In truth I feel a little unequipped to provide all that meaningful of thoughts regarding this game, not only because I played its early chapters somewhere in the range of 3.5 to 4 years ago, but also because I have still only ever played the Midgar section of the original game (at around the same time). I have very generalized knowledge about FFVII as a whole, with very little of that comprising any of its finer plot points. I know characters, I know what is ostensibly the biggest twist in video game history, etc. I believe I had spoiled myself on REMAKE shortly after it came out as I hadn't originally intended to pick it up since I am mostly a stranger to Final Fantasy as a whole, but was drawn in by the fact that this is not dissimilar to the Rebuild of Evangelion, ie a remake that is also a sequel(?) that is in conversation with itself and its legacy. I don't know why I put it down/let myself get distracted all that time ago, because once I got back into the groove I was having an absolute blast and was and continue to be very moved by this story/world, especially now that I've seen and loved Advent Children. I'm not sure if I'll go back and play the original FFVII before playing through REBIRTH, as I intend to play it chronologically in the full series as part of my Final Quest, but I'm hoping I'll be able to appreciate the changes this trilogy is making in reverse when I eventually get to it. There's not much else to say that hasn't already been said much better; the English cast is remarkable (especially John Eric Bentley and Briana White as Barret and Aerith, respectively), the combat has a great fluidity, weight, and strategic depth with all 4 playable characters feeling really distinct in meaningful ways, and the overall format/structure of the game follows (at least what I think is) the perfect balance of structured/linear and pseudo open world design.