Final Fantasy 7 Remake & Rebirth

[Slave]

I've completed it now and the ending was certainly...an ending.

Spoiler

Chapter 13 and 14 were SUCH a letdown.

Firstly, I think the final boss is horribly designed. Not the way it makes you use the entire team - that's actually pretty cool - but the way you have to strip all your material across the entire team without any opportunity to swap things around between Jenova and Sephiroth. By the time I got to the final Sephiroth battle with Aerith and Cloud where he has insta-kills, I desperately needed to optimise their materia, and the only way to do it was to replay the ENTIRE THING. That whole last boss desperately needs some checkpoints.

Also, the number of timelines the game is juggling seemed to spiral a bit. I was content with having Zack and Biggs in one alternate timeline showing why the original game needed to happen as it did because if they live, the world basically ends up being doomed. But then, right at the end, it seemed to split off into even more, and it all ended up feeling a bit unnecessarily convoluted when the plot, until chapters 13 and 14, was actually pretty tight.

Some of the cut-scenes in chapter 13 were incredible, although I found the Temple Of The Ancients itself a bit of a slog. I was also slightly underwhelmed by the City Of The Ancients. I adore how ominous and atmospheric it is in the original. Considering how well every other location in the game got upgraded, this one felt like a bit of an afterthought. In fact, the last few hours as a whole feel so tonally different to the rest of the game. I get they needed a climactic ending and a big final boss; I also think they chose a very logical point to have all that happen. I just think it's executed quite poorly.

 

[ZenGiraffe]

Spoiler: Ending

I didn't hate the ending, and thought the areas were well enough done. But I was getting a bit tired of the constant flirting between parties when I really only had four outfitted well. Thankfully Aerith and Cloud being two of them.

I'm curious how the third part ends up. Cloud being an unreliable narrator is being amped up so I'm hoping that will make some of the ending stuff better in retrospect once we see how it plays out.

At least the timelines thing isn't becoming a full on multiverse, those can fuck off.

Finally, how DARE they not use this at all:

 

[ButterTart]

I’m 60 hours deep into this and loving every second. The Gongaga region music is BREATHTAKING, possibly my favourite in the series.

 

[Lee]

After about 230 hours () I got my platinum at the weekend. I don’t really want it to end

 

[ZenGiraffe]

After about 230 hours () I got my platinum at the weekend. I don’t really want it to end

I gave up on platinum when I got to the last few challenge simulator challenges, I just couldn't be arsed.

 

[Lee]

I gave up on platinum when I got to the last few challenge simulator challenges, I just couldn't be arsed.

Bonds of Friendship probably took me about 15 hours of trial and error, but I enjoyed it all.

 

[ButterTart]

I don't know what pederast cunt at Square Enix decided we needed a chocobo gliding game as an important side quest but I hope they and their family never know a moment's happiness for the rest of their lives.

 

[ButterTart]

The Cait Sith throwing boxes at things section is one of the least fun things I've ever had to do in a game. Square Enix need to sort out this compulsion they have to shove in pointless minigames which only detract from the experience.

 

[KindaCool]

Yeah way too many mini games. And they're barely "mini" too. There are rules and strategies and shit to learn.

None of this would've happened if y'all rotten overstimulated brains weren't constantly drooling for CONTENT

 

[ButterTart]

Yeah way too many mini games. And they're barely "mini" too. There are rules and strategies and shit to learn.

None of this would've happened if y'all rotten overstimulated brains weren't constantly drooling for CONTENT

I just want to run around exploring places and killing things. I would, however, fully appreciate a resort builder mode where you manage and develop Costa del Sol.

 

[KindaCool]

I just want to run around exploring places and killing things. I would, however, fully appreciate a resort builder mode where you manage and develop Costa del Sol.

Yes that's why I loved the Johnny sidequest! I'd rather have more long-term sidequests than lots of small minigames.

 

[Lee]

The only mini game I struggled with was the frog jump. Fuck it took me hours.
Even then it was only for the platinum. I don’t really get the complaint about the mini games though, most of them are entirely optional.

 

[ButterTart]

The only mini game I struggled with was the frog jump. Fuck it took me hours.
Even then it was only for the platinum. I don’t really get the complaint about the mini games though, most of them are entirely optional.

It's the ones that were essential I object to - Cait Sith box throwing, glide de Chocobo, Gears and Gambits and Fort Condor, none of which I will ever play again as soon as their relevance to the story is over.

 

[Lee]

Neither Gears & Gambits or Fort Condor were compulsory.
I don’t get the objection to the box throwing (it takes up like 20 minutes of a 100 hour game) and Chocobo gliding was fairly easy to get the minimum points on. It only became difficult when you had to get every ring (only required for platinum).

 

[KindaCool]

I'm up to the one with the robots in the last or second to last region

 

[Slave]

I think the downfall (if you can call it that) with the mini-games is that, much like everything else in the original game, they extrapolated what was already there and expanded it without necessarily knowing when to stop. I didn't enjoy all the ones at Costa Del Sol either, but I see why they're there and how they were worked into the narrative. The box-throwing minigame felt superfluous at that point in the game, regardless of how long it lasted.