Gaming

Final Fantasy VII Remake review: A fresh experience of a timeless tale

Nostalgic and new at the same time

Published

April 6, 2020

Easily one of the most hyped and anticipated video games over the last five years, Final Fantasy VII Remake has arrived and it is everything I hoped it would be.

It manages to preserve the spirit of the original game while modernizing it in every way imaginable. It feels so close to the Final Fantasy games I grew up playing — those being VII, VIII, IX, and X — while also definitely being a game for 2020. Nostalgic and new at the same time.

Before we proceed, some important declarations: GadgetMatch received an official copy of the game specifically for the purpose of this review. This article will have no spoilers — just a general overview and assessment of the Final Fantasy VII Remake experience.

The devil is in the details

One of the more obvious differences is how the game looks. In 1997, Final Fantasy VII, was a visual breakthrough. It was the first time for a Final Fantasy game of this scale to switch from 2D to 3D.

Being preceded by games like God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End just to name a few, the Remake won’t have the same kind of video game graphics impact. But make no mistake, it serves up a visual experience that is utterly breathtaking.

LADIES’ MAN. Cloud is pretty popular with the ladies. A true visual 😉

It starts with the little things. The way the game treats light when you go indoors or outdoors is reminiscent of how your eyes would behave when doing the same. It takes a second before your eyes fully adjust to your surroundings. And this treatment of light is consistent throughout the game.

The cinematography is also a masterclass in visual storytelling. There’s a sequence during the beginning of the game where Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart (two of the main characters) were interacting and the way they were positioned in relation to each other and to the environment tells you a lot about the current standing of their relationship.

SOCIAL DISTANCING? Cloud and Tifa meet again after 5 years

It’s a classic show-don’t-tell technique and it works wonders. It’s also pretty consistent throughout the game. The shots used for each scene were carefully and meticulously thought out. It adds not only to the cinematic flair, but also to the emotion of the game.

Midgar feels alive

This level of attention to detail is present all over Midgar — the place where most of the game will take place. The way the camera zooms in and out of the city during certain scenes gives you a good grasp of the life and status of Midgar and its people.

The class divide between those living in the upper levels versus those relegated to the slums is very evident in one of the earlier missions. Not just with how the levels are designed, but also with the dialogue of the NPCs (non-playable characters).

There’s a stark contrast between how people from the upper level reacted to the bombing of the first Mako reactor to how the people in the slums reacted. People in the upper levels mostly support the authoritarian Shinra — the city’s ruling organization. They also happen to be direct benefactors of Shinra’s exploits.

Meanwhile, the people in the slums are a mixed bag — some are indifferent, only caring about how they will get through the next day. Some are rightfully afraid of how they will be affected by the ensuing conflict.

By the way, for the uninitiated, the story basically kicks-off with a radical group called Avalanche carrying out the first of a series of bombing missions. The group believes Shinra is syphonying off the planet’s life through the Mako reactors. Mako is the planet’s lifestream. If it runs out, the planet will most likely wither away.

Action-RPG combat with turn-based feel is extremely satisfying

One of the biggest points of discussion is how the Remake will handle combat. The original game — in true JRPG fashion — was turn-based. That was 23 years ago, and outside of Persona 5, the turn-based style hasn’t really attracted plenty of gamers.

What Final Fantasy VII Remake did is fuse that turn-base feel to the more popular Action-RPG type. Something that a lot of gamers today prefer. I wouldn’t say it’s perfect, but it’s pretty darn close.

Here’s how it works: When you go into battle, you have direct control over moving around as well as the character’s physical attacks. Dealing physical damage raises your ATB meter. Your ATB meter then gives you access to using Abilities, Spells, Items, and whenever they become available — Summons and Limit Breaks.

When you trigger the use of your ATB meter the game goes into this slo-mo mode. It sort of reminds me of “bullet time” from Max Payne or that brief slo-mo in Marvel’s Spider-Man that gives you enough time to plan your next move. Except in Final Fantasy VII Remake, that slo-mo is longer, giving you ample time to issue commands for every character in your party.

The whole combat system might also remind you of Kingdom Hearts III, but unlike that game, there’s no way you can just charge in and button mash to win fights. Each enemy has to be dealt with differently and you’ll have to be very careful and tactical in your approach to win battles.

A great way to jump into Final Fantasy

Another thing that Final Fantasy VII Remake masterfully does is not overwhelm you with all the Final Fantasy things you need to know. It slowly introduces you to the story and the franchise’s concepts throughout the game.

VR MISSIONS. New summon materia can be acquired through this method

The Final Fantasy franchise is full of lore. While each game is a stand alone story, some items, summons, skills, and magic are consistent across all the games.

If you have zero knowledge going in, you’ll feel right at home. The franchise’s lore is carefully integrated into the main story. If you’re a Final Fantasy veteran, the introduction of these concepts flow well enough that they’re not at all boring.

It perfectly walks the tightrope of keeping franchise fans happy without alienating any potential newcomers.

A fantastic remake

It was the Final Fantasy franchise that first had me dreaming what it would be like when in-game graphics would finally match cutscenes. Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children — the computer-animated film that served as the follow-up to FF7’s story — sparked that dream further.

Final Fantasy VII Remake made that dream come true. The way it transitions from free-roaming to battle to cutscene is seamless. It literally feels like you’re playing a computer-animated film.

While we’ve seen this play out in other games, just the fact that it’s an iconic game with iconic characters given new life by modern technology makes it extra special. Playing it made me feel like a kid again. It’s exactly the jolt that my jaded adult version needed more than anything.

There’s a lot more to this game that can be discussed. So much more can be dissected. Everything from how each character is treated, how the story almost feels like a reflection of society today, the intricacies of its battle system, and many more. I’m excited to have these conversations with fellow gamers.

If you came here looking to find out if you should pick this game up, the answer is a resounding YES. If you pre-ordered (and have already preloaded) the game, let this be a primer for what you’re about to step into — a game that’s carefully crafted to give you a fresh experience of a timeless tale.

Gaming

Nintendo’s latest toy is Super Mario Wonder’s Talking Flower

It tells the time and jokes around randomly throughout the day.

Published

January 23, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Late in 2024, Nintendo announced the Alarmo, the quirkiest alarm clock we would’ve grabbed immediately if alarm clocks were still a big thing. Today, the company has announced its next clock-like toy: the Talking Flower from Super Mario Wonder.

To me, the Talking Flower was a welcome addition to the franchise’s burgeoning cast of characters. The occasionally appearing character delivered timely quips that broke the monotony of the level’s music or provided meaningful tips.

However, there is a good number of players who find the flower irritating and mute the character altogether. If you’re part of this group, then Nintendo’s latest clock isn’t for you.

The new Talking Flower doesn’t have its own clock display. It only has a speaker, but it can announce the hour “mostly accurately,” according to Nintendo.

It’s an odd product. The brand wants the flower to be glitchy. Besides being “mostly accurate” with the time, it can also randomly blurt out alerts in one of its handful of available languages, outside of what the user set.

Further, it can comment on the weather and play music. It can also say “words of encouragement and silly quips” randomly throughout the day. The Talking Flower certainly has the spirit of the character it’s modeled after.

As for input buttons, it only has a single button. One press makes it say something outside of its scheduled prompts. Holding the button for two seconds silences the thing.

The Talking Flower will ship out on March 12. It will sell for US$ 34.99.

Gaming

You can now race as teams in Mario Kart World’s Knockout Tour

The free update is rolling out now.

Published

January 23, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Mario Kart World needs little to no improvements. The latest entry in the legendary racing franchise introduced players to the open-world format. Taking advantage of that new format, the game also has a unique new mode called the Knockout Tour. Today, Mario Kart World is getting a surprising-but-welcome update which adds a team option to the survival mode.

In stark contrast to Mario Kart’s usual gameplay, Knockout Tour introduces a battle royale element to the game. The mode strings together a series of races seamlessly leading from on to the next via the open-world format. Players are eliminated for placing at or near the bottom after every leg, eventually leading to a three-way race to finish first.

Prior to today’s announcement, players race for themselves. But now, via a free update, players can now compete in two teams of twelve, three teams of eight, or four teams of six. They must still survive individually, but points are now collated based on teams.

The number of points derives from finishing position. Finishing in P1, for example, will bag the player a total of 50 points for that leg. Meanwhile, eliminated players get only a single point. At the end of the entire tour, everyone’s points are tallied up, and the win is awarded to the team with the most points.

The new mode can be raced locally or online. If the pool lacks players to round out the teams, the game will provide AI opponents.

The update is rolling out now and is for free.

Gaming

Now playing: Final Fantasy VII Remake INTERGRADE on Switch 2

Final Fantasy VII Remake, handheld again

Published

January 23, 2026

Rodneil Quiteles

Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade | Nintendo Switch 2

There are two ways I ended up playing Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade on the Switch 2: handheld, and docked. And in many ways, that split mirrors what this release is really about—flexibility, familiarity, and a little bit of re-learning.

Relearning muscle memory

Let’s get the small friction point out of the way first. Button prompts. Even after all this time, my brain still defaults to PlayStation glyphs. Triangle means something very specific to me in Final Fantasy VII Remake, and retraining that muscle memory on a Nintendo layout took a bit longer than expected. That’s not the game’s fault—it’s just the reality of revisiting something you’ve deeply internalized on another platform. And honestly, it’s something I’ll just have to get used to as more of these previously PlayStation-first titles land elsewhere.

Once that adjustment period passed, the bigger surprise came quickly—especially in handheld.

Midgar in the palm of your hand

Without even stacking it up against the PS4 or PS5 versions, the Switch 2 version already looks impressive on its own. In fact, it looks really good. There’s a moment of quiet disbelief when you realize you’re holding Midgar in your hands, running locally, and still retaining that sense of scale and atmosphere the remake is known for.

I’ve played Final Fantasy VII Rebirth on devices like the ROG Ally and Legion Go, and the feeling here is similar. Not in raw power comparisons, but in that same sense of admiration—Square Enix managing to package something this dense, cinematic, and emotionally loaded into a handheld experience without it feeling compromised at first glance. That same awe of seeing this classic reimagined is still intact, even on a smaller screen.

Living with 30fps

Performance-wise, the most noticeable limitation is the 30fps cap. It’s there, and anyone coming from a 60fps playthrough will notice it immediately. That said, it never felt like a dealbreaker to me.

Command inputs still land cleanly, combat remains responsive, and nothing about the experience felt sluggish. If you’re sensitive to frame rate shifts, this might take some adjustment. But in motion, and especially in handheld, it rarely pulls focus away from the game itself.

Streamlined progression, real relief

One feature that quietly made a big difference for me is the new Streamlined Progression option. Being able to start with maxed-out stats, unlimited resources, and reduced friction is a genuine quality-of-life win—especially for players who’ve already finished the game once and don’t necessarily want to grind their way through Midgar again.

It turns Intergrade into a smoother re-experience, letting you focus on the story beats and combat flow rather than progression systems you already know by heart.

The storage reality check

The less glamorous reality check comes with storage. At roughly 90GB, this is a heavy install, particularly if—like me—you lean heavily toward digital purchases. I had to delete three games just to make room.

If you have the option to go physical on Switch 2, that might be the more practical route, especially as more large-scale ports make their way onto the platform.

A familiar journey, made portable

Contextually, this release matters beyond just another port. Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade arriving on Switch 2 is part of Square Enix’s broader push to bring the entire remake trilogy to more platforms, with the final entry already in development.

It also reinforces Intergrade as the most accessible entry point into the series—bundling the main campaign with the Yuffie-led EPISODE INTERmission, and now offering features that lower the barrier for newcomers while respecting returning players’ time.

At US$39.99, it lands at a price that feels fair. Whether you’re completely new to Final Fantasy VII Remake or just want a portable version of a game you already love, this is an easy recommendation—storage caveats aside.

Overall, this is an impressive Switch 2 port. Not perfect, not trying to outmuscle the PS5 version, but confident in what it is. Seeing Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade run this well, this comfortably, on a handheld still feels a little surreal—and that alone makes it worth playing again.

If you’re looking for deeper technical breakdowns and direct comparisons with the PS4 and PS5 versions, Digital Foundry continues to do excellent work on that front. But as a lived-in experience, this one already earns its place on the Switch 2.