Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was a highly anticipated game for Final Fantasy fans, and won Most Anticipated Game at the 2023 Game of the Year awards. It is the second part in a three part series that remakes the original games, adding a great amount of story and content to the world, and is an action RPG from Square Enix, who recently came out with Final Fantasy XVI. Cloud Strife and his buster sword are a familiar sight to many people, regardless if you’ve played the game, but Zack Fair is a huge fan favorite that got more content in this game. From start to finish, this game is packed full of things to do, people to meet, and thrilling storyline developments. This review will break down this content, discuss the game, and share my overall thoughts at the end. This is NOT a spoiler-free review. 

As a reimagining of the iconic originale game, the creators had to introduce new elements while expanding upon the ever-thrilling story as the team fights Sephiroth. This game focuses heavily on the team and their relationships with each other, while Cloud is battling internal demons and huge gaps in his memory. You can build-up your relationships with everyone as you play, and there will be two ‘date’ opportunities where the game will pair you with whoever has the highest score. Remember, Tifa is canonically Cloud’s wife later-on so their dates are far more engaging then with the others! These dates include some great mini-games and new elements to explore, so check them all out and try to get the top scores to get a trophy!

As part of the game’s new elements, several of the mini games are connected to side-quests that build on the overall story. Doing these actually benefits your relationships with certain members of the team, so it’s recommended to complete everything that comes your way. The full list of mini games is: G-Bike, Chocobo Races, 3D Brawler, Dolphin Show, Minecart Adventure, Galactic Saviors (has a major glitch), Jumpfrog Pirate’s Rampage, Run Wild, Desert Rush, Rufus’ Inauguration Parade, and Fort Condor. There are also new modes of transportation to explore every area of the world with the Buggy, a Wheelie, or the Tiny Bronco which you’ll get later on in the story. And of course, the main mode of transportation is the Chocobos, with each area having a different kind in a distinct color: Chocobo (yellow), Mountain Chocobo (gray), Sky Chocobo (teal), Ocean Chocobo (light blue), and Forest Chocobo (green). Once you get the Chocobo for the area, everyone on the team is able to ride them and traverse the lands, including Red who sits up on them like a person. 

The characters of Final Fantasy are iconic, especially having appeared in other content such as Kingdom Hearts and the Final Fantasy Advent Children film, and Cloud’s Buster Sword is a significant item that many fans would love to have. As you play side quests and converse with the team, you uncover more of their stories and personalities while unlocking new skills and weapons. Each team member has a distinct personality, allowing fans to choose their favorite based on who they like most. Aerith has a soft, gentle personality and is encouraging no matter the situation, she was my favorite. Yuffie was loud, inconsiderate, and was too focused on mako in moments of seriousness, making her my least favorite. Cloud, however, was a unique case as he has two personalities inside him, making it difficult to discern who he actually is and how he feels in different situations. Of course this doesn’t change that fans love him, but for newcomers to the game it may be difficult to understand why he is such a hyped character!

The gameplay itself has changed a lot since the original, no longer being a turn-based game but an action-packed battle with multiple abilities to use! Of course you can use a normal attack, but opening the commands menu allows you to access Tactical Mode to slow down time and devise your strategies. This is where you decide to attack with different abilities, utilize summons, magic, limit breaks, or synergy abilities. There is still an opportunity to strategize here by selecting your moves for each person on the team, but the teams only consist of three people so choose wisely! It’s important to level everyone up as well, otherwise you won’t be able to use new weapons you discover or retain skills they’ve developed. A key element in winning difficult battles are the summons, which you have to unlock and upgrade in each area and assign to an individual. Their abilities, especially Odin’s, can turn a battle in your favor and save you from having to reset. Note: you may have to change the game to easy to beat Odin, many players did this as he was nearly impossible to beat.

My favorite aspect of the gameplay was the open-world with real-time exploration and combat. There is a great amount of things to discover and do, and the map shows you everything going on with stunning beauty. A good map makes a game better, and this map nailed it. You can also change who you’re playing as during this exploration, which helps level up the team.

Final Fantasy games are known for their extremely well-written, deep, and meaningful plots that often leave players wondering what really happened. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth maintained this with an extremely confusing end, leaving me wondering if Cloud is slowly losing his mind, if Aerith really died, or if there was something else I missed during the climax of the story. The next game will most likely answer these questions, but not right away, and it’ll be about three years until it comes out! I did really enjoy this story, and it was created extremely well. Big games like these with great stories and extensive gameplay is what makes them worth it, and I would highly recommend checking out this game if you haven’t (play the first one though)! 

Even if you’re familiar with the storyline from the original game, you’ll find yourself questioning what will happen next by the end of this game!

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