When you think of Final Fantasy, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Do you think of the thirty-plus games in the franchise? Do you think of the massive MMO game (Final Fantasy XIV) that many players migrated to after the Activision-Blizzard Controversy? Even if you didn’t know about the multiple entries in the Final Fantasy franchise if you are a gamer, you most likely have heard of Final Fantasy 7. It is hard to find a list where Final Fantasy 7 is not listed as one of the best RPGs/JRPGs alongside Chrono Trigger, Persona, or Dragon Quest. So does Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth live up to the expectations set by the original game and Final Fantasy 7 Remake? Find out in our Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth review.
Going into Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth blind may have not been the best idea, but it did make for a more thrilling ride. Yes, I did play Final Fantasy 7 Remake, but I did not play the original PlayStation 1 version. For years, I have heard that Final Fantasy 7 is one of the best games out there. After playing Final Fantasy 7 Remake, I was left wondering what I was missing. What did they see that I did not? Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth adds another layer to the growing puzzle but feels like it is trying to create its own legacy rather than returning to what many loved.
Story
From the start of the game, we experience what seems to be a multiversal or clone setting creating confusion for most players. How has Zach returned and who is he nursing back to health if the story’s protagonists are elsewhere? Throughout the game, players experience snippets of Zach’s life back in Midgard but provide very little explanation without causing more confusion. Is this the developers trying to incorporate a fan-favorite into the story where things were vague in the original game or is it a similar story within an alternate universe?
Once the prologue is complete, we are thrown into the past with Cloud retelling his time with Sephiroth at Nibelheim and the day everything changed. As Cloud tells the story and interacts with certain moments/people, there is a green distortion that bothers Cloud’s head; from this point, we can tell that something is wrong with him and that some things might have been altered. For players who have played Crisis Core, you will realize that Cloud is retelling the story from Zach’s perspective and that something is off. Throughout the story, there are various moments when these distortions will affect Cloud and we are thrown through a loop.
Researching Final Fantasy 7, it appears that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth keeps all the main storyline plot points the same with some minor alterations including the addition of Zach. While Cloud, Aerith, Red, Tifa, and Barret look to escape from Shinra, they seek to uncover why Sephiroth has returned and what his ultimate plan is. Mysterious black figures help guide Cloud and the group closer to Sephiroth but as they inch further, these figures cause a disturbance within Cloud; these figures have their own dark history that the player discovers as the game progresses.
Story Positives and Negatives
As far as the story goes, the game remains mostly faithful to the original outside of the inclusion of other side characters and the multiversal aspects. Yuffie has more of a prominent role within Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth than she did in the original (Optional Party member). Vincent and Cid have a lesser role within Rebirth but do still appear. The game still has the Black Cloaked men leading the way/trying to reunite but doesn’t clearly explain why until later in the game. While you are playing through the story, there are a ton of emotional moments but some of these moments are tarnished due to two intersecting stories.
Although the animated scenes for the story are beautifully done, it does cause some confusion when it is alluding to other matters. The way the story is done in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth seems like more of a mystery/horror game rather than that of an RPG. Outside of the dates option, character bonding doesn’t seem to play as much of a pivotal role as it does in other JRPGs. The massive open world can cause the story to be backtracked a bit and finding your way at times can become a complicated issue.
Crisis Core Issues
In a way, the release of Crisis Core Final Fantasy 7 Remake before Rebirth has been more of a hindrance than a blessing; it has left us with more questions than the answers we have been provided with. The only way that it can be impactful is if Square Enix does something important with it. The biggest downside to some of the story changes is Yuffie’s role; going from an optional character to a main party member causes more problems for Cloud and the crew and forces the player to deal with her annoying obsession with gaining Materia for her nation. Some of Yuffie’s moments make the story less serious and take away from the game’s overall narrative.
Gameplay
In Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, players can choose between Active and Classic combat and Easy, Normal, or Dynamic difficulty. With Classic combat, the player needs to focus more on issuing commands to the party during combat. With active mode, the player must focus on blocking attacks, dodging enemy abilities, and issuing commands all while managing each party member’s ATB Gauge. The ATB gauge still dictates whether a player can use magic, items, or their special abilities. Items being stuck behind an ATB charge are extremely limiting during combat. Yes, the player can use items and healing magic while exploring the world, but it is fairly easy to forget and wind up dead. The benches and Inns still give the player a place to rest while exploring.
Leveling within FF7 Rebirth feels like it is dumbed down for mass player consumption. Rather than assigning points to specific trees and unlocking certain skills, there is a pathing skill tree that players use to unlock or empower their character; in a way, the skill tree feels worse to use than the skill tree in Final Fantasy 13. As the game progresses, you can respec your character trees to fit your needs; this helps once you find different Materia, weapons, and armor. Players can manage their weapon level unlocks or let the game do it for them.
Crafting & Skill Tree
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth does feature a new crafting system (Item Transmutation) where players can craft items like potions, gear, key items, and even upgrade gear. Players can purchase the materials they need in order to craft items or find the materials out in the wild. Speaking of the wild, FF7 Rebirth has a massive open world for the player to roam around in. The only downside, there appears to be a level cap in certain areas where enemies will still be difficult to kill but you gain very little experience. Ultimately, our dislike of the skill tree could be its look or something else, but we’ll leave it up to you to decide if you like it or not.
Mini Games
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth features a ton of mini-games. The Box Smash and workout mini-games return in Rebirth while in Costa del Sol. Rebirth introduces a new mini-game called Queen’s Blood that has more of a prominent role within the story. Queen’s Blood is a tabletop game that is a hybrid between a card game and chess. In each city that you visit, you can find players who want to play the game and one chapter within the story revolves mostly around the game. The formation mini-game from the original game returns and adds a new twist with various difficulties.
The inclusion of mini-games is a nice touch to take away from the constant fighting but there is almost too much of a focus on them. At times, it feels like they overshadow the base game. Even some of the world intel missions revolve around a memorization mini-game. If you need a break from combat and exploration they can be refreshing, but in a way, there seem to be just too many options.
Graphics
When it comes down to graphics, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has its positive and negative moments. The cutscenes are beautifully rendered in most instances; however, you will occasionally see some items that look 2D or appear to be not rendering properly. On performance mode, while you explore the world there are times when objects do not want to render properly or they will become glitched in a space and shake violently. Most of the objects in the world are well-designed but there were a few items that felt like they reused assets from four years ago that looked off compared to the rest of the game.
The biggest graphical issue within FF7 Rebirth is the lighting. When entering caves or a building, the lighting would go from dark to bright almost like flipping a switch; the problem here is that the game wouldn’t always recognize the character’s position. The game’s lighting would also have issues when the game switched from the 3D models to the 2D sprites. The light would refract off the 2D sprites in a weird way and cause visual overload.
Outside of the lighting for the 2D mini-games, there are other visual difficulties the FF7 Rebirth faces. The rhythm games still have an issue with the visual presentation overpowering the area where button prompts appear; in the marching mini-game, the notes appear in areas that can be distracting and easy to miss. In the piano mini-game, the player is forced to look to the left of the screen while the game showcases the player playing the music from various angles.
Controls
While playing on Active mode, you are responsible for controlling and maneuvering Cloud and/or other party members. This can be a lot to manage especially when you are trying to control multiple, dodge/block attacks, and issue out commands. If you are a fan of turn-based combat, then the classic game mode will allow you to focus on only combat rather than dealing with movement. Running through the open world is fairly simple however, it can take a while without a Chocobo.
The Chocobos can be unlocked by doing a Chocobo mini-game; the mini-game requires you to sneak up on the Chocobo in order to be able to tame it. This in itself can be annoying, but controlling the bird can be even more of a headache, their turning radius and movements can cause the bird to move in weird ways or fly uncontrollably. Speaking of weird movements, don’t even get us started on the way Cloud jumps over rails and other objects.
Audio/SFX
When playing through Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, players will notice how massive the game’s overall soundtrack is. Each mini-game and area has its own theme. Some of the themes in the different areas don’t always fit the feel. The one song that felt the most out of place was Hollow which played while out in the desert. Overall the soundtrack is masterfully scored with most of the music setting the emotional theme for the chapter. The voice actors have done an excellent job while reprising their roles while the new cast does a masterful job fitting in.
Rebirth‘s soundtrack might just be one soundtrack that gamers put into their favorite of all-time list or at least into a gaming soundtrack playlist.
Replay Value
When it comes to the game’s replay value, this is where Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth can struggle. When a game is rather lengthy, it can be difficult to justify replaying a game where there is little variance. Yes, die-hard fans will play through on multiple difficulties and modes, but for the average gamer, returning to it could be rather daunting. All side quests and collectibles can be gathered before completing the game or the player can load a previous save state to perfect the different areas.
The only variation changes revolve around dates and character interactions; these can easily be redone by loading up a specific chapter to see the variation. When loading up the chapter, players can set who they want to have the special interaction with; this eliminates the need to replay through the game fully in order to secure the desired emotional relationship.
Conclusion
While we were tackling the Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth review, two key questions came to mind. First, how did Square Enix do when adapting the original content to a modern game? Second, did the changes the developers make improve the game’s overall quality or detract from the overall experience? While considering these two questions, we decided that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is a good continuation of the Final Fantasy 7 story but the addition of new story elements detracts in some aspects from the overarching story. Certain things within took too long to explain or were not explained properly.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth excels with graphical improvements that are highlighted within the game’s cutscenes; however, the game does feature some problematic areas in the overworld and during mini-games that could be improved on with future updates. Without a doubt, FF7 Rebirth graphics are an improvement compared to Final Fantasy 7 Remake. When it comes to the game’s controls, it just depends on how present you want to be in combat; the game does feature some weird interactions but nothing that makes the game unplayable.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth‘s soundtrack gives fans of the series everything they love while giving casual fans something to enjoy listening to. When it comes to the game’s replayability, it is hard to justify replaying through the game entirely unless you want a harder challenge. Square Enix’s inclusion of chapter selection and the ability to select your preferred partner makes it so you don’t have to replay the game in its entirety to enjoy the different variations.
Verdict
If you are a fan of the original Final Fantasy 7 then you will want to check out Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth eventually. The changes the development team has made from the original can be off-putting to some, but enjoyable by others. If you are on the fence on whether you want to play it or not, then it is better to wait until the game goes on sale. If you are a die-hard fan of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Square Enix took everything you loved from the remake and improved upon it; so if you are a fan of the remake then you will love Rebirth and should pick it up whenever you can.
A Review Code was Provided by Square Enix for Review Purposes.
