by Danreb Victorio
It’s absolutely wild that we live in a universe where a more than competent remake of Final Fantasy VII exists, but what’s even wilder is that the universe of Final Fantasy VII was also completely remade in such a way that even those who enjoyed the originals can’t tell you what’ll happen next, and it’s all the better for it. Now that it’s also available on Switch 2 and Xbox Series X, more people get to experience it before its long-awaited conclusion now in development.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth continues right where 2020’s Final Fantasy VII Remake left off–Midgar’s Sector 7 plate has collapsed, due to the Shinra Electric Company’s evildoing and blaming Avalanche for all of it. The action starts off in the city of Kalm in the middle of the Grasslands, and it’s here where you realize just how big and open everything is.
Cloud and company are still on the run from Shinra, but now they have the entire world (and their mako reactors) in front of them.
It was an intentional design choice, but one of my main issues with FFVII Remake was the fact that walking around Midgar’s many dilapidated sectors just felt samey. FFVII Rebirth addresses that issue right away simply by showing off the Grasslands. Without saying too much about how far the story goes, Rebirth has you exploring the likes of memorable locales such as the military stronghold of Junon, the beaches of Costa del Sol, the amusement park resort known as the Gold Saucer, the desertlands of Cosmo Canyon, and more. Each and every one of these places looked absolutely stunning on the PlayStation 5, and the same holds true now that it’s on Switch 2 and Xbox Series X.
The Switch 2 version wasn’t without some visual sacrifices. The biggest of which was going down from 60 fps to 30, but Nintendo players generally come to expect that. I fall under that category, and throughout the hours I spent on this version, the only thing that really showed obvious visual inferiority to me was each character’s hair. It all just looks extra fuzzy. As for performance, while the trip to the Gold Saucer was pretty much as exciting as I remember it a few years ago, it’s also a little slower by nature and feels compromised to an extent. At that, even this version of the game looks and feels the way a premium AAA title should, based on the sheer quality and love put into every aspect of the game (think Pragmata)–and in all honesty, it might be too much for its own good. The fact that it’s now portable just adds to the experience.
For those who haven’t already enjoyed the PS5 release from a couple of years ago, the key thing to note about Rebirth is that it’s the second in a trilogy retelling the story of the original game. Whereas Final Fantasy VII Remake focused a lot of its attention on the members of Avalanche, FFVII Rebirth doubles down on centering on Cloud as well as each of his companions. Joining Tifa, Barret, and Aerith are Red XIII, Yuffie, and Cait Sith, and not only do each of them have a fair share of backstory to tell, but they also each make the game’s hybrid-style combat system even more dynamic.
Rebirth combat remains mostly unchanged, except that it behooves you to use characters other than Cloud. Characters like Barret are great from a distance, while characters like Tifa are ideal for close quarters. As you switch characters in and out, inflicting enough damage to unleash abilities and their Limit Breaks makes both small encounters and big boss fights feel meaningful and epic, and it’s also great essentially seeing that the game treats it all as one take. It goes without saying that FFVII Rebirth really nailed its visual presentation, avoiding most oversized menus that can get in the way of the action during combat or sidequests.
Sidequests are aplenty in Rebirth, and a lot of them are so good, I really wouldn’t mind separately released games that totally focus and build on these minigames. They pretty much already did that with Chocobo Racing on the original PlayStation, but I wouldn’t mind seeing an updated version on current hardware, because it’s that good. The best of all of them, though, is Queen’s Blood–a quick and strategic card game that also has its own side story that you’ll get involved with right away. It was arguably my favorite part of the game.
Despite this, I eventually reached a point where the whole experience felt overwhelming. This is not exactly a problem in a video game, as nobody is going to complain about having too much content, especially when we’re talking about how expensive they are, but I couldn’t help but feel punished for exploring every nook and cranny as I got to the end of the game.
As you make your way through the planet and uncover every region Rebirth has to offer, you’ll unlock a more than sizable map with its share of big towns, ranches, retreats, beaches, and all sorts of other places to visit, both meaningful and with a little filler that’ll give you an unquestioned appreciation for the sheer size of everything. Throughout most of the game, I’d explore as much as I could, unlocking towers to reveal more of the map and doing whatever sidequests came my way. The world-building in Final Fantasy VII is nothing short of fantastic, and while this method of play was a grind and made me take longer than most to finish my initial playthrough a couple of years ago, I felt like it was time well spent. All my characters felt evenly leveled. I felt like I left the mark I wanted to leave in every territory I touched, and I was just enjoying every moment in the journey.
Then came that stupid “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop” sidequest that essentially required you to successfully complete the hardest version of every minigame offered at The Gold Saucer. I didn’t rage quit, but it made me stop focusing on sidequests immediately and, I beelined it to the end of the game as a result. It just felt like a slap in the face after all the work I’d done to finish every sidequest up to that point, and for what it’s worth, I really enjoyed my time with Rebirth, and I needed to finish it right then and there because even after two years, I’m mad about what happened.
As far as getting the value for your money, whether you picked up Final Fantasy VII Rebirth during its initial launch on the PS5 or you’re picking it up for the Switch 2 or Xbox Series X today, you’re definitely getting what you’re paying for. The retelling of the story is great, the production value (even from a Switch 2 standpoint) is phenomenal, and you can tell a lot of love went into the game’s development. It is undoubtedly filled to the brim with content for you to enjoy, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that it doesn’t feel like the game actually cares about all the hours you poured into it. These newer versions of the game sort of scratch the surface of addressing that problem by offering Streamlined Progression and the ability to unlock unlimited MP and HP modifiers to make things less challenging, and that’s all well and great if you wanna get through the game quickly, as we wait for news on the game’s conclusion.
So at the end of the day, while I would say that the game is absolutely worth $50 for Switch 2 owners if this is your only option, if you have other platforms, I’d pick those by default simply because while it’s great to be able to bring this game on the go, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was always meant to be played in the comfort of your own home with the added benefit of a home theater. The unfortunate thing is, as of right now, the PS5 version lacks the mod details like the max HP/MP/Gil, faster Limit Breaks, which honestly are my favorite additions to the game because I was too scrawny to fight some optional bosses in the original game. I can’t imagine Square not patching that into the PS5 version soon though, but that’s definitely worth noting.
