Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Review)

Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
Available on PS5

After a month and a half of playing it nearly every day, I can now say that I have finished Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. This massive RPG took me a little over 130 hours to finish, and while that’s largely because I did a completionist run of the game, I also found myself wanting to stay in its world for as long as possible. With 2020’s Final Fantasy VII Remake, the 1997 classic was reimagined with jaw-dropping visuals, a playful sense of humor and discovery, and a new interpretation of the story that both honored the original and delivered one of the greatest narrative twists of all time. In this sequel, Square Enix has expanded the entire scope of the game and taken everything they did with Remake and fine-tuned it into what I think may just be one of the finest gaming experiences in the past 20 years. I couldn’t stop playing this game, and even now that I’ve beaten it, I’ve already jumped back in for a second playthrough. That being said, this is the kind of game where you need to sit with your feelings upon completing it, which is why I’ve waited over a week since rolling credits before starting to put these words down. After processing everything and allowing those feelings to solidify, I think I’m ready to talk about this game in detail.

Without spoiling too much of the previous game, Remake introduced a significant twist to the classic Final Fantasy VII storyline that has confused and divided fans for the past four years, with countless debates being waged concerning what that twist meant and how it would affect the story going forward. In Rebirth, we finally get some answers to the literal years of questions and theories that fans have had, and while I still don’t understand everything, this game has done an incredible job of both answering previous questions and establishing new ones, making it feel like the perfect middle entry of a trilogy. We’ll get to talking about the gameplay shortly, but so much of the appeal and mystique around Rebirth has been with its story and characters and finding out what in the heck is going on and whether or not we as fans have successfully connected the dots and pieced the “true” story of this game together. Well, as it turns out, things might have been more complicated than we thought.

This is going to be hard to discuss without spoiling the narrative structure of Rebirth, so I’m going to have to word this next part very carefully. A certain revelation at the end of the last game ends up having a major and immediate impact here from the moment you select “New Game”, and while this is interesting for people who have played Remake, it hits even harder for those who have played the original version of Final Fantasy VII, and especially for those who played the spinoff game, Crisis Core, on PSP. Now, most fans can guess what I’m talking about, and while it can be surmised from the key art/cover for the game, I promise you it’s infinitely more strange and exciting than you think it is. However, if Remake was your first introduction to the world of Final Fantasy VII, have no fear. Although this game is designed to have more of an impact on those already familiar with the story and characters, the way it’s handled also serves as a wonderful mystery for newcomers and I think it does a terrific job of getting its information and meaning across for the uninitiated.

The story of Rebirth picks up almost immediately after the events of Remake. Sword-for-hire Cloud Strife and his new companions are licking their wounds after a string of supernatural events and an encounter with the legendary war hero Sephiroth leaves the city of Midgar partially in ruins. Sephiroth’s evil intentions and motivations are revealed fairly early on in Rebirth, and our heroes find themselves trekking across the world of Gaia in an attempt to track him down, destroy him, and save the fate of the planet. It’s a wild story full of several major revelations, twists, and fun character moments that are handled so well it makes nearly every aspect of the game feel like it feeds into the larger narrative in one form or another. Put simply, Rebirth is about a group of friends going on an adventure and learning more about each other in the process. Yes, there’s a big bad to fight and an overarching story that’s weighty and has significance, but so much of this game is simply about hanging out with friends and doing all sorts of activities as you bond with them.

Personally, I don’t think the main story picks up until very late in the game, with the vast majority of Rebirth‘s runtime feeling like nothing but side quests, minigames, and other miscellaneous activities. Before you start worrying, this is actually a good thing! The greatest strength of Rebirth is how much content is packed into this game and just how meaningful it all feels. Every side quest, optional objective, and activity is designed to further Cloud’s relationship with another character, be that as friends or something more. There is also an absurd amount of side content that unlocks new weapons and armor, Materia (which grants you skills and Magic), and new cards for a deckbuilding game called Queen’s Blood that might just be one of the best card games in a video game I’ve ever played. Sorry, Gwent. I admittedly went back and forth on how I felt about all of this since I could tell my progression through the main story was coming to a halt as I did all the side content, but after spending some time letting everything sink in I think this game is the purest definition of “it’s about the journey, not the destination” that I can think of, and I would highly advise against just doing the story missions.

A huge part of what makes all of this so great is that I’d be hard-pressed to name a better cast of characters in a video game than this. The enigmatic Cloud, fierce defender Tifa, short-tempered Barret, confident and playful Aerith, and wise and loyal Red XIII were all great in the original 1997 game, but now with Remake and Rebirth, they’ve become one of my all-time favorite casts of characters. I also love the additional party members you pick up later in the game, even if one of them isn’t as fun to play as in combat. Regardless, with the game being as long as it is and the focus seemingly being on going on an adventure with friends, by the time the credits rolled, I was so invested in these characters that I started a second playthrough so I didn’t have to say goodbye. I love these characters deeply and I’m sure by the end of the year I’ll still be thinking about this adventure I went on and how much I connected with these characters in the process.

Of course, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows on your adventure. With Remake, Square Enix stepped away from the turn-based nature of the original game and went with more of an action-oriented combat style. In Rebirth, that style is refined and made all the better. You have a basic attack button that can be used at will, but to perform your special skills and Magic you have to use what’s called the ATB System. As you deal and take damage, your ATB (Active Time Battle) bar starts filling up. This bar is divided into two segments, and to use a spell or ability you have to spend one segment of ATB, although some of the more powerful spells and abilities cost two. There are also dodge, block, and counter mechanics that grant you extra functionality while you wait to spend ATB, but what really sells the combat is how differently each character handles. Melee characters like Cloud and Tifa are great for getting up close and personal to Stagger enemies (a special state that makes them temporarily unable to fight back), while more long-range characters like Barret and Aerith excel at hitting enemies from a distance, or taking out airborne targets. However, even in the divides of specialization, each character plays differently. For example, even though Cloud and Tifa are both melee characters, Cloud is a little slower and focused on dealing heavy damage, while Tifa is much faster and builds ATB more quickly, making it easy for her to pull off abilities and spells more frequently.

Although it’s been four years since I played Remake, I found the combat in Rebirth to be easier. While part of that is due to now being familiar with this form of combat, there are new options that help make fights go more in your favor. The most notable example is the addition of Synergy Skills, which allow you to use a powerful team-up attack or ability with two characters after meeting the required amount of synergy pips. A pip is earned each time a character performs specific spells or abilities with ATB, and once two characters both have enough pips they can unleash a Synergy Skill. These special skills can either cause massive damage and increase Stagger, temporarily provide unlimited MP (which is used to cast spells alongside ATB), or even increase Limit levels, which allow characters to perform their most powerful unique abilities. These serve almost as another form of special ATB abilities, making you feel deadlier the longer combat goes on. The other feature that makes things easier is the addition of a “perfect block” that completely negates damage when pressing the block button right as an enemy attack is about to make contact with you. It takes a while to learn the exact timing to always get it perfect since there are so many enemies and attacks with different timing, but once you start mastering it you feel untouchable.

Another addition that spices things up is the new Folio system. Folios are boosts and abilities learned in a giant skill tree that allow you to make each of the characters stronger by increasing their stats, making some of their abilities more potent, and unlocking new Synergy Skills. You gain points for the Folios by progressing in the story and completing minigames and side quests, so it’s yet another example of how everything feels worthwhile and rewarding in this game. However, even if you do a completionist run like I did you won’t be able to unlock all Folio skills in one playthrough. The only way to get enough points is by playing through the game on Hard Mode, which is only unlocked after beating the game for the first time. It’s close (you can get about 75% of the Folios on your first playthrough), but you’ll have to test your skills on Hard Mode if you really want that full completion.

While the story, characters, and combat are all excellent, I think the world is one of the most notable aspects of the entire game. The world of Final Fantasy VII has always been beloved for how varied and memorable its locations are, and seeing them fully realized to this degree with cutting-edge visuals and greatly expanded storylines and concepts is one of the most amazing gaming glow-ups I’ve ever seen. From the relaxing green hills of the Grasslands to the rocky red terrain of the Cosmo Valley canyons, or even the sensational thrill and spectacle of the Gold Saucer amusement park, every single location in this game leaves a lasting impression. It’s not just a change of color in each region that makes them stand out, but rather the overall vibe and how densely packed and detailed they all are. The amount of care and passion that went into diversifying this world and making every area feel special is so strong that someone could pick any one region and say it was their favorite and I would completely understand.

While it’s being considered an open-world game by most, I think it falls somewhere between that category and the “wide-linear” descriptor that’s been going around for a few years. Instead of a seamless world where you can freely travel anywhere on foot, each region of the world is its own separate large map to explore. Without spoiling things, the game does make them appear to seamlessly flow from one region to the next, especially towards the end of the game when everything opens up a bit more, but it doesn’t have that full “open-world” vibe you get from other games in the genre, and it’s easy to see where the hidden loading screens are. Regardless, the game does use open-world style activities (such as climbing towers) to make it feel like its contemporaries, although even these are handled in a way that still feel entertaining.

As a fair bit of warning, a completionist run is a task that you might want to carefully consider your approach to. I did everything possible as soon as it came up, and while I’ve already stated that I think the side content is rewarding, it’s worth noting that playing like this might mean going 5-6 hours at a time with no significant story progress. I did start to feel some burnout around the 70-80 hour mark, but a lot of that comes from the fact that I was incredibly sick with the flu and basically laying in bed and playing this game until I fell asleep every night, which is not what I imagine the vast majority of players doing. My recommendation would be to do a quick lap through each region and sample a bit of all the content until you find what you enjoy the most and then focus on that with the intent of returning for more later if you’re still interested.

One area I was disappointed in was the performance of the game. While a lot of current-gen games allow you to choose between one mode favoring 4K visuals at 30 FPS and another that targets 60 FPS at a lower resolution, the higher framerate option in Rebirth is a visually muddy mess. I’m not as heated as others when it comes to the subject, but I do prefer a higher framerate when given the option, which made it hurt to see how poorly the visuals have been downgraded to reach that target in this game. It’s so bad that I ended up playing the overwhelming majority of the game in the 4K/30 FPS mode after turning off the 60 FPS mode after 10-15 minutes. However, this is where things start to get interesting. Even though I typically prefer a higher frame rate over better visuals, the 30 FPS feels incredibly smooth in Rebirth and I found myself adjusting to it quickly and falling in love with how gorgeous the extra bump in resolution made everything look. I totally understand if people want to wait for a performance patch or PC port, but I wholeheartedly believe the 4K/30 mode is playable and capable of delivering an amazing experience.

I’m going to be completely honest with you… I have no idea if this review makes any sense. This has been one of the hardest games to review, and even though I love it and think it’s an amazing game, there’s just so much content and so many things to keep track of that figuring out how to cover everything and share my thoughts has been an ordeal. Even now I’m still stopping while I write and thinking things through. This is a massive game that I’ll be thinking about for years, and while the sheer scope of its ambition almost feels hard to wrap your head around, I think this is a game that’s only going to grow more and more appreciated with time. Just like Remake before it, I imagine Rebirth is also going to spawn years of in-depth analyses and theory videos, and while I’m already going through a second run to look for things I missed, I can’t wait to see what other smarter people have found. Despite being a single-player game, Rebirth almost feels like a multiplayer experience with how dedicated and social fans have become with each other to pick this game apart and uncover every secret, and that in and of itself is one of the coolest things I’ve seen in years.

Lastly, because of how long this game was, I’m probably going to step back from reviewing “bigger” games for a while. For the rest of the summer, I’m probably going to work on my indie/short game backlog for a change of pace, which should also mean more frequent reviews here. Keep an eye on the horizon.

FINAL VERDICT

It’s not often we see a game like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. While we saw the previous game, Remake, just a few years ago, Rebirth feels like one of those once-in-a-generation games that manage to knock it out of the park in every area and stand as one of the best in its genre. Few games pack in as much content as Rebirth, so much so that it feels like one of those “Game of the Year” editions that come with years worth of DLC, even though this is just the base game. Thankfully, virtually every last bit of this content feels meaningful and worthwhile with how it expands the world-building and deepens your relationships and understanding of every member of your party. Combined with updated combat, a gorgeous huge world to explore, some of the best video game characters around, and a story that’s sure to set fans theorizing about what it means for years, Rebirth may just be one of the most memorable games not just of this year, but of the past several.

– Zack Burrows