Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Review - I'd Explain But I Don't Think I Can

Four years ago players were welcomed back to the world of Final Fantasy VII with the release of Final Fantasy VII Remake. Telling only a third of the epic tale of Cloud Strife, fans were lovingly shown around Midgar, reintroduced to beloved characters with increased depth, and rallied to the protection of the planet against the Shinra Corporation. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth continues that journey past the walls of Midgar where the planet takes on a role of its own.

The Story That Was

The story picks up in Kalm where Cloud retells the events of his visit to Nibelheim five years ago with Sephiroth and Tifa. Knowing the dangers that Sephiroth and Shinra place on the world the party understands that it's their mission to stop Sephiroth and that the mysterious figures clad in black should lead them in the right direction.

This adventure takes the party across the entire world. Setting out in the Grasslands it's not long before players find themselves at the seaside cliffs of Junon, the dense jungles of Gongaga, and the expansive desert of Cosmo Canyon.

For the majority of the experience, the story beats found in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth are as you'd expect them to be if you played the original. An early example is Cloud and his party needing to get Chocobo to make their way through the swamp. In the original, this was a quick matter of getting Chocobo Lure Materia from Chocobo Bill's ranch, capturing a Chocobo in battle, and riding it across the swamp.

Expanding Upon The Original

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth takes the same framework but expands it not only in terms of gameplay content but also in story depth. Introduced to Chocobo Billy, Bill's son, you learn of his and his sister's misfortune due to the actions of Chocobo Sam (a character players may be familiar with from Remake).

To obtain a Chocobo you need to talk to Billy about obtaining one, hear about their lost Chocobo, capture it in a stealth-like minigame, prove to Billy you have what it takes to ride them, and then be allowed to set out into the world.

This level of character growth and expansion is most notably seen across the members of Cloud's party. The combination of more time for characters to interact and grow, as well as the updated graphics and voice acting let each character express themselves in a powerful way.

Some of the most intense parts of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth to watch are Barret and his time in North Corel and the Dustbowl, as well as Red XIII and his tonal change as he returns home and reunites with Bugenhagen. Overall Red XIII's character arc has got to be my favorite.

There are plenty of examples like the above, where the story has been expanded upon but remains the same, but there are also key moments where the story has differed. Coming off the conclusion of Final Fantasy VII Remake everyone is well aware that the story we might have experienced on the PlayStation back in 1997 isn't the one we're playing today.

Cracks in the Formula

As we'd expect coming out of the twisted ending of Final Fantasy VII Remake the Whispers of Fate are still in play. With that, there's also a variety of departures from the original plot to keep fans guessing.

While some smaller changes, such as Cloud's continuous visions of Sephiroth or subtle loss of self, do a good job of foreshadowing later events or better demonstrate just how unwell he is from the original game there are also events like what happens at the Gongaga Reactor that are wildly different from the original game.

One of the largest changes for Rebirth is the presence of Zack, a character who was meant to die at the end of Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core arriving back to Midgar safely with a mako-poisoned Cloud slung over his shoulder. He's certainly not in the game as much as I expected him to be, but where he is has some very interesting effects on the overall story.

The world and mythology of Final Fantasy VII have been expanded upon over the years with new movie and video game entries, it's interesting to see how this remake leans into those new ideas and themes.

The story overall was one that I very much enjoyed right until the end. As the story built to its conclusion I was hooked, but with the introduction of a new mechanic slowing down gameplay and unneeded exposition in the final act what could have been a concise ending ended up rambling and tripping over itself.

Buster Sword Swinging

Continuing Remake's formula the Combat in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is primarily real-time action with the ability for players to menu through abilities, spells, and items with the world slowing down around them.

At its basics, there isn't too much difference in combat from Remake and players will immediately find comfort in Cloud swinging his Buster Sword around like it weighs nothing zipping between different fiends and Shinra Troops alike.

The Stagger Gauge also returns, assessing an enemy will provide insight on what's needed to build up Pressure. For many enemies, this is simply hitting them with an element that they're weak to. There are a lot of fun and unique ways to Pressure fiends like perfectly reflecting their attacks or interrupting their attacks with a powerful hit.

As you regain access to the rest of the party you'll get to experience each of their unique fighting styles. Barret's long-ranged machine gun, Tifa's quick physical attacks, Aerith's slinging spells, and Yuffie's ninja-shuriken combos. Joining the party this time around is also Red XIII, now fully playable, and Cait Sith.

Cid and Vincent are in the game, but much like Red XII's appearance in Remake they're non-playable characters.

Aside from Cloud, the character that I had the most fun playing with was Aerith, while her basic attacks aren't too much to swing a staff at, it's in her magical ward abilities that she truly shines. She can create a field that will stop enemies, assist in charging the ATB gauge of other characters, and even a ward that will have you cast magic twice while within it.

Needless to say for some of the later game bosses with elemental weaknesses the ability to deliver a 'two for one' Firaga special helped immensely, especially when any character can use the ward and it lasts for the entire combat.

There's no I in Team, but there is one in Omni-Slash

The idea of teamwork is further reinforced with Synergy Attacks that characters can use together once they've unlocked the ability. Using regular ATB attacks will create Synergy Points that can be spent on these attacks.

Synergy Attacks don't just deal damage to your opponent but also provide a boon to the characters involved. This might mean temporary unlimited MP, that their ATB gauge increases to three segments, of their Limit Break levels up.

Controlling a character charges ATB faster, using those ATB charges generates Synergy, and then Synergy allows for more powerful attacks and abilities. This simple combat logic will have you frequently cycling through all three active party members creating a consistently fast-paced and engaging combat experience.

World Explorations, Side-Quests, and Minigames Galore!

The biggest and most impressive change is in the scope of the world. Instead of an overworld map of random battles and a few cities, there are all kinds of small settlements, roaming monsters, World Intel, and side-quests to engage in as you adventure through Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

Players are immediately introduced to this expansive world as they flee Kalm and run across all manner of interesting landmarks. The formula here definitely isn't a unique one - activating towers on the map reveals points of interest for you to complete - but it's in the variety of activities you can complete that Final Fantasy VII Rebirth has managed to find success.

World Intel consists of finding towers, defeating fiends with special criteria, locating lifesprings and secret locations tied to summons, and even herding mischievous moogles. The range of activities further diversifies as a side-quest might have you playing Queen's Blood, a fun card game that gets its own full storyline, playing a Fall Guys minigame as a frog, or a Rocket League-style soccer game as Red XIII.

There are something like 20+ minigames across the entirety of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth but most of them you only need to engage with three to five times. Some of these minigames are definitely better than others too, but even having 20 middling mini-games that you play a few times is more engaging and refreshing than playing just a few minigames 20+ times.

Even after completing the game, I wasn't sad as that meant it was time for me to return to the Golden Saucer to keep working on my 3D Boxing matches.

An Iconic Soundtrack Improved

One thing that consistently delivered through my 80+ hours of playing Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was the way the soundtrack was consistently keeping me drawn into intriguing moments, hyping me up during combat and minigames, and making me feel some real feelings when they were needed.

Growing up being familiar with so many of these songs it was incredible to hear their new arrangements and even how each composition would be changed depending on the circumstances. There were a number of important battles where the already iconic FFVII battle music was dialed up to 11, or even altered to become more sinister.

Leitmotifs are also constantly used to keep drawing the player in. I would constantly hear the soft sounds of Aerith's Theme sprinkled into different music. 

Whether the tone of the song is completely altered by different instruments or slowed down to the point it is almost impossible to discern the soundtrack does an incredible job of drawing the player's attention to an important character or moment when necessary.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Review | Final Thoughts

It's ambitious to take a game that was released in 1997 and remake it at such a large scale that it needs three whole games but Square Enix has absolutely delivered with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

The story of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is even more powerful than the original release. It contains everything that made the original special while enhancing it for new and returning fans. While the final dungeon did slow down progress it's a small misstep in an otherwise incredible experience.

This experience is then further uplifted by the incredible soundtrack and sound design across the entire game.

Exploration is fun and rewarding, combat is approachable and fast-paced while leaving room for strategy, and the mini-games are more often than not a blast to play. Even if the minigame isn't your thing there are no worries because you can choose not to engage it in again.

If you enjoyed Final Fantasy VII Remake it's a no-brainer to continue the story, and if you weren't a fan of Remake for its linear nature then the expansive open world and variety of tasks to take on might just make this game better for you.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was reviewed on PlayStation 5 with a copy provided by the publisher over the course of 80 hours of gameplay - all screenshots were taken during the process of review.