While I do agree that the game has some flaws like pacing issues especially towards the end, pretty boring side quests and some minor technical hick ups I have to say this has been one of the best roller coasters I have ever experienced in a game. Yes the nostalgia played a role in it, but why does that have to be a bad thing? Seeing Aerith or Tifa for the first time. Even my first steps into sector 7. I was giggling like a school girl BECAUSE I played the original and I just dont understand why thats a bad thing for some people. Anyway.
This game has a phenomenal emotional pacing, something some of the great games of last year were missing. This game goes from exiting, to curios, to mundane, to action, to chill and relax, to super funny and over the top, to wholesome, to crippling sadness, to remorse, to hope, to ... some pacing issues ... to fuck yeah lets do this, to ... some pacing issues .... again .... to full throttle boss roulette to what the fuck is even happening right now, to .... fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck I gotta wait like 3 years now
. Ok lets play hard mode.
Compared to The Last Of Us Part 2, which goes something like this: Everything is shit, there was a time when stuff was slightly less shit, but now everything is shit for like 20 hours. And I get it, thats somewhat the point, but I felt so numb towards the end, that I just didnt care anymore. And again, maybe thats the point, but somehow I think the game would have profited from some better emotional pacing. The "shitty" parts were too long imho.
And as much as I like God of War, Horizon, Ghost, Spiderman and similar games, they kind of do one kind of emotion and thats about it. Maybe there is one or two scenes that spice things up for like 5 minutes but there isnt an entire chapter thats just bonkers and hilarious, just to kick you while your down a few hours later. You need highs to experience the lows.
The sad parts in FF7R work because you are having fun with the characters. Because you go through insane shit, you bind with them. Doesnt matter if there are plot ghosts. Who cares. People are acting like the original had this amazing untouchable story. But its anime as fuck. I'm playing through it right now, trust me. Alien comes to the planet, kills everyone, gets defeated, mad scientist discovers it, literally implants alien cells into an embryo to breed a super human and that super human gets mad as fuck at society and wants to travel to other planets by killing everything on this planet first. You know. Shakespeare.
Its never been the overall story that was so special, it has always been the characters and how they deal with the absurd shit thats being thrown at them and its the characters that ground the story and give it emotional weight. So again, who cares about plot ghosts, they can go as crazy as they please, as long as the characters are being kept intact and I think they managed that above everything else. And people who complain about the writing should really play the OG again. It aint pretty at times. But again its fine, the characters still shine through and thats what is important.
That feeling of being among a bunch of weird crazy ass people that you call your friends and traveling the world defeating whatever is stupid enough to cross your Buster sword. Its the fantasy I have since Pokemon and those PS1 Final Fantasy's satisfied this desire. And after playing FF7R I fell like I have finally found another group of people that are crazy enough to go out with me so save this god damn planet!
So yeah I liked it.