Final Fantasy VII is a game loved by many fans who discovered the series with it. Memorable characters, an explosive and gripping story underpinned by a combat system that was still traditional among JRPGs at the time but was a lot of fun. But if there's one thing that Final Fantasy VII can be blamed on, it's that the game was a little too easy to beat.
Of course, there are times in the game that were difficult, like the final bosses, but the majority of the difficult bosses, like Emerald and Ruby Weapon, were optional. Having bragging rights that you beat Ruby Weapon without cheating in particular was an achievement, but it's something you can brace yourself for. The mandatory boss fights, however, were less difficult.
It's refreshing then to see that Final Fantasy VII Remake has provided players with options on what difficulty level you can approach the game at.
In the demo there are three options, Normal providing a challenge for players, Easy described as making it easier for players to enjoy the story of the game, and a Classic option.
Based on our game so far, we encourage all players to try the game first. Ordinarywhether or not you think Easy mode is right for you.
First of all, we recommend avoiding classic difficulties altogether. On classic difficulty, the game will automatically move and use basic attacks against enemies for you, which means you don't have to move through the combat sections. The idea is that this is designed to let you focus on the classic Active Time Battle element while the rest of the game does its job.
Unfortunately, while this may seem like an attractive option for purists, it poses three glaring problems.
Screenshot via Square EnixFirst of all, it cuts off half the combat of the game, which means you'll feel like a passenger during a lot of fights. It's designed to look like the original game, but it only serves to give you less control over your character.
Second, you are at the discretion of the AI for whom it wants to attack and which direction to move. You can move the character you control to any position you want, but this defeats the item as this part of the fight is done automatically for you. It depends on the AI doing what you want, which isn't always the most useful option.
Finally, while it uses basic attacks, you still have to manually trigger the special abilities assigned to the Triangle button, which also negates the game's attack point for you, especially given how potent those abilities are.
He also uses Easy as a difficulty. For Classic and Easy mode in our gameplay, that meant neither Cloud nor Barret even needed a potion before the first boss fight.
Normally, in the meantime, you should use the block or dodge options more frequently to avoid taking large amounts of damage while engaging with smarter tactics, such as targeting a particular mob to stagger them. The increased damage taken meant that more potions were needed, although at that point there was never any danger of death to either during the destruction of the first reactor.
We hope that a more difficult option becomes available at launch, but for now, unless you really want to take the game as cold as possible, we recommend playing it on Normal for the best experience.
