Board 8 > What was Board 8's general reaction to FFVII Remake?

(+) Yeah! (+)

CaptainOfCrush posted...

Half my next contest nominations are gonna be spent making sure all five (Barret included) get in with high seeds.

Jessie Rasberry needs to make her debut

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I can't fucking wait for the next part

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MetalmindStats posted...

Perhaps we should at least wait to see just how convincingly FF7R wins GotY here before spouting off all this crazy talk of what it's supposed to do for its characters next contest.

Characters =/= Games

And it's even less of a comparable situation because it's a remake. Remake winning GotY at all will portend well for its characters.

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Aerith, Tifa, and Cloud already looked great in 2018. Tifa should generate a lot of debate against any Noble 9er other than the big Nintendo 3 or Cloud (hell, she might be favored). Aerith beat a game Nintendo challenger in Fox before holding up somewhat well to Uber Zelda. Even a slight boost for her could make for interesting matches against the bottom tier N9 or the Nintendo B-team.

Sephiroth looked the worst but lo and behold for him SMASH

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I'm slowly playing through it with my girlfriend and we've just been razzing on it and having a good time all around while constantly asking where Thirsty Bae is and citing that Sephiroth is absolutely the cutest person who has the hots for Cloud. I feel like I would get bored if I played on my own though, by sheer virtue of me not having time and patience for typical JRPG nonsense and tropes.

I think we're just on the part where Cloud is dressed up.

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it was touched on, but the way they handled Jenova's theme, in particular part 3, was magical. I got chills when i heard it start up

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FF7R is one of my all time favorites, probably near the top 10, and I can't wait to re-play it. Just giving it some time so I can forget it a bit more.

Everything is generally great--story, music, combat, they all stay interesting throughout, I thought. There's a few ugly parts visually, but also some super cool looking parts.

I cannot believe what a good job they did on the characters--especially Barret, I thought he was super lame in the original, but here I'm fist-pumping at every line of his dialogue. And Aeris and Tifa have to be some of the most likable characters I've ever seen in a game, it's almost scary.

And there are a LOT of wild surprises. (One I haven't seen mentioned yet is the late game shrina museum near the top of shinra tower. Loved that part, especially the VR part.)

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one of my favorite little things to do was just pan the camera around and just look up at the plate (or where the plate is missing)

it really gives you a sense of what Midgar is like that the original couldn't give you

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A few parts were kinda drawn out, a few parts i wish were more in depth. But I thought it was very very good overall

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I played the demo/ preview, and the combat felt like it was in this weird in-between space

It didn't give you full control or freedom/ responsiveness of movement, but it didn't let you put down the controller and play it like a traditional rpg, either

I wonder if it felt better during the main game

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banananor posted...

It didn't give you full control or freedom/ responsiveness of movement

The only thing it's missing is a jump button so I'm not sure I get this critique. It's not like DQXI where you can run around but it doesn't do anything; you can actually dodge attacks in FF7R.

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I'm really curious if they're going to update it or release a next gen version... Maybe when the exclusive timer is close to being out, they'll announce something for both systems.

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My favorite game of the generation.

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My major complaint about combat atm is that I don't understand how the game handles aggro. It definitely feels like enemies prioritize the player-controlled character, but that isn't always the case.

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I understood aggro in FFVIIR about as well as I understood it in Xenoblade

which is to say not at all

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Leonhart4 posted...

Characters =/= Games

And it's even less of a comparable situation because it's a remake. Remake winning GotY at all will portend well for its characters.

Even if so, it's not exactly as though there's any precedent for some midcarder game that struggled to even win GotY here taking even an established character from narrowly ahead of Fox all the way to nipping at Sonic's heels. And if FF7R struggles in a year that's this weak at the top, that's probably about all it amounts to.

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They just always come for the player character as far as I'm aware. Cause you can manipulate it to your advantage.

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There's no way I could calculate aggro in Xenoblade (are you meant to?), but at least it was communicated as a combat mechanic earned primarily by how much damage/healing a character did. So if you wanted to avoid getting killed as Sharla, you probably didn't want to use all of her healing skills at once.

To my knowledge, FFVII hasn't mentioned it once, so I have no idea if it's a mechanic that exists in the game at all.

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MetalmindStats posted...

Even if so, it's not exactly as though there's any precedent for some midcarder game that struggled to even win GotY here taking even an established character from narrowly ahead of Fox all the way to nipping at Sonic's heels. And if FF7R struggles in a year that's this weak at the top, that's probably about all it amounts to.

The difference is that Aerith used to nip at Sonic's heels, and it's not like she's THAT far behind him even now. Sonic would be projected to get 56-57% on Aerith based on direct matches with Zelda, which is ironically what Sonic got on Tifa in 2005 and I imagine she'd be the favorite to beat him now.

And there's no precedent for what FFVIIR is at all, so I wouldn't compare it to literally anything before now on this site.

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Xenoblade aggro is MMORPG aggro - the more damage and healing you do, the more you creep up on the chart. Tanks inherently do less damage than offense characters (except when they don't, hi Dunban) so they generate less aggro, which is why they have specialized skills to increase their aggro levels. If the tank can't keep up their own aggro generation than the damage dealer or healer needs to hold back for a sec.

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CaptainOfCrush posted...

Sephiroth looked the worst but lo and behold for him SMASH

Everything kinda went against him though, I don't think he was as weak as he seemed. As the only person here who called it correctly, his match against Tifa was weird for sure. Samus is most definitely the worst opponent for Tifa and the Samus vs. Mario battles are very hard to judge. Zelda bandwagoning into the picture didn't help either. Look at the division Seph was in though. You don't need to look further than Ryu, there's no way he's that bad.

Remake and Smash happened now, so I'll never get to prove myself right certainly, but he was never as weak as people liked to call him that contest (and before it too, his head was really being called for then).

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Yeah, Seph looked mostly fine in the main bracket. Dunno what happened to him in the double elimination portion.

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IMO your losses mean a lot more than your victory margins against characters you were always destined to beat.

Cloud was an anti-vote magnet for a while and his percentage showings suffered (compared to his 2002-04 peak), but he still managed to win every 1v1 match until he ran into Link. Sephiroth, on the other hand, began losing against characters he would have decimated in earlier years.

No, I certainly don't think he's slipped to the extent that Luigi could challenge him, but he's definitely slipped more than Cloud and Tifa (and probably Aerith).

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Yeah, Sephiroth has definitely suffered the most. He went from 60/40ing Mario to getting 60/40'd by him. Cloud isn't what he used to be, but he's demonstrated he can still be #2, even if it's a very distant #2.

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Sephiroth got slaughtered by Mario. You can't get around that even if you handwave away his match against Tifa (which I don't think you should considering Tifa did better against Samus than he did against Mario).

Side note: tere's some pre-Remake and post-Remake Barret.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/7630-who-is-your-favorite-video-game-father

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/poll/8129-who-is-your-favorite-video-game-father

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I've died twice to the on-wheels boss at the start of Chapter 18, and this might be the most awkwardly paced part of the game.

Four consecutive boss fights, including two to end Chapter 17 AFTER the first Jenova fight is a little silly. Jenova was a chapter ender for sure, and it feels a bit diminished as part of a boss marathon, especially when a nameless motorcycle section boss proves to be my toughest fight of the game so far.

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This section was a boss rush in the original game, too, although I agree with you that Motor Ball was super annoying and wasn't well designed.

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Should've been Roche again rather than Motor Ball IMO.

Yeah it does honestly get a little exhausting at the end there. I liked it but it was a lot.
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Yeah that part was no good

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Well that was a god damned masterpiece.

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heck yeah it was

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I've been replaying the original FF7 in anticipation of playing this hopefully early next year once Sony's exclusivity is up. It holds up really well! Probably still one of the best "comfort food" JRPGs I could name so long as you stick to the mainline and avoid the grindier sidequests.

All the stuff I keep hearing about the remake has me thinking I'd dig it so hard, both my replay of the original and this topic aren't doing anything to help my patience!

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Alright, a few quick thoughts because I want to jump right back in instead of typing out a wordy review...

• My post-credits play clock reads 52 hours. I took my time and took care of much of the side content, but man, that's meaty. This is the world's longest prologue.
• This might - just might - top Xenoblade for the RPG with the most likable party I've ever played. Every single member is so fleshed out and humanized. I still think Aerith walked away as my favorite, but by the end, I was passionately rooting for everyone. Even Red XIII shined in his limited role.
• My gf said that of all the games she's watched me play, this is her favorite, owing it to the relatable ensemble cast, the heavy focus on story, and the charming humor. She actually wants to try it (this doesn't even happen with Zelda).
• I was not - to any extent - expecting something of such quality from 2020 Square. It's really tough for me to "rank" remakes separately from their original sources (I have no idea which version of Resident Evil 2 I prefer, for example), so I'll simply bundle the original alongside this remake and say that the "FFVII anthology", as it currently stands, has to be in my Top 10.
• I'll see everyone in 2025 for Gold Saucer

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Man the characters were always great.

But now that people don't have to read I guess they're actually paying attention!

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pjbasis posted...

Man the characters were always great.

But now that people don't have to read I guess they're actually paying attention!

I've been playing with the fan retranslation for the OG this time around and it's kind of incredible how much it helps the game. I think a lot of personality was lost in the original translation!

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upon reworking my top 100 list I was shocked to see FF7R land in the top 20

FF7 has long held my number 2 spot, but I really didn't think going into this that just Midgar would land so high on my all time list.

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I find a deeper appreciation for a different character every time I replay the original game. The cast has always been fantastic. Even someone like Cait Sith has his standout moments.

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LeonhartFour posted...

I find a deeper appreciation for a different character every time I replay the original game. The cast has always been fantastic. Even someone like Cait Sith has his standout moments.

Cait Sith is unironically a borderline great character. It just shows how stellar this cast is that he is still near the bottom!

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You miss out on a ton of characterization for most of the characters in any given playthrough just because you only have two of them with you at a time. Even in the original that doesn't become an issue until post-Midgar but if the Remake solves that issue alone it'd do wonders for fleshing out the crew. (Also please give Yuffie and Vincent the substance they deserve!)

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skullbone posted...

The only thing it's missing is a jump button so I'm not sure I get this critique. It's not like DQXI where you can run around but it doesn't do anything; you can actually dodge attacks in FF7R.

slow response here- i think i've been spoiled by sekiro/soulsbornes, where inputs are ultra-responsive, predictable and consistent with their animations

at least in the demo, cloud & co moves at kind of a slow pace, and their attacks pull from a set of random animations, so when you hit a move it takes a random amount of time to happen. enemy attacks will sometimes stagger you and sometimes won't

you can tell they were a little insecure about it, since they added a few extra systems on top of combat, i forget what they're called

it's not terrible gameplay by any means, but it sits in a completely subjective "gameplay uncanny valley". i will most likely get it if it appears on pc eventually

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pjbasis posted...

Man the characters were always great.

But now that people don't have to read I guess they're actually paying attention!

Weird take to throw out on a site that venerates 90s JRPGs

Better presentation + voice acting + better writing + better dialogue + better translation + updated character models (facial expressions!) more character interactions = higher appreciation for the characters. I don't really like FF7's original cast and the Remake versions are just straight-up superior outside of Sephiroth.

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KamikazePotato posted...

better writing + better dialogue + better translation

I like how you split one point into three to beef up your point. And uh yeah the rest is about having better graphics, yawn.

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One thing I immediately noticed was the quality of character animations. The party in particular may have been the best animated characters I've ever seen in a video game.

Hojo was the most glaring exception - something weird was going on with that dude's mouth.

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Yeah, I think I kinda agree with you there. They tried too hard to make Hojo look blatantly evil instead of just having him look like an actual person.

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Xiahou Shake posted...

I've been playing with the fan retranslation for the OG this time around and it's kind of incredible how much it helps the game. I think a lot of personality was lost in the original translation!

I didnt know this was a thing, just looked into it and got it all set up. Now I have something to tackle once ff7r part 2 gets announced, so I can have it fresh beforehand

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_stingers_ posted...

I didnt know this was a thing, just looked into it and got it all set up. Now I have something to tackle once ff7r part 2 gets announced, so I can have it fresh beforehand

Nice! In addition to Reunion, I can highly recommend Satsuki's AI upscaled backgrounds and FMVs. It's bananas how good some of the backgrounds still look with all the blur cleaned up.

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pjbasis posted...

I like how you split one point into three to beef up your point. And uh yeah the rest is about having better graphics, yawn.

No, those are definitely three separate things

Writing/dialogue in games is obviously better now than it was in the 90s so it should be no surprise that Remake handles the characters better. Their animation can also be more subtle. Means they don't have to overract everything and you can also see smaller facial expressions and movements. imo that shouldn't be dismissed with "yawn".

That said, I thought they would screw Cloud up, given how likeable he is in FF7 and how not that likeable he is in his other appearances.
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pj will be eternally dismissive of FFVIIR

And will also probably never play it

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how dare you I will definitely play it so I can be more wholeheartedly dismissive

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