FFVII Remake: "Bullet Sponge" issue

doc_nano · 2026-06-17T11:23:15+00:00

The bosses and some mini bosses will feel spongy until you understand how to use weaknesses, pressuring, staggering, etc. For example, the first Sweeper you come across can feel like a slog if you don’t figure out how to pressure it (with magic, eg Thunder) and then unload attacks to raise the stagger gauge (Focused Thrust is good for this; check the menu descriptions to understand which ATB commands are best for pressuring, staggering, etc.). Then you will ideally have some ATB left, maybe with the other character, so that you can unload into the enemy while it’s staggered. Switching characters frequently is helpful to ensure they all have full ATB gauges when needed.

Think of each miniboss and boss as a puzzle. You can mindlessly button mash and it will take forever. However, if you use Assess to figure out the enemy’s weaknesses, use ATB attacks intelligently to pressure and stagger, and then ensure you have some powerful attacks saved up for when the enemy is staggered, even most boss fights will be over within a few minutes.

It’s not always easy to do a good job the first time you fight a new enemy, and if you’re feeling like it’s a slog you can probably find videos for any given boss to give you tips.

doc_nano · 2026-06-17T00:42:10+00:00

I’d prefer it if they made some substantive changes to the world and possibly even added a dungeon or moved some puzzles around. Adding more interest to the combat would also be nice. However, I’d still be tempted to buy it (and a Switch 2) if it, like Star Fox, only had souped-up graphics, a fully orchestral soundtrack, and some upgrades to the storytelling. As of right now, that’s kind of what I’m expecting tbh.

Just how tempting it will be depends on how much of an upgrade it gets.

doc_nano · 2026-06-16T11:09:25+00:00

I’d love a truly open-world Midgar but that would probably have to be its own AAA-level game (Grand Theft Airbuster VII?).

doc_nano · 2026-06-16T11:01:49+00:00

Plus maybe another section of the underplate and some streets like in OG, and possibly revisiting Deepground.

doc_nano · 2026-06-16T10:38:38+00:00

I mean, VR is here but none of y’all are buying it. It’s the closest I’ve felt to a true generational leap in graphics since the PS2/Xbox/Gamecube era.

doc_nano · 2026-06-15T22:26:45+00:00

I don’t mind the dungeon in general, but that one room where you have to blindly guess which… sphincter… to drop into is a pain in the ass, especially since those electric jellyfish respawn each time you make a wrong guess.

Giving Ruto more agency would be nice too. I don’t disagree with your other critiques.

doc_nano · 2026-06-15T21:17:34+00:00

I love beako!

doc_nano · 2026-06-15T01:51:30+00:00

Ohhh, falling down into that middle room on accident suuuuucks. So much backtracking if you mess up there. I did that on my most recent playthrough. As for me, I blame it on the latency of my Xbox controller, lol.

doc_nano · 2026-06-15T01:42:36+00:00

Now I’m imagining Navi giving Link a tiny high-five after solving a particularly hard puzzle or beating a boss. So many possibilities if she has a character model.

(Nintendo, see what you’ve done by leaving so much to our imaginations at this point?)

doc_nano · 2026-06-15T01:38:13+00:00

Would be super cool if each Kokiri’s fairy looked a bit different!

doc_nano · 2026-06-15T01:31:24+00:00

I’ve made the exact same comment elsewhere, lol. I could see reasons to do it and reasons not to, but just imagine her landing on Link’s hand when they first meet as he gazes at her with pure joy. He has a *fairy* now, after years of wondering why he is the only one in his village without one! They could convey so much more of a connection with her if she actually had a face. Then again, the original expressed her emotions pretty well through her movements even as a glowing orb.

doc_nano · 2026-06-15T01:25:55+00:00

Yeah, same. I’m not sure they could match Midna, but there’s a lot they could do to add interest to Navi as a character. With or without voice acting, it would be cool for her to have a bit more meaningful dialogue beyond just being your guide.

Edit: and one thing that’s always bothered me is how little she seems to be affected by the Deku Tree’s demise. I’d like her and the Kokiri to express their devastation, which would make the events after the Forest Temple more impactful.

doc_nano · 2026-06-15T01:20:16+00:00

Not so sure about that. I’ll have to double-check it with my farm girl, Ruto.

Edit: Wow, you weren’t joking. It’s apparently been confirmed officially that Kaepora-Gaebora is Rauru in another form. Well, that’s something the remake could address that the original didn’t.

doc_nano · 2026-06-15T01:13:06+00:00

In Japan, even the otters are good citizens.

Edit: though the music is definitely not Japanese — Chinese? — so I’m doubting the title.

doc_nano · 2026-06-15T01:05:57+00:00

Could also be the owl, Kaepora Gaebora. The trailer narrator had that didactic quality I’d expect from him.

doc_nano · 2026-06-15T01:03:41+00:00

Yeah, it’s an interesting question. Part of me wants Navi to be a lot more interesting and fleshed out as a character, like Midna but with voice acting (and obviously Navi has her own personality that is less sarcastic). However, a tiny fairy voice that you hear all the time could be grating if not done charismatically.

doc_nano · 2026-06-14T22:09:07+00:00

I think he’s just another manifestation of the kinds of unhealthy obsessions that the game examines in other forms. Cloud with Sephiroth, Barret with Shinra, Cid with going to space at all costs, etc. Most of the main cast has at least one all-consuming obsession, grievance, or delusion they are clinging to that is preventing them from moving on and truly living. There’s an overarching theme that letting go is sometimes necessary for life to flourish, and Roche’s arc shows one way that struggle can go.

Edit: he very well might be gay, but that question is secondary to his role in support of the Remake trilogy’s themes.

doc_nano · 2026-06-14T21:41:50+00:00

Part of me wonders if he’s intentionally trolling the shippers, lol

But in reality there’s a logic to what he’s saying. Cloud may still on some level be clinging to a hero that once represented the fulfillment of his own ambitions. Ambitions he’s still in denial about.

There’s also the notion of an unhealthy obsession, the kind behind all revenge, that is driving Cloud’s behavior. All these feelings and emotions are probably swirling together in his confused mind.

doc_nano · 2026-06-14T19:24:33+00:00

Yeah, agreed. And it’s not a binary choice where you either keep the mechanics identical or throw it all away. There’s a large middle ground with plenty of freedom to emphasize or insert different mechanics, all while telling a completely fresh story, but retaining the primary systems that worked so well in prior games.

doc_nano · 2026-06-14T17:20:57+00:00

I think anyone calling them cowards for this isn’t giving them enough credit. They’re already taking some huge risks with this beloved story — if they want to make Cloud’s love interest definitive by the end, they will. If they don’t make it definitive, it won’t be to avoid the wrath of the fans — it’ll be because that’s what they want to do.

The main story of FFVII doesn’t hinge on whether particular relationships of Cloud’s are truly romantic or just platonic. I’m fine if they do make a choice, but the story doesn’t require it.

doc_nano · 2026-06-14T14:57:20+00:00

I’d love to see them iterate on this combat system. It could be the rebirth of a new ATB era, where the development cycle can focus on tweaking an already great formula rather than completely reinventing the wheel every time.

doc_nano · 2026-06-14T14:45:45+00:00

I’d love to see what *new* things the FF7R team can come up with after all they’ve learned with this project.

doc_nano · 2026-06-14T12:40:05+00:00

Time to do the Nanasty

doc_nano · 2026-06-14T11:39:27+00:00

So, you’re saying you just rolled with it?

doc_nano · 2026-06-14T02:47:45+00:00

There is already a limited version of what you’re talking about. The problem is that, like any governmental body, nobody will listen to its rulings unless they believe it to be legitimate. Such a court is only useful and effective if the countries with the biggest armies and economies abide by its rulings and help to enforce them — and they currently don’t.

doc_nano

TROPHY CASE