Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Review - The Remake Everyone Was Waiting For

A couple of weeks ago, I embarked on a journey through the middle part of the trilogy remaking one of my favorite JRPGs. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the follow-up to Final Fantasy VII Remake, is more dense and massive than its predecessor. What I experienced in the first 15 hours was nothing once I progressed through its packed open world and eventually reached the final moments with over 70 hours of game time. There are a lot of changes to the original, but they’re changes I find myself welcoming, as this has now been one of my favorite JRPG experiences in recent years.

This is surprising to say as I recently underwent a similar feeling right before starting this game - I was on a Like a Dragon high, wrapping up Ryu Ga Gotoku’s latest entry in the Yakuza series.

The team responsible for the remake trilogy obviously understands the weight of such a project, as they strove to surpass expectations by going above and beyond. With content alone, they’ve doubled down, throwing so many different experiences left and right that each region is thematically designed to put a twist into this unknown but familiar journey. The number of mini-games is staggering, the activities are plenty, and each region isn’t just a pit stop to something greater, but a highlight on its own.

The developers were in a good position, thanks to Final Fantasy VII Remake establishing such a solid foundation that all they had to do for Rebirth was to keep on building, and that’s exactly what happened here. They expand from a condensed industrial city to a segmented world filled with various open-world activities, biomes, and communities. For the most part, each activity out in the open world is entertaining enough to encourage further exploration, despite a basic open-world design that’s old hat to those well-versed in the genre.

The open world - utilizing what works

As I mentioned in my review-in-progress of the first 15 hours, the open-world content and system take some getting used to, as there’s nothing unique about it. It embraces the Ubisoft formula – having a world filled with a laundry list of activities to participate in, with it opening up by interacting with towers that pinpoint the locations of nearby activities. The formula works best when its momentum gets going - while it may seem monotonous on paper, there’s enough variety mixed to dispel that feeling. Each region starts slow for this very reason, but pays off nicely if one chooses to go off the beaten path. It was only in the second region that I started to appreciate engaging with every activity thanks to the game’s hilarious side quests and diversions that led me to earn unique gear and Materia. 

Thanks to the unique Chocobo mounts exclusive to their respective regions, each location had new twists regarding traversal and interaction, which further helped the game’s overall feel in the long run. It’s also a nice touch to bring back the different FFVII Chocobos and their functions, as we have those that glide, climb walls, and even rise above bodies of water. 

Visually, it’s sadly hit or miss in the open world, as depending on your chosen graphical option, Performance mode can sometimes look muddy and blurry while the Graphics option has a sharper display at the cost of locking in at 30 fps. Lush forests or mountainous terrain can at times look blurred for the sake of 60 fps and overlooking vistas can look nice at times but nowhere near the impressive visuals seen in games like Horizon Forbidden West. 

In dungeons, cutscenes, and massive boss battles, this is where Final Fantasy VII Rebirth shines, showcasing how amazing the game looks as these sections are just a spectacle to watch, feeling seamless with no technical flaws to ruin the magic Square Enix has conjured.

Everyone in the gang gets a turn

Despite the impressive content offerings, the characters’ personalities and interactions are the shining moments in this game’s narrative. If you allow it to, Rebirth shows each character’s fun side. It is an adventure to hunt down the big bad Sephiroth, but Square Enix has embraced the silly elements of Final Fantasy VII, throwing Cloud and company into weird yet entertaining circumstances that could be missed if you didn’t bother to spend a few hours exploring.

I didn’t expect myself to laugh so hard and feel so much for so many different characters. I found a new appreciation of Red XIII, who is always displeased if treated like the party’s pet and not a member of the team. Yuffie’s got that bubbly hyperactive side, but the possibility of obtaining Materia blindsides her. We even have Cloud, the too-serious leader of this unusual band of characters who can’t help but also get swept in some of the fun. The stakes of their primary mission are clear and high, but enjoying the journey isn’t such a bad idea.

It’s not all fun and games, as the game gives each key member of the group time to shine and grow, making use of some of the original’s major story beats to flesh out each character, sometimes stretching certain parts out for more context. It’s great to see them have their moments, as it is not always Cloud that takes the lead in Rebirth. Some of these segments even have unique systems, like Red being able to climb walls during his trial in Cosmo Canyon, Yuffie going through the coal mines with the help of her acrobatic skills, or Cait Sith rolling around, throwing boxes to activate unreachable levers in a lab. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth always finds ways to change things up, making the long journey palatable as I can easily see people spending close to 100 hours with all the distractions.

I was skeptical at first about how they were going to achieve modernizing the story of a JRPG classic, but each memorable moment from the original, such as the famed Gold Saucer, Barret’s past, to Cloud’s character progression will likely be a key element in the third game. The best part? All of it was done with such care and love that it's still hard to believe that Rebirth is real. 

As someone who appreciated the original game, it’s great to see Final Fantasy VII Rebirth retain the original narrative’s larger strokes, but go off the rails just enough at certain points to keep everyone engaged and even guessing.  It’s amazing that in their interpretation of the story, there’s enough here to get even the hardcore fans of the original seeking answers and wanting more. As much as I could predict what was coming around the corner due to what I recall from the original, the plot twists left me seeking answers, and by the end of it all, I felt goosebumps during the finale as I was eager to see how Square Enix would interpret the final phase of Final Fantasy VII’s journey. 

Same old combat, but that’s okay

As the party grows, so do the player’s options when it comes to combat. Each playable character doesn’t necessarily have a role in the party, but a unique kit of abilities and mechanics. This makes it a treat to mix and match to better make use of each character’s strengths and weaknesses. Barret has the tools to be a true frontliner; Aerith servicing not only as a dedicated healer but a spell damage expert; Red XIII with his powerful counter abilities and benefits to blocking; Yuffie’s Ninjutsu; Cait Sith’s luck-based abilities; Tifa’s combination strikes, and Cloud being the all-around jack of all trades, perfectly fitting in any kind of composition.

The game also has sections where you are locked into using particular characters, removing you from your comfort zone and forcing you to work with what you have. Square Enix perfectly encapsulates the concept that this is a group traveling together, as in certain dungeons they will forcefully split them up, making it feel like everyone is contributing and not just left warming the bench. 

If you’ve played Remake, you pretty much experienced Rebirth’s combat. The core concept is almost the same, as the only major change is the introduction of Synergy Skills and abilities. These are team-based abilities that are only available if you pair up the right characters in a party. For example, there’s a Synergy Skill unique to Cloud with Red XIII or Aerith with Tifa. These skills serve as another option as you work towards charging your ATB charge. As for Synergy Abilities, these are powerful tag-team moves that players can do if they do enough ATB moves to make them available. It’s not necessarily a trump card, but more of an added incentive to constantly swap control in your party, as you’ll need to do a certain amount of ATB actions with each character during a fight to get the true benefit from these abilities. 

But these new additions aren’t necessarily a must-use, as one can ignore the Synergies altogether and still find success in Rebirth’s combat as the game isn’t all that difficult, even on Dynamic difficulty, which is said to simply adjust the level of low-level enemies to yours, keeping difficulty somewhat consistent. You’ll just miss all the big benefits from Synergy Abilities, and all the flashy animations, as they’re just as pleasing to watch as the Limit Breaks found in this game.

Character progression isn’t that deep, as the system in place feels more simplified. Weapon upgrades are no longer the main system for character growth as you level, as the Folio system (which feels similar to Final Fantasy X’s Sphere Grid in layout) primarily opens up characters’ options in combat, increasing ATB charge rates, and unlocking new Synergy skills and abilities. Some are just outright not worth the points, so there are not many options regarding character builds. Stat improvements aren’t significant enough to compel me to invest points to reach them, as upgrades like 3 more MP points or a 3% increase in elemental damage were hardly noticeable once you get them.

These types of upgrades will likely matter in the toughest encounters towards the end, but during the main story, it’s more about your spending points on the moves that will look cool rather than aiming for the best upgrades that you think will help in future encounters. Progression isn’t about how you grow Cloud’s party, but mainly about the kinds of abilities you have available in a fight.

The biggest struggle is Materia management, as you do have six characters to fill up with Materia this time around. With the game constantly shifting your party left and right, I found myself often in the menu resetting and arranging Materia, then rearranging again when I found new gear with more slots or one without a pair slot. This felt like a waste of time, as I wasn’t spending time finding the best combinations, but rather putting stuff back to where it was originally. A loadout system would do wonders for a game like this, but sadly there’s nothing like that in Rebirth.

The remake fans deserve

When Final Fantasy VII Remake was released in 2020, I was in awe at how well they did in recreating a classic, while saving a good portion of the game for another title that eventually came to be Rebirth. I am now feeling the same awe and wonder, as Rebirth shows they can stay consistent in delivering a fantastic remake. The real accomplishment here is despite my being familiar with the big strokes of the game’s locations and overall story, they made enough changes and expanded certain areas to make the journey worthwhile. Their interpretation of Cosmo Canyon was just what I was hoping for, and though the Gold Saucer was something I was worried about, thankfully they nailed the personality and weirdness in that area as well as the serious tones, making it hit hard when it counts. 

They also stuck with respecting the source material closely enough. To be honest, Final Fantasy VII had a variety of flaws in its story, which are greatly seen now that I’ve played the original and the remake as an adult. But somehow they made it work, with some parts working better than before, which is why I appreciate their not making an exact 1:1 recreation of the original, despite the story being more convoluted than ever. 

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was a joy to play from start to finish, and is a title every FFVII fan should play as they’ve done an exceptional job at bringing to life the world outside Midgar. All that’s left is the long wait for the third and final title of the remake trilogy to see if they can deliver a perfect home run.

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Verdict: 5 / 5 (Exceptional)

PROS

• A fantastic reimagining of Final Fantasy VII’s open-world segments

• An insane amount of mini-games and activities that can keep you invested for hours

• A remake that will make hardcore fans and newcomers happy and wanting more

• The combat still feels great to play

CONS

• Hit or miss visual fidelity in open-world segments

• Materia management can feel like a slog

What I’ve Played 

• Finished the game after 70 hours of play time

• 100% completed one region, and have done half of the content in other areas

• Played my first playthrough on Dynamic difficulty

*This review is based on a PS5 review copy provided to the reviewer

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