I have no interest in hunting and I do not find it fun. I'm not sure why I even own this game (I might have found it for like 1$ at value village?). This game is of a worse quality than Wii era shovelware but requires a 7.3GB data download in order to be playable. The gameplay consists of running through the most generic pre-made unreal engine terrain you have ever seen to shoot animals, and it controls like garbage. My first 30 seconds into the game I got softlocked because I got stuck in a crack between two rocks and the slope was too deep for my character to walk out of. I'd also like to give a special shout out to this games incredibly diverse character roster (why does it have a character roster??) that consists of 4 white men and 2 white women, all of whom definitely do not look like they'd have an unhealthy obsession with a certain yellow haired, orange faced, formerly presidential individual.

This game's dedication in making every part of its world feel like a real lived place is outstanding, it's something I have always enjoyed about Final Fantasy as a franchise but this one particularly excels at just making you want to have your own adventure at your own pace
I've been fully on board with their vision of making more than a remake of the original story since the beginning but Rebirth truly fully sold me on the idea.
While not flawless by any means, it will be a long time until I encounter another game that feels this ambitious and for lack of a better word, "magical"

There is no other words to shorten it down with Rebirth but calling it grand. Much more combat diversity, vast variation of challenges, free exploration and minigames. So many crazy minigames. The sheer content is staggering, even so if you just want to play for the story, the journey is massive even outside of the sidequests.

Rebirth feels like a proper midgame past Remake expanding everything already introduced, still at the same time being constructed entirely as its own installment, there's as much a prologue, midgame, late game and proper climax here to encompass more than just being a part 2 of 3 games.

The narrative has at its best fun with the moments and at its worst shares similar issues as remake with a few bad beats. What sells the better moments is the tongue in cheek directive supported by the cast of characters so masterfully portrayed through their small character quirks and fun banter interactions, which makes the worse moments really stick out almost like some parts were written by someone completely different and tacked into an otherwise wonderful adaption.

That being said, I found the irks here so minuscule compared to the sublime time I had with Rebirth. 150 hours through and I didn't get wearied out for a second!