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Incredible visuals; tight, layered combat; the Materia system is as engaging as ever; a story that packs a punch
Some downgrades in visuals compared to other versions; occasional glitches
Final Fantasy VII is the sort of game that will be remembered for as long as there’s a video game industry and fans to remember it. Its impact, both as a landmark piece of software as well as an experience that etched itself into the hearts and minds of those who played it, is undeniable. With such a lofty legacy it might seem foolhardy to even think of trying to remake such a noteworthy game, let alone as a trilogy of titles, but if there were ever any doubts, Final Fantasy VII Remake (and its followup, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade) laid them to rest. With the launch of FFVII Remake Intergrade on Nintendo Switch 2, those doubts were further cast aside as this is as pristine a port as fans could ever have hoped for. It runs smooth, looks great, and has a story that satisfies from start to finish.
Remake begins with the same basic story setup as the original FFVII: the evil megacorporation Shinra Electric Power Company is throttling the planet Gaia with its greedy consumption of Mako, the lifeblood of the world. As Gaia is bled dry by the company’s power reactors, the resistance group AVALANCHE sets out to stop them—by any means necessary. Led by Barret Wallace, AVALANCHE members Jessie, Wedge, and Biggs set out with the mercenary Cloud Strife to begin blowing up these Mako reactors and save the world. Eventually joined by Tifa Lockhart (a childhood friend of Cloud’s), Aerith Gainsborough (last member of the race of beings called the Cetra), and Red XIII (a captive of the mad scientist Hojo), the team comes to find that a greater threat to the planet exists than even Shinra: Sephiroth, the deranged former SOLDIER who desires to wipe out all life.
As the story progresses, it becomes clear that not all is as it was in the first FFVII. In Remake, the heroes struggle with fighting against the forces of destiny (indeed, both figuratively and in a literal manifestation of it), a theme that pervades the entire adventure. It’s here that the narrative can become a tad confusing for those who never played the original game, as story beats like the death of Aerith, for instance, aren’t conveyed in-game—instead, larger details like these are apparently assumed by the development staff to be ubiquitous and, thus, are never mentioned. It’s not the biggest issue, but I can imagine that fans who are coming in new will inevitably feel a little lost.
As much as I enjoyed the narrative, and for all of the knowledge I had coming in, I did still find myself a bit perplexed with one or two aspects of the story. My primary confusion revolved around Sephiroth and his interactions with Cloud. The villain pops up throughout the adventure like a specter, but it’s never completely clear if or when Cloud is imagining him or not. What’s more, when Cloud becomes disoriented, which is frequent, no one bothers to ask him what’s happening, or what he’s seeing. Worse, when Sephiroth eventually does physically manifest inside of Shinra headquarters, no one in the party asks what’s going on. It’s a bizarre oversight that, even accounting for Sephiroth’s infamy in the world of FFVII, isn’t readily explained away.
Still, for all these nitpicks, I came away from Remake extremely satisfied by its conclusion. I’ve managed to avoid any large spoilers for the game for the better part of six years, so as I played through Remake it was with totally fresh eyes. While this is only the first part of a trilogy, Remake is rather like The Fellowship of the Ring in its ability to satisfying conclude its own narrative while simultaneously setting up what’s to come. By the end of the game I felt like I’d gone through a true epic, taking on overwhelming forces and coming out the other side feeling winded by how much I’d just experienced. What’s more, the entire cast is endearing; it doesn’t take long before players are wholly invested in Cloud, Barret, Tifa, and their world.
A big part of what sells Remake is its stunning visuals. The devs at Square Enix somehow managed to take the pre-rendered backdrops of FFVII and turn them into fully realized, three-dimensional environments. Replicating the look and feel of the original Midgar in Remake is a feat unto itself, and I found myself marveling at the litany of details on the screen. Midgar, from top to bottom, felt like a real place, making a concept as outlandish as a city on top of a city somehow plausible—at least at a glance. Remake also does a wonderful job of taking the original designs of the characters from FFVII and giving them the perfect balance of polish and tweaks to evoke the more realist stylings of Final Fantasy: Advent Children while remaining distinctly rooted in the aesthetic of Final Fantasy VII. It doesn’t hurt that everyone is so heartbreakingly pretty. Many of you out there will be convinced you’ve found your dream woman or man during your playthrough.
Performance wise, Remake handles swimmingly on Nintendo Switch 2. While it’s not quite as impressive as a PlayStation 5, the hardware keeps up with the heavy demands Midgar’s detailed landscape, as well as frenzied, chaotic battles, sometimes with opponents that practically fill the screen. Sure, some of the textures have a lower resolution, and maybe everything isn’t quite as crystal clear on Switch 2, but this is one heck of a port that impressed from the offing and never stopped. My lone negative on this front was a battle in the Intergrade portion of the game where Yuffie clipped outside of the boundaries of the battlefield and fell to the ground below. I was fortunate in that I eventually found a ladder to climb, but it also cut me off from multiple battles that I could have farmed EXP from—a bummer, but not a deal breaker.
None of this would mean much if the gameplay didn’t bolster the story and the graphics, and thankfully Remake’s combat is sublime. The entire cast of playable characters is fun to fight with. Cloud specializes in a mix of swords and spells; Tifa’s the ultimate brawler with her flurries of kicks and punches; Barret is a ranged tank; and Aerith is a powerful spell caster that adds extra nuance to every battle she’s in. Yuffie is also a great deal of fun to play as, although it’s a shame we don’t get to see her mix of ranged and melee combat as part of the larger AVALANCHE cast.
Players all have a variety of light and heavy attacks, as well as magical abilities, Limit Breaks, and more. Combat in Remake is a hack and slash, real time affair, versus the turn-based battles of the original FFVII. While Cloud is clearly the centerpiece of the action, during fights players can’t depend on him alone to power through. Instead, the devs produced a system where players have to actively swap between Cloud and his fellow party members in order to survive. As the selected hero builds up the aggro of an enemy, that’s the perfect time to switch to another character and continue the bombardment. This setup both prevents battles from becoming mindless, button-mashing encounters, while also encouraging players to experiment with the full cast of heroes.
Of equal importance is the Materia system, which is largely carried over from FFVII. These magical orbs of power grant an array of abilities, spells, and more, doing everything from boosting AP to imbuing weapons with elemental powers and much more besides. Experimenting with Materia and finding the right combination is a huge part of the fun of this battle system. The weapons system is similarly versatile, facilitating a great deal of player agency by allowing for multiple combat preferences to be catered to. If you want to focus on physical strikes, there’s a build for that; if spell casting is your bread and butter, there’s a build for that, too. Throw in a highly engaging weapons tree and tons of equipment, and this is truly one of the greatest combat setups in all of gaming.
If there’s any other thing worth noting, it’s that the Yuffie INTERmission content is fun, but sadly short. Better than overstaying its welcome, surely, but I was having so much fun playing as Yuffie and her partner Sonon that I was sad to see it come to an end so soon. It doesn’t add anything essential to Remake’s story, but the Yuffie episode is nonetheless an interesting piece of storytelling set around chapters three to eight of the main campaign. It does a great job of setting up who Yuffie is and what her motivations are, and it’s the perfect primer for her introduction in FFVII Rebirth.
Great visuals, great story, and great gameplay—it isn’t often that you get all three in a single game, but that’s exactly what’s on offer with Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade. This is an early, essential title for Switch 2 owners; an RPG for the ages that will be just as remembered as the original as time goes by. We strongly recommend giving Remake a download, especially as the launch of Rebirth on Switch 2 is just around the corner this summer.
Nintendojo was provided a copy of this game for review by a third party, though that does not affect our recommendation. For every review, Nintendojo uses a standard criteria.
