". This happens a lot.

 

So I'd say bad translation is the issue there.

[Unofficial Who]

I thought the English version was great and that's after hearing it almost a dozen times. (My partner got a little obsessed with Remake during lockdown.)

 

It reminds me a lot of 80's action movies for some reason.

[Benny]

I actually also think Barret is, shockingly, better written in this than he was in the original. He still gets angry a lot, but then he'll randomly come out with something really profound about people who stand by coming to terms with their culpability in atrocities, like some sort of warrior poet.

 

I find I identify more with him now than maybe I did with Cloud when I was a stupid sullen teenager.

[Qazimod]

37 minutes ago, Alan Stock said:

  Hide contents

But crucially, dying will be her decision, probably to save someone like Cloud.

 

More conjecture, with spoilers for the original:

 

Spoiler

The thing is, in the original story we assume that she "had" to die in order to power up the lifestream from within and help stop Meteor.  Also, it's pretty clear from her dialogue in Remake that she has explicit knowledge of the original game's events. So perhaps she'll try and steer the party towards some tragic sacrifice?

 

At the same time, I'm curious about a timeline where she survives if only because it presents a whole new scenario of doom.  

 

[Benny]

One thing this game does do expertly well, is it uses the power of nostalgia to actually do interesting and quite poetic at times things with your prior knowledge and emotional attachment. Which happens in my favourite overall moment in the entire game:

 

Spoiler

It's a very small moment as well, almost unremarkable and mysterious if you didn't know what was going on. When Cloud meets up again with Aerith after leaving her house.

 

Spoiler

She catches up with him and jokes that she's not bored of him yet, before skipping off ahead. Cloud has another headache, and then just a few bars of the music from The Forgotten City from the original game plays. Anyone who has played and was intimate with FF7 and loved it will, with those few musical notes, be instantly transported to their own past playing the game and the events that happened in the story in their own mind. That's how powerful the score for the original was and the power of music is doing all the work transporting your mind back.

 

And, in the first real display of emotion we've seen from him so far, Cloud visibly weeps slightly. As if mirroring the effect this might have on the player at this point and to signal what it might mean to already know these things going forward and the tragedy of that.

 

It's an amazing twist, genuinely emotional, and it lasts mere seconds. But it's brilliant.

 

Got a bit of a lump in my throat too.

 

 

It's the exact opposite of the "hey, 'member this" stuff that has strip mined all joy from various film franchises over the years, and actually does something with its legacy in a genuinely heartfelt way that recognises the past. It's just like a warm embrace of acknowledgement rather than a plea for attention.