Final Fantasy VII Remake arrives on PS4, with a PS5 version and a PC release also on the market, and it turns one section of a 1997 game into a full story on its own. The result covers the city of Midgar from start to finish, and it does so with a combat system, a cast and a level of detail that make the wait worth it.
Trailer, via Square Enix.
Midgar Rebuilt
The city of Midgar is the star here. Final Fantasy VII Remake spends its entire runtime inside its plates and slums, and the game uses that space well. Sector 7 gets its own arc, with side streets, markets and apartments that give the place a lived-in feel the original game only suggested.
The plot follows Cloud Strife as he takes a job with the resistance group Avalanche, and it introduces Aerith Gainsborough partway through. Their scenes carry weight, thanks to voice work and animation that let small gestures do a lot of the storytelling.
Cloud Strife and the Combat System
Combat blends real-time action with a command menu, and switching between characters in a fight works well. Players can move, dodge and attack freely, then pause the action to pick an ability, spell or item from a menu. That mix gives fights a rhythm that rewards planning as much as reflexes.
The Materia system returns largely unchanged, and that is a good thing. Players slot Materia into weapons and armor to grant spells, stat boosts or special abilities, and the freedom to build a party around fire spells, healing, or physical damage keeps fights varied across the story.
Some fights stand out more than others. Here is a short list of where Final Fantasy VII Remake’s combat system is at its best:
- Boss fights against large enemies, where positioning and timing matter most
- Multi-character skirmishes that force quick switches between party members
- Optional battles in side content, which push players to experiment with Materia builds
Sector 7 and Its People
Sector 7 gives the game its emotional core. The people who live there get names, homes and small routines, and the game takes its time with them before the plot moves forward. That pace pays off later.
Side quests here are not filler.
They flesh out minor characters and give context to the world above and below the plates, and most of them tie back into the main story in ways that feel earned rather than forced.
Aerith Gainsborough and the Back Half
The middle and back sections of the game slow down, and that will not work for everyone. Chapters built around fetch quests and errands stretch the pace thin in places, even as they build out relationships between Cloud Strife, Aerith Gainsborough and the rest of the party.
The game picks up again once the story pushes toward its final stretch, and the shift in tone there is sharp. Big set pieces return, and the combat system gets to show off scale that smaller fights cannot match.
Voice acting throughout stays strong, and the score reworks music from the 1997 game without losing what made it work. New arrangements sit next to the originals, and the switch between them lands well in key scenes.
What Holds It Back
Not every part of Final Fantasy VII Remake earns its length. Padding shows up in a handful of chapters, where corridors and simple puzzles stretch scenes that could move faster. The game also asks a lot of patience from players who know where the story is headed and want it to get there.
Load times and technical hitches show up occasionally on PS4, though they are less of an issue on PS5. On PC, performance holds steady across the settings tested.
Final Fantasy VII Remake succeeds because it treats a small piece of a much larger story with real care. Midgar, once a starting point, becomes a destination worth spending dozens of hours in. Cloud Strife, Aerith Gainsborough and the rest of Avalanche get room to breathe that the original 1997 game never had space for.
The combat system, the Materia system and the reworked score all carry their weight, even when the pacing does not always match. Fans of the original will find plenty to recognize, and newcomers get a combat system and cast strong enough to stand on their own. Final Fantasy VII Remake is available now on PS4, PS5 and PC.
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