Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade Nintendo Switch 2 Review 

It’s September 1997, and I’m in my last year of high school. Due to various circumstances, I had the family home to myself most weekends. I’d generally fill the void, literal and figurative, by inviting my friends over for parties. We weren’t the coolest bunch, but we loved to drink, play games, watch movies, and get into light trouble now and then. This was another one of those gatherings, but I had just picked up a PlayStation for the express purpose of playing Final Fantasy VII. Some of my friends were in the kitchen, getting boozed up while listening to Our Lady Peace. Some were with me in the living room, watching me play this twisty, gorgeous game on the console TV. We were riveted by this game, and our little group ended up squeezing every last drop out of it. It was a time in my life, to be sure.

The eyes blink, and it’s almost thirty years later. I haven’t talked to Lloyd, Pete, Tara, Rachel, Bryan, or Terry in decades. Well, that happens. I’ve played through Final Fantasy VII again, many, many times over those years. Every time I do, I can still smell the smoke from Tara’s DuMaurier Lights and hear the faint sound of Clumsy somewhere in the background. I have a little chuckle at my younger self thinking he was getting away with any of this, knowing now how badly that place must have reeked of cigs and rum whenever my dad came back from his work trips. He never fully called me on it. I guess he wanted to let me have those memories. For me, Final Fantasy VII is inextricably entwined with those silly days where the world looked so big, the road ahead looked endless, and my friends were going to be my friends forever. 

What the heck does any of this have to do with Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade for the Nintendo Switch 2? Most of us know all about this game by now, seeing as how it’s been on other platforms for a while now. After years of sometimes very insistent requests from fans, Square Enix finally made the decision to remake its landmark PlayStation hit, and it was going to be a rather fancy affair. The first part of what looks to ultimately be three came out on the PlayStation 4 in 2020, making its way in slightly enhanced form to PlayStation 5 and Windows the next year. That’s the version that is now coming to the Xbox Series and our humble little Switch 2. It covers a decent chunk of the story of the original game, pretty much up until the party departs Midgar. An extra chapter featuring Yuffie that was originally released as DLC is also included in this package.

It’s a wild remake in a lot of ways. Everything is expanded upon and more detailed than we could have ever imagined back in 1997. The combat system is also quite different, leaning more into action than turn-based mechanics. There’s an option to have something a little closer to the original battle system for those who want it, but it’s still not the same because it really can’t be within the structure of this remake. This is where I would love to play the curmudgeon and be upset about this shift, but I think the action combat works really well here and still offers a fair bit of strategy. It puts familiar encounters in a new context, and that’s quite neat. It’s different, but would there be any point in a remake if it wasn’t?

This Final Fantasy VII Remake certainly tickles the nostalgia at times because so much of what it does echoes that very familiar original. I had a great time playing through it and seeing just how fancy all these memorable scenes could be. But the weird thing is that despite the very real nostalgic feelings it triggered, Final Fantasy VII Remake does not smell like DuMaurier Lights. I can’t hear even the faintest whispers of Raine Maida’s nasally tones as I make my way through the Sector 7 slums. In most of the ways that count for me, this is not Final Fantasy VII. And it really couldn’t be. It cannot bring me back to 1997. It cannot make my knee hurt less, or make me once again able to guzzle a 2-6 of Smirnoff and live to tell the tale the next morning. It can’t bring me back to that time, because nothing can. 

And in a strange way, that’s what Final Fantasy VII Remake is really about. Square Enix offers a package on Switch 2 to buy this game in a bundle with the port of the original Final Fantasy VII, and there is purpose in that. I don’t want to spoil anything important, but in a much stronger sense than we usually see with remakes, it helps to be familiar with the source material. What Remake does goes well beyond a few nods and winks to those who know that old game by heart. You can enjoy it without playing that original game, but I’m not sure you’ll be equipped to get what it’s trying to talk about on a metatextual level if you take that route. Not that you really need to, I suppose. The story at hand is more than engaging enough for those who simply want to take it at face value.

Mysterious mercenary Cloud is as fascinating a protagonist as ever, and the merry crew of freedom fighters he rolls with at their most charming. The other main party members all have obvious secrets and their own agendas, and for those on this ride for the first time, it’s fun to guess as to what the exact nature of their baggage might be. Midgar is an incredibly captivating setting, perhaps one of the best the genre has ever seen. The exquisite detail with which it is rendered in Final Fantasy VII Remake is one of the coolest things about the game. And if you like set pieces, this game’s got tons of excellent ones to offer. We might only be getting one section of the roller coaster here, but you’ll lose your lunch all the same if you don’t strap in securely. There are some new dips and curves for those of us who’ve been on this ride before, and the whole thing totals up to a very respectable adventure, even if it is one that is nakedly “to be continued”. 

Given that the game originated on the PlayStation 4, it’s perhaps not totally a shocker that it plays nicely on the Switch 2. This isn’t the shiniest version of the game you can find, but it carries itself respectably among the many options. I think it edges out the Steam Deck’s performance with the game, so unless you own one of those really fancy handheld PCs, this Switch 2 port is probably your best handheld option. Just make sure you have plenty of space in the memory cupboard, as it takes up a hair over 90 GB. You can’t use a physical option to get around that either, as the packaged version uses a Game-Key Card that will require a similar install. We’re all going to have to learn to be masters at keeping our fridges clean, I guess. Apart from that, there’s nothing really to pick on with this port. It does the job admirably enough.

Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade is and isn’t a lot of things. It’s a very good action-RPG with a strong presentation. It’s a real trip for fans of the original game. It demonstrates how you can Remake but you cannot truly remake. It’s a fairly well-done port to Nintendo’s new console. For some, it’s a reminder of some of the good times of the past. It might also be a reminder of how far in the past those specific good times were. It’s cool. It’s retro. It’s even got a bit of commentary on our modern fixation with mining the past. I can strongly recommend it, albeit with the caveat that you aren’t going to get any meaningful plot resolution within this part of the overall story. If you’re okay with that, then all I can say is… let’s mosey. 

Version Tested: Nintendo Switch 2
Review Copy Provided by Square Enix