Summary
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthis finally in players' hands after a four-year-long wait. Players can do a lot within the game, whether that be exploring the rather large world of Gaia, playing a few rounds of Queen’s Blood, or gathering intel for Chadley.Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthputs the speed at which Cloud and company do things in fans' hands with plenty of freedom, but in terms of what’s set in stone story-wise, there’s surprisingly very little say in the matter.
When it came toFF7 Remake, players were told that everything beyond Midgar would be unknown territory compared to what would be expected, anddeveloper comments leading up toFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthteased the differencesquite regularly. However, now that the game is out, it’s clear that there are not as many deviations as developer comments and marketing may have led fans to believe, with almost all the core moments of the originalFinal Fantasy 7remaining intact and wonderfully extended. It might make fans wonder when the truth to the story will hit, but having more of the original game’s scenes than new ones is hardly a bad thing.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is Arguably More of a Remake Than FF7 Remake Is
The idea behind theFinal Fantasy 7 Remakeproject is to be just that; a remake. For many years, the developers at Square Enix had spoken aboutremakingFF7on more current platforms, but had mentioned it would take immense resources, effort, and even multiple games to cover all the locations they managed to fit in with the help of images on the PS1 title. It seems that the idea of allowing the story to take as many games as it needs was taken to heart, as the first game focuses solely on the city of Midgar.
Midgar’s main part of the original game is only roughly four hours, though, so Square Enix chose to focus on filling it with people and side quests galore as many famous scenes were extended, withAvalanche’s Biggs, Jessie, and Wedge allowed to be a much bigger part of the main cast. Players not only experienced an extended adventure through memorable locations like Wall Market, but played through entirely new experiences with characters like Roche, and these big changes came with heavy implications that the next game might stray even further from what fans expected.
Truly New Stuff Takes a Backseat to All the Iconic Moments in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Starting upFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthcomes with excitement for the familiar and apprehension for the unknown, but ultimately, there is very little unknown against the familiar. There’s plenty of new material inFF7 Rebirth, but only through extending scenes far beyond the original, such asthe Junon Parade becoming an entire character arc for Cloud. Many moments of the original PS1 game are heavily extended, such as Red’s Infantryman disguise comprising an entire quest line, and the Chocobo chicks that players can find in Corel becoming an entire adventure rather than one screen.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthdelivers on all the iconic moments that were in the original game, evenfixing plotholes as Cloud and crew go from Kalm to the Forgotten Capital. It serves as a humbling reminder that even with the Whispers, the early inclusion of the Weapons, and the curious case of Zack Fair, the entireFF7 Remakeproject is just that; a remake project. It’s great for fans of the original game, but those invested in the newer parts ofFF7 Rebirth’s story have to play the entire game to get answers. It could very much be said that there was room for a few more risks to have been taken in terms of the underlying story, but more surprises will likely come in the third game to wrap everything up.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
WHERE TO PLAY
Discover a vibrant and vast world in this standalone entry in the Final Fantasy VII remake project. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is the second entry in the Final Fantasy VII remake project, which retells the story of the genre-redefining RPG across three distinct games. Iconic heroes Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Aerith and Red XIII have escaped from the dystopian city Midgar and are now in pursuit of Sephiroth, the vengeful swordsman from Cloud’s past who was thought to be dead. This new adventure can be enjoyed by all players, even those who have yet to play Final Fantasy VII Remake or the PlayStation original. Expect a new standard of cinematic storytelling, fast-paced combat and rich exploration across a vast world.
