The arrival of a game with the stature, scope, and status of Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade on a Nintendo console feels like a pipedream someone would have invented for Reddit upvotes 5 years ago. Thanks to the Switch 2’s power and specs, it’s a reality. The console deserves some credit, but Square Enix’s ability to port this massive experience to the Switch 2 in such a successful manner is nothing short of a triumph for the studio, and a major win for fans. Here’s our Switch 2 review of Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade.

Despite originally releasing almost 30 years ago, we’re not going to dive into major story spoilers here, so let’s get the narrative dealt with at the top. The Shinra Electric Power Company pulls an energy source, Mako, out of the planet Midgar to fuel its reactors. This corporation is evil (as you could expect), and a band of eco-activists who just so happened to be down for any amount of violent but necessary acts of terrorism form the group Avalanche, set on destroying these reactors and saving the planet.

Cloud Strife, our protagonist, grew up with his childhood acquaintance Tifa before setting out to become a Soldier, whose powers are fueled by Mako, although its impact and harm are undetermined. Cloud is now out of the soldiering business and takes a job with Avalanche to earn some coin. The moral mission of it all means little to him, as he’s just taking a job to get paid and get out. Although reuniting with Tifa, a member of Avalanche, as well as forming bonds with its members, makes that exit a bit more difficult.

What transpires is a 30+ hour experience of linear action RPG gameplay that feels wonderful. Rather than feature turn-based combat, you utilize attacks with Cloud, Tifa, or other members of Avalanche to beat up your enemies while collecting enough power to unleash special abilities or spells. The gameplay is smooth and looks as such on the Switch 2. In fact, the game ran without a single frame drop for me in both handheld and docked modes at a consistent 30 frames per second. I’m not spending time on the FPS debate. It matters to some, but not to me. I want smoothness, and that’s what Square Enix delivered. At 1080p with DLSS in docked mode, I also didn’t find myself wanting more from the fidelity or resolution, thanks to the game’s overall quality performance.

The scale of Midgar, coupled with the incredible characters you encounter and work with, or against, across Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, are among the most iconic setpieces and figures in gaming. With consistent graphics and a chance for Nintendo players without a PS4 or PS5 to expereince this story, I could go on and on about how wild it is to live in a world where Nintendo’s predecessor to the Switch 2 is essentially a PS4 Pro you can undock and play in handheld. Square Enix’s committment to optimize this experience should not be undersold or underpraised.

There was also word this week from Naoki Hamaguchi, Remake Intergrade’s Director, that the next two games in the remake trilogy will also come to Switch 2. I can’t recommend picking this game up enough. I would have felt my experience was worth the purchase price at the now-normal $70 USD mark, but for $40 USD, this is potentially the greatest value on the Switch 2 to date. The game feels good to play, looks great, and tells a story that will push you through to the end in the blink of an eye.

Gameplay gripes about annoying puzzles inducing eyerolls or a lack of diversity in the linearity of its chapters are fair. None of these small moments of question took me out of the immersion of the game. I think action RPGs, including their complicated-to-some skill trees and equipment menus are just not some people’s bread and butter. As someone who loves action RPGs, combining my spell set by equipping my team with Materia, or seeking out the right blend of upgrades to match how I liked using each character, simply didn’t do anything to deter me from loving the experience.

Along with the base game experience and some great add-on items to enhance your journey, Yuffie’s Intermission DLC adventure is included as well. This serves as a bridge between Remake and its sequel, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. While Yuffie plays very differently and it’s certainly not on the level of the main game’s story, Intermission is a nice final taste of this game before we await its predecessor on the Switch 2. I don’t know who would enjoy the main game and then think to skip this little extra slice of the pie.

In all, 30+ hours of the base Final Fantasy VII Remake experience with a little treat like Yuffie’s Intermission DLC at $40 is an absolute steal. I will also say this is the best-looking third-party Nintendo game I have ever played. Paired with the exceptional direction to stretch a few hours of original Midgar adventures into such a massively titanic gaming experience, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade stands as a triumph of Nintendo’s newest home-handheld hybrid console’s potential. I’m already counting down the days until Rebirth makes its way to the Switch 2.

A Nintendo Switch 2 review copy of Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade was provided by Square Enix for this review.

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Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade

$39.99

1

Score

1.0/10

Pros

• An incredible port to the Switch 2
• One of the best stories in the history of video games
• A wonderful combination of action RPG elements and narrative

Cons

• Some chapters are less fun than others, but at no point does this harm the overall experience