“No Promises Await at Journey’s End”

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is a fantastic game that not only moves forward from its predecessor of Remake, but expands on both that game and the original FF7 in ways that I had never expected, yet have still welcomed all the same and I’m glad to have went through the world of Gaia in an all new light.

I have a very strong connection with FF7 that has followed me for a long period of my life and Rebirth has further capitalised on this, from the care and thought given into
each region you explore with the party, with each of these said regions being accompanied by a plethora of side-quests that do a lot to build upon the relationships certain party members have with one another- a favourite feature of mine as someone who dearly loves the cast of FF7. As well as this, the expansions/changes integrated into the main story (most evident in areas such as Gongaga and Costa Del Sol), the new and improved upon mini-games (Queen’s Blood >>>) and most specifically the party bonding system are all things that Rebirth had blown all of my expectations out of the water with.

As for story content, I will not give an in-depth overview or analysis but more so discuss the emotions I felt throughout it, and all I can say is- wow. Rebirth covers some of the favourite story beats from the original FF7 and I can gladly say that said story beats are done in such a way in Rebirth that there were certain story areas that had me feeling left with a hole in my stomach, a smile on my face or just left in tears, and I couldn’t have asked for a better adaptation of these events.

Talking about characters now, I have and will always adore the cast of FF7 and has I’ve said countless times already in this review- I LOVE THE EXPANSIONS/CHANGES MADE WITH THE MAIN CAST SPECIFICALLY! A character like Yuffie- who I didn’t care for in OG FF7, is now a fan favourite of mine thanks to Intermission and Rebirth. Along with this, some stand-out characters of mine throughout Rebirth were primarily Barret, Tifa and Aerith- all characters that I think predominantly shined throughout Rebirth’s story and its side content- and the most important character of all to me in Rebirth was Zack.

I really loved Zack in Crisis Core, and all the way through the wait to Rebirth I was anticipating his role in the story and the fact we would be getting new content regarding him, and all I can say is that I am not disappointed in any right. He stays true to the character we met in Crisis Core and has his own standout moments that feel like a tribute to those who had played the prequel game, and all I can really say to people who haven’t experienced Crisis Core is really just to play it…it’s amazing…

Focusing again on the story, and more particularly the ending portion of this game from the Forgotten Captial onwards- it’s also one of my favourite final acts I’ve ever been through in any game I’ve played, there’s only so few things that have made me feel the flurry of emotions I experienced in those final chapters of the game and everything I had ever wanted out of this remake trilogy and much more and been fully catered towards in the finale.

This game was a one of a kind experience which reminded me why I love the story and world of FF7 an extreme amount, this entire compilation from the OG to the remake trilogy is so special to me, and I am both excited and nervous to venture into the final part of this reimagined story whenever it is ready.

Thank you Nomura, Kitase, Hamaguchi and Nojima.

Persona 3 Reload had provided me with arguably the best gaming experience I’ve had in my entire life, instilling hope into me for my future endeavours in life, and it has done so with the game primarily focusing around the concept of life itself, and what it means to live.

As a remake, it excels in almost every category, from remastered/new OST being composed, to the outstanding QoL improvements to both the overworld portion of the game as well as Tartarus’ gameplay being improved drastically, along with fully voiced Social Links and Link Episodes which develop the relationship of S.E.E.S. to a level that wasn’t seen in either the previous iterations of P3, as well as its movies. Because of said improvements as well as much more, I can confidently say that this is now my favourite video game of all time.

P3R stays true to its core and provides an unforgettable experience through an incredible story- which although is a slow burn at first, turns out to be a fantastic story that focuses on what turns out to be a very beautiful theme that has resonated with me, and it having done so through its vast cast of characters even beyond S.E.E.S. themselves, with this game having some of the best Social Links the series has to offer (Akinari, Hayase and Bunkichi + Mitsuko, I love you guys), with each of their respective journeys that you take with them, allowing you to feel a strong connection with them that feels so so real to the point where I had personally been left crying after finishing some of these Links and the game itself.

“What does it mean to live?” as I stated earlier on- is the main theme of Persona 3 as a whole, and this to me will forever be one of the strongest and most relatable themes that I have ever encountered in a video game, especially as someone who’s struggled with finding a purpose and also losing my way somewhat in recent years. By the end of this game, I had not only found myself in tears but I found myself with happiness too, this game had taught me that a life lived alone isn’t worth living, and to also cherish the life that I live and everyone in it with everything I have, and with this, I want to focus on one of my favourite quotes from the game:

“So…for me, or you, or anyone…just simply existing gives our lives meaning.”

Thank you Atlus for providing me with an unforgettable experience, I will forever treasure this game and the valuable lesson that it’s taught me.