When Final Fantasy VII Remake released back in 2020, it changed video game remakes forever. As most already know, it was an extremely faithful modern upgrade of the original 1997 classic with some twists to keep things fresh and uncertain towards its divisive ending. Four years later and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth continues the monumental task of remaking a much larger section of the game than Midgar. With a new overworld playground and side content stacked to the brim, Rebirth is yet again a terrific journey into one of the best stories ever told in gaming. That said, it also repeats some of the same narrative problems that held Remake back.



Final Fantasy VII Rebirth picks up after the events of Remake. Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, Barret and Red XIII have left the confines of Midgar in their pursuit of Sephiroth. The world has now opened up to a massive overworld of locations, hubs, towns and ports as Cloud and company must trace the steps of a cataclysmic mystery while their relationships are put to the test as emotional backstories are uncovered.



Taking some of the criticims aimed at Remake to heart, Square Enix decided to expand the scope and scale of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth dramatically. At face value, it might seem like a continuation of Remake and that gives you certain expectations, so you will not expect just how insanely massive Rebirth is until you first step out into the Grasslands and soak in the landscape. This isn't just an RPG that's impressive in its monumental size, it's densely packed with content too.

Rebirth tries to take the "bigger is better" route for the sequel and in many ways, it succeeds.

The main story is quite a lengthy one and at least double the size of Remake's story by my estimation, but I suspect that a good majority of your time will be spent just exploring the rich locations and taking part in the dozens upon dozens of side activities, quests, mini-games and objectives that it offers. Rebirth tries to take the "bigger is better" route for the sequel and in many ways, it succeeds. Midgar feels small in comparison to the various places you'll visit along your journey in the overworld, giving it that jolly road trip feeling that reminded me a bit of the best parts of Final Fantasy XV.



The core group of characters have never been stronger together. One thing Remake excelled at was its excellent character writing and the strong relationships created between them. Rebirth takes that up a few notches and does these characters we love so much justice. With the inclusion of Cait Sith and Yuffie to the party, the bonds formed between them are built on strong emotional foundations. Whether it's Cloud dealing with the grief of his past, Tifa's lively personality uplifting everyone's spirit or Barret being the secret glue holding everyone together as the defacto leader when Cloud stumbles, you really feel that brilliant sense of camaraderie between everyone. Even when the story rarely dipped in quality, the characters always kept it afloat and engaging.

The gameplay in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is almost identical to Remake, albeit with some welcomed small tweaks and improvements. Materia is attained more sparsely this time as rewards from various side quests, incentivising you to explore and complete as much of the side content as you can while occasionally veering back onto the main story path. The side quests and activities are, by and large, some of the best I've seen in a Final Fantasy game. Usually when it comes to big open world RPGs, I have my reservations about how good the side content is compared to the main story but I never really felt that in Rebirth, save for a few instances where you're stuck scanning rocks or doing something just as mundane for some reason.



For instance, most of the time I was sidetracked by Queen's Blood, a shockingly in-depth and supremely addictive deck-building card mini-game that conjured up vivid memories of being obsessed with Gwent in The Witcher 3. While I wish that's all I could talk about in this review, I still have a lot more to cover. Just know that at least a quarter of my overall playtime was dedicated to Queen's Blood. Moving on.

The side quests and activities are, by and large, some of the best I've seen in a Final Fantasy game.

Square Enix populated Rebirth with not only great characters but interesting things to do that never really feels like open world busy work, which is commendable for a game that will easily take you over 100 hours to complete if you want to see and do everything. It borrows a lot of world design elements from Ubisoft games, The Witcher 3 and Dragon Age, but the overall upbeat mood and tone of Rebirth makes you completely forget that you're climbing radio towers or investigating question marks on your map for the tenth time. No matter how derivative some of its open world mechanics felt, I was always having fun with these characters and I could say the same thing 60 hours later.



Each location you visit has a story to tell without any NPC talking to you thanks to how well-designed the settings are. Sure, you'll definitely run into some NPCs who will tell you the history of a location in great, excruciating detail so that's a small gripe I have. Overall, I can't gush enough about how amazing this world looks and feels. It's detailed, rich with lore and mesmerising no matter how many times you tilt the camera upwards to soak in everything. Square Enix are at the top of their game when it comes to superb world design. I loved the dark medieval fantasy setting of Final Fantasy XVI and I love Rebirth's sprawling epic fantasy setting just as much.

In terms of combat, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth mostly carries over the hybrid ATB system used in Remake. Gameplay is mostly freeflowing but you can tap into your inventory that slows time to a crawl while you manage your items or buffs. Cloud is at the forefront of the party as the big sword-swinging soldier but you can switch between party members on the fly for greater strategic advantages like setting up elemental weaknesses and exploits with Aerith's magical capabilities or delivering a flurry of close-ranged melee blows with Tifa. Newcomers Yuffie and Cait Sith are also neat additions to the party, though I rarely used them apart from important story moments.



There's also a greater variety of enemies and bosses in Rebirth as well, which comes with the expanded scope of the sequel. Some offer dazzling action set pieces with multiple stages while others are straight-up slugfests and battles of endurance. Thanks to the intensity of the combat - juggling multiple party members around with materia effects and buffs while healing, evading and attacking - none of it felt overwhelming or got too tedious because of how flexible it felt.

About 95% of Rebirth is a faithful reimagining of the original game with many iconic moments and story beats hugely expanded on to offer greater emotional heft and depth.

The biggest letdown of Rebirth was something that I hoped would be fixed after the ending of Remake: the narrative inconsistency. About 95% of Rebirth is a faithful reimagining of the original game with many iconic moments and story beats hugely expanded on to offer greater emotional heft and depth, and they're all incredible, but the new divisive additions to the story still threaten to derail things somewhat. I won't go into spoilers but there are moments - especially a crucial one towards the end - that's robbed of its emotional impact because the story couldn't clearly communicate what just happened.



I understand what Square Enix is trying to do here, keeping fans invested in a familiar story that teeters on uncertainty leading up to the final game in the trilogy, but it just doesn't have that same punch. The new plot devices (or contrivances, either way) only end up muddying and confusing what could've, and should've, been slam-dunk emotional highs in the story. Like the end of Remake, I find myself asking a lot of questions that I didn't expect to ask, but not less enthusiastic for answers. It's sure to be divisive, maybe even moreso than Remake.

On the technical aspects, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth's presentation is gorgeous. The visuals get the biggest technical upgrade here thanks to the PS5's more powerful hardware. Character models are extremely detailed and lively, with hair strands blowing in the wind and skin blemishes standing out. Framerate drops were rare except for busy combat situations where particles exploded on-screen, or the odd minor drop during exploration in the open world, though nothing that's detrimental to the experience. The soundtrack from Mitsuto Suzuki and Masashi Hamauzu does Nobou Uematsu's legendary score proud, with just the right amount of wondrous magic and nostalgia thrown in to heighten the mood of scenes.



Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is a behemoth of a sequel that outshines Remake with its stronger character writing, spectacular combat and weighty amount of engaging main and side content, though it also tends to repeat some of the same divisive narrative problems of its predecessor. If you're a fan of the original Final Fantasy VII, you probably won't mind the changes it makes because, at its core, it's still a pretty rewarding and faithful remake that celebrates the legacy of the game without taking away its golden heart and soul.