I finished Final Fantasy 7 this weekend. I completely see why this game gets so much praise. It's now up there with FF 3/6 and 9 in terms of my favorites. Coming off of the Dragon Quest XI high that I was on, I expected my love for that game to lessen my enjoyment of this one, but that couldn't be far from the truth. They're too different to even compare. That being said, I CAN compare FF7 to the last FF game I played - FF 8. While I enjoyed my time with 8 for the most part, comparing it now to 7, there's no contest. FF 8 almost feels like a slap in the face coming after 7. Yes, the graphics and animations are much better, and at times the soundtrack can be better. However, the key component of these games, the characters and their stories, is done so much better in 7. I also kind of dig the goofy character models all around in 7, it gives it this weird charm, and you never know what you're going to get as the game progresses.
Alright, lets talk about all the things I liked in this game. I think the thing this game does best is the character stories. We get to see each characters motivations, a bit of their pasts, and arguably a little bit of growth (maybe less so with Vincent). I loved the parts with the Turks and the Shinra execs as well. For the most part, everyone ties together really well, and they seem real. I also like the Materia system and combat in general. Leveling up seemed to help you unlike in 8. I like that most of the combat systems (main attacks, magic, summons, etc) all seemed to have a place, and were viable to use in many situations. I also liked how open the game felt, even though it was linear for the most part, and how the vehicles keep you from going places you shouldn't. The side quests are meaningful and typically worth the time. Finally, the final battle is completely insane, like any good FF game. It makes little sense, especially when Sephiroth hits your team with solar flare. It's way over the top and a lot of fun. One question: does Cloud still get to use Omnislash here even if you haven't unlocked it?
Going back to the characters, I heard that the remake gives some of the side characters early on a much bigger role. I love this idea and I hope that some of the stuff outside of Midgar gets a big lore expansion as well. In particular, I'd love to get even more time with the Turks, and maybe a side part with Cait Sith to explore his motivations more. Finally, near the end of the game, Cloud tells everyone to leave the airship and take some time to explore why they're fighting. Some of these were explored throughout, like Barrett and Tifa, but Vincent, Cid and Yuffie could be heavily expanded. I'd really like to get a chance to go see what each character did during this time.
I honestly don't have much in terms of negatives to say here. Sure, the graphics are dated, and other than the Weapons the difficulty is a bit on the easy side, especially if you grinded out Aeris' final Limit Break for the Achievement/Trophy. But those are easy to ignore because everything else works really well. I think my biggest negative around this game is I don't know what I'm going to play next after back-to-back classics.