It’s hard to believe it has been four years sinceFinal Fantasy VII Remake, let alone nearly thirty years since the original was released. This is a classic RPG that defined the franchise with engaging gameplay, memorable characters and a heartbreaking storyline that stayed with you for years on end. The sheer scope is just so big for modern standards that Square Enix has to create three separate entries to retell the entire story – not to mention spin-offs such as Crisis Core to better expand the universe. The developer’s ambitions are much grander with its sequel, vastly expanding the lore, showcasing an open world more in line with the original. We have waited four years for the continuation of Cloud and the party’s adventures to save the world, but has Square Enix done enough to justify the remake’s existence?
Emotionally-Reminiscent Story
If you were one of the many who experienced the original over twenty-five years ago, the story ofFinal Fantasy VII Rebirthstays relatively true. With that said, as was established in Remake, there are some timeline shenanigans at hand, with some of the events either playing out differently, or characters surviving when they shouldn’t have. Even the ending was a fairly large departure for the original, with Sephiroth not only revealing himself, but entities called Whispers somewhat dictating fate. While I won’t spoil any of the obvious changes that players are anticipating, there definitely are some alterations to motivations and roles for specific characters, such as Sephiroth and Aerith. And then there’s Zack, who is more of an afterthought in the original as someone who died at the hands of Shinra long ago, but in Rebirth, he somehow survived. Unfortunately, despite his appearance signaling a significant role, his involvement is incredibly limited. The only issue I have with the story is Zack, not because of his personality, but because he’s reduced to a mere example of the villain’s main goal, in addition to some obvious fan service. On top of that, his appearances throughout the story were not only immensely short, but it was awkwardly paced.
With that said, what the developers have done is expand upon the world of Gaia infinitely. Gaia has never felt more alive; to a certain degree it’s thanks to the new open world direction, but truly it’s the scenarios that are fleshed out. It does hit all the standard beats we’ve come to expect, with some quests that are spliced in to better expand certain areas, such as Costa del Sol, which you spend significantly additional time in. The same can be said about Gongaga and its decimated Mako reactor, which has been completely overhauled and plays an impactful role on not only the overall story, but Cloud’s development. There are tons of memorable moments spread throughout, be it the Golden Saucer, which is more vibrant and iconic than ever before, or the Labyrinth of the Ancients, which really dives into some dark and depressing topics. This is a story that pulls on your heartstrings; I have never had a game like this leave me so mentally and emotionally drained by the end of it. It goes to show you how well the characters are established and built that you become so invested in them.
Clash of Combat Systems
While I have nothing but good things to say about the story, combat is without doubt the most finely-tuned aspect ofRebirthbecause of the immense amount of variety and customization. Each character, from Cloud to Cait Sith, has drastically different gameplay from one another that can turn combat into another genre. The core design of how combat functions hasn’t changed much fromRemakeor itsIntermissionDLC, as the characters that make a return are mostly the same with some alterations; it’s a factor of don’t fix what isn’t broken. It’s the same formula of pressuring enemies with specific skills or elemental weaknesses so that they become staggered in which you’re able to unleash massive damage. Despite that sounding relatively straightforward, combat becomes surprisingly complex; while you can try to play a single character in each battle, it’d be to your detriment as swapping between each and activating specific abilities not only changes the flow of combat, but allows for Synergy skills (which are unlocked in the newly reformed Skill tree) in which companions unleash powerful duo attacks on enemies. This is a fantastic component to combat as it allows for a lot more experimentation when it comes to which characters you bring into battle.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Opens Up its Mechanics to Deliver a Bigger, Bolder Sequel
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is a breath of fresh air after spending so much time in the streets, slums and sewers of Midgar.
The two new playable characters inRebirth, Cait Sith and Red XIII, are dramatically different from any of the others. The former is harder to play as it requires our furry little friend to melee and shoot musical notes at a distance to build up ATB before summoning his big moogle companion. At this point, his combat takes off as he has the iconic dice rolls, but he can separate from the moogle and essentially have a fourth party member doing its own thing. He’s a fun little addition that unfortunately doesn’t feel like it fits well into the formula. Red XIII’s gimmick, on the other hand, is building meter by blocking damage to unleash a “Vengeance Mode” that contributes more to the fight and even restores his own HP in the process. He’s an entertaining character to play because he’s both a DPS and support type class, but his attacks have very little range, which can be an annoyance at times. With all that said, while combat is highly engaging, it’s not without its faults. For example, the story frequently separates party members, and there’s no good way to transfer gear or materia like the PHS. There’s also surprisingly needlessly long animations and menus, which can lead to commands being ignored, as there’s no good queue system. Finally, your AI is both intelligent and brainless, as they’re good at avoiding specific attacks or blocking them, but do not build ATB meter fast enough on their own, so you need to constantly swap to them.
WhileFinal Fantasy VII Rebirthhas fantastic combat, surprisingly that’s only a portion of the gameplay.Rebirthis packed with mini-games, and we’re not just talking about the handful found at the Gold Saucer, but almost every section of the campaign has mini-games that go against the typical formula. This includes stealthy chocobo wrangling, throwing boxes at switches to open vents and playing the piano. With that said, a lot of these are segmented in the side quests themselves, from getting high scores on dolphin time trials or chocobo gliding to tracking down a certain target through scent. While creative and always keeps the side quests interesting, there unfortunately are some immensely annoying ones, such as wrangling chicken, where the controls are horribly done and really drags down the experience, despite the conclusion of said quest being highly amusing. Fortunately, there are more good than bad, as the highlights are definitely the rhythm and quick-time events, along with the condor questline, which is a masterclass of appealing to old school fans.
A Whole New World
One of the biggest changesFinal Fantasy VII Rebirthhas to its predecessor is an open world.Final Fantasy VIIRemakehad open areas per chapter, but traversal between sectors of Midgar was limited. That has completely changed withRebirthas the entire campaign is broken up into six segments (plus one special one near the end) in which fast travel is available the vast majority of the time. This is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it drastically opens things up and allows players to explore a vast variety of terrain, but on the other hand, it has a lot of trappings of a modern open world game. For example, there are straight-up Ubisoft-style towers in which you climb to unlock a view of activities in that certain section of the map. This wouldn’t be so bad if there was actually a lot to do, as there’s only a handful of repeatable activities, such as scanning life springs or taking down specific monster mobs with certain competition objectives. At this point, the towers feel a little pointless and take away from the exploration aspects of the world. It doesn’t help that the chocobos are a bit of a pain to navigate, as the amount of geometry placed around the areas, they’ll be bumping into everything at all time. At the very least, the types of chocobos vary per region, which adds a nice spin to traversal.
With that said, there are positives to how the open world is implemented. This mostly ties into the new crafting system where players can go between areas collecting various materials in order to craft items, be it essentials such as potions and ethers, to accessories and equipment. The wayRebirthhandles weapons is also very well done, with them being located in the environment itself, but if you somehow missed the chest, because there certainly are some more labyrinth-esque dungeons in the later game, you’re able to buy them at the following shop. The open world in general is a nice nod to the overworld of the original, but it might have been better to have a more focused approach in its progression.
A Messy Presentation
Coming off the masterfully put togetherFinal Fantasy XVI, we’ve come to expect a certain level of attention to detail from Square Enix, but unfortunately, that isn’t the case withRebirth. The visuals are a hot mess in the most baffling spots. The main characters and most areas are expertly crafted, especially in the second half of the campaign, but then a lot of the open world areas make you question what’s going on. Rocks are plentiful in the world, and there are some that are rendered with care, but then there are some that look like they were pulled out of the original PlayStation version. We’re not just talking about off the beaten path, but core to the story and progression. Heck, they are in some of the impactful and emotional cutscenes. There’s nothing like getting to your resort at Costa del Sol only to look out at the luxurious beach and see this horrendously low resolution Cliffside mere meters away from Cloud. It’s hard to take the story seriously when this happens, seeing these beautifully rendered characters and environments only for there to be horribly low geometry or textures spliced in. On top of that, textures on other pieces of geometry such as interior design items such as chairs and planks are also a blurry, low-resolution mess. The graphical inconsistencies will without doubt take you out of the experience, especially when a lot of the game does look wonderfully done.
With that said, it can’t be understated just how phenomenal the soundtrack is. This is one of the best soundtracks in Final Fantasy history, not only reimagining existing iconic tracks, but creating brand-new ones, as well. And these vary wildly that go well beyond the traditional orchestration we’ve come to love, such as techno to hip-hop, depending on the mood of the questline. It will have both new players and old school fans absolutely beaming with enjoyment. While the events of theRebirth’sstory will bring you to tears and get your blood pumping, it’s just as much the music department’s contribution as it is the visuals that help immerse the player in this timeless tale.
Closing Comments:
Final Fantasy VII Rebirthis a big step in the right direction that’s unfortunately held back by graphical anomalies and open world tropes. It’s an emotional rollercoaster ride that’s heavily back loaded. It’ll pull on your heart strings and make you invested in each character more than ever before. It helps that all the memorable moments from the original are not only retained, but strengthened thanks to the graphical prowess of the PlayStation 5. Combat also remains highly engaging, with slight modifications that only enhance the experience further. Unfortunately,Rebirthis also marred with baffling design choices that stifle its greatness. It’s filled with mini-games that thankfully are mostly in side quests, as their controls and function leave much to desire. At the very least they will keep you interested as it never gets stale. On top of that, while most of the graphics will have you impressed, low resolution textures and geometry are spliced in the most confusing of ways, only pulling you out of the immersion.Final Fantasy VII Rebirthhas its share of issues that prevent it from greatness, but whether you’re a dire hard fan or relatively new to the saga, this remains an RPG for the ages.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Version Reviewed: PlayStation 5
