It’s been a few days since I’ve finished Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and there is quite a bit to unpack. I’ve spent some time thinking about how I’m going to formulate all my thoughts without any spoilers, so I do feel like I should give you a gentle warning in case you want to know nothing about the game at all. However, I will steer clear of any story bits, and at most, you’ll see some in-game footage and a spoiler-free discussion.
Story
I’d like to start this off by talking about the story – just my impressions, of course, without diving into any intricate details. After finishing the main questline, I can say that, without a shadow of a doubt, the main plot is the absolute highlight of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Everything from the character growth, down to the plot twists, is as magnificent as I expected it to be after finishing the original FFVII, and then Remake. If there is one thing Square Enix knows how to do, it’s tugging the heartstrings by making sure that some of the crucial story moments are as emotional as possible. I enjoyed every bit of the main story, even when I had to get a little lost in a maze of caves and almost invisible grappling spots in order to progress with it.
If you’ve finished Final Fantasy VII Remake with high hopes for a development that will bring something fresh to the table, while keeping some of the old bits of the story relevant, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed by what Rebirth has to offer. The best thing about the story being told in such a modern way is the fact that some things that slipped past me in the original were much harder to ignore now. I’m not saying that the storytelling in the original game is bad by any means, but as gamers in the modern day and age, we are inevitably spoiled by graphics, and some things are easier to see when they’re… well, made pretty. This is how I feel about FFVII Rebirth, and why I’m very grateful for it – as I feel like I’ve been able to understand even some of the side characters, like the Turks, Rufus, and Bugenhagen, much more so than when I first met them in the FFVII OG.
The main story has left me with some questions, but I also think that’s understandable, given that it’s very hard to create an ending out of something that was never meant to be an ending of the game at all. When you think about it, crafting three games out of one singular masterpiece and providing meaningful payoff at the end of each installment is very difficult, as the sense of urgency is simply not present throughout the entire experience – at least not to the point where you feel like it is in most RPG final moments. Therefore, I have massive respect for what they’ve been able to come up with for both endings of the Remake and Rebirth, and I have no doubt that the next game will be even more spectacular, as it’ll hopefully wrap things up and give us the true ending of the story.
Combat
The combat is another 10/10 aspect of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Even early into the game, you can tell how much love and care has been put into it, and while it may feel overwhelming at the beginning, experimenting with all the aspects of it is so much fun. There are plenty of ways to play the game, and while you can breeze through it on easy mode by just pressing a few buttons, the real fun comes when you begin to utilize all the tools at your disposal – the synergies, summons, weapon skills, limit breaks, spells, abilities and so much more. FFVII Rebirth has brought so many new things for you to do in combat, it’s impossible to choose the correct way to go about it – and more often than not, you’ll catch yourself forgetting that there is this or that, that you could be using to make it even more fun.
Art Style
When it comes to the art style, as per usual, the Final Fantasy VII team both overpromises and overdelivers. Even for someone not as interested in combat or other game systems, the design itself is what can carry them through the game with a smile on their face. The zones are majestic, and every recreation of a city or an important landmark from the original way was crafted with a lot of love and care. This can especially be seen in areas like Cosmo Canyon and Junon, where the art and design teams have done everything in their power to make you feel like you’re exactly where you were in 1997, but it’s just somehow a hundred times better!
Music
The music of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is – surprise, surprise – one of the best soundtracks you’ll ever hear in a game. It’s a small wonder that they’ve decided to go on a whole orchestra world tour, as the OST is an absolute joy. Nostalgia adds a lot of effect to it, as you’ll hear some rather familiar tunes, performed with the help of modern technology, and you will not be disappointed!
Performance
When it comes to the performance of the game, I didn’t experience any loading issues, stuttering, freezing, or anything that would indicate the game is running poorly. As per bugs, I believe I only found one where Tifa was pacing uncontrollably through her room after I finished playing the piano, but it also could be due to how poorly I’ve played. Overall, the game runs flawlessly, and pushes the very limits of what PlayStation 5 can offer – which is probably one of the reasons it’s not available on PC yet, although I hope it will be soon enough.
Open World Content
Now, let’s talk about the open world – and boy, are there a few things to unpack here. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth starts off as a promise of a grand adventure across the continent, with an immersive open world experience that you’ll have fun exploring for a very long time. In theory, this sounds incredible, as it gives the fans something to work through for weeks, and even months, if you’re chasing that Platinum trophy and have a limited playtime. In theory, this was supposed to be the highlight of the game – something that glues everything together, making you feel like there is more to the game than just the story. But for me at least, it was the singular thing that broke that immersion apart.
Unfortunately, I was one of the people who had a massively underwhelming experience with the open world, for multiple reasons. The first one is Intel. Now, I’ve played enough RPGs in my life to know that each game will have a discovery system that will look largely the same throughout different maps and chapters. However, I saw no reason whatsoever to feel continuously lost while trying to reach every single one of the towers, wellsprings and caves, all while needlessly overutilizing the Chocobo system, which was different for every region. It was an incredibly frustrating and solitary experience, forcing me to choose to play these bits of the game off-stream, and that didn’t feel as much fun either.
The minigames were fun at the beginning, but I saw no need for them to come in sets of magical numbers like 3, 5 or 7 per every zone. There was no practical reason to make these landmarks as unreachable, as dense, and as repetitive as they were, while getting progressively more difficult and annoying – I’m talking specifically about the Moogles and the Materia rhythm game, amongst other things. If you’re decent at most of the mini games, and really bad at some of them, there is great potential for you to be stuck doing open world activities in order to progress through systems like crafting, summoning materia, or even main questing – if you’re unlocking transportation, for example – and that can completely alienate you from the main story. I went too hard with the side content, hoping I can satisfy my OCD and clear every map as I go, but I got so burnt out by the time I reached Gold Saucer, that at this point, I decided to progress through the main story at all costs, or to drop the game altogether. Final Fantasy VII Remake was and still is one of my most favorite games of all time, and I’m personally a great fan of how much more linear it was.
I see the remakes of Final Fantasy VII Original as a giant fan service, and a way to experience the story all over again – not necessarily a way to trap the players in it for the sake of prolonging the playtime. 40 hours of playtime in Remake on my first playthrough in comparison to almost 90 in Rebirth was unreasonably long. It exhausted me, and made me drop the side content altogether. Hopefully, I will one day return to it with a fresh perspective, but for now, I don’t think I can find a reason to go and do the open world activities – not even for the sake of clearing the map. There is very little that brings joy to me when it comes to the repetitive types of exploration that Final Fantasy VII Rebirth offers, and it pains me greatly to even say so, as I wanted this game to be my game of the year, more than anything else.
Side Questing
Side quests are closely related to the open world content, so I’d like to talk about this next. When it comes to the green ones, I can say they are the highlight of optional content, but there are some things I would like to mention that stopped me from feeling the same way about them than I did back in Remake. I was a true fan of the experience where you get to do a few green quests, and acquire payoff in the form of an additional cutscene.
While Rebirth green quests are great, some of them will have you stuck raging as there is yet another minigame system tied into it, turning your green quest into a progression that can take hours – like Chocobo racing, luring chickens back home at a painfully slow pace, and going on a goose chase to craft legendary baits just to be able to kill a creature on the beach. As a creator, I found it disrespectful to my audience to dedicate my entire playthrough session to a single green quest, just because it requires you to either win 30 Chocobo races, or to explore Gongaga and Cosmo Canyon fully, kill all the creatures in it, and craft some silly bait for a silly creature. I felt exhausted from trying to find ways to make it more meaningful and entertaining, as most people who join livestreams are there for the story, and that bit was just so difficult to get to if you cared for the side progression at all.
Another aspect of the side quests I disliked greatly is the amount of pressure it put on me throughout the entire playthrough to get the right date. Even though there is a New Game+ experience where you get to go with whoever you want, this isn’t immediately obvious, and the fact that I felt forced to be deliberately rude to people who weren’t my date choice, avoiding their side quests, or outright failing them on purpose to get the lower score, felt artificial, disrespectful to the game design, and definitely immersion breaking. I feel like the choice should at least be a factor when it comes to who you take on a date, as you don’t really know what you’re getting yourself into when you’re making crucial decisions like choosing the right beach outfit, for example.
As I really wanted to be on that date with Tifa, it was quite discouraging to see the bond with Aerith increase with every one of my organic choices. Eventually, it made me kick her out of the party during combat too, as some synergies deepen the relationship with the person involved, and I just couldn’t risk it. I honestly don’t know what’s worse – knowing that the Gold Saucer date is coming and being ready for it, or not knowing at all, and missing out on what’s potentially a really cool experience for you and your favorite party member.
Lastly, the date progression itself was nonsensical when it comes to side quests – as a Tifa fan, I was quite bummed and offended that I had to go on mini dates with Aerith where she hits on me, just to unlock a green side quest that will boost Tifa’s relationship. It felt like a giant rat race, where you inevitably had to display feelings for both, just to end up on a date with one of them.
Is Final Fantasy VII Rebirth worth it?
Finally, it’s time to answer the million dollar question: is Final Fantasy VII Rebirth worth it? In my honest opinion, it is, but it’s a good idea to know what you’re getting yourself into. If you’re there for the story, you may want to temper your expectations when it comes to clearing the side content, as it can take up to 250 hours to get a Platinum for the game – according to Twitter, at least.
If minigames are your thing, and you want to be playing all aspects of this game for as long as possible, there’s no reason for you not to enjoy it for a very long time. However, if you’re in no rush, or you’re waiting until you can experience Remake, Rebirth and the next game together, it’s worth the wait – but keep in mind that Remake and Rebirth are two different worlds. Even though there are aspects of this game I didn’t enjoy as much, I would still recommend it to any FFVII fan hungry for a gorgeous-looking fan service.
When it comes to my FFVII Rebirth review, that’s pretty much all I had to say about it. What did you think about the game? If you’ve already played it, do share your thoughts on it in the comments, as more opinions will help the potential FFVII Rebirth players make their decisions. Also, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more awesome guides! If you would like to join my supporters via YouTube memberships or Patreon, it would go a great deal towards continuing to make great content! Until next time!
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