Final Fantasy VII's characters have definitely played a huge role in defining the game as a classic, staple RPG, as the amount of detail and effort put into them just hadn't been realized up until its debut in 1997. There's no questioning that FFVII is a hugely important title in gaming history, with characters like Cloud and Aerith being recognizable even outside of gaming fandoms.
Final Fantasy VII's multiple successive titles were able to flesh out the characters in a way that wasn't shown in the original game, and they now feature extensive backstories and developments throughout the Compilation of FF7. Now that the original game has been remade, which beloved characters have been designed the best this time around, and which ones didn't quite meet our expectations?
10 GREAT: Jessie Raspberry
While some fans may have wished for the Final Fantasy VII Remake to encompass the entirety of the locales and story points that the original had, condensing only the Midgar section into the first part in the series allowed for far more detail, making Midgar much more intricate than it ever could have been.
But not just Midgar itself was blessed with this treatment, as minor characters were given much more important roles in the story, namely Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie. The first of the love interests in FFVII, Jessie has much more personality this time around, showing new sides of herself and deep, heartfelt interactions with the rest of the cast for the first time in history.
9 NEEDS IMPROVEMENT: Red XIII
The mysterious beast is the only character in the Remake that was playable in the original game but is left as an AI party member here. Red XIII would usually show up around the 10-hour mark in the PS1 title but is now introduced around 30 hours in, making him feel far more rushed and shoehorned-in than the others.
His screentime is pretty limited compared to the rest of the party, especially towards the very end. All of this aside, Red XIII is likely to be a much better character in the second part of the Remake, where he is guaranteed to be playable and to continue to play a major role in the story.
8 GREAT: Tifa Lockhart
When it comes to the playable characters, there's a lot more that needs to be considered when designing them. Final Fantasy VII Remake has an entirely new battle system for the series, and Tifa is one of its biggest highlights. She plays similarly to a fighting game character as she can cancel a lot of her abilities into others, making her extremely fun and varied to play with.
Apart from being a controllable party member, Tifa still retains all of what made her a likable character in the original and takes advantage of her increased screentime to become even closer to the rest of the party.
7 NEEDS IMPROVEMENT: Aerith Gainsborough
As was mentioned with Tifa, the playable characters need to not only fill the role of a seamless part of the world but also as a fun part of the battle system. While Aerith has no trouble retaining her qualities as a well-written and likable character, she's easily the least fun to play as.
Out of the four playable party members, Aerith is the slowest both in terms of movement speed and attacking speed. While this choice was intentional, it can make some fights against quick opponents much more annoying than they should be, especially when Aerith is solo.
6 GREAT: Barret Wallace
Introduced right from the get-go, Barret Wallace has quite an interesting dynamic with Cloud and the others, and seeing him slowly open up to them to form an unbreakable bond by the end of the journey is downright heartwarming.
While Barret may be sluggish like Aerith, he has a ton of HP and defensive abilities to back him up which does a great job at making him feel like a well-balanced character.
5 NEEDS IMPROVEMENT: Tseng
The Turks provide an interesting anti-hero dynamic, deviating considerable from the other, decidedly more evil Shinra higher-ups. Reno and Rude are definitely the defining parts of the Turks, while Tseng comes off as rather flat compared to them.
Reno and Rude both show a questionable attitude towards the actions of Shinra, and while Tseng does as well to an extent, he isn't around long enough to let the first part of the Remake flesh him out as a solid character.
4 GREAT: Roche
The Final Fantasy VII Remake is much more than a simple upgrade to the original game, as along with completely overhauled graphics, new gameplay system, and an altered storyline, fans get a healthy host of new characters.
Among those new characters is Roche, a SOLDIER that gives Cloud and the gang a run for their money during the events of Chapter 4. Roche is stylish, cocky, powerful, and unique in the fact that he seems to value true strength over victory when he fully heals Cloud before their 1-on-1 showdown. We can only hope that we get to see him far more often in subsequent parts.
3 NEEDS IMPROVEMENT: Sephiroth
Sephiroth underwent the most drastic changes in regards to returning characters, without a doubt. Since he only made a handful of appearances during the Midgar portion of the original, creating new scenarios for him was inevitable, and the Remake doesn't quite make him into a new villain without some hiccups.
While he isn't a bad villain by any means, the methods of which he's shown are strange when looking at the Remake as a standalone title. Without extensive knowledge of his role in the original, players would end up pretty lost and confused, especially towards the end.
2 GREAT: Andrea Rhodea
Exploring Wall Market as an FFVII veteran, you may realize just how many changes were made to the area. The biggest of these changes comes in the form of the Honey Bee Inn, where a man named Andrea Rhodea pushes Cloud to his limits.
Andrea symbolizes a spirit of inclusion that is truly wonderful to see in a remake of a game from 1997, where no such thing would have ever been seen. It was a smart move to heavily alter this sequence of the game to fit more in-line with modern societal standards, and Andrea is just a fun and well-written character to boot.
1 NEEDS IMPROVEMENT: Palmer
Out of all of the Shinra executives, Palmer is easily the most forgettable and useless. He isn't seen contributing much to the story outside of a select few cutscenes, where he usually doesn't have much to say in the first place.
Palmer's only notable addition to the game is to show off just how formidable Sephiroth really is, and is his only interesting moment.