Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is everything I could’ve wished for

I’m speechless. After almost 44 hours, I put the controller down and enjoy the end credits of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. I can’t believe what I just experienced with Cloud, Aeris, Tifa and everyone else. Words fail me, because part two of the remake trilogy is overwhelming and leaves more questions than the first. But also because my jaw is so tense. Most of the time I was playing, I had a big grin on my face, and my jaw dropped for the whole last chapter. As a remake, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is everything fans of the original could wish for. It’s a dream, but a real one. Rebirth even surpasses the original – and I’ve only scratched the surface so far.

You can find all versions of the game here.

Ingenious story staging

Rebirth picks up where part one of the remake trilogy, titled Remake, left off. Cloud, Aeris, Tifa, Barret and Red XIII have escaped the clutches of Shinra and Sephiroth and are on their way to Kalm, a small town not far from Midgar. If you missed Remake or don’t remember what happened, best to read this summary.

In the intro, Cloud recounts what happened five years earlier in Nibelheim. I witness Sephiroth’s descent into madness and realise why they have to pursue this maniac and hunt him down. This chapter is still linear and doesn’t differ much from the first part. However, the production is brilliant – I feel like I’m watching a film. I subtly pick up that there’s something wrong with Cloud’s account.

Either way, the storytelling is almost perfect. Rather than being told straight out, I’m shown. I have to interpret a lot, and sometimes I’m just not kept in the loop. Rebirth is largely based on the original but it’s changed and modernised elements in key areas. It also breaks new ground. As Aeris says in the trailers, «The future isn’t set in stone.»

I don’t want to reveal any more about the story except to say that, as a long-time fan, the changes are anything but annoying. I really want to know what happens next. But I’ll have to wait another four years for that (site in German).

The open world provides entertainment away from the main story

I’m only released into the open world during the second chapter. The first thing I do is explore the small but lively town of Kalm. People line the streets and houses. There’s always something to uncover and conversations to overhear. Kalm was originally a typical overspill town. Meanwhile, in Rebirth, it’s become a vibrant small community. Same goes for all the settlements I explore in the game. Square Enix has done a great job of conveying the feeling of real places.

As well as being a hub for the main story, the settlements are where I complete various side missions. Even if they’re mostly «defeat this, protect that or take something over there», I always find them motivating. The focus is on the main characters and their relationship with each other rather than the mission or the non-playable characters (NPCs). During side missions, I not only learn more about their background story, but also strengthen my ties with them. The game displays how good my relationship is with them via an emoji above their heads that can be activated via L1. Why is this important? For a special trip to the Gold Saucer theme park. If you’ve played the original, you’ll know what I mean. And if you haven’t, you’re in for a nice surprise.

The open world is less lively than the settlements. At first, that sounds negative, but I mean it in a good way. There’s always something to discover in the vast and deserted landscapes. After a few steps, I come across the ruins of a mill and search for treasure chests. Later, I reach a Chocobo Ranch and find out more about these noble riding birds. I swoop one up so I can explore the world faster. And you really need to, as the game world in Rebirth is huge. There are six large, open areas to discover. In each region, Chocobos have different abilities. Later, there are also other means of transportation, such as a buggies, wheelies and the Tiny Bronco plane. But I can also fast-travel to places I’ve already visited.

At the Chocobo farm, I meet an old acquaintance, Chadley from Remake. This cyborg materia researcher has also escaped from Midgar and will accompany me on my adventures from now on. He has the same function as in Remake. I can acquire special materia from him that give me magical or combative abilities. Chadley can also teach me new Espers. These are powerful creatures that I can summon in battle to support me.

My only criticism of the open-world design is the tedious transmission towers that I have to activate in order to unlock further side missions and points of interest on the map. I don’t like the concept of «activate this so you can do that». Still, not all of these tasks are the same. For some, I have to overcome different challenges depending on the region, including the Fort Condor mini-game.

More distractions with mini-games

Fort Condor is a strategy game that my characters get drawn into. Cloud and the others appear in their chunky designs here, as they’re known from the original Final Fantasy VII. But it’s by no means the only mini-game.

The original from 1997 already offered a lot of mini-games. Rebirth goes one better. The developers seem to turn everything into a mini-game. Some you only play once as part of the story, such as the rhythm game disguised as a military parade in Junon. Meanwhile, others accompany you throughout, such as the new card game Blood of the Queen. Equally, there are some that have nothing to do with the story at all and are completely optional. It’s the sheer quantity combined with the implementation that’s impressive.

Blood of the Queen is a highly complex card game that reminds me of Triple Triad from Final Fantasy VIII. I can spend hours in this game alone. The aforementioned Fort Condor introduces strategy elements into the game and reminds me of the original, both in its presentation and implementation. The Chocobo races put a modern twist on the 1997 version. Each Chocobo has certain characteristics that I can use in a targeted way. G-Bike, on the other hand, is a motorcycle race that develops the expressway sections at the end of Remake. And as an extra, the developers have implemented a type of rocket league – just so you can earn a nice beach outfit for Aeris.

In short, Rebirth is more than worth the money for its mini-games alone.

The combat system remains true to itself, but has been meaningfully extended

The battle system hasn’t changed much from its predecessor. More opportunities have been added, but it’s still an active time battle system. An activity bar fills up when I attack or block. Once it’s full, I can give my characters combat options such as magic, items or skills. The group consists of a maximum of three characters.

New on the scene are the synchro skills, where two characters act together. The attacks not only cause great damage, but can also inflict debuffs on enemies, such as prolonged shock. If I perform synchro skills with Cloud, the relationship status with that character also improves.

After the battle, characters receive experience points and level up. Their status values increase automatically. Also new is the codex. This is a skill board for developing characters such as Cloud and Barret the way I want and for learning new synchro skills.

Obviously, I can also equip my alter egos with weapons, armour and accessories to further influence their status. Last but not least, there are the materia, which I place in slots in their equipment. These provide me with spells, utility skills, incantations and much more. Overall, the combat system is complex and I can customise the characters the way I want.

Visually stunning at first glance – acoustically stunning for sure

The world of Rebirth looks fantastic. Despite the size of the game, you can find details everywhere. Rather than market stalls offering the same item umpteen times, they boast a wealth of objects. No two trees in the jungle around Gongaga seem the same. I can even make out the characters’ nasal hair.

As great as everything seems on the surface, looks can be deceiving. Textures appear muddy on closer inspection – I mainly notice them in the cutscenes. When I can make out Tifa’s pores but the wall in the background looks muddy, this contrast catches my eye. Also, some NPCs remind me more of the PS4 era than a next-gen game, and the LOD (level of detail) adjustments could be better. All in all, however, these are minutiae and don’t interfere with the gaming experience.

I played through the game in Quality mode because Performance mode was too blurry for me. Square Enix’s update shortly before release has largely fixed this problem. The refresh rate remains stable in Quality mode, even in heated battles. It never seems like it drops below 30 frames per second.

As is customary with Final Fantasy, Nobuo Uematsu is responsible for the soundtrack. And, as usual, the soundtrack is a knockout. I keep humming the catchy melodies and annoying my wife in the process. It’s great that I can now play various tracks in the piano mini-game. Although, as in real life, I’ll never become a concert pianist in the virtual world.

The characters make the story

What always fascinated me about the 1997 original was the characters. Obviously, the story about the pursuit of Sephiroth is exciting, but for me it was always just a sideshow. The story of Final Fantasy VII isn’t driven forward by the plot, but as a result of the thoughts and feelings of the characters. Today’s technical capabilities take the storytelling in Rebirth to a whole new level.

Yuffie in particular benefits from Rebirth treatment. In the original, she’s an optional character that I can only recruit under certain conditions. In Rebirth, she almost forces herself on me. Nevertheless, Yuffie retains her original character but with significantly more depth.

Cait Sith, Vincent and Cid make their first appearance in Rebirth. Cait Sith is the only one of the three that’s playable. I always found him annoying in the original. Rebirth allows me to get closer to the robot cat on the back of the stuffed Mog. He’s not my number one favourite here either, but at least I don’t want to shoot him to the moon. At least not as long as I don’t have to make use of his character ability. Throwing crates with him is poorly implemented and almost makes me a Sephiroth. It seems like the developers wanted you to dislike Cait Sith. In terms of gameplay, however, this is my second and final criticism of the game.

It doesn’t bother me much that Cid and Vincent aren’t playable. They’re introduced so late in the game that it’d be weird if I could control them. And newcomers won’t miss them anyway.

Even though the main characters in particular are great, I also meet lovable and less lovable old and new NPCs. For example, the clumsy Johnny, who isn’t blessed with a particularly great intellect. He wants to pursue a career in the hotel industry. The ambitious and manipulative Kyrie is also back on board and tries her hand as a mercenary. Even crime boss Don Corneo makes another appearance.

Of the new NPCs, the eccentric Dio, manager of Gold Saucer theme park, is the one who stands out. In the original, he’s simply a muscular dude in swimming trunks. In Rebirth, he also wears a cape and is given much more personality – not (just) because of the cape.

Verdict: my game of the year

I thought long and hard about how to write this review. I opted for a standard approach. Because even if I had written a masterful essay here, it wouldn’t have done the game justice. The team at Square Enix has quite simply created a masterpiece that even surpasses the original.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth had me totally won over on all fronts with its production, story, world and characters. In my almost 44 hours of playing time, I only scratched the surface of what the game has to offer. I raced through the main story after chapter 7 so that I could finish this review on time. With its side quests, mini-games and other opportunities to explore, Rebirth will certainly keep me glued to the screen for at least the same amount of time again. I don’t really want to write any more now. I just want to immerse myself in this wonderful world.

So, is Final Fantasy VII Rebirth the perfect game? My answer would be no, there are minor criticisms, such as muddy textures and one or two annoying gameplay elements. But these are all small details. The title is close to perfection and it’s already clear that Rebirth is going to be my game of 2024.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will be available for PS5 from 29 February. Nintendo gave me a copy of the game for testing purposes.