The game...it's just such a weird game and they kinda messed with the forumla and the whole narrative of "disc 1 FF 7" in a way that really doesn't make much sense or enhances the gaming experience.
And there where many things that kinda rubbed me the wrong way.
On one hand, especially in the cutscenes, the graphic/presentation is absolutely stunning and really the best the PS4 has ever shown but on the other hand there are the town areas with blurry textures and bland NPC's who stylistcally don't even fit in the FF-Universe because the look just like regular people, like from the Real World, whilst Cloud's character Design is pure over-stylized anime.
(Just an example of what i mean:
https://i.redd.it/bd34oz2ch4s41.jpg)
The battle system is mostly okay, but by far not as groundbreaking or anything as people like to say it is.
It looks cool and it's pretty dynamic and action oriented but it feels half-baked to some degree and it doesn't really build on anything or gains depth through-out the game.
Basically just spam all the attacks, know the weakpoint of the enemy and heal yourself occasionally and you are good to go.
Story, well, that's probaly the most subjectiv point and really falls into the category "personal taste" but i really didn't like it what they added to the plot overall.
[SPOILER]
They added the Fate-Ghosts wich are basically a facless plot-device that let them do anything they want without fearing any consequenzes.
For instance, killing Barret in the end and then, whoopsie doopsie, bring him back in an instance because the Fate-Ghosts ultimately decide if someone dies or not.
Wich is unbelievable cheap and lazy from an writers point of view
Then there is Sephiroth EVERYWHERE. He literally shows up, in person, an hour into the game and from that point on continuously.
Wich felt hella anti-climatic.
Sephiroth was no mystery nor had he any surpirising moments that blew your mind a little like in the original (stabbing the Shinra Boss for instance).
He was just there, all the time, dropping cryptic lines for cloud and stuff.
Whatever.
And yes, the new characters basically all suck and just feel like a mixture of everything that can suck about an FF7 NPC (weird design, annoying personality, no meaningful impact on anything in the story etc).
Welp, i guess knowing that the KH-Writer stepped in to rewrite FF7 should have been the first warning sign.
The story of the KH games is downright the worst story (and i am not overexaggerating here) of any videogame series i can think of on the top of my head.
It's the epitome of a bloated, unneccassary conveluted, nonesensical mess of a story.
Someone should have noticed that this guy is seemingly to incompetent to write something as "complex" as a functioning story for a videogame, by now.
On the other side, it's not like there is a meaningful plot about the risks of intervening with nature and the destructiv nature of the human hybris somewhere to be found in the story of FF7, that he could have build upon.
[/SPOILER]
The game is also very tiring and gets drawn out way too long on some areas, so in the end i just sat down and thought "Ok i want to end this game already" and just stubbornly killed boss after boss till it was over.
When the final boss arrived, wich is supposed to be epicness overload, i bascially felt nothing but the need to get over this obstacle so i can lay down the controller already.
I expected a lot from this game and it didn't deliver in any category.
Ok, the Soundtrack was amazing i gotta admit.
But that's actually the only aspect of the game i have no gripe with.
I wouldn't say it's a bad game or anything but it certainly isn't a great game either.
It's a mostly very pretty looking, action RPG that does nothing exceptionally good or bad.
I had much higher hopes for this one in the end.
I feel obligated to play the next chapter but i am very far from being excited to play it.
