An excellent game that builds up on the promising foundations of Rebirth in almost every way, though a few minor issues hold it back from being perfect.

Combat is tightened up greatly from Remake, thanks partly to the addition of Synergy abilities; the characters, particularly the main cast, are just as endearing as they were in Remake; and the diverse settings are a very welcome change to the constant dreariness of Midgar.

A few minor issues keep it from being perfect, however. The pacing issues that occasionally plagued Remake once again rear their ugly head here, making some main story segments feel like more of a slog than they should. In a similar vein, the open-world objectives can also feel like somewhat of a slog as their design feels very reminiscent of the Ubisoft-esque open-world syndrome that plagued several games last decade.

An excellent game that builds up on the promising foundations of Rebirth in almost every way, though a few minor issues hold it back from being perfect.

Combat is tightened up greatly from Remake, thanks partly to the addition of Synergy abilities; the characters, particularly the main cast, are just as endearing as they were in Remake; and the diverse settings are a very welcome change to the constant dreariness of Midgar.

A few minor issues keep it from being perfect, however. The pacing issues that occasionally plagued Remake once again rear their ugly head here, making some main story segments feel like more of a slog than they should. In a similar vein, the open-world objectives can also feel like somewhat of a slog as their design feels very reminiscent of the Ubisoft-esque open-world syndrome that plagued several games last decade.