Even though it was nearly four years ago now, watching the heroes take their first steps out into the bright new world Final Fantasy VII Remake created, I vividly recall the feelings of bewilderment, excitement, and wonder of what was to come. It has been four long years of watching analysis and theory crafting videos. At long last, the second entry in this trilogy, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, has arrived, and it surpasses its predecessor in every way, resulting in the best Final Fantasy experience I have had in a long time.
Rebirth doesn’t wait long to throw players into the thick of things. After a brief prologue, players are reunited with our heroes, Cloud, Tifa, Barrett, Aerith, and (now fully playable) Red XIII, who arrived at the Inn in the town of Kalm. Cloud recounts the group of his past – one of the most memorable (and important) moments from the original Final Fantasy VII. The following series of events expands and elaborates on the source material, and – this will be a relatively common occurrence for the rest of the game – left me amazed with both the production value and how expertly the team has woven together the old with the new.
To tell this grand story requires a far larger cast, with the playable cast nearly doubling. So many recognizable supporting characters make their debut that I lost count. Fans who played through Remake’s Yuffie INTERmission DLC may even stumble upon some familiar faces if you look hard enough. Whereas Remake relegated you to Midgar’s gray plates and neon lights, Rebirth lets you explore most of the planet in the most robust open world the series has seen since Final Fantasy IX.
Broken up into sprawling large zones, I loved how each region felt brand new and familiar simultaneously. I fell in love all over again with the red cliffs of Cosmo Canyon, the golden sands around Costa Del Sol, and the jagged peaks around Nibelheim. Each zone comes complete with a special summon that you can learn about and fight (thanks to our favorite returning robo-boy, Chadley, and his combat simulator), along with unique monsters, caches of treasure to discover, Chocobo stops to repair, and more. I’m not exaggerating when I say that fully completing each can easily add 20 or more hours to your completionist playthrough. It’s glorious.
Even though I adored exploring and making discoveries while out in the world, it wasn’t without the occasional headache either. There were times when I would be trying to find my way to a point on the map but couldn’t figure out how to get there for the life of me. This confusion was in part due to the in-game map being a static top-down shot that lacks a clear representation of the verticality many of these regions feature, or paths that travel under an overhang. I would love to see an update and add some sort of guide that would generate a little orb or guideline that helps lead you in the right direction.
Gorgeous as these large nature-rich places are, what really took my breath away are Rebirth’s recreations of the iconic towns and cities that you stop at over the course of the story. Each region typically features a main “hub” city with smaller settlements and spots to discover along the way – which can serve as fast travel points. Walking around Kalm, seeing the streets filled with people, hearing conversations, walking by the shops, and just taking it all in was a splendor that never got old. These city centers never felt like simple places that I could get my next round of side quests from before setting back out – they felt like actual destinations in their own rights. I was always looking forward to seeing what the next place would be like. They made me realize how much I missed good Final Fantasy cities, and I can’t applaud the team enough for so expertly recapturing the spirit and essence of these incredibly nostalgic places. Everything is as 9-year-old me imagined when I played the original game all those years ago.
Rebirth’s story is a blending of what’s expected with tweaks and revelations that result in a tale that will leave both players familiar with the source material and those experiencing things for the first time reeling from its twists and turns. Similar to Remake, Rebirth balances points of levity – like Tifa and Aerith calling Cloud an asshole for rummaging around Tifa’s belongings – with moments that have you holding your controller in a death grip or holding back tears like you’re cutting an onion.
Recognizable moments – such as Red dressing as a soldier and walking on two feet – have been further expanded on and fleshed out, with some having monumental impacts on the world and shaking up the lore we all know and love. There were numerous instances where I simply sat there for minutes, trying to process what I had just witnessed. .
Rebirth sees the return of the impressive combat from Remake that blends action combat with turn-based strategy, now expanded with the new Synergy Attack system. Returning characters Cloud, Tifa, Barret, and Aerith on the surface, all felt familiar and comfortable to fall back into. Cloud maintains his punish-heavy counter gameplay, Tifa with her combo-centric attacks, Barret and his long-range tanky support, and Aerith with her ranged magical shenanigans. With the cast expanding now to include Red XIII, the animatronic Cait Sith, and returning ninja Yuffie to the mix, each one feels unique and brings their own gameplay to enjoy.
The Synergy Attacks shake things up, allowing you to have party members combine their abilities to launch special attacks with unique properties – such as Cloud and Red teaming together with Red sending orbs of magic towards Cloud, who responds by using his sword like a bat and whacking them towards enemies. Utilizing these attacks will fill both characters’ ATB bar and, by further using those ATB abilities, allow characters to pair together in Chrono Trigger-like Duo attacks with one another in a Limit Break-like attack.
These new Synergy Attacks and abilities are so strong, in fact, that it almost makes the magic unnecessary – especially with the addition of the elemental spell abilities each character can learn that don’t use MP to cast. There is still plenty of customization available that you can spend time tweaking and tailoring to your needs with the other materia, but it is disappointing that magic feels like it has been put to the wayside somewhat.
When I wasn’t busy tracking down Sephiroth, taking in the world’s natural beauty, or taking care of dangerous fiends, I was partaking in one of Rebirth’s many, MANY mini-game offerings. Seriously, this game may just win the award for most minigames in an RPG with returning classics from the original game like Chocobo Racing and the rest of the Gold Saucer’s offerings, the return of Fort Condor from Remake (albeit with a reduction in options), and new entries like Gears and Gambits and Rebirth’s main offering, Queen’s Blood. These are just some of the options available to choose from – with most also including subplots all their own.
While I may have a minor gripe here and there with Rebirth, the overall experience is a magical one that easily is one of my favorites of recent memory. Whenever I heard a new rendition of a classic melody or witnessed every surprise change from the original, I became increasingly invested in the game. I expected a great game with Rebirth after how surprisingly good Final Fantasy VII Remake turned out, but yet again, they exceeded my expectations.
As I rolled the credits in Rebirth after 60 hours of play, I was coming down from the hype high I experienced from the last few hours of the story. I was teary-eyed, and my mind resembled the tornado of Whispers at the end of Remake – trying to process and figure out what I had just witnessed and what was coming next. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth improved on every aspect from its predecessor, which was already fantastic, leaving me with my favorite Final Fantasy experience in a long time. I don’t know where the final act will take us, and the wait for the last part of this trilogy will be painful, but if Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is any indication, it will be well worth the wait.
This game was reviewed with a review code provided by Square Enix on a PlayStation 5 console.
