without spoiling anything, the reason why it is so hard to figure out the goal of sepiroth in the remake is simply due to the fact that he wasn't at all relevent in the Midgar section of the game. They added him in the remake just to make his presence known. His character means literally nothing until rebirth.

The reason you didn't understand what the Whispers were doing is because you didn't play OG FF7, so you're missing context. The story of Remake and OG is not 1 to 1. There are some differences here and there. When something different happens, the Whispers come to ensure that events play out in the way they're supposed to in OG FF7.

For example, in OG, after bombing the first reactor, Cloud takes on another job with Avalanche to destroy the second reactor. However, this is not what happens in Remake. After getting his money from the first job, Cloud leaves, and the group plans on taking out the next reactor without him. This is DIFFERENT than what happens in OG FF7. So what happens? The Whispers come and Jesse gets injured. This FORCES Avalanche to hire Cloud as a replacement member, so that he goes to second reactor with them.

Basically, the Whispers are trying to ensure all characters' fates remain exactly the same as OG.

‘It’s not something Cloud would normally do’

Well, Cloud is iconic for breaking the things you THINK you know about him. Trust me, he is the best character with story arc ever created

I'm jealous of people who can play Rebirth right after their first Remake playthrough.

the stairway scene is in the original as well, and it's iconic.

You don’t know what’s going on between Cloud and Sephiroth? Wait til you play Rebirth. Hope you enjoy it.

anyone with a harsh response to this analysis should remember that this is a first impression of a series they know nothing about. it is quite literally like making a review about playing the first 3 hours of og FF7 and calling it a day.

The story of the game is so much more complicated than you may even think it is already. But once you finally learn what is going on it just makes everything come together. Its why I like the game so much, and why it is my favorite game of all time (FF7 and OG in general). It actually reveals so much that playing the entire game again for a second time gives you a brand new perspective on the game and reveals a lot of what you miss the first time around. It makes actually playing the game again worthwhile. 😙👌

Cloud seems to be able to do everything, literally anything he puts his mind to. Worth thinking about ;)

The pauldron on the left side only that Cloud wears is something you find back in real armour. Since most swordfighters are right handed, incoming swings come from the left making that side the one you want to have protected. Old medieval armor designs have that sometimes.

You gotta learn more of the combat system. The reason some enemies are so tanky and bosses too is because you need to learn their elemental weaknesses and also weaknesses. Using the “assess” materia is a MUST while fighting

I can't wait to see the Rebirth video. Like almost every criticism you had for Remake is solved in Rebirth. Questing, level design, and combat are all significantly improved.

The reason why you’d only wear a pauldron on one shoulder is for mobility on your dominant arm. You wear the pauldron on your forward facing shoulder which is your less dominant arm which is more likely to be hit and leave your dominant arm to move and swing freely.

I'm delighted that you took the stairs in Shinra HQ.

I'm honestly grateful that they went all in on recreating the gag bits from the 1997 release. I strongly feel that knowing when to inject those moments of levity, and when to withhold them, was integral to managing the overall tone of the story.

Regarding your combat critiques, I’d recommend paying a little more attention to the weakness information exposed by the “assess” ability.

For reference, this was also my first final fantasy, really my first rpg in general, and I also really struggled with the “long” boss fights in my first playthrough. I probably spent 40 minutes on hell house.

But the only reason it took so long is I didn’t yet fully understand the combat and the importance of exploiting elemental weaknesses. I’m far, far from a pro but on repeat playthroughs I breeze through enemies, to the point sometimes I have to intentionally slow down to actually enjoy the fights more.

Probably the best summary of my experience with this game is if you feel like an enemy is “tanky,” it almost certainly means you aren’t understanding its weaknesses. It’s a real strategy game that successfully disguises itself as a “hack and slash.”

Rebirth answers quite a few of these questions, also it massively improves on the padding issue. Also Cloud's headaches are in the original game too, so everyone else already knows what they are. PTSD is close although not quite right. Unfortunately that part is not fully explained until the final part of the trilogy though, so you'll be waiting a few more years before fully understanding that.

One tip: Don't miss the many alternative scenes. For example in Remake, there are 3 dream resolution scenes: Aerith, Tifa and Barret. And there are many optional dates in Rebirth. I love Aerith too!

Loved your review, and it was fun to see the game through fresh eyes! My only comment would be regarding certain bosses (like Hell House) being overly tanky: that's likely a sign that you're either not using assess, not exploiting weaknesses, or both. The game isnt so much of an ARPG that you can overcome enemies with sheer damage and stats. You need (for all enemies, but especially bosses) to approach them strategically and tactically.

In the example of Hell House, it has periods of bear invulnerability during God Mode, and attacking during that time is just wasting effort. Instead, focus on blocking, evading, and healing. During the gaps when God Mode is down, you can hit the House with Magic it's weak to, which changes throughout the fight, necessitating attention to both the element of the House as well as knowledge of which elements counter each other.

I have so many things to say as someone whos played almost everything (havent finished rebirth at all im taking my time with it), the things i would say tho is stuff thats already been said in alot of these comments. Alot of context is missing because you havent played OG but thats ok because it seems like you had alot of fun playing this so i hope you do go around and play OG and Crisis Core Reunion lol, this is the start of the franchise for you and i can only hope you give it even more chances!! (Ps if you dont wanna play OG i recommend watching an indepth playthru or having a friend play it while you gather the story). Def gonna sub up and whenever u drop more FF7 vids ill 100% be there!! (And ill watch stuff beyond ff7 too cuz this video was mad good)

1 shoulder will be protected by the sword, the left shoulder has armor because a fighting stance us usually left foot forward.

Barrets gun works on rage

Tifas clothes are good for fighting because they provide free flowing movement for the limbs and a lack of material for the enemy to grab.  The outfit may also act as a distraction