Just finished it (left it on Rufus last Sunday, but I had a pretty busy week).
Let me preface this by saying that I feel that this a genuinely great game and that it really nails the original in many, many ways. Hell, even surpasses it in some, if we talk about the Midgar portion of the OG (like the characters feeling more alive and the city being properly explored).
But man, I'm bummed out. The game is not without some flaws (the areas are distractingly linear -I'm talking about the visual design-, the side content mediocre and some sections really padded), but I feel that the new plot element of the Whispers and Sephiroth really, really bring this down. And it's a big shame, because they honestly nailed the core of this game so damn much.
Firstly, it makes scenes needlesly long and badly paced (namely, the pillar one, which should be anything but slow). Also, awkward in execution and repetitive.
Same with Sephiroth. I understand what they're trying to do, but I sure as hell think that Jaws can still be pretty scary even if you have already watched it. Even if they were to bring this future sight or whatever plot, they could have done a much better job. Instead, it's Sephiroth showing up every few scenes, spouting some "deep", cryptic nonsense to just dissapear. Like with the Whisper scenes, I was constantly wondering how new players would be reacting to this and, once more, why they should care. It makes a really straightfoward plot (the Midgar portion) needlesly convoluted.
The bike chase was good. Sure, it's not the most fun, complex thing, but it is visually great and a nice setpiece (wish the song had been more like the original version though). The way they deal with Motorball was cool as well, instead of it being a conventional battle.
The rest, though... I know it's a boring argument, but I really get why people compare this to KH: it really felt like a final boss in that series, down to the music. It was fun and spectacular, don't get me wrong, but totally diminishes the threat that Sephiroth is and his mystery. How am I supposed to be scared of him? Even if he was playing with me, I already beat him and saw his moves. All subtletly is lost.
Don't get me started on the Zack thing (great character model though, like all the others in the game).
Thing is, the Ultimania interview made it seem like they won't really stray that much from the main beats and locations of the main game, which I'm very glad about (since I was advertised a remake and since every big new thing in this game I've disliked for the most part). But, then, I don't get this: why diminish Zack's existence? Whatever they do to reveal the actual flashback isn't going to be nearly as effective and surprising (to new players, because there is a shitton of them) now that we have seen his last stand along with Cloud and with the Buster Sword.
A recent GameInformer interview with Kitase has him refusing to answer a question about the ending, talking about theories and all, so they clearly want this, but this reminds me of the "lots of speculation" from ME3's ending.
They were, imo of course, so close to a slam dunk. All they had to do was keep the game as it is and erase the Whispers, making the ending a huge fight against, say, Jenova. Hell, have Biggs survive if you really want to and bring some other changes and new characters.
But the clumsy and tedious execution of the Whispers plot makes me quite sad, honestly, especially with what it means to the rest of the plot of the original game (which is the fun part), both regarding the possibilities of new/erased plot beats and the diminishing of the effectiveness of certain elements. What a shame.
