Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Review – Leave The Past Behind, But Never Forget It

There were several moments throughout Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth where I strove to recapture my distant childhood. To stand atop towering mountains and industrial scaffolding with the vain hope that by spending time with these iconic characters and familiar locations, I’d vanish to a simpler time. One where I could remain ensnared by nostalgia instead of looking toward the future.

Against my expectations, this reimagining wants to hold onto the past while simultaneously leaving it behind, crafting an expanded, experimental gem that leaves us with a devastating crescendo. As its namesake suggests, Final Fantasy 7 has been born anew.

Such an evolution isn’t to claim that Rebirth isn’t an inherently familiar experience. It relies on prior knowledge to piece together its subversive tale while expanding on existing characters and locations enough that new players won’t have trouble following along. There was a perverse delight in watching a close friend try and piece the early hours together as I played, asking weighted questions that were equal parts curious and perplexed.

Midgar and its surrounding biomes have always inspired such feelings, and it still rings true even if parts of this dieselpunk fantasy world are sorely lacking in subtlety. Across its 14 chapters, I found myself consistently surprised and impressed with how a tale so historically versed in melodrama managed to move me with compelling character stories and expanded lore that takes dated PlayStation pixels and turns them into something magnificent.

Rebirth kicks off mere moments after Remake, with Cloud Strife and friends taking shelter in the picturesque town of Kalm to recall memories with Tifa and Sephiroth. We watch his hometown burn to the ground as Sephiroth murders everyone in sight, learning his true fate at the hands of Shinra and Jenova.

But as all of these moments play out, their reliability will be called into question, as if events from the original game and the characters experiencing them have somehow changed. Nothing is as it seems, with Rebirth constantly adjusting our expectations with set pieces, characters, and locations familiar on the surface, yet hiding much more beneath it all. What I loved most is how Square Enix has taken these old foundations and given them new life, sprinkling storytelling and lore across an oddly restrained open world where every little quest and discovery is worth seeking out.

There are six regions to be found outside Midgar, ranging from deserts where the land has been sucked dry of Mako, to dense jungles that have allowed vegetation to usurp a past of capitalist greed. You’ll find myriad side quests and populated towns to explore within each, alongside a laundry list of side activities and secrets to discover, ranging from brief yet entertaining quick-time events to fiercely challenging boss battles.

You’ll also find infamous towers to climb that result in icons filling your map, but there are only ever two or three for us to contend with at any given time. Instead of being overwhelming, Rebirth’s distractions are inviting. You are provided with additional lore and ample rewards for uncovering the edges of the map, given a reason to abandon the beaten path beyond grinding for experience to dominate challenging bosses.

I found myself dipping into the menus to read dossiers on locations and characters, catching myself up on past events, so I had the utmost context. But I also developed a loving fondness for the mundane in Rebirth’s world, partially because it feels so alive. Every settlement Cloud stumbles across is filled with a mixture of named characters and other NPCs. If you are anything like me, you’ll come to eavesdrop on conversations or stick around to watch a town of everyday people go about their daily lives. People will fall in love, struggle to make a living, or talk about the events unfolding around them in real time.

Towns are updated as you progress through the core narrative too, giving you a reason to revisit old haunts and peruse the current happenings beyond chasing new side quests and monster hunts. I’ve never seen a Final Fantasy game feel this alive before. Even if nostalgia plays an integral part in my own connection to it, so much love has gone into expanding upon the memories I already have.

There’s a surprising amount of diversity in Rebirth’s world, too. I found several queer couples infatuated with one another on streets I frequented, alongside several races and creeds that do a phenomenal job of showcasing Final Fantasy as a globalised title. After Final Fantasy 16’s awkward fumbles, it’s a delight to see this reimagining pick up the slack and take things further than ever. Aerith and Tifa still don’t kiss, but I have fanfiction for that I suppose. But if you’re not exploring the world in Rebirth, you’ll be doing battle with evil fiends or taking part in an exhausting number of optional and mandatory minigames.

There’s also awkward platforming to be found across the open world, which is thankfully balanced out by a variety of recruitable chocobos. You’ll be flying by the end of the game, and it feels incredible, not to mention the unique musical themes of each new bird. Rebirth’s attention to detail is quite frightening at points.

Combat is largely unchanged from Remake as you battle in real-time instances where you can switch between characters and issue commands at any moment. Synergy attacks are the biggest new addition – brutal offensive moves and buffs which see two party members come together to dish out punishment. Less powerful synergy abilities can be used with a press of the shoulder button, while devastating, Limit Break-esque skills must be charged before you can use them. This encourages you to use new characters constantly, a welcome change to Remake, where you could rely on Cloud for the entire game and get by.

Synergy commands also fold into the relationship and dialogue system, which affects how close you are to certain party members and who your eventual date at the Gold Saucer will be. At first, I expected this system to be relatively barebones, thrown in to emulate contemporaries like The Witcher 3 without considering the type of storytelling that best accommodates this type of mechanic. Like so much of Rebirth, however, I was swiftly proven wrong.

Most of the side quests you take on will pair Cloud with a specific character as they complete an odd job around towns or embark on a heartfelt personal quest. Tifa will search for her old cat in Nibelheim before playing a familiar tune on the piano. Aerith will help stargazers in Cosmo Canyon capture pictures of constellations to further her ancestral connection with the planet.

Aside from Cait Sith, Vincent Valentine, and Cid Highwind, every character sees development that they’ve never been afforded before. It’s well-written, emotionally resonant, and leads to moments that feel earned. Compared to the original game, the extra time taken to make certain twists and turns land hit so much harder this time without resorting to lazy fan service or deviations from the canon purely for the sake of it.

You’ll occasionally take control of characters who aren’t Cloud outside of combat, as the cast is split up to accommodate the story. This leads to some cool platforming as Yuffie or clumsy puzzles with Cait Sith as you yeet boxes at nearby switches and obstacles. Barrett will blast at nearby scenery in exchange for materials, while Red XIII can climb walls in search of loot.

A clear attempt has been made to give each of these characters a worthwhile gimmick, and these sequences are thankfully brief enough that they rarely outstay their welcome. Some of them can border on the filler content we saw in Remake’s later moments, but it never quite grows that egregious. Like nearly everything in Rebirth, it is smarter and more considered than its predecessor.

Then there are minigames, so many goddamn minigames. Square Enix has taken the task of fleshing out the original game very seriously, and that means Chocobo Racing is the Final Fantasy kart racer we’ve always wanted, while you’ll also find functional pianos for playing with exhaustive note charts and a digital card game known as Queen’s Blood that has more than enough depth to be a standalone digital release. I haven’t even touched on Fort Condor, Run Wild, Desert Rush, several different rhythm games, or the countless new distractions at the Gold Saucer.

You could spend dozens of hours alone mastering all the extra bits and pieces Rebirth has to offer, so much so that it does grow overwhelming. I felt like Jesse Pinkman at the end of Breaking Bad when the game had the cheek to throw a new strategy minigame at me as I hit the 50-hour mark. Rebirth is restrained in its characters and world building, but sadly piles on too much content at times that it hinders itself.

It still feels like there is so much in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth I haven’t touched upon, including a story I can’t wait to see unpacked and theorised upon in the years to come as we await the final instalment in this ambitious trilogy. I went into this sequel with trepidation, as I feared Square Enix would turn this magical game into a bland open world experience with all the worst offenders of modern game design. While it isn’t perfect, a concerted effort to make Rebirth feel alive, substantial, and filled with so much heart has been made here.

Part of me wanted Rebirth to recapture fleeting moments of my upbringing, but I much prefer how this story and the people behind it have grown alongside me, revealing an opportunity to present this epic in a different light that can only be managed with the benefit of hindsight. I have no idea where it goes now, and that just might be its greatest achievement.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth

Reviewed on PlayStation 5

Pros

• An accomplished reimagining of the RPG classic
• Characters, stories, and locations, are expanded in all the right ways
• The world is brought to life with challenging combat and worthwhile exploration

Cons

• Too many minigames
• Aerith and Tifa don’t kiss