Honestly, I have so much to say about this game but also so little. In short, this game is just another shitty compilation game. It's not some genius remake-sequel concept that Remake's ending teased... it just truly a bad remake. They glitz everything up with pretty graphics, epic cutscenes, and top-notch voice acting (and I mean, if there's one aspect this game nails... it's the voice acting because everyone is perfectly cast). But that all exists to hide how shallow this game really is. It's not just that this isn't as good as the OG, it also misunderstands what the OG was trying to convey in literally every big story beat. Genuine, heartfelt moments are ruined with over the top cutscenes that take you out of the moment, horribly timed and useless lore dumps, and long, flashy bossfights that take away from the sentiment of the moment. And it feels like they get worse as the game progresses. Like, I thought they messed up the Corel section by turning the tragic story of Dyne and his decent in madness into this Hollywood-ass "last stand" because godforbid our actions have consequences, but then Cosmo Canyon is somehow even worse. Red finding out the truth about Seto is one of the most poignant moments in the OG, but this game cannot let a moment breathe... they have to introduce this stupid as Gi Tribe nonsense to take you out of the moment. And then there's the ending... please don't get me started. It's so fucking awful. Not only is Aerith's actual death scene completely ruined because the writers couldn't help but do some fuckshit till the very last second (which btw, as a newcomer is probably gonna be so confusing) but they follow-up it up with so many long as fuck bossfights that you end up completely forgetting that she even died at all. And it's funny, because Jenova would've been a perfectly good final boss. I mean, every party member participates, there are multiple phases and it's a very fun fight... but nope. This is an FF7 game, which means we have to end on a Sephiroth fight.. and wait, there's more! Because this is a compilation game, we need Zack to be there and he has to epic and cool. In what is the most fan-fiction moment in the game, Cloud and Zack teamup to fight Sephiroth. And then Bizarro Sephiroth shows up because why not and we get what is probably the most irritating fight sequence ever before ending on another Sephiroth fight where... get this: Aerith shows up. Now, the fight itself was quite fun. But having Aerith shows up is so terrible on a narrative and thematic level, it's not even funny. It's just so bad, I'm kind of baffled. I really hate what they do with Cloud at the end too. The OG had a pretty honest and caring depiction of mental health, but in this game, Cloud just goes anime psycho and now we get Aerith's ghost parading around like she's Hannah fucking Baker. It's just so stupid. And you know, throughout the game the only thing I could ask is why? What as the point in doing all that shit at the end of Remake is Rebirth was going to be the same game anyway? Why remake the same game but 80x longer? Why add these dumb puzzles? Why am I doing any of these sidequests? Why does this game exist?

There are some merits to the game. The combat is genuinely really fun. Hard to remember that at times since the game throws so many bosses at you that I just get tired, but this combat is fun. The customization is fun. A lot of the mini-games are pretty enjoyable, as it the world exploration... until Chadley shows up. Seriously, I didn't have an issue with the guy in Remake because you could pretty much ignore him, but he just doesn't go away in this game. You cannot move around the world without his bothering you. Who thought that was a good idea?

I can certainly see myself returning to this game to finish up the stuff I left behind, because when I ignore the story, I actually do quite like it. The Gilgamesh stuff was really fun and I do want to see it again and I'd like to finish some of the other side content. It's the reason why I don't think this game is a 0/10, but this game is so frustrating. It butchers FF7 so hard. Nothing they add to this game means anything. It all exists for fanservice and that lack of artistic merit bothers me so much that it just muddies the whole experience. I think this may legitimately be my new least favorite video game of all time, and that sucks because I really, really wanted to like this game.