Chronicling the completion of the backlog, one game at a time.

This is Coffee from Games with Coffee, and welcome to Backlog Busting! As the tagline above says, I’m writing about the games in my backlog that I’ve completed in 2024. I’ll share what I enjoyed, what I didn’t, and whether or not it was worth my time and investment. At the end, I’ll share a Busting Grade – an aggregate rating made up of four categories: Length, Difficulty, Replay Value and Fun Factor. Scoring explanations will be found at the end of the post for reference.

Game number four is actually my first completed platinum in the longest time – Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade for the PS5. Let’s dig into the report.

Old Friends, Old Setting, New Story

I won’t delve too much into the backstory of Remake; I’m saving that for a critique I’m working on. Instead, I’ll tell you a story.

Four years ago, your favourite caffeine addict purchased Final Fantasy VII Remake on the day of its release. I was ecstatic about it – it’s Final Fantasy VII for goodness sake! A remake of one of the three games that have defined who I am, of course, I have to get it! I even decided to stream it on Twitch.

But then I started playing it.

At first, I was really happy with the presentation. I vibed with Cloud and Barret – their banter was excellent. And then the first change happened – the Reactor #1 bombing was hijacked by Shinra. The next change – the introduction of the Whispers – threw me for a loop. “What’s their purpose in this?” I asked myself. “Why are they here?” And then more changes happened and I started getting more uncomfortable. “This isn’t the Final Fantasy VII Remake I wanted? They’ve changed too much! It’s almost unrecognizable!”

Granted, there were bright spots to it. I loved how the main cast interacted with one another. The environments were very detailed, despite the fact that it suffered from the same corridor navigation issues brought up in Final Fantasy XIII. And the combat, *chef’s kiss*. I loved it! I couldn’t get enough of it. Until I did get enough of it.

I hit the end of the game, the lead-up to the final battle against fate and Sephiroth and I just… stopped. I couldn’t keep going. “Why was Tetsuya Nomura (and I blamed Nomura a lot during these times) Kingdom Hearts-ing Final Fantasy?!” I asked repeatedly as the plot developed. No matter how much I loved the new combat system, I couldn’t get away from the story changes. I joined alongside others who shared my frustrations and declared that this was “Not our Remake.” I even said I could write a better story, one that honours the original but tweaks it for modern purposes (and is fanfiction that uses elements from Sonic the Hedgehog, but I’m rambling at this point).

I didn’t beat Final Fantasy VII Remake until mid-2023, a full three years after I stopped streaming it. I was disappointed at the ending, at first. But then, things started to click. This isn’t supposed to be like the original, nor is it a retelling or even a mere reimagining. Remake is the original team’s way of telling the story how they intended to, but couldn’t due to various factors. Hardware limitations, cut content, etc. They also want to divest it from the legacy of the original title. The Whispers are a metaphor for us gamers who wanted the story to stay as is. Stay the course and remake the game but don’t change anything about it. Leave in the things that were OK in 1997, even though they wouldn’t fly over well twenty-three years later. For Remake to work, it had to let go of whatever the OG did, while cleaning up a slew of plot holes. Granted, they created new holes while filling out the old ones, but since this is only the first of three games, the devs have time to fill those in. Hopefully.

Anyway, when I picked up my PS5, the first, full game I decided to play was Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, an upgrade to the original game released in 2021. It was free, too, since I had the original PS4 copy. All I had to do was pop the disk in and I was off to the races. I thought of migrating my save file from my PS4 to the PS5, but I refrained from doing so. I wanted to start from scratch and play this with an open heart. And I was glad I did so.

Busting Report

Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade is a performance and visual upgrade from the PS4 version. Taking advantage of the console’s power, Remake Intergrade plays very smoothly with no lags or slow down in framerate, even when things were busy. Loading times were also incredibly short. Visually speaking, the game is breathtaking. Even if I was herded through corridors, I caught myself looking up at the Plate and at my surroundings many times during my multiple playthroughs. Say what you will about Remake, it’s a really nice looking game.

In total, I spent over 80 hours on Remake. Forty-five of those were spent on the main campaign with the remainder spent on post-game grinding, playing Hard Mode and trophy collecting. Since I played the game already, I didn’t have to relearn too much. This time around, I payed much more attention to details, which paid off after I completely neglected the fact that Cloud has a built-in counterattack in his Punisher Mode! I should’ve read the fine print four years ago haha.

I’ve also learned that, despite its trappings as an ARPG, Final Fantasy VII Remake still retains its roots in strategic turn-based battle. A big part of strategy is watching the ebb and flow of battle – that is, when to use commands and spells and when to hold off, lest you get interrupted and lose all that valuable ATB. Before, I felt that I had been conditioned to continually pressure, not realizing that a better approach is to hang back and watch enemy movements and patterns. This was the key for me clearing Hard Mode with relative ease.

Another key factor is Materia and Weapon Customizations. Independent and Command Materia play a huge part in clearing Hard Mode. The Magnify Support Materia is highly useful with Aerith and Barret, due to their long-range capabilities. High-leveled Elemental Materia combined on Cloud and Tifa’s weapon slots turn them into devastating machines capable of mowing down almost anything in their path. My strategy for tough encounters usually involve Cloud and my third character (Aerith or Barret) focusing on staggering an enemy while Tifa buffs using Unbridled Strength. When staggered, I switch to Tifa, unload all of her special Triangle attacks to build stagger % and then follow up with True Strike. All while using high-damage special abilities with the other characters.

Honestly, I can talk about Remake all day, if given the chance. That’s just how much fun I had with this game. I even started gelling with the story a bit, especially after I finished up Crisis Core Remastered last year. The Whispers were still a weird and ham-fisted inclusion, but they’re necessary to visualize our favourite characters breaking through the pre-determined narrative that we all know and love (and memorized, in my case). I can see myself playing Remake as a yearly thing, just like I do with Final Fantasy VII, except I’ll probably play in Hard Mode exclusively because I love how the MP restoration limitation forces me to adapt. Heck, I can’t wait to play the next game, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, but that will have to wait until after I knock out the majority of my backlog.

Backlog Busting Grade

Length: 1/5

Difficulty: 4/5

Replay Value: 5/5

Fun Factor: 5/5

Busting Grade: B+

The Backlog Busting Grade is an aggregate letter grade made up of four categories: Length, Difficulty, Replay Value and Fun Factor. A high grade means that the game in review is an excellent addition to the backlog. On the other hand, a low grade means that you can choose to pass up on this title if you wish. Honestly though, the grades aren’t meant to be taken seriously – this is just me having fun with clearing my backlog. Your mileage may vary depending on preferences, time commitments, etc.

Each category is given a score out of five. Length measures how long a game took for me to complete. 5 being extremely short (30 minutes – 1 hour) and 1 being extremely long (40+ hours). Difficulty is self-explanatory – 5 for being very easy and 1 for being very hard. Replay Value scores how likely I’ll return to play again. 5 for most likely and 1 for never touching it again. And Fun Factor measures how much fun I had with the title. 5 for lots of fun and 1 for no fun at all.