Final Fantasy VII Remake Review - War Council Gaming

Like Final Fantasy VII before it, Final Fantasy VII Remake is a product of its time and the company behind it. Unfortunately, this time around that isn’t a good thing.

[Nodoze]

Yeah ok. CLICK BAIT not taken.

[Nacho_Z]

I read most of it and it was a load of waffle that read as a 7/10 at the absolute worst.

They should be embarrassed about being so blatant about scoring for clicks. No integrity whatsoever.

[Justfoxy]

This is not about score though. people are way to focused on the score. the contents of the review are spot on. looking at his site. he has his own review scoring system and the scoring is explained here - https://warcouncilgaming.co...

[jambola]

Everyone's praising it
Only way for people like this to get attention

[WhoIsThis33]

I question your analysis of integrity when all of this review was honest. A honest account of WarCouncilGaming's play-through. Its clear you don't agree with his scoring or opinion, which is fine but his review not having any integrity just because it conflicts with your view of the game? Moot point there bud.

[8bitRey]

Right?! Petty review without having to read it lol

[RpgSama]

Lol, this is one of the best games this generation, and this comes from someone that still has their PSX copy of FFVII, it's successful both as a remake and as a stand alone game.

[WarCouncilGaming]

I'm glad you enjoyed it! Lots of folks, of course, have as well haha.

I still have my FFVII copy, as well as my FFVIII, FFIX, etc. The PSOne is a bit beat up but it's still functional - managed to play Legend of Dragoon on it earlier this year!

Whether or not I liked this game it's not going to stop it from selling millions of copies. The next game will sell just as well. I just didn't enjoy it the same as others and had a different experience.

[WarCouncilGaming]

Promise this isn't click bait. I run no ads on the site, and none on Youtube. I don't take free game copies, and as you can tell by other comments here, if I was chasing clout this isn't the way to go about it.

I simply didn't enjoy the game like others have which is apparently hard to believe despite doing my best to explain in great detail why I feel the way I do.

I get that everyone thinks every review that is counter the norm is click bait. I remember the Kevin VanOrd times at Gamespot, too, but people get really trigger happy with that term.

[AFKghost]

Instant fan based on your interactions with critics here. Bookmarked your site based on that and will check it out. It blows me away at the immaturity of some of the writers for the bigger name gaming news sites when offered any sliver of criticism .

[jambola]

Well lines like "Unfortunately, this time around that isn’t a good thing." Don't help
It comes across as "yeah other people might have liked it, but let us tell you the correct way to feel"

[Elda]

Not worth a click.

[WhoIsThis33]

but you clicked to leave this comment?

[Elda]

&?

[Ready4nxtgen]

Gtfoh, this game and the follow ups will go down in history

[PastorDave]

Sure will, but that was essentially guaranteed the moment it was announced, and would have been the case even if the project ended up getting cancelled. That it will go down in history is not itself a mark of quality.

[Spurg]

The game was top-notch it's only the ending that was trash.
The game was misleading as it not a remake...the remake here is in reference to the timeline which is being remade by Nomura. A task that will be near impossible as the future games will cut content severely.

[Phoenix029]

Timeline is being remade by Sephiroth lol. I think the ending opens this up to be better as a sequel to ff7 rather than a straight modernisation.

[Spurg]

But the game was sold with that premise in mind...we didn't know Nomura was changing the timeline. All of that excitement to relive that story is now gone. They re-cutting corner for sure so that might mean the WEAPONs might not even be in the game. I don't know how but this is quite a mess they have put themselves in.

[NukeDaHippies]

All the new contents writing sucked so bad.....you want the rest of the games to be more Nomura? A modernisation would be ifinititely better then some nomura sequel, but not sequel.

The worst part is the writing is good in alot of parts of the game, which is not Nomura at all. It honestly feels like 2 different people's vision sometimes.

[WarCouncilGaming]

That's very much how I felt, NukeDaHippies.

Severe whiplash towards the end. Really felt like two different teams almost working against each other. Voice acting was amazing, though!

[garos82]

how in the hell is it NOT A REMAKE? its certainly not a remaster. You do know the difference between the 2 i hope

[antikbaka]

nah it wasn't.

7/10

Bike rides were annoying. Shinra base part of the game was too long.
And texture quality of the world and NPC were just horrible.

Whispers were cheap tricks, deus ex machina.

[VerminSC]

Good to know what sites to avoid.

[WarCouncilGaming]

Fair enough! Appreciate you at least considering checking out the review.

[CatCouch]

This was rough to read through. Way too much hate with overblown complaints about low res textures and "embarrassing and insulting" writing. Paragraphs of redundant complaints about writing being the worst ever.

It's like a checklist of every obnoxiously negative review trope rolled into one 49 paragraph long article.
Reviewer even pulled the "waifu" female characters make me uncomfortable line...

[WarCouncilGaming]

Redundant complaints only if they aren't your shared complaints, I suppose.

Also I'm not entirely sure why saying the waifu scenes occasionally making me uncomfortable is a bad thing. As much as I love watching some anime, and as much as I love my JRPGs, this game really leaned into that stuff in a way that was off putting to me - that's all.

Thanks for reading it, anyway! It's a slog even if it was content you enjoyed haha. It's by far the longest review I've written in years.

[garos82]

i appreciate your balls for standing up to your silly article, but its just that :silly.

[CatCouch]

Looking over other reviews on the site, I think I can say we have very different tastes in games. I love games like FFVII R and Nier Automata, both of which you gave a 2/5 (or is it 2/6?). I love the art and character designs in these games, I definitely don't share the "why does this exist" sentiment for waifu design choices, I draw that stuff for a living!

I think what throws me off the most is the review scale. I typically don't think of a 2 out of 6 score to be "fans will be ok with it". I appreciate the acknowledgement that review scales are really wonky, I remember Game Informer listing a 7 as "maybe rent it: back in the day, but I can't help but feel War Council Gaming has a even wonkier scale.

[derweissewolfe]

Yawn...unknown site gives popular high-rated game a low score for clicks...I'll pass. How original /s

[blix2006]

low review for shock value... nice try :D

[Mystickay86]

Pay the Troll toll.

Not clicking.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

lol no

[CrimsonWing69]

2 out of 5... wow.

I thought this was some of the most fun I’ve had gaming this gen and to be honest I haven’t liked an FF title since 12. I didn’t have faith Square could pull this off, but they did wonderfully.

2 out of 5 is a ridiculous score to give this game.

[WarCouncilGaming]

I'm happy you enjoyed it! I know lots of folks who did. I just so happened to not be one of them haha. I'm not alone, but I'm not exactly standing among a number of folks either.

[CrimsonWing69]

I get that it’s your opinion but if you’re getting feedback that contradicts your opinion than possibly you’re not very good at being a game critic. I’m so confused on what the point of reviews are nowadays.

I always thought they were to inform people about a game to help with making purchasing decisions but now it’s more like anybody can write some opinion piece and call it a day because after all it’s their opinion and who is to say you’re right or wrong.

I just think you’re going to lose a lot of credibility as a critic on this one. I, for one, will be avoiding reviews from WarCouncilGaming because to me it appears that you can’t identify a good game from a bad game.

[PastorDave]

"Good" and "Bad" in gaming are pretty subjective. We are all pros at ignoring faults or qualities we don't like when it comes to something we love, whether that's in ourselves, in a partner or spouse, or in our kids even. The same is true for gaming. I can love WoW Classic and still admit it has major faults. Every game review ever has been a personal opinion, whether that opinion has been coloured by nostalgia, a pay cheque or other factors, every opinion is a biased opinion. Finding a reviewer who shares your biases is the real trick. And if you want a game review to help you decide whether or not to buy a game, then wouldn't you want a review that points out some apparent faults and other things that detract from the experience?

[CrimsonWing69]

So essentially reviews are pointless because you’re just looking for someone that gives the critique you’re looking for?

Yea that doesn’t sit well with me. We should just get rid of reviews all together and just say Bob Joe’s Opinion on Game because that’s all they are. A kid walking down the street could say “so-and-so game” sucks and he has just as much validity as a “professional” reviewer by your sentiment.

I just feel as a game critic there has to be some sort of credibility and knowledge as well as striving to be as humanly objective as possible within a critique.

I am not a fan of Skyrim, hell I find it boring as all hell and irritating to play, but even I can recognize as a game, by design, it was pretty amazing. I wouldn’t give it a 2 out of 5. I’d definitely inject personal experience and feeling into the review to enrich the review and give the reader something to take into account from my personal experience, but I wouldn’t let my bias dictate the score. That’s where I think there’s a separation between being a game critic and just writing some middle school book report.

Also, I don’t buy that any game is good and bad just based on your preferences and bias. You can surely dislike a “good” game and enjoy a “bad” game, but there’s definitely factual elements that I feel can distinguish a game like Mother Truckers from Forza Horizon. I think if a reviewer said Mother Truckers was a 5/5 and a must own and the same reviewer said Forza Horizon is a 1/5 and do not purchase the game because he said so, loses any validity as a game critic.

Either way, this War Council Gaming site seems to prove to me that they can’t distinguish a good game from a bad game, so I’ll definitely avoid clicking on/viewing anything from them.

[PastorDave]

In response to your reply to me below (because the comment system means I can't respond directly to that comment? Weird).
I never said reviews are pointless, I said they are subjective. I repeat that it is possible to love something we know isn't technically "good." It's also possible to give different weights to different aspects of the game, just as a Final Exam in school is weighted differently than a random pop quiz. If music, voice acting and graphics are heavily weighted for you, then sure, FF7R qualifies at a 7 or 8 out of 10. If a robust, user friendly combat system and quality storytelling throughout the game are more heavily weighted, then the game will seems less impressive.

Reviews are opinions, backed up by observation, experience and balancing promises/expectations with the final product. Credibility is based on consistency and on a meaningful reference scale (War Council Gaming has his own review system, with specific, defined meanings for each number of stars, plus an array of unique "badges" for outstanding areas like graphics, music, etc that are independent from the "_/5" system).

I already conceded the point that it is possible to like a game that has technical and production issues - WoW Classic is a quintessential example of this. Some people love it and will continue to spend countless hours in the game, while others will dismiss it as a relic of 2004 that has not aged well and wasn't even particularly outstanding in it's day. The difference is that we have had 15+ years to come to terms with it's failings while FF7R's age can still be conveniently counted in weeks.

If you want to get a sense of War Council Gaming's level of consistency, then check out the other reviews on the site. They are consistent with this review. Unfortunately there aren't a lot of games available for a close comparison with FF7R, as in your example of Mother Truckers & Forza. The closest comparisons are probably FF13 and FF15, which easily had their own issues. Coincidentally, War Council Gaming also gave FF15 2/5 stars and a pair of (different) badges. Factual elements are important, and the fact is that there are issues with FF7R. Many people have overlooked them or weren't very bothered by them, clearly, but that does not mean, objectively, that they do not exist. Nor does the fact that there are issues prevent people from enjoying the game.

I for one am glad there are a variety of opinions available, and even though you or I may not agree with all of them, having some meaningful contrast is valuable in the game-review scene.

[CrimsonWing69]

Opinions are fine but in the context of reviews I do think you lose credibility if you can’t review a game without letting that bias/opinion be the only deciding factor. The same goes for someone that reviews something overtly positive.

In this case giving a game like this a 2/5 is completely inaccurate. I get that he may have not enjoyed it, but he’s writing for an audience that some (or in this case many) do not share that sentiment or bias. How does this help people out? How does this even accurately inform an audience wondering if they should play this game other than this is just a game this guy didn’t like?

If he wants to write an opinion piece then by all means it’s his god-given right to do so, but I do believe there’s more to a review than just an opinion.

You’re not going to convince me otherwise. I appreciate the debate here, but having played this game and having played many games in this genre I can tell you this is not a bad game, regardless of your preferences.

Like, I said before, you can absolutely put your personal feelings into a review, it gives contrast and a different perspective on things, but to inform the audience with a score completely founded on that bias/preference doesn’t properly inform individuals that don’t share the same opinion as the critic.

You have to think to yourself, how pointless are reviews then if anyone can just cherry-pick the one that shows the score they want? Nawwww, i still don’t buy what you’re saying, there’s more to writing a review than simply writing an opinion piece. I think that’s a qualification that maybe people need to go through before being a reviewer? Maybe having a larger palette and knowledge on a variety of games and genres before being able to critique the game? I’m not trying to be facetious or sarcastic here. I appreciate the discussion, but this “review” comes off to me as someone who either doesn’t know what they’re talking about or hasn’t played enough games to where they can properly critique games.

[Jorboc]

"Reviews are opinions, backed up by observation, experience and balancing promises/expectations with the final product."

This is really what it comes down to, and yes, you should absolutely be able to "just cherry-pick the one that shows the score they want?" Chances are, that reviewer has similar taste in games to you, thus giving their opinion value TO YOU.

If I love a game, I'm not going to let one reviewer that didn't live rent-free in my head; I'm going to find a reviewer that loves that game as well, and check out what else they love. If I find more games to enjoy because of that, then that reviewer now has more value to ME. I'm not going to lose respect for that (or this particular) reviewer because anyone else doesn't like them.

Try to find a reviewer you love > Trying to insult/invalidate the community of one you don't.

[PastorDave]

I also appreciate your willingness to dialogue, and there's no need to drag the discussion on if you don't want to, because it's plain that neither one of us it likely to sway the other. Certainly in regards to the game, and apparently also not in regards to the reviewer either. No problem, just a difference of opinions.

However, the last thing I would ask you to consider is the particular review scale used by War Council Gaming, with does NOT translate well to the more common 10 point system. Simply translating the 2/5 from War Council Gaming into a 4/10 is a gross misrepresentation of the system and the review score's intentions. You can read a short explanation of this system on the About page on the site: warcouncilgaming.com/about/

The explanations there will clarify what the system is, why it is preferred and what exactly a 2/5 really means (which is where I think a lot of the misunderstandings are coming from). You are still free to disagree, naturally, and there are no hard feelings on my part at all. Thanks again for explaining your issues/concerns and for taking the time to read my responses!

[Donnie81]

I’m only about 10 to 15 hours in but I find the review laughable. I understand a few of the points made but no way this game isn’t an 8 plus. But to each their own I guess

[WarCouncilGaming]

You'll probably enjoy it if you're having a good time to that point! Have fun with it!

[Donnie81]

Thanks man!

[FlyGuyHung]

What a joke. Just Platinum this a few days ago and this review is nonsense. Sure it isn't perfect, but that score is ridiculous.

[WarCouncilGaming]

That's dedication! Haha I couldn't do that myself, but that's awesome that you enjoyed it so much.

[PaleMoonDeath]

lol

[Babadook7]

I really don't think this reviewer is being honest here. In all categories, this offers some of the the finest examples of what a game should do to impress. The salt is real.

[WarCouncilGaming]

I'm a pretty awful liar, unfortunately.

However, if you enjoyed the game that's awesome!

[SyntheticForm]

When I look at his comments, then yours, it's abundantly clear who's licking the walls of the salt mine, and it isn't WarCouncil, the reviewer.

He's a friendly, personable and good-hearted reviewer, while you're an overly defensive and aggressive fanboy.

[WarCouncilGaming]

It's ok if you don't like the review but I promise you it wasn't written to chase clicks. I don't run ads on Youtube (other than what Google places which I don't get paid for) or the website. I don't take free copies of games, either.

I'm not exactly going to gain anything by giving it a low review - no more than I would by giving it a higher review score. Believe it or not, some people can not like game that others love haha.

I certainly wasn't expecting to catch this much attention, so I appreciate it all the same. I'll take the good with the bad.

Cheers!

[Justfoxy]

Reading the comments on this page about the score being "low for click bait" is laughable. everyone has a different scoring system and reviews should only be about the contents of the review. if you click on the stars on the website it takes you to https://warcouncilgaming.co... this explains the scoring system he has and will make the 2 out of 5 make sense

[Maywell]

The game is at least 8/10 for probably every kind of gamer. No kidding, no trolling, just comment.

For me it is 9/10

[garos82]

the fighting system alone warrants a 8/10

[garos82]

its for those reasons i gave 8/10 there are some issues. But overall the gameplay in battles is awesome and highly disagree that Tifa doesnt have much of a point, i thought so too initially until my replay on hard mode. The fighting system is VERY versatile and there is plenty of variations in tactics. Loved it

[PastorDave]

You're allowed to like the game and give it whatever score you personally feel it deserves, but to presume to speak for "every kind of gamer" is a bit of a stretch :)

[Melankolis]

The writer just don't like this game so he gave it a low score, that's it.

I believe in generalization, it's statistic. When the game is generally scored decent and you find a score very low far from the average, you can ignore it.

After all, FF7R is a mainstream game, not a niche one, that makes it easier to generalize.

[jambola]

Random site I've never heard of giving popular game obscenely low score 🤔
Yep
Smells like clickbaity garbage to me

[WhoIsThis33]

Well,If you went to the website, you'll become more familiar with his reviews so it wont be so random anymore :)

A games popularity status doesn't immediately mean it deserves a high score - popularity isnt a free pass. It should be held to a standard and analysed to that standard. WarcouncilGaming does a wonderful job in staying objective when he reviews games, which is a quality any good critic should have and not let emotions or nostalgia interfere with his analysis.

Wouldn't you want an objective review rather than a biased one?

[jambola]

no such thing as an objective review
everyone has personal feelings and thoughts decide things

[Edito]

I think we played different games...

[DrRobotnik]

Click Bait

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

Having only played up to chapter 8, I feel as though this game is at least a solid 7 or 8 out of 10.

[PastorDave]

Games these days aren't what they used to be, and neither are game reviews. Both have "evolved" to survive as the world has changed, but that doesn't mean either system has changed for the better. Gone are the days of Nintendo Power and PlayStation Magazine. Game companies discovered it was much cheaper just to farm out their promo-reviews to independent groups and websites who were too desperate for cash themselves to turn down the cheques.

Reviews that depart from the popular norm are voices crying out in the wilderness for critical thinking and who believe that better gaming experiences are possible. I know this is the internet, where feelings and impressions carry far more weight than constructive feedback or honest concern about game systems and story direction. When the debate becomes restricted to "who is the wrong kind of fanboy ('the purist' or 'the hype-ster')" instead of what are the actual merits or failings of a game, then there's not really any point left in reviewing games.

The challenge for anyone who wants reviews, is to find a reviewer who shares their values and outlook on gaming. For that we need a variety of reviews, review systems, and even *gasp* reviewers. If this one doesn't do it for you, no problem. But if one person feels this way then there are others who agree. If N4G is a place for reviews, then there should be a place here for the voice of dissent as well.

[Jorboc]

Well Said!
This review accompanies gameplay footage from start to (spoiler-free) finish, so the first thing I can confirm is that he actually played the game. I like that. It even used to be a good thing for a reviewer to do!

He didn't like the game? Fine. When did that of all things become a point of contention?!

[Kaedro]

Oh yeah, click me there, oh nice nice... click click!!!!

[meka2611]

Christ you guys need to play more jrpgs; talking about commenters here. I enjoyed this game but it is far from a great JRPG, just in terms of level and dungeon design it loses to even basic jrpgs.

[SyntheticForm]

They're all literally dismissing anything outright before they even know what they're dismissing because they saw a number.

Some (a lot) of the bulbs here burn dim.

[SyntheticForm]

Also, what level and dungeon design? This game is monotonous linearity galore, where you run through uninspired narrow passageways a very good (yet always bad) portion of the time.

They've taken every cliche from gaming and crammed it into this thing too. I didn't know Final Fantasy was about the obligatory 'drain the water to access an area' nonsense, but now it is! But, we all know that isn't Final Fantasy. Want to modernize? Great, but keep this BS out, please. By remake we didn't mean take the worst, most mundane possible tasks and throw them all in.

I'll gladly take the old turn-based games over this absolute unabashed, nonsensical, bullpucky.

[VileAndVicious]

I often wonder if I live in some kind of alternate reality the way people heap nothing but praise on FF7R and all criticisms are instantly dismissed. Combat system is fun but flawed, level design is bland and uninspired, the amount of padding ruins the pacing and the ending is... a mess. The game is solid but 9's and 10's? This game would be a 7 if it were anything other than Final Fantasy 7. And I'm saying this as someone that was looking forward to this game more than anything else this year.

[TxYouE]

Watching this review, many of the issues I had were brought up. Being spoiler free it makes it hard to sink down on what really ruined the potential of the game. I was really dreading the last 4 hours or so of game play as I felt that they completely destroyed the original atmosphere of the game. Almost like growing up with a show and just seeing how it completely derails on the last couple seasons, that's what this remake has done. Beating this and talking to my friend, he absolutely loved the ending which I see here in some comments, people thought were trash.

I don't believe this game deserves the high praise that everyone gives it, and honestly feel like we're in a generation of gaming where attractive female characters and super flashy combat will score any game a 7 or higher, let alone slapping the FF name to it. Honestly, playing as my beloved characters from almost 20 years ago when I first played the game remodeled in today's graphics rather than the polygons they used to be and having the flashy combat, I can turn a blind eye to a lot of things, but even then, this game was an okay experience for me.

A brief list of what I felt that had issues (textures / character models, stagger system, boss phase transitions, generic MMO-based side quests that didn't help with the world building or story, the last chapter, game atmosphere in most areas, the rewriting of the story)