Spoiler free review
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is a massive RPG, the sheer quantity and quality of its content are astonishing and showcase how Square Enix invested an incredible amount of effort (and money!) to create the most grandiose and ambitious game they have ever released. This should come as no surprise considering the importance of the Final Fantasy VII franchise for the company and the public, and the resounding success of the previous chapter.
While it was expected that Rebirth would be a grand videogame, what truly surprised me is the discovery that beneath its modern, lustrous surface lies a game that seems to belong to a different time—a new entry in the serie that is reminiscent of an era of Final Fantasy that I thought was long gone. There are many aspects of Rebirth that evoke a nostalgic feeling; wonderful cities and towns, wacky minigames, a variety of subquests and different activities. In a general sense, traveling the world with a cast of compelling characters to defeat a great evil. All elements that were staples of the series but that the latest installments struggled to fully reproduce, always trying to compromise one thing for another.
In Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, it seems like nothing was compromised. It’s like Square Enix poured everything they had into this project, similar to what they did with their main title releases 20 years ago. There are no omissions, no missing elements necessitating DLCs or movies, no concept too ambitious to be included, it seems like every idea the developing team had was fully realized in this game.
The result isn't flawless by any means; there are numerous odd (sometimes inexplicable) design and narrative choices, and the game occasionally struggles to find its equilibrium while juggling so many elements at once.
One of the consequence of such abbundance, for example, is that the main story is streched so thin that even characters are often confused on what they have to do. Its’ up to the player to find an healthy balance between side and main content to avoid losing completely the narrative thread or burning out on repetitive activities. The game offers so much content that it can easily become overwhelming if you don't know how to manage it well.
One of its greatest strengths can easily turn in its biggest flaw: rewards for secondary quests and activities are, more often than not, very valuable, both in terms of narrative and gameplay. You could certainly skip most of the side activities if you're eager to progress with the main story, but would you really want to miss out on a piece of precious equipment? Or overlook a dialogue that adds depth to your party companion or unveils a crucial part of the story?
I decided to go for an almost-completitionist route from the get go, advancing only when I felt like I completed everything in a specific area (with few expetions), only because I am already invested in this world and characters and the rewards were a great payoffs for me personally. Keeping the bigger picture in mind, as well as the simpler and more streamlined story of the original, helped me navigate the extensive content of Rebirth without feeling lost when the narrative was absent for hours. Or when the story becomes progressively confusing and fragmented. Writing is excellent when it comes to characters. Not only the characterization is true to the original FF7 but is expanded and enriched in interesting ways. The game is filled with character moments that give a depth and complexity that wasn’t present in the original.
The main story, however, left me a bit perplexed. Even while reserving my final judgment until the conclusion in Part 3, I can't help but feel dissatisfied by some directorial choices that made crucial scenes confusing and diminished their emotional impact.
For all the reasons stated above, and perhaps even more so than with Part 1, I believe playing the original FF7 first greatly enhances the experience. Therefore, I will always recommend experiencing it before delving into the remake project.
Finally, although I have yet to come to a definitive judgment on the story and general pacing/progression of Rebirth, what I can say with absolute certainty though is that combat, the core element of the game, is incredibly well designed and is the perfect evolution of what we have seen in Remake. They addressed every main flaws of the previous game such as:
- More control on the character: being able to block, parry, counter attack, deal elemantal damage without additional materia, more tools to deal with flying enemies
- Building ATB faster and fill the wait between gauges using new Link Skills without ATB costs.
- Reward in switching to different characters and use ATB actions to gain bars to activate new Linked Actions.
They did an incredible job diversifying party members; each character plays significantly differently from the others, and the game encourages you through many situations and challanges to switch and try different combinations.
On the negative side, combat can feel confusing and overwhelming at times due to the multitude of options at your disposal and the visual chaos during battle scenes. Similar to Remake, it can be difficult to feel in control, especially when guarding, defending, and countering attacks. Enemy tells are often hard to read, making it easy to be overwhelmed and caught in a loop that can bring your entire party down in seconds.
Despite these problems that I hope will be addressed in the sequel, combat in Rebirth remains fun and engaging from start to finish. It stands as one of the prime examples of a combat system that effectively combines fast-paced action with in-depth tactical strategy.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is a massive RPG, the sheer quantity and quality of its content are astonishing and showcase how Square Enix invested an incredible amount of effort (and money!) to create the most grandiose and ambitious game they have ever released. This should come as no surprise considering the importance of the Final Fantasy VII franchise for the company and the public, and the resounding success of the previous chapter.
While it was expected that Rebirth would be a grand videogame, what truly surprised me is the discovery that beneath its modern, lustrous surface lies a game that seems to belong to a different time—a new entry in the serie that is reminiscent of an era of Final Fantasy that I thought was long gone. There are many aspects of Rebirth that evoke a nostalgic feeling; wonderful cities and towns, wacky minigames, a variety of subquests and different activities. In a general sense, traveling the world with a cast of compelling characters to defeat a great evil. All elements that were staples of the series but that the latest installments struggled to fully reproduce, always trying to compromise one thing for another.
In Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, it seems like nothing was compromised. It’s like Square Enix poured everything they had into this project, similar to what they did with their main title releases 20 years ago. There are no omissions, no missing elements necessitating DLCs or movies, no concept too ambitious to be included, it seems like every idea the developing team had was fully realized in this game.
The result isn't flawless by any means; there are numerous odd (sometimes inexplicable) design and narrative choices, and the game occasionally struggles to find its equilibrium while juggling so many elements at once.
One of the consequence of such abbundance, for example, is that the main story is streched so thin that even characters are often confused on what they have to do. Its’ up to the player to find an healthy balance between side and main content to avoid losing completely the narrative thread or burning out on repetitive activities. The game offers so much content that it can easily become overwhelming if you don't know how to manage it well.
One of its greatest strengths can easily turn in its biggest flaw: rewards for secondary quests and activities are, more often than not, very valuable, both in terms of narrative and gameplay. You could certainly skip most of the side activities if you're eager to progress with the main story, but would you really want to miss out on a piece of precious equipment? Or overlook a dialogue that adds depth to your party companion or unveils a crucial part of the story?
I decided to go for an almost-completitionist route from the get go, advancing only when I felt like I completed everything in a specific area (with few expetions), only because I am already invested in this world and characters and the rewards were a great payoffs for me personally. Keeping the bigger picture in mind, as well as the simpler and more streamlined story of the original, helped me navigate the extensive content of Rebirth without feeling lost when the narrative was absent for hours. Or when the story becomes progressively confusing and fragmented. Writing is excellent when it comes to characters. Not only the characterization is true to the original FF7 but is expanded and enriched in interesting ways. The game is filled with character moments that give a depth and complexity that wasn’t present in the original.
The main story, however, left me a bit perplexed. Even while reserving my final judgment until the conclusion in Part 3, I can't help but feel dissatisfied by some directorial choices that made crucial scenes confusing and diminished their emotional impact.
For all the reasons stated above, and perhaps even more so than with Part 1, I believe playing the original FF7 first greatly enhances the experience. Therefore, I will always recommend experiencing it before delving into the remake project.
Finally, although I have yet to come to a definitive judgment on the story and general pacing/progression of Rebirth, what I can say with absolute certainty though is that combat, the core element of the game, is incredibly well designed and is the perfect evolution of what we have seen in Remake. They addressed every main flaws of the previous game such as:
- More control on the character: being able to block, parry, counter attack, deal elemantal damage without additional materia, more tools to deal with flying enemies
- Building ATB faster and fill the wait between gauges using new Link Skills without ATB costs.
- Reward in switching to different characters and use ATB actions to gain bars to activate new Linked Actions.
They did an incredible job diversifying party members; each character plays significantly differently from the others, and the game encourages you through many situations and challanges to switch and try different combinations.
On the negative side, combat can feel confusing and overwhelming at times due to the multitude of options at your disposal and the visual chaos during battle scenes. Similar to Remake, it can be difficult to feel in control, especially when guarding, defending, and countering attacks. Enemy tells are often hard to read, making it easy to be overwhelmed and caught in a loop that can bring your entire party down in seconds.
Despite these problems that I hope will be addressed in the sequel, combat in Rebirth remains fun and engaging from start to finish. It stands as one of the prime examples of a combat system that effectively combines fast-paced action with in-depth tactical strategy.