Just a few minutes ago, I finally beat the final boss. Took quite some time, but still not as difficult as Evrae from FFX. I have never played the original FFVII, so I can't really say how faithful it is to the original. I have only heard that it is very faithful, with a few changes here and there.
The game is absolutely amazing, and I really recommend it. The people complaining about the game are the same people who can't handle a bit of a good change. Either that, or they think that this is going to be the only part of the game.
The combat is amazing, like an improved version of FFXV. The graphics and animation are just eye candy. I just wish some characters got a bit more screen time, but I'm sure that'll change in part 2.