Title: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Developer: Square Enix
Genre: RPG, Action/Adventure
Released: 2024
Rating: 8/10
Join Cloud and friends as they continue their epic journey to stop Sephiroth. You’ve left Midgar behind and entered the wider world where there are new threats, enemies, and regions to navigate. But don’t worry! You’ll have Chadley and his new frenemy to help you along the way.
Pros:
Gameplay
The overall gameplay was very satisfying. The real-time fighting includes ATB gauges, limit abilities, and synergy attacks that add a strategic, powerful element to the battles. Regional chocobos have different abilities that add to the region’s exploration. And standard conveniences were appreciated like fast travel, rest stops, and vending machines to stock up on items.
Relationship Development
The relationship development tracker was exactly what FFVII Remake was missing! I was thrilled to find that the developers decided to add in an official levels system to Cloud’s relationships with the other main characters. Having personalized conversation opportunities and quests with the others were fantastic additions.
Additional Characters
In FFVII Rebirth, we finally meet Vincent Valentine and Cid! I thoroughly enjoyed their parts of the story and both quickly became two of my favorite characters. Zack also holds a special place in my heart following his part in the story.
Balance of Side Quests and Main Story
The main storyline in FFVII Rebirth is complex, dark, and intense. So the lighter moments throughout the game were a relief. Queen’s Blood, chocobo races, the Eccentric Swordsman… I loved almost all of the side games and quests. Now I just need Square Enix to create a Queen’s Blood app – PvP anyone?
Cons:
Too Repetitive
While each region in the game provided a different scenery, all of them required the same repetitive tasks. Capture the chocobo, activate the towers, gather battle intel, find the shrines and lifesprings, round up the moogles, search the dig sites, get the protorelic… sound exhausting? Well, repeat those steps about half a dozen times and then see how you feel. It’s a slog to say the least.
Open World?
Not quite. The game seems to railroad you throughout most of the story making it more of a linear world game. You eventually have an opportunity to bounce around the regions but not until you’re almost done with the game. Like I said earlier, the main story is pretty complicated so a linear world may be the best they can do to keep it relatively understandable.
The Ending
Oh… what a disappointment. From the Queen’s Blood finale to the Eccentric Swordsman level requirement to the last boss battle… it was a disappointment through and through. And the postgame is far from ideal.
Overall…
FFVII Rebirth was a very enjoyable experience. I would love to play through it again but I don’t know if I have the stamina or patience for all of the regions one more time. The romance option, additional characters, side games, and suspenseful story made the game a top tier experience. Now to “patiently” wait for the final entry in the FFVII remake!
Caroline’s Library 