The more of this I play, the more I realize this is an un-reviewable video game.

The emotional equivalent of the coolest, nicest, hottest people you know asking you to help them move and paying you with pizza. Rebirth has some of the most satisfying real time RPG combat with one of the best ensembles in video game history-- all shoved into a bizarrely designed approximation of a "modern" open-world game.

Reflecting on FF7's world map, the openness was more of a feeling than literal design. It wasn't until you got the Highwind near the finale of the original game that you could actually go anywhere you wanted.

Rebirth, ironically, is best when it's on the rails. There are some fun side quests here and there, but there is so much fluff that it genuinely feels like half of the world map activities were designed out of spite.

Ultimately, I am such an unabashed FF7 fan that even if part three is complete garbage, I will still be grateful that this remake trilogy exists. The characters all feel like fully realized versions of themselves, and there are moments of Rebirth that are high points for Final Fantasy overall. It's just a shame that somewhere within Square Enix they felt that a 10/10 story-driven linear action game needed to be shoved into another genre that doesn't feel built around Rebirth's strengths.