Octopus Overlords

This was announced nearly 4 years ago, but we've seen precious little about it since. Little blips here and there, but I was fully expecting that it had been quietly cancelled by Squeenix. Which would have been much to my disappointment, as FF VII is my favorite game of all time.

So imagine my surprise when this trailer was dropped today, with the promise of additional info in June. Barrett, Cloud, Aerith, Biggs, Wedge, Jesse...and a Behemoth! And the bombing run! And Shira soldiers! And the Guard Scorpion (complete with raised tail antics)! I'll admit that I'm far more excited about this than I should be but, dammit, it looks exactly like what I was hoping for...the game I loved with a new coat of paint. Can't wait to hear more next month.

Now to see if cross-dressing Cloud makes the final cut. And that it's released sometime before 2070.

If only they weren't replacing the entire combat system with an action version.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Fri May 10, 2019 1:28 am If only they weren't replacing the entire combat system with an action version.

I'm actually OK with that. The action combat in FF XV was excellent and what little I've heard about this remake indicates they're heading a similar direction.

I've been replaying FF X lately, and going back to the traditional "heroes on this side, badguys on that side. Now take turns hitting each other." style of combat is becoming more and more difficult.

There's where we differ. I thought the combat in FF XV was absolutely awful. I hated not having any real control of the party most of the time, and I hated trying to manage a battle while jumping all over the battlefield, often so much so that you couldn't see what your own teammates were even doing. Compared to the careful, thoughtful approach of the old 'active time' system, I felt like a lot of the series appeal was lost.

Tons of new info about this one at E3. They did a really good explanation of the combat system here (about halfway down the page). I think it looks fantastic.

And this new trailer is just... .

All. The. Damn. Feels.

New trailer from Tokyo Game Show is amazing. I love some of the

Looks like they're leaving the whole Honeybee Inn sequence mostly intact, you can still do squats at the gym, and "frog Cloud" still has a Buster Sword strapped to his back. Curious who that new SOLDIER is though.

Ugh, they stick with 'Aerith'. I do wish they'd stop retconning the Final Fantasy games. I still haven't gotten used to FFIII being FFVI, a lesson I learned the hard way when I bought a guide for "Final Fantasy 3" and got a guide for a game I'd never seen. Yes, they were that way in Japan. I didn't grow up with these games in Japan.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Thu Sep 12, 2019 1:31 pm Ugh, they stick with 'Aerith'. I do wish they'd stop retconning the Final Fantasy games. I still haven't gotten used to FFIII being FFVI, a lesson I learned the hard way when I bought a guide for "Final Fantasy 3" and got a guide for a game I'd never seen. Yes, they were that way in Japan. I didn't grow up with these games in Japan.

I actually like that change.

Aeris was a mis-translation in the original, and she's been Aerith in the all the other FF VII iterations (Crisis Core, Advent Children, and Kingdom Hearts)

I think I must have played through FFVII four or five times on the PS1 when it came out, plus FF Tactics. That's a lot of hours spent with a character named 'Aeris' to be enjoy having it changed to something else 'because.'


/edit - just to be clear, in the grand scheme of things, this is an annoyance on the level of 'my left shoe is tied a little looser than my right.' It annoys me a little, but far too little to do anything about it beyond a random comment.

Seeing this makes me itchy to get a PS4 just to play the one game, however I'll never have the time to play it. The hours spent breeding Chocobos...

They should actually build in a super secret way to resurrect Aerith in this game.

El Guapo wrote: ↑Thu Sep 12, 2019 4:04 pm They should actually build in a super secret way to resurrect Aerith in this game.

Wait...you never figured out how to do this in the original game?!?

New trailer today, showing off lots more goodness. Hojo, Red XIII/Nanaki, Scarlett, Heidegger, Cloud in a dress ( ), JENOVA, and a bunch of new monsters.

Release date did get bumped back to April though.

Opening movie. I love how they mix elements of the main FFVII theme and "One Winged Angel" in the new music.

That looks really good. I played the original through probably three or four times. I'm going to have to wait to see the gameplay, though. I loved FF XV, but ended up not finishing it because I disliked the combat so much. It was so chaotic that half of the time I had no idea what was going on, as I'd be zipping back and forth between enemies scattered all over the place. I also dislike the current trend of turning them into one-character twitch action games with AI teammates.

I'd love to see this again, all spruced up, but part of the appeal of FFVII was that it was a strategy game that required thought rather than reflexes.

Demo for this came out today, just played through it. Graphics are fantastic, the music is wonderful, and the VO work is solid. Combat feels a lot like FF XV, but with the ability to slow things way down to issue orders. Felt a bit frantic, but I think it'll be really fun once I get the hang of things.

Demo didn't do a ton to change my two general opinions about this remake. One, that this is a game that will resonate really well with those of us with nostalgia for the original, but might fall flat for those who don't. Two, that I'll be squarely in the first camp.

Review embargo lifted this morning, and the reviews are surprisingly excellent (87 on Metacritic, as I write this). I'm a but shocked, as after playing the demo I was fairly convinced that this would resonate with FF VII fans but 'meh' with everyone else. Sounds like they've done an excellent job of creating something that is both true to the original and interesting enough for modern audiences.

I have it pre-loaded on my PS4 already, waiting for it to unlock. I'm actually taking a day off work to play it on Friday, which is something I haven't done in years.

Haven't been this excited for a game in a long, long time.

Played through the first 7 hours yesterday (my longest contiguous gaming session in years, btw). A few thoughts:

- So far, it does just the right amount of sticking to the main story notes and adding new content. Will be interested to see what these weird floating spirit things are all about. I have my theories (focusing primarily around Sephiroth clones), but they’re an entirely new layer to the story, so I’ll wait and see
- Seeing the actual impact Avalanche’s actions had on the citizens adds a whole ‘nother layer to the game.
- Watching the Section 8 slums come to life with actual people and stories is wonderful. I was all-in even on stupid side quests because they added so much to building the world.
- Combat is fun, but can get extremely difficult. Especially against large enemy groups where it’s hard to see who is attacking and when to block/dodge. Got through the first few bosses by the skin of my teeth, and imagine I’ll be dialing back the difficulty at some point.
- Materia system is just as awesome as the original.
- Soundtrack is incredible. It takes the original songs and tweaks them just enough to be recognizable but something new.
- Really great voice work across the board. Although it is a bit distracting to hear Matt Jones (Badger from Breaking Bad) as Wedge and Gideon Emery (Balthier from FF XII) as Biggs. Jessie’s actor is especially great, and I loved the side story that showed her background.

So far, so good. It’s everything I was hoping for, and then some. Can’t wait to dig in again later today.

I can agree with all that. I'm probably a bit behind you. There were a couple of moment where I got the nostalgic feels. And a couple more where I just had a big smile on my face for no particular reason. Tifa will just naturally do a pose I saw hundreds of times in the original. Barrett busted out singing the victory jingle after a battle. It's a really good game that can be enjoyed with no knowledge of the original. But it is so much more fun for those of us who remember it back in the day.

I agree that the downside is information flow in the middle of a heated battle. Who's attacking me? What hit me that hard? How did my HP get that low? Summons are kind of random, but they feel good when you get to bust them out. Hopefully equipment options open up soon. Materia is more fun with more slots. I'm a sucker for weapon upgrades that open more slots.

Hrothgar wrote: ↑Sat Apr 11, 2020 5:34 pm
I agree that the downside is information flow in the middle of a heated battle.

This was what really killed FFXV for me. I never really understood what was going on, so I never felt like I was in control, or making informed decisions.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Sat Apr 11, 2020 7:36 pm

Hrothgar wrote: ↑Sat Apr 11, 2020 5:34 pm
I agree that the downside is information flow in the middle of a heated battle.

This was what really killed FFXV for me. I never really understood what was going on, so I never felt like I was in control, or making informed decisions.

Yeah, it’s taken me nearly 9 hours to feel like I’ve got a pretty good handle on the combat. Even then, things can get chaotic and go sideways in a hurry. I’m still terrible at timing blocks and dodges, unless the mob is right in front of me. I also haven’t made a ton of use of support materia yet (barrier, etc), which I should probably look into doing.

Hrothgar wrote: ↑Sat Apr 11, 2020 5:34 pm There were a couple of moment where I got the nostalgic feels. And a couple more where I just had a big smile on my face for no particular reason. Tifa will just naturally do a pose I saw hundreds of times in the original. Barrett busted out singing the victory jingle after a battle. It's a really good game that can be enjoyed with no knowledge of the original. But it is so much more fun for those of us who remember it back in the day.

I’ve been impressed with the level of very subtle fanservice. Like you said, things that will go completely unnoticed for most people, but fans absolutely pick up on.

My favorite so far has been cutting back to Heidegger after a cutscene seemed over, simply so he could get in one last “GWA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!”

I generally can't get into games on consoles these days, but I picked this up out of nostalgia. Only played a couple of hours so far, but the story and visuals are great, and, as mentioned, the nods to the original are well done for anyone that's played it.

The combat I could do without, but then I think every FF game since 7 would have been better off with fully turn based combat. On the whole I'll probably play it until I get too fed up by the combat and then dust off the original and beat that again.

Sepiche wrote: ↑Sat Apr 11, 2020 10:11 pm I generally can't get into games on consoles these days, but I picked this up out of nostalgia. Only played a couple of hours so far, but the story and visuals are great, and, as mentioned, the nods to the original are well done for anyone that's played it.

The combat I could do without, but then I think every FF game since 7 would have been better off with fully turn based combat. On the whole I'll probably play it until I get too fed up by the combat and then dust off the original and beat that again.

Two things worth noting:

1. If you ever find yourself overly frustrated, you can adjust difficulty at any time. The “Easy” setting is really easy. I’ve only had to do it for one fight so far after I wiped half a dozen times. Hopefully won’t need it a ton, but it’s a nice option to have in case you hit a total wall.

2. In case you haven’t been following the development, this Remake only covers the first part of the game (the Midgar section). However, it beefs that portion up significantly into a full-fledged 40 hour game. The rest of the game will come out in other volumes (supposedly).

A couple other small touches I noticed tonight:

- The icon that flashes in the upper left when you save is the same shape as the standing Save points in the original.
- There’s still a coordinated switch puzzle, but in a very different place. LOL
- Airbuster fight is very similar, just on a much grander scale.
- When you can see the way Reno walks after a battle.

Such excellent call-backs.

How you view the difficulty may vary. Im currently on chapter 8 playing on normal and i haven't had a single wipe yet. I do make sure to constantly switch between party members to build up their atb meter quicker and i constantly issue battle commands. I also make sure to use the assess materia on every new bad guy so that i know their weaknesses and use that against them. Most bosses have a sub target that if taken out will stun them and then you can really pile on the damage.

I am loving this game, it is a near perfect remake. My only real complaint is the loading time when you want to talk to people or trigger events. I find that if you run up to people the load lag is noticable, but if you just walk it is better.

I write the above and the damn Toad King side quest wipes me. That's karma.

That damn toad is tough.

The Bumblebee Inn segment is definitely unique, i wasn't quite expecting that. It might be worth the price of admission alone. It's in chapter 9 so i won't spoil it, but just wait for it.

I wish there was a difficulty between Normal and Easy. Normal battles are starting to kick my ass on the regular, but Easy is just boring. You can simply button mash through everything.

I just got to Wall Market, that place is awesome. Another nice call-back with the hippie Materia vendor lounging in his tent.

The excellent job they've done in developing Aerith as a character is going to make that scene really difficult to (eventually) watch.

I'm in Chapter 11 playing on normal and I still have only wiped once so here are some tips on combat:

1. Dodge, Dodge, Dodge, having to manually dodge and anticipate attacks is crucial in the bigger fights.
2. Liberally switch between characters during the fight to build up their ATB meter faster.
3. Make sure the characters all have a nice spread of materia.
4. Use the Assess materia on everything and actually read it, they give away how to defeat each monster in the section on the left.
5. Make sure to learn each weapons ability with each character. It doesn't take long to do, most only have to be used 10 times during battle. I personally switch to each character and use their ability until it is learned.
6. Do All of the side quests. This helps with leveling and loot.
7. During battles healing item use is much faster than healing spells, so in the big battles I try to only use materia heals when I know I have the time, this way I don't get interrupted.

Also, once you beat the coliseum story part, go back and finish the optional coliseum challenges for both Cloud and Aireth. This will give you their tier 2 limit breaks. Cloud's in particular is extremely powerful.

Tried out the demo yesterday. It seemed pretty good and the graphics were great, but unfortunately the demo crashed after about 30 minutes. In any case, as good as it looked, I'm not sure I can get into the extremely linear JRPG format anymore. I've tried a time or two over the last few years and they just don't hold my interest like they used to.

I'm absolutely loving this so far (I'm at chapter 7). While I wish it was turn-based, I'm not minding the active battle as much as I did in other recent Final Fantasies. The nostalgia factor is through the roof -- and it's funny how the graphics feel like my memory of what the original looked like -- but even without the nostalgia I feel like this is shaping up to be one of my favorites in the series.

Scraper wrote: ↑Tue Apr 14, 2020 8:30 am I'm in Chapter 11 playing on normal and I still have only wiped once so here are some tips on combat:

1. Dodge, Dodge, Dodge, having to manually dodge and anticipate attacks is crucial in the bigger fights.

My main nemesis here is the camera more than the actual monsters. The camera never seems to be in the right place for me to see when the mob is attacking so I can be ready to dodge (even when I'm locked on), and trying to adjust it with the right thumbstick makes me change targets. It also unlocks whenever I get hit, which is super-obnoxious when you're trying to whittle down one out of multiple enemies.

My complaint about Easy being too easy is a minor one, tbh. I'm playing this way more for the wonderful world, characters, and story than I am for the challenge.

7. During battles healing item use is much faster than healing spells, so in the big battles I try to only use materia heals when I know I have the time, this way I don't get interrupted.

I've been trying that, but am afraid that I'm hamstringing myself by spending all my Gil on potions instead of materia or equipment upgrades.

Aerith’s voice actor had a very sweet reaction to seeing her work in the game for the first time.

As an aside, I really dislike when they retroactively change titles/spellings once they're established. I spent years playing Final Fantasy III (a story about Magitek and Espers), and now Final Fantasy 3 is an entirely different game. I spent hundreds of hours playing a game with a character named Aeris, and now it is Aerith.

Yes, I know. That's the way they were in Japan. But I'm not in Japan, and changing them years after the fact to match a different country's version just feels off.

</personalnitpick>

Aeris/Aerith I get (kinda), but 3 vs 6? You’re talking about two entirely different games. It would have been just as confusing (if not moreso) if they had tried to do some sort of weird renaming convention when they did finally bring the Japan-only FF games over to North America.

I looked up the soundtrack after playing tonight. I really like the music, but don’t think I $77 across 7 CDs like it.

More confusing than when I ordered a Final Fantasy III strategy guide a number of years back and received a guide to a game I'd never heard of? They took one of the best known SNES RPGs, changed its name, then released a different game under its old name. That's nuts.

Back on topic:

There is a section in chapter 13 where you get to play as Barrett only. It was really good. His play style is so different from everyone else that it was a nice change of pace. His one liners and humming makes me hope for more Barrett only sections.

Not really a spoiler but advice on weapons:

The Hell House can bite my arse.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Wed Apr 15, 2020 9:06 am The Hell House can bite my arse.

Lol, I knew that was coming. On a positive note if you can beat him it's easily the hardest fight for a bit. There is another one coming up which could be hard, but it's not as hard as the house. The key to that fight is using the correct magic attack depending on the house's current element. So if it's on fire use ice, in the air use Air attacks, etc. Also, Dodge, Dodge, Dodge.

During large portions of that fight I controlled Aireth. When the house hit the ground and didn't have it's physical shield up I switched back to Cloud.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Wed Apr 15, 2020 9:06 am The Hell House can bite my arse.

I mean, it's not The Pleasant Conversation House.