Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is not a game that should work at all. It has a very formulaic, repetitive structure, it's sometimes closer to a mini-game collection than an action RPG, it barely has a plot, goes completely off the rails by the final chapter, and it's still a giant conundrum how Cait Sith really works. And yet, very much in the spirit of the original Final Fantasy VII, it somehow comes together in such a way where I can't see any game in 2024 being even remotely as good or special as Rebirth was to me.
I could say that it's thanks to the combat system that with this iteration might actually be the best action RPG combat that's ever been created (though, I'd have to replay Kingdom Hearts II to say that with complete certainty), the incredible soundtrack that's so monstrously huge and varied that it could fill several slots on a best soundtracks of the year list, the new lore given to every location that breathes more life into these places that I've known for decades now and suddenly make them feel new again, or just how goddamn incredible the cutscene direction is.
And yeah, I love all those things and they are a big part of why I love Rebirth as a whole, but here's the thing: this might come as a shock to you, but I play a lot of video games, and I have since the early 2000s. I love it as an artform, a medium, a hobby, but I can also sometimes feel like I've seen it all by this point. That's obviously not true, but most games do feel very familiar, and so does Rebirth in many aspects, but it's been a very long time a game can constantly surprise and delight me as much as this game did. Not just by being a modern AAA sequel that actually feels like it innovates on its predecessor rather than being a slight, but still very derivative upgrade, but also by really channeling that original FF7 spirit of "any idea is a good idea" in every single facet of its being, and it's a better game for it.
This is a very big, still fairly new game so I won't spoil any specifics, but this is one of those games where you both know exactly where the story's leading you, but also have absolutely no idea what routes it will take or how it will go about doing so, and even looking back on some things this game does I feel like I'm having just memories of a fever dream rather than a real game, but in a very positive way. Sure, a lot of Rebirth is the side content in the semi-open zones where you activate Chadley towers and other Ubisoft-like open world things (which, to be honest, have never really bothered me in the games they've appeared in), but then you also have things like the weird proto relic sidequest with its own, fun subplot and new ways to progress it in each region, as well as the new card game Queen's Blood that also has a subplot that gets more progressively more unhinged the deeper you get into it, and is also simply the best card game this franchise has ever had even if you don't care for the story around it.
Plus, of course, the myriad of things to do in the (extremely lovingly recreated and expanded upon) towns, like the side quests that are actually good this time and always tie into on of your party members and lets you grow closer to them while doing fun things, or the millions of different mini games (of very varying quality, but I found most of them fun.)
So much to do on the side, but the things the main missions make you do and the sights you get to see are also such a delight, with so many things that feel so expensive and often made me think "surely, this has to return at some point to make the development costs worth it", and then they just never do, like this was some kind of PS2 game or something (or FF7 on the PS1), but at an absolutely giant scope that could never have been done back then. Also one that shouldn't be possibly today, with ballooning budgets and a market of where people play more than ever, but the pool of games that take up those hours is also smaller and safer, more F2P than ever. Investors could, and probably should, have given a straight no to Nomura & Co came up with some of these ideas that were ultimately put in the game and can't have been cheap, and I'm so glad they got that freedom to really make this AAA piece of occasional outsider art (in the context of this sphere of games development a game like this exists within) that they did.
And I love the characters, of course, so much. They were fantastic in Remake, and the growing relationships between them, plus the inclusion of Red XIII and Cait Sith in the party adds even more to love about them, about their journey, about the game itself. Like I said, this game barely has a plot, being almost completely character driven and feeling a bit like a vacation arc where they mainly have a good time getting to grow even closer, get to help each other, and somehow even making Cloud crack a smile and act openly empathetic towards them. There's a lot of trauma to unpack for everyone involved, but also so much joy, and the game masterfully these moments to create a tonally rather chaotic game, but also one that works because it manages to feel so messy in a very human way, rather than just feeling sloppy and poorly thought out.
When I think of the original Final Fantasy VII (still my favorite game of all time) and my favorite moments from it, it is when it sort of cuts through its own insanity (that I still love, just to be clear), poor translation and anime over-the-topness to somehow have the most human moments a JRPG could ever possibly have,like the brief moment Barrett acknowledges how many innocent people were killed because of AVALANCHE, Cloud and Tifa's gold saucer date that's just a social anxiety simulator between these to super humans, or many others that I won't spoil for anyone. Rebirth has these moments, and so many more newly created for this game, and they make me feel so many of the same emotions I did with the original game, in a way that I honestly did not think was possible for modern Square to make me feel.
I know there's controversy surrounding the final chapter, and I definitely get why. First of all, the final boss lasts about as long as all other boss fights in the game combined (though I thought it was a fun spectacle with amazing music, so not much of an issue.) Then afterwards you want more emotion out of the actual ending, but it's vague enough that it's a bit unclear what's actually going on and thus a bit impact is lost. I'm not going to say people are wrong or that I completely love it myself, but without completely understanding what Square's cooking, I've thought quite a bit about it and at least like my own interpretation of it and it'll be exciting to see if I'm even close to right whenever the final part of the trilogy comes out.
Vincent is still cool. He's always been cool.
I could say that it's thanks to the combat system that with this iteration might actually be the best action RPG combat that's ever been created (though, I'd have to replay Kingdom Hearts II to say that with complete certainty), the incredible soundtrack that's so monstrously huge and varied that it could fill several slots on a best soundtracks of the year list, the new lore given to every location that breathes more life into these places that I've known for decades now and suddenly make them feel new again, or just how goddamn incredible the cutscene direction is.
And yeah, I love all those things and they are a big part of why I love Rebirth as a whole, but here's the thing: this might come as a shock to you, but I play a lot of video games, and I have since the early 2000s. I love it as an artform, a medium, a hobby, but I can also sometimes feel like I've seen it all by this point. That's obviously not true, but most games do feel very familiar, and so does Rebirth in many aspects, but it's been a very long time a game can constantly surprise and delight me as much as this game did. Not just by being a modern AAA sequel that actually feels like it innovates on its predecessor rather than being a slight, but still very derivative upgrade, but also by really channeling that original FF7 spirit of "any idea is a good idea" in every single facet of its being, and it's a better game for it.
This is a very big, still fairly new game so I won't spoil any specifics, but this is one of those games where you both know exactly where the story's leading you, but also have absolutely no idea what routes it will take or how it will go about doing so, and even looking back on some things this game does I feel like I'm having just memories of a fever dream rather than a real game, but in a very positive way. Sure, a lot of Rebirth is the side content in the semi-open zones where you activate Chadley towers and other Ubisoft-like open world things (which, to be honest, have never really bothered me in the games they've appeared in), but then you also have things like the weird proto relic sidequest with its own, fun subplot and new ways to progress it in each region, as well as the new card game Queen's Blood that also has a subplot that gets more progressively more unhinged the deeper you get into it, and is also simply the best card game this franchise has ever had even if you don't care for the story around it.
Plus, of course, the myriad of things to do in the (extremely lovingly recreated and expanded upon) towns, like the side quests that are actually good this time and always tie into on of your party members and lets you grow closer to them while doing fun things, or the millions of different mini games (of very varying quality, but I found most of them fun.)
So much to do on the side, but the things the main missions make you do and the sights you get to see are also such a delight, with so many things that feel so expensive and often made me think "surely, this has to return at some point to make the development costs worth it", and then they just never do, like this was some kind of PS2 game or something (or FF7 on the PS1), but at an absolutely giant scope that could never have been done back then. Also one that shouldn't be possibly today, with ballooning budgets and a market of where people play more than ever, but the pool of games that take up those hours is also smaller and safer, more F2P than ever. Investors could, and probably should, have given a straight no to Nomura & Co came up with some of these ideas that were ultimately put in the game and can't have been cheap, and I'm so glad they got that freedom to really make this AAA piece of occasional outsider art (in the context of this sphere of games development a game like this exists within) that they did.
And I love the characters, of course, so much. They were fantastic in Remake, and the growing relationships between them, plus the inclusion of Red XIII and Cait Sith in the party adds even more to love about them, about their journey, about the game itself. Like I said, this game barely has a plot, being almost completely character driven and feeling a bit like a vacation arc where they mainly have a good time getting to grow even closer, get to help each other, and somehow even making Cloud crack a smile and act openly empathetic towards them. There's a lot of trauma to unpack for everyone involved, but also so much joy, and the game masterfully these moments to create a tonally rather chaotic game, but also one that works because it manages to feel so messy in a very human way, rather than just feeling sloppy and poorly thought out.
When I think of the original Final Fantasy VII (still my favorite game of all time) and my favorite moments from it, it is when it sort of cuts through its own insanity (that I still love, just to be clear), poor translation and anime over-the-topness to somehow have the most human moments a JRPG could ever possibly have,like the brief moment Barrett acknowledges how many innocent people were killed because of AVALANCHE, Cloud and Tifa's gold saucer date that's just a social anxiety simulator between these to super humans, or many others that I won't spoil for anyone. Rebirth has these moments, and so many more newly created for this game, and they make me feel so many of the same emotions I did with the original game, in a way that I honestly did not think was possible for modern Square to make me feel.
I know there's controversy surrounding the final chapter, and I definitely get why. First of all, the final boss lasts about as long as all other boss fights in the game combined (though I thought it was a fun spectacle with amazing music, so not much of an issue.) Then afterwards you want more emotion out of the actual ending, but it's vague enough that it's a bit unclear what's actually going on and thus a bit impact is lost. I'm not going to say people are wrong or that I completely love it myself, but without completely understanding what Square's cooking, I've thought quite a bit about it and at least like my own interpretation of it and it'll be exciting to see if I'm even close to right whenever the final part of the trilogy comes out.
Vincent is still cool. He's always been cool.