Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade

Genre: JRPG

Players: 1

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Review:

As I noted in my review of the Nintendo Switch release of Final Fantasy VII, when it originally released on the PlayStation in 1997, Final Fantasy VII quickly became one of the most important videogames ever made. As I also noted in that review, I feel that original game has also aged incredibly poorly. So any remake of this game had a monumental task ahead of it: do justice to a game beloved by millions, and that many still consider to be their favorite game of all time, while updating and modernizing it in a way that brings it up to modern day standards. The safest, most obvious thing to do, would be to update the visuals some, re-localize the original game’s story, and work in a bunch of quality-of-life improvements, all while leaving the core of the original game untouched.

That… is not what Square Enix did here.

Rather than taking the safe and easy route, when Square Enix released this long-awaited remake in 2020 on PlayStation 4, I think there’s a strong argument to be made that this was the most ambitious videogame remake in history. And contrary to the safe and easy path, at every turn, this game seems to choose a riskier alternative.

I’ll get to that in a bit, but one of the first major changes we discovered about this release was that this would not actually be a remake of Final Fantasy VII, but a remake of roughly the first one-third of that game, taking place largely within the game’s opening city of Midgar, and as a segue into the trilogy’s second installment, Final Fantasy Rebirth, Final Fantasy VII Remake would receive an updated Intergrade version in 2021 on PlayStation 5 and PC, containing a new Intermission chapter to bridge the two games focusing on the character of Yuffie. This release finally made its way to Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2 in 2026.

The other early thing people discovered about this game is that it is an audiovisual tour-de-force. And surprisingly, this remains true on Nintendo Switch 2. This game hasn’t made the journey to Nintendo Switch 2 without some shrewd compromises, though – the framerates have been reduced to 30FPS, and there’s a bit of pop-in if you look for it, but overall this game is absolutely stunning on Nintendo Switch 2.

No, more than stunning – in my opinion, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade is competing with Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition for the title of best-looking game on Nintendo Switch 2. The incredibly detailed 3D environments, exquisitely-detailed character models, impressive lighting and shadows, and absolutely delightful explosions and other special effects make this game jaw-droppingly gorgeous. Plus, the excellent remade orchestral soundtrack and exemplary voice acting is all intact here as well. Given that this game isn’t running on a powerhouse platform like the PlayStation 5 Pro, I cannot imagine anyone complaining about this game on Nintendo Switch 2 – this is at the absolute peak of the “best-case scenario” pile. Just be prepared to pay for that in storage space with this game’s whopping 90.44GB file size.

One other area where Final Fantasy VII Remake differs drastically from the original game is in its story. Oh, all the key characters are still here (and Cloud is still a huge jerk that I strongly dislike) and the story more or less follows the same path, but to ensure this doesn’t come across as one-third a game the events of the first third of the original story have been stretched out and padded somewhat here. And then there’s the really big changes to the story, which I won’t detail here for those who have yet to be spoiled, but let’s just say that when this game released, it prompted a lot of conversations about exactly what it means for a videogame to be a “remake”.

The gameplay has changed drastically too, with this game dropping the hybrid turn-based and real-time “ATB” combat system of the PlayStation 1-era Final Fantasy games and has replaced it with real-time combat that can be stopped at any time to issue pivotal commands about special attacks, magic, and item use. I’m personally not a big fan of this – the action side of things isn’t as engaging or responsive as I’d like, and the need to constantly engage with it makes it harder to focus on tactical choices in battle.

I’ll also note that, as with the portion of the original game that Final Fantasy Remake focuses on, this is a largely linear experience, meaning that players who enjoy RPGs for their exploration may feel a bit disappointed playing this game.

That said, there is a bit of good news here – there’s no “Switch Tax” to be found here. Final Fantasy VII Intergrade is $40 on Nintendo Switch 2, just as it is on PlayStation 5, and given how everything these days seems to be pushing the $70 price tag, it’s remarkable that one of the biggest, most noteworthy “AAA” games on the market is only being sold for a measly $40. Even though this is nothing new for PlayStation 5 owners, it’s still an absolute steal.

Is it a perfect game? Far from it, and Final Fantasy VII Remake still falls far short of the best games in the franchise in my opinion. However, while I have my fair share of complaints, that doesn’t dull the fact that this is one of the most ambitious videogames of all-time, one that largely succeeds on the risks it takes, and one that has received a truly praise-worthy port onto Nintendo Switch 2. If you’re a fan of RPGs who hasn’t played this yet, consider it a must-have. And if you have played it and have been wondering whether it holds up on Nintendo’s latest hybrid console, wonder no more – this is currently one of the best ports Nintendo Switch 2 has gotten.

tl;dr – Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade is a truly ambitious remake of one of the most impactful videogames ever made, reworking it to be a more action-focused JRPG. This is a stunningly-gorgeous game, one of the best-looking games to release on Nintendo Switch 2 so far, in a port that makes shrewd compromises that sacrifice little. And while I have my nitpicks about the story and gameplay, it’s hard to complain about a $40 showpiece title that’s a truly praiseworthy port of such a major game. If you’re a Final Fantasy fan on Nintendo Switch 2, consider this an absolute must-have.

Grade: A-

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