Best RPGs of 2020
Winner: Final Fantasy VII Remake
Staff Writer Keenan McCall: It was a great year for RPGs, and many stood out as exemplary titles all their own. However, Final Fantasy VII Remake stood out not only as a fantastic remake of a classic, but as a top-of-the-line RPG pushing its series and the genre forward.
Blending action with turn-based RPG mechanics, the combat breaths new life into the Final Fantasy franchise’s gameplay like never before.
Within a handful of seconds, players can buff their characters, target an enemy’s weak points and coordinate special attacks between their party members; which, in motion, plays out like a scene from the CG film Advent Children.
This is bolstered by an expansive amount of character customization options. Utilizing magic and abilities tied to the Materia system, the player can tweak their party members to fall in and out of classes and jobs at will.
One fight could see Cloud playing Healer while Barret smashes through enemies with combat abilities. The next, Barret could act as a Black Mage, tearing enemies apart with flames and lightning after Tifa softens them up with attacks that leave their targets with status effects-a-plenty.
This is to say nothing of the other elements that surround the gameplay. The fully realized city of Midgar – a dystopian city filled with memorable characters, jaw-dropping vistas and exceptional graphical beauty – and the reworked story both give credence to the legend Final Fantasy VII has become, pushing it from its place in a past generation into the current generation masterfully.
What else can really be said about Final Fantasy VII Remake except that it is exceptional. It’s a bright spot among the RPG genre, and well deserving of being called the best RPG of the year.
