Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade is the definitive version of one of the best games ever made, and the inclusion of a new story chapter makes it that much more worthy of the title. In 2029, when the second half of the remake finally comes out, Square Enix will have (hopefully) figured out how to incorporate the DualSense 5 controller a little better, but by then, we might be talking about the DualSense 6, and the game will be uploaded to and played solely within our minds, so it may not matter anyway.
While it is the same game at heart, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade brings the first part of the remake to new heights with a 60 FPS gameplay option, some quality of life enhancements, much improved visuals, and a very fun new story episode starring Yuffie. The new tweaks and additions do not alter how the game feels and play, but there is no denying that they do make Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade the best way to enjoy one of the best role-playing games put out by Square Enix in the past few years.
Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade doesn't just add on to last year’s Final Fantasy VII Remake, but brings it to new heights. Playing the game one year later made us rediscover the overall quality of the battle system as well. Yuffie’s story is much more than just a new standalone chapter, as it enriches the game’s lore and story by depicting the Avalanche headquarters and their members in more detail than before. On new-gen hardware, the game has become even more immersive, resulting in an experience that’s worth going back to even if you’ve already beaten the original remake version.
Overall, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade is a solid package. It's not quite worth buying at full price if you've already played the original, but the upgraded original game and the DLC combine to create an excellent experience. Remake still holds up as a really fun game a year later, and Yuffie's side story shows that the developers still have plenty of ideas on how to keep the combat fresh for a sequel. If this is your first time playing Final Fantasy VII Remake, then Intergrade is absolutely the version to get.
It's not a huge difference over the main game, but all the improvements from Intergrade are a nice addition, and the perfect way to replay FFVII Remake. INTERmission is just the cherry on top... And a BIG tease that will leave you longing for Part II.
Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade shows the correct way to conclude a console generation’s journey. But beware - the Intermission episode won’t really satisfy the hunger for the next instalment - on the contrary, your impatience will probably only increase.
Intergrade not only reintroduces a fan-favorite character ahead of her fated meeting with Cloud, Tifa, Aeris, and Barrett, but it also lets us play with a few new mechanics and fleshes out a little more of the periphery of the main game’s narrative.
When Final Fantasy VII Remake was announced, longtime fans shed tears—and rightfully so. I was one of them. This isn’t just a simple remake; it’s a reimagining that expands upon the beloved original while respecting its **** game delivers a breathtaking experience: from its stunning visuals and modernized combat system to the way it deepens the original narrative. The characters feel more alive than ever, with voice acting, expressions, and details that make you connect to them on a whole new level. The music—already legendary in the original—is beautifully re-orchestrated, amplifying every emotional moment.What impressed me most is how the remake doesn’t just retell the story—it broadens it, offering fresh layers and surprises for both newcomers and veterans. It’s familiar yet bold, nostalgic yet **** fans of the original, this is a dream come true. And for those new to the series, it’s an unforgettable entry point into one of gaming’s greatest stories. Simply put, Final Fantasy VII Remake is an extraordinary achievement and a must-play.
Even though I’m not a fan of turn-based RPGs, the original Final Fantasy VII is one of the most iconic video games of all time, and for good reason. Even though the narrative can be a bit convoluted at moments, the selling point of that game for me was the characters, their interactions, and their development. Not to mention all of the big impactful moments that keep this story so iconic and memorable. Final Fantasy VII Remake is a game that has a lot of things holding it back from true greatness in my eyes, but it still has exceptional things about it. It’s beautiful visually, Midgar has so much detail put into it, the soundtrack is phenomenal, there are plenty of funny moments kept from the original game, the combat is extremely fun and innovative, and my favorite part of the game is the characters, their interactions, and development throughout the story. For the original FF7, the English translation for the game wasn’t completely accurate, so the way characters are portrayed in it isn’t exactly accurate to how they are. For Remake, however, the writing of the characters was handled with so much love and care, and it’s awesome to see them being brought to life in this remake and see their growth with one another by the end of the game, especially Cloud. Cloud went from being a snobby, selfish **** at the beginning of the game to a more caring, heroic, and compassionate man who ends up genuinely caring about others. It’s great to see how much care was put into the character writing in this game, but many flaws are a drawback for me. For starters, there are some extremely weird and pace breaking segments of this game, like the part where you have to move the handles on these machines at the same time and direction as Tifa. It wasn’t that bad at first, but what makes it worse is that you have to do it three times, and each time it gets more annoying than the last. I also hated the mechanic where you have to move the claws around to traverse Aerith through the area, which was so extremely sluggish, tedious, and made me not want to play anymore after it. Some of the chapters in this game are also slow and not very fun, like the one that's more puzzle focused and you have to help these child spirits. It was the most slow and boring chapter of the adventure, and it’s stuff like this that makes me not want to replay this game. I also don’t like how the game doesn’t tell you things, the mostly optional side quests (thankfully), and its bloated length, taking me 24 hours just to finish the main campaign. All of these things make it sound like I didn’t like the game, but I do, it just has a lot holding it back from me loving it. Still, if you love Final Fantasy and have played the original FF7, then I highly recommend this title. And as for the Intergrade DLC, it’s alright, I don’t have much to say about it. I love Yuffie and she must be protected no matter what.
I tried to like the game, but in the end the negative aspects were just too severe. I am not one of those who played the original, so I played this game with no expectations and with no fond memories of those heroes, so my opinion is not biased in favor of FF7 Remake. The story is not good. The main cast and the group they belong to, Avalanche, an environmental terrorist group, is just the worst group I have seen so far. Their sole motivation is that the Shinra company is bleeding the world dry, so they commit terrorist acts and blow up Mako reactors, which could have catastrophic effects on the humans living around those reactors. In the end, with the help of Shinra, those reactor explosions become a huge catastrophe, and this also results in Shinra’s backlash toward Avalanche. Many, many bystanders die because of that. Barret says after he blew up the first reactor that he knew this was going to be messy, but it's a price he is willing to pay. Dude. I liked some of the characters during their small conversations, but overall, they are all just horrible terrorists. That does not make the Shinra company any worse or better. That was what I disliked about the story, and anyone not seeing any problem with that should rethink their stance toward human life. Gameplay-wise, I disliked the many, almost never-ending slow walk areas and the crawl areas. The side quests were also just horrible fetch quests. The game settings are also very un-fantasy-like, always in a slum, between rubble or just metal. So in total, this is a high production dumpster fire, and in my opinion, anyone who likes this game either has low expectations from games, is easy to please, or is just a massive fan of the original. Maybe I did expect too much and got disappointed? I would not recommend paying more than 20 bucks for this game.
I'm one of those people, who haven't played the original FFVII. Before I started playing this Remake, I've played the Final Fantasy XV as my first FF and completely loved it. So I got into this game with really high expectations and got heavily disappointed. Main and side characters: First, the characters in your group are really annoying. Jessie literally screaming at you every second to "not go there, go right" in one of the beginning main story quests already got me being annoyed so hard at her and her annoying character in front of Cloud just made it worse. Characters, including Cloud, are also VERY naive, walking into buildings full of enemys thinking they don't get caught etc. In addition to that, the conversations are so... Flat and boring it's ridiculous. Fighting / control system: The fighting system is just weird. I've never played a game before where you have to attack with square - and also can't even change it. Items in combat can only be used when you have ATB - so if you are almost dead you can't use vita magic nor items when your ATB is low?! Also, when walking around normally, you can't even jump or roll around the world. Like literally Cloud can't jump the most little rock. In some places, he randomly can't walk faster and you have to walk slow just because someone behind you talks to you. Fast Travelling: Fast Travelling is introduced so late that you don't even need it anymore. Before that, you literally have to run through the same miles long streets 2-3 Times so you are already bored and annoyed. Also, Fast Travelling is so much more expensive (300 Gil in a game where you have little amount if items to sell) than in XV (literally 5 Gil and you can get rich so fast). Story: I don't know if it's because of I haven't played the original game but I don't understand anything of the story. There is no introduction to the world with Mako, reactors etc nor whats exactly the problem with it, it's like everything is lacking of information. Same for the SOLDIER thing (1000 times they said to Cloud "Oh you're a SOLDIER!" but NO explanation of what this is.). You get a few more information really late in the game but they still don't answer the questions and just come way too late.
Because of this, I lost track of the story in game really fast even more and also got heavily bored by it. If you can't explain it so I at least rarely understand it, then don't make a game.
I also had the feeling that there were soo many Cutscenes which where just unnecessary or way to long for what they wanted to tell me. Bosses and Fights: Too repetitve. There is a scene where you fight on a motorcycle for example. The first time it's cool and something different. Why doing the exact same thing again in Chapter 17? Also, there are 2 or 3 bosses you have to fight two times in the main story and there is almost no variation in enemys around the world / game. Side quests: I don't even want to say much to this. The side quests are so damn boring and unnecessary that I just did the ones I was "forced" to. Graphics: the only thing that was really positive on this game. Liked the graphics, especially the look of the cutscenes. Some other positive things: Liked the idea of items in sale in a few places. Also, the map is pretty "linear" and you never have huge problems to find out where exactly you have to go for the main story. I like the fact we can control the other characters in fights too, as some of them are way more effective against some enemies than Cloud. Overall, I will definietly not play Rebirth, most probably not even when it's free in PS Plus one day.
SummaryFINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE expands upon and reimagines the spectacular world of the original PlayStation game. It covers up through the escape from Midgar and is the first game in the FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE project. INTERGRADE is a bundle that includes both REMAKE and the new episode featuring Yuffie. In her episode, play as the spirited...