ATTENTION: Possible spoilers for Final Fantasy VII Remake and gameplay elements of Rebirth
Over the last few generations of video games, the Final Fantasy franchise has become one of the most important franchises for me. I'm not one of the franchise's oldest fans, but in recent years I've had the opportunity to play several of its games, which have made me more and more of a fan.
Last year we had Final Fantasy XVI and, despite the huge number of games that came out last year, most of which I had the opportunity to complete, FF was, for me, the game of the year. This game has some of the best boss fights I've ever seen in my history with video games, with a complex and exciting story, as is usual with the franchise.
But despite all the positive points, the game had some flaws that were quite annoying, such as the pace and the generic side missions. Of course, the positive points ended up overshadowing the negative ones, which is great, but even so, the negative points were there.
Well, in 2024 I had the privilege and satisfaction of playing and finishing Final Fantasy VII Rebirth before it was even released, so thank you Square Enix for sending me the code! Rebirth is a direct continuation of the events of Final Fantasy VII Remake and the additional content Intermission, being the second game of three.
Originally announced back in the days of the PS3, the first part of these 3 games was a game that was very successful due to its undeniable quality and gameplay that has evolved in surprising ways. Originally released only for PS4 in 2020, now also available on PC, FFVII Remake has managed to expand a few hours of gameplay into a much more complete experience, retelling the events of the initial part of the game and making some changes to the story.
History
Although it was a good game, some of those fans of the original game were a little dissatisfied with the direction the story was taking and the fact that the game didn't evolve that much in terms of story despite its long duration. Even so, the game was an incredible sales success that has brought us to this point, four years later.
First of all, you need to play the first installment to get into this game, and I even recommend playing the Yuffie-focused DLC as well. Today, access to the game is fortunately quite easy, as the best version of the game is available with the PS+ subscription and if you buy the latest game, you can also get the previous game for free.
As for the game, it's incredible how the franchise, and especially this universe, can make you feel emotions that few games can. In 2020 I was moved, and again this year I was moved again. I'll avoid spoilers for the game in this review, but one thing I can make clear is that this game moves its story forward well.
Once again, we follow Cloud and his group, initially made up of Tifa, Aerith, Red XIII and Barret, on their journey to save the world from destruction. The path to accomplishing this mission is not easy and the team will have to face various enemies along the way, from the Shinra, the Turk, hundreds of variations of monsters and, of course, Sephiroth.
As I said, I won't go into the details of the story, but I can guarantee that it will please old and new fans alike. You can expect an explosion of feelings throughout the game, and an absurd quality in terms of narrative. Most of your questions will be answered, others won't, but the ground will be well laid for the last game in the saga, which is scheduled for release in 2028.
The definition of a giant redefined again
If in terms of story, the progress has been considerable, what about the gameplay? This year has been a good year for oriental RPGs, and we've had some good games like Granblue Fantasy: Relink, Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth, Persona 3 Reload, as well as Stellar Blade, Dragon's Dogma 2, Elden Ring Shadow of The Erdtree, Visions of Mana, Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, Reynatis, Black Myth: Wukong, Rise of the Ronin, among others.
In fact, those on PlayStation platforms are very well served as all the games listed can be played on Sony's console, but the same cannot be said for Microsoft's consoles. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is one of them, and can only be played on PlayStation 5, excluding PC so far, but it's very likely that the game will arrive on this platform at some point.
And with so many games in the same genre, it's hard for one game to stand out. A little while ago I played the new Like a Dragon and the game is simply huge in terms of content. I imagined that this game would hardly be beaten this year, but Final Fantasy VII Rebirth manages to be bigger in terms of content, which is amazing. This could be one of the games to beat this year in the race for best game.
A sea of mini games
But the reason for mentioning Like a Dragon isn't empty, because Rebirth follows a similar line in terms of gameplay. In other words, in this game you'll also find what is one of the great differentials of Sega's franchise: its mini-games. And I'm not talking about simple mini-games, but those that totally change the gameplay and even the visuals (which are a lot of fun, by the way).
One of the mini games is called Queen's Blood and it's a very fun, if not addictive, card game. It is very similar to some card games such as Magic: The Gathering and is one of the fundamental parts of the game, allowing us to face opponents in search of powerful cards, face legendary opponents and even take part in tournaments.
High-level combat
The gameplay has also undergone some good upgrades, starting with the combat. The recent combat systems in the franchise have been quite unique, haven't they? In Final Fantasy XV we have action RPG-style combat, but with a very unique rhythm. In FFVII Remake, we have a combination of real-time combat and turn-based combat, again very unique. In XVI, we have totally rack'n'slash combat, full of combos and special moves.
Rebirth continues in the same vein as VII Remake, but with a few additions. In this new game, we still have the possibility of having a team (or party) with three characters, but now we can create several different teams for each specific case. And all the team specifications are very detailed.
Each of the characters has a very interesting skill tree, not the greatest, but certainly well above average. To improve the characters, you need to collect PH, but some skills can only be acquired according to the team's XP level.
As in the first game, in combat you have a life bar and an energy bar, which initially has two slots. To use skills, spells or consumable items, you need to use these slots, sometimes using both at once. We have the return of the limit bar that we use for special moves, but this time we also have the possibility of performing moves together with other characters.
These moves are very powerful and often have passive effects that can make a difference in combat. But to use these types of blows, you need to learn them in the skill tree. In addition, we have new playable characters and some non-playable ones too, which add to the complexity of the game.
Another thing worth mentioning is that the game is very accessible to all audiences, mainly because it has several difficulty levels. And after finishing the game for the first time, an even more difficult level is released.
New ways of interacting
But the new features don't stop at combat. Interactions between characters, both main and secondary, have now become much more dynamic. We can now select at certain times the type of response we can give to certain characters. The responses selected can alter the narrative slightly and change the relationship between the characters.
Now, at certain moments, we can see the relationship level above the characters, in the form of an emoticon. This relationship can be improved through conversations (by choosing the answers you like best) and by carrying out side missions. Each mission now has a related character from the team, and by improving the relationship, we can have some nice surprises in the course of the game.
Absurd open world
Another thing that has evolved greatly are the scenarios and their exploration. In the first game we had linear stages with some more open areas, but generally in the form of corridors connected to each other. This second game goes further, much further, with a gigantic open world.
The game world is based on a few distinct regions, but they are connected to each other. Each region is made up of a unique biome, where you'll find wild animals and different enemies. And exploring these regions is quite captivating, as you always find a few surprises along the way.
The game doesn't tell you exactly which way to go to reach your goals, so you can take any route you like, but there's always something along the way that catches your eye. The map has various locations that you can discover, which improve the gameplay.
And they appear quite naturally in the scenery, for example in the form of a chocobo cub trying to catch your eye, or in the form of owls also trying to catch your eye, or different forms of ores, among other things. And exploring these locations brings improvements to the gameplay, for example, by activating towers, you can visualize the locations on the map, you can lower the difficulty in battles against summons, among others.
Varied crossings
And if the settings are large, having ways of getting around them quickly is a necessity, and in this game we fortunately have several ways of getting around the settings. The first and most varied of these is the chocobos. In this game, we have chocobos of different colors, and each of them has different abilities, such as climbing walls, jumping long distances using mushrooms and gliding. And to get the chocobos, you have to complete some fun challenges.
But the game isn't just limited to them; in more open areas, you can get around using a car, you can use airplanes, tricycles, and you can even use navigations. Despite having an open world, some regions require fast travel to access them.
But if you're one of those who prefer to walk across the map, the game also offers many new ways to explore the map. The characters are now able to swim, which can help when you want to cut a path or explore new areas. We can also climb walls and get to higher ground.
CINEMA
Moving on to more technical matters, let's talk about the visuals and sound of the game, starting with the soundtrack. Have you ever seen a Final Fantasy with a bad soundtrack? Well, I haven't, and this fact remains unchanged in Rebirth.
The soundtrack of the original game from 1997 was already fantastic, and in 2020 it was rearranged to make it even more fantastic. And in Rebirth, the evolution continues, with the return of the legendary Nobuo Uematsu bringing no less than 400 songs to this new game.
And the music is simply beautiful, almost all of it entirely instrumental, but now with the presence of some synthesized elements that are simply sensational. And the game's sound effects maintain this high level of quality.
When it comes to the game's visuals, they are just as sensational, but with a few shortcomings. The game has two game modes, one focused on graphic quality while the other focuses on frame rate. Games that have this choice usually have a visible difference, but not so great as to make a big difference to the general public. But in this case, the visual difference between the two modes is absurdly large.
But even with these modes, the one that focuses on visuals also has some shortcomings. I don't know if you remember the door in the first game, which had a texture that never loaded, or perhaps the texture was simply too low resolution. This problem remains, and even goes further, as at various times we see textures in such low resolutions as to totally take away from the immersion.
And this isn't an isolated case, the textures in the game are generally low resolution, and at times it's a bit uncomfortable. However, the quality of the modeling and animations is absurd, which takes a lot of the weight off the low quality of some textures.
Then when you get into the modeling of the characters, the look of the attacks, the modeling of the objects and scenery, the game is simply splendid. It's undoubtedly one of the most beautiful games of the generation, which is why it weighs 145Gb.
The art direction is equally impeccable, with scenes in frames that could simply be framed. Not to mention the CG scenes, which are practically head and shoulders above anything else on the market, just as they were in the previous game. The facial expressions are also very good, far superior to those seen in Final Fantasy XVI.
Final balance
I finished the game after about 50 hours, playing both the main and side missions, and at no point did I feel tired of playing. The game is fun from start to finish, introducing new mechanics even in its final moments, which makes the experience always new.
The gameplay is one of the best in the franchise, if not the best in the genre, and is both fun to play and satisfying to watch. It's accessible to all audiences with its difficulty options and ways for the characters to act, and has a highly customizable interface.
The game is localized in Portuguese, and very well too, so that everyone can fully understand the game. And its visuals and soundtrack go without saying. One of the best games in the franchise, one of the best of the year for sure and the game to beat this year.
See also:
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