I played 88 hours of this in less than 3 weeks so obviously I really enjoyed the game. I can't give it a perfect score because it does have its issues and even if they are minor individually, there are enough of them that it adds up. However, there are so many good elements to the game, almost all of them revolving around the characters, that it makes up for a lot of weaknesses, so much so that I had debated only doing 4/5 but I think that would be unfair and time would help me forget some issues.
So I'll start with the issues because I want to end on the good stuff. Some people complain the game has too much padding. I disagree for the most part, as those people will reference the totally optional side quests and open world activities as padding. There is however noticeable padding from around chapter 9/10 onwards in the main story with arbitrary "puzzles" thrown in your path. I also found the gongaga and cosmo canyon region to be designed in a way that felt like everything took longer to get to, like I was being punished for doing the side content. Speaking of the side content, for the most part its fine, doesn't take very long to do and initially its interesting to see where some of them will lead to. Unfortunately I felt some of them had lackluster endings like the protorelic one (which also has an insane level requirement to do???), or some were just way harder than they needed to be, such as the very final side quest in golden saucer (I HATE 3d brawler).
Now for something I dont dislike but I cant say yet that I really like, the plot. The plot does suffer a bit from being the portion of the original game where it does kind of spin its wheels a bit as not a lot actually happens in this portion until near the end, its very character motivated rather than any worldly causes or external factors. Like we aren't even in disk 2 of 3 from the original game yet until the very end of this game. Speaking of the ending, I don't dislike it, but I need to see how the next game follows up from it because not everything is resolved in a way I would have hoped/expected. Its definitely an ending they want people to talk about, similar to remakes.
The middle of most stories is when we get to know our characters best and that is exactly what happens here and its why rebirth is such a fun time. Everyone gets at least one moment to shine, most get multiple. Theres also the banter as you explore around and just the general camaraderie
and support within the group, whether thats Tifa and Aeriths sisterhood or Barrett and Yuffies big brother and annoying little sister dynamic. Also the locations, holy moly some of the locations are just stunning, its insane looking at side by side shots from the original game and seeing how they were brought to life but still keep the vibe of the original locations.
Finally, the soundtrack. I'm not a big soundtrack guy but my god does it do wonders here. Its not even that there are bangers you can jam to, if anything its the opposite. While it does have bangers, its actually the various themes that play throughout the game that works so well, various renditions of the main theme or character specific themes like tifa or aeriths become more familiar to you as you play and especially if you've played the other games and it just adds to this sense of the overall game world.
As you can see there is a lot to discuss about rebirth and this is without even giving any specific around plot or moments within the game. I went from basically never having touched a jrpg a few years ago to loving rebirth and buying four classic jrpgs in the most recent steam sale with even more on my backlog. Games like rebirth prove that some good music and an interesting cast of party members can make any game an incredibly memorable experience.
So I'll start with the issues because I want to end on the good stuff. Some people complain the game has too much padding. I disagree for the most part, as those people will reference the totally optional side quests and open world activities as padding. There is however noticeable padding from around chapter 9/10 onwards in the main story with arbitrary "puzzles" thrown in your path. I also found the gongaga and cosmo canyon region to be designed in a way that felt like everything took longer to get to, like I was being punished for doing the side content. Speaking of the side content, for the most part its fine, doesn't take very long to do and initially its interesting to see where some of them will lead to. Unfortunately I felt some of them had lackluster endings like the protorelic one (which also has an insane level requirement to do???), or some were just way harder than they needed to be, such as the very final side quest in golden saucer (I HATE 3d brawler).
Now for something I dont dislike but I cant say yet that I really like, the plot. The plot does suffer a bit from being the portion of the original game where it does kind of spin its wheels a bit as not a lot actually happens in this portion until near the end, its very character motivated rather than any worldly causes or external factors. Like we aren't even in disk 2 of 3 from the original game yet until the very end of this game. Speaking of the ending, I don't dislike it, but I need to see how the next game follows up from it because not everything is resolved in a way I would have hoped/expected. Its definitely an ending they want people to talk about, similar to remakes.
The middle of most stories is when we get to know our characters best and that is exactly what happens here and its why rebirth is such a fun time. Everyone gets at least one moment to shine, most get multiple. Theres also the banter as you explore around and just the general camaraderie
and support within the group, whether thats Tifa and Aeriths sisterhood or Barrett and Yuffies big brother and annoying little sister dynamic. Also the locations, holy moly some of the locations are just stunning, its insane looking at side by side shots from the original game and seeing how they were brought to life but still keep the vibe of the original locations.
Finally, the soundtrack. I'm not a big soundtrack guy but my god does it do wonders here. Its not even that there are bangers you can jam to, if anything its the opposite. While it does have bangers, its actually the various themes that play throughout the game that works so well, various renditions of the main theme or character specific themes like tifa or aeriths become more familiar to you as you play and especially if you've played the other games and it just adds to this sense of the overall game world.
As you can see there is a lot to discuss about rebirth and this is without even giving any specific around plot or moments within the game. I went from basically never having touched a jrpg a few years ago to loving rebirth and buying four classic jrpgs in the most recent steam sale with even more on my backlog. Games like rebirth prove that some good music and an interesting cast of party members can make any game an incredibly memorable experience.