Forewarning: This is LONG

First and foremost, "Final Fantasy VII" has always been one of the most impactful names for me personally as I have been a fan of the characters and the entries with the FFVII name going on two decades now. My first introduction to Final Fantasy (VII) characters was through the Kingdom Hearts games on the PS2 (shout out my pops) and my first Final Fantasy was X. However, in time I would have the privilege of playing through FFVII in time (and watching Advent Children) and fell in love with its world, story, characters, and everything else in between. An iconic PSX era game that had yet to get some sort of remake treatment like the incredible marvels that were Resident Evil or Metal Gear Solid, and after being teased with that PS3 tech demo way back when, our dreams came true in March of 2020 when "Final Fantasy VII Remake" released. I was ecstatic for Remake, but even more so for Rebirth because of the amazing moments and locations to be shown in modern graphics. While in Remake, we only got to experience Midgar, I was grateful that Rebirth was going to be "more" and give us that freedom that the original and other Final Fantasy games tend to offer. Sure, Remake had really great moments and scenes, but devoting one whole game to just the first location had a lot of filler and slow pacing, but it really elevated all of these characters I love. The best thing about this whole Remake treatment is seeing these beloved characters come to life, showing emotions and having the ability to develop even further. The wait for Rebirth was long, but worth the wait. From the iconic Gold Saucer to Cosmo Canyon, I was one-hundred percent pleased with how these iconic gaming monuments and moments were portrayed. This game absolutely consumed me from release day to when I concluded it, a span of two weeks. While I work and go to school, Rebirth was the thing I was most eager to dive in to when I had my free time. My game time clocked well in over 100 hours and I had practically done about 90% of the various side content and haven't even touched hard mode. Burnt out at the moment, but I will be working towards that platinum in time.

While Rebirth, at its core, still has the same combat as Remake (which is a great thing, mind you), there is a lot more to do with it. With the addition of three more playable characters from Remake's four, there is much you can do in terms of playstyle and team set ups. Yuffie, already loved her playstyle from Episode INTERmission, adds so much to the team and stayed in it most of the time from her recruitment at the end of chapter six. Red XIII being playable after being a NPC teammate in the previous entry, was awesome because of how fun he is, as well. Cait Sith, who has always been a benchwarmer for me in the original, had his moments here, but as far as combat goes I was not too big on him, but his character is a lot better here. The skill tree, differing much from Remake’s method to upgrades, offers much more and grants a lot more range for you to decide on what you want to invest in first for your characters. The synergy abilites and skills you can unlock allow a lot of opportunities for different team combinations to mix things up. I am a big fan of the new weapon abilities and I had a lot of fun with the combat getting in to every possible fight I could with the game's broad maps.

The open world in Rebirth is truly fascinating. I enjoyed exploring the areas alongside my party and it's neat that even the members that were benched still run around with you- I truly wish more JRPG's did that. There is a LOT to do, so much in fact, that I definitely would get overwhelmed at points and it didn't help that Gongaga and Cosmo Canyon weren't necessarily the best maps to fill out. Thankfully, Nibelheim felt fresh when I got there. Chadley's intel felt fun and rewarding and it's neat that some of those objectives are changed up in every map. Finding those Chocobo stops, or eagerly finding the divine intel to add a cool summon to my lineup, was a good time. Of course, once you get access to the Chocobo in the designated area, it makes traversal easier especially since some require in order to access certain intel. With having these open areas, it makes side quests have a lot more room to be extended, too. Overall, it feels satisfying to fill out what you are able of the map to get all of the intel and find ingredients to craft great items, but I wish navigation was better mostly in certain maps like those previously stated.

The amount of minigames in Rebirth is truly impressive. As a Triple Triad enthusiast, I fell in love with Queen's Blood quickly and was eager to find new cards and opponents and wasted no time in completing the respective questline for it. I already knew the Gold Saucer was going to be packed to the brim with things to do as the original had, including an improved Chocobo racing game. I honestly enjoyed every game there and 3D Brawler’s harder stages were an interesting challenge. Fort Condor is back from INTERmission and I love how the characters look like their original models, but I enjoyed it more there than here. I loved the “Fall Guys” inspired stages where you have the Toad status. Costa del Sol has some really fun minigames, such as a more “puzzley” way to tackle Queen’s Blood, and a carnival inspired shooting minigame which I enjoyed, and a soccer like one where you play as Red XIII. There is a lot to do, ranging from a rhythm game and catching Moogles, so it feels enticing to tackle harder difficulties or shoot for that high score to get those awesome rewards for your party. Overall, the quality can shift in these minigames and some are better than others, but overall really solid for everything this game offers.

Music has always been a big highlight to me in not just Final Fantasy titles, but JRPGs in general. I had no doubt after how spectacular Remake’s OST was, that this OST was going to be no different. Uematsu is a legendary composer and his reimagined works in here are amazing. “Cosmo Canyon” comes to mind as being my favorite as well as the different renditions of “On Our Way,” which is my favorite track from the original. Renditions of character themes are also well executed here. There is a lot of standout new tracks that I love, such as “Salmon’s/Stamp’s Theme,” and the “Speed Square Entrance.” The music is perfect in this game and I found myself just standing still in areas to just bask in its beauty.

The story adapts a lot of iconic moments faithfully, while not afraid to add things or change it up. Epic moments were done perfectly, such as the Junon parade or captivating the magic of the Gold Saucer. Aerith’s death also didn’t have that same effect that the original game had, but it was still an intense scene that led to a lot of cool fights and other scenes. I really liked Cissnei’s inclusion in Gongaga, too. It was obvious from Remake, that they were trying to include things from FFVII’s compilation media, which of course is not a bad idea. It adds the ability to have more epic moments with the beloved cast of FFVII, like having Cloud and Zack fight Sephiroth together was almost like a childhood dream come true. While the multiple timelines and ending confused me, I spent a lot of time watching and listening to various analyses. Our third entry still seems to be promising despite still some confusion on uncertainty of things will play out. I personally believe the best thing about this whole remake project, as I stated in my introduction, is the ability to further these characters in their development aspects. Yuffie, being an optional character in original, was bland in that title, but here, thanks to the events of INTERmission and being mandatory, show that she has a motive against Shinra and fits in perfectly with the cast. Acting as the annoying sibling and almost like a daughter to Barret, but doesn’t lose her materia obsessive character trait everyone knows her for. Truth be told, her and Barret are the best characters in this game from a written and development standpoint because of the moments they are given. Barret’s backstory has always been an important moment upon reaching North Corel, but here it was executed amazingly and brought tears to my eyes. It’s interesting how Cid was included here, which differs from his original introduction to the original game, but I personally really like it. I have always been uncertain about the inclusion of the whispers in Remake, but I am warming up to them here in Rebirth and while slightly a little more confused, I hope we get the clarity we deserve in the final part.

As far as the flow of the game, I think the main story suffers from some pacing issues and forces the player to engage in minigames to progress the story. For example, after spending hours to complete the various side stuff and wanting to move forward with the story, there are times you are forced to engage in more similar things to continue. While I know the original had them to an extent and side stuff is optional, they work in some places and don’t work in others. The whole Junon Parade is fine, as it was in the original, or even riding the dolphin to start that whole ordeal- but asides from character moments, having to do a bunch of minigames to progress the chapter in Costa del Sol, or upon visits to the Gold Saucer, halts the momentum of moments being built up like the dive in to Barret’s past. What I am trying to say is some chapters are better than others, but some are flawed forcing a player to do something they may not want to do, and I am looking at you Cait Sith chapter 11 section…

Some personal thoughts, starting off with was that I was overall pleased with this game. Stated in my introduction, the world of FFVII is very dear to me and seeing these characters and world I love brought to life like this is beautiful. I love the cast, one of my favorite JRPG casts of all time, and this remake project has made me love these characters even beyond that. While I always loved Aerith, Yuffie, and Barret, their moments here made me feel stronger towards them and this includes Cait Sith. Square Enix has always developed the most magical experiences I have ever had in my life and they did not fall short here. There is a LOT more I can say about this game and everything in between, but I will conclude it here.

Overall, Rebirth is a very strong sequel to Remake that has a LOT to do and furthered the limit (no pun intended) as to what this remake project is capable of. Definitely my GOTY 2024 so far. I'm excited to see what part III holds for us, such as the styles of play that Vincent and Cid will add. I hope to see more iconic moments and locations done just as breathtaking, such as Wutai, and traveling the amazing world that Final Fantasy VII presents on the legendary gaming airship, the Highwind.

Despite the things I have heard about this game from friends and other sources such as it being horrible or a "black sheep," I still tried to go in to here with an open mind. You can really tell that they went for a lot more here, but the execution truly was not the best. It flips the script from FFI and gives the player actual main characters with names, more of a story that is actually somewhat compelling and dark given the era of its original release, and a lot more customization for your party set up. The password system is cool in theory, but you definitely need a guide to know what to learn and/or ask. The game overall is average to me, despite these additions. I think the leveling system is fine, it's not the worst once you understand it and find ways to take advantage of it early game, so I really had no troubles progressing through the story and dungeons. The Blood Sword is CRAZY, though, made the final boss stupid easy. Magic is more useful than I, despite the necessary grind to level up these skills to level 16, which I only got a few to. Speaking of the dungeons, those SUCK. While I's are not too remarkable by any means, the confusing corridors with rooms that have dead ends with the already high encounter rate, the traversal through these dungeons felt monotonous to say the least. Invisible walls that are sometimes necessary to progress through said dungeon is a pretty interesting idea, too. Overall, the gameplay flow had me over it about halfway through and was eager to be done, so I wasted no time turning off encounters after being sure that I secured all new bestiary entries. I was not too big on this game's world map, either. The fourth party constantly rotating was not an idea I was too fond of because there really is no point in building characters and buying them equipment or leveling up spells. The "true" fourth party member does not join the game until way late- so what's really the point in investing in any others besides the initial three members? I like the characters and their designs, though, mostly Firion, Ricard, and Minwu, who were my personal favorites. The villain here, the Emperor is raw and his goals and what he did to accomplish his goals highlights the truly sinister theme they accomplished here. The OST is really good and a step up from I's, Pandemonium was definitely my favorite.

The opening scene is really neat, however, creating a sense of hopelessness for our party. They lost their friends and family around them, Maria loses her brother, and the first battle results in defeat. No doubt the theme of this game is sacrifice. You meet a lot of characters in your three person party that join you temporarily and die off, but most sacrifice themselves for the greater good so that the evil that our heroes are fighting are able to continue their path towards justice. I do wish the characters had a little bit of dialogue, some sort of reaction, at least after some of these deaths. It's truly amazing how dark this game actually is, after digesting the whole story and after that final boss against the Emperor, it's genuinely incredible the tone that is established here.

Overall, I want to like this game more a lot than I do, and I wouldn't even go as far to call it "horrible," but there are a lot of things I am not a fan of to even call it "good." Maybe in time I will give other versions of the game a try to see if that can change my view on this entry. It has a lot going for it, but falls short and can its systems can feel awkward and its easy to identify the issues it has. There still is a few aspects of this game I love and appreciate its existence for trying new things and what it brought to the table for future entries of the franchise.