Following one of the most incredible remakes of all time, Rebirth picks up right where Remake left off. Somehow, this works without feeling like a cheap reset of all your character stats. And after a brief tutorial stage, the game sets you off into the open world where suddenly it is revealed how much game this game wants you to game. 88 hours later I'm finally done, but unlike my playthrough of Final Fantasy 16, I could probably go another 30 hours and not be disappointed. Rebirth is, hands down, one of the best games in the entire series.

There are three things to consider when thinking about Rebirth. The combat, the minigames, and the story. Just like it's predecessor, the combat remains tight, fast, deep, and complex. When the game begins, you immediately start unlocking combat tactics that allow you to build your character to your exact specifications. Even if you button mash your way to success, combat feels furious and intense, even against insignificant enemies. Any time you pressure an enemy, the controller shakes in a satisfying way, time slows briefly, you feel powerful. This never lets up, as you face bigger and bigger bosses and challenges, the evolution of what you need to do in combat becomes more complex.

As someone who gets stuck playing as one character and never changes things up in games like this, I appreciated that Rebirth forced me out of that comfort zone and regularly put me on missions where I needed to play as other team members. This kept the game fresh at every step, even down to the final boss which introduces a completely new playable character along with team battles that you are forced into. That is echoes the final boss of the entire FF7 original game is strange, but we'll get to the story in a moment.

Speaking of keeping things fresh, the minigames. FF7 was known to have a few oddball moments, with things like shivering to keep from freezing to death on the ice mountain, the doing squats in the gym in Midgar. Of course, on the PS1 these minigames were no more than a basic button press mechanic, there wasn't much complexity. Here in Rebirth the minigames are on full display. Not only does the Gold Saucer provide plenty of games to play, but Costa Del Sol has a ton of minigames. But it doesn't stop there, everywhere you go, and in every chapter of the game, there seems to be some sort of minigame mechanic. They are, of course, of varying quality.

Some minigames are really fun, I'd play more of them just for the hell of it, like the first person shooter inspired pirate ship game in Costa Del Sol, to a four player game of soccer with Red XIII. But then for every minigame you can relax and enjoy there came games that were so awful, I begrudgingly got the lowest tier score on them just to complete the mission. Things like 3D boxing, the motorbike, and the worst of all, playing the piano.

What they lack in equal quality is offset greatly by how much variety they provide. You could just run around the "open world" or rather, open zones, fighting monsters all day, but that too would get tedious. The games provided a fun, if uneven, distraction from the main game. It made 88 hours feel like I wasn't stuck on one thing.

Finally, the story. If you've played the original FF7, then you may recall all of the key moments and details that make up the story. And Rebirth manages to tackle almost all of them in a compelling, modern way. Except... it also eeks out a wet fart in the form of a multiverse concept that is, as you'd expect from Square Enix, confusing at best. This is the Kingdom Heats-ification of Final Fantasy, for worse in many ways.

It's not clear what exactly happened at the end of the story, but that doesn't discount the amazing journey. Just like in the original game, Red XIII's Cosmo Canyon story is full of heart. I was surprised at how emotionally relevant a series of late game flashbacks were for each character facing their demons of the past, especially a young Aerith searching for help for her dying mother. To be able to see these scenes rendered with such clarity, with voice acting, new music, and more depth, was a delight. But more importantly, it felt like they really belonged in the story being told. The thing that both Remake and Rebirth are doing so well is skirting fan service in favor of being its own thing. It doesn't feel like we're getting a rehash that shoehorns in things from the past, this story is carving its own path.

For instance, when playing through the temple of the ancients, swells of wind crossing pathways that threaten to knock you off is taken from the crater scenario later in the original FF7 game, although plotwise these two areas are remarkably similar, so it makes sense to borrow those elements and bring them forward. This is likely because where Rebirth ends and the third game in the trilogy will begin, means that the way in which the story now needs to be told may have to dance around some of the plot points in the latter half of the original game to bring them into this modern format. Just like Rebirth ignores Cid's entire Rocket Town scenario, and moves Cosmo Canyon to much later in the game, I can see how the crater scene may need to rethink its placement in the story.

A big question I wonder is if the introduction of the multiverse concept is something that really aligns with the story here, or if it is a representation of multiverse heavy media concepts in film and TV these days. Is Final Fantasy adopting something popular and trying to squeeze it into their story, or is there going to be a big payoff that makes this all make sense? If you are meant to understand what is going on in the story at this point, then either I'm an idiot or the storytelling isn't clear because by the time the game ended, I was completely lost on what had transpired. It doesn't help that I am familiar with the original game having recently played it ahead of Rebirth, so I'm regularly comparing the story I know with the one I'm now being told.

Stories in videogames can be a divisive conversation. When Mario goes on his journey he needs only know that Bowser stole Peach, and must go there, stop him, and save her. There isn't much story to be told, Mario never learns anything along the way. He's a good guy, who does good things, stops the bad guys, saves the girl. Games are meant to be played, games are not movies. So this works! But when a game becomes a movie, the way Rebirth does, and gives us complexity to our hero, it begins to tow the line. So judging a videogame story, especially the second part of an incomplete trilogy, on the merits of its storytelling as we consider stories in movies and other fiction media is perhaps shortsighted. As a gamer, and a viewer, I was never really lost as to what was happening, and I was even surprised at how much I was tracking what was happening on an emotional level for the characters. When I look back on the journey, I look back fondly. I really felt like I was hanging out with these characters for 88 hours.

Speaking of characters, there were a few surprises that delighted me. Yuffie was a terrific addition to the team, not only is she a powerful fighter, but the voice acting and motion capture for her came across wonderfully. I enjoyed everything she did, vomiting on planes and other vehicles, being angry at people stealing her materia, but also being emotionally connected to the story. Red XIII's changing of his voice was a clever and brilliant way to show how his character is meant to be understood. The only character who was even more confusing this time around was Cait Sith. It was never quite clear how Cait Sith worked in the original game, and it was even less clear in this game. Just go with it, I suppose.

All in all, I consider this one of best games of the series, one of the best games of the year, and an experience it will take me a long time to forget. Fondly looking forward to part three, I'd like to see where this journey takes me, and I'm excited to be along for the ride.