It has almost been a a whole year since the initial release of Part 2 of the Final Fantasy VII Remake story. Back on February 29, 2024, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was released on Playstation 5. It had been a long time coming since the first part of the remake was dropped leaving players wondering what changes would be brought next to the new telling of Final Fantasy VII. So let’s talk about the winner of the Grand Game of the Year for 2024.
Almost a year later, Mission Debrief finally shares our thoughts on Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. More specifically, this review comes from the eyes of a gamer who never had the opportunity to engage with the original rendition of Final Fantasy VII, but had heard the legendary story of the four disc adventure. The only hiccup we have now is that, instead of getting through all four discs at once, we have to wait years to get the rest of the story.
The story follows pretty close to how things wrap up in Final Fantasy VII Remake. However, that is also where the confusion starts. The reasoning behind this: if you completed Final Fantasy VII Remake, you would have seen that Zack, Aerith’s beloved and Cloud’s good friend and comrade, is alive and decently well; aside for a few bumps and bruises. This scene continues and instead of being tossed into the tutorials with Cloud, we are given a scene with Zack finding an unconscious Aerith and the rest of the gang that ended up getting jetted off by the enemy. Yet there is no room for rest because the game continues with returning to Cloud’s words talking about his past working with Sephiroth, and if you did play the original game, players are quick to pick up on the fact that everything Cloud talks about to the party is the original story of Zack. Truthfully a wonderful set-up to put a light on the beloved Zack. However, those who have not played the original game would have no idea of how confused veteran players are.
For the most part the mechanics are pretty much the same as Remake, and have the ability to swap around your team and leader positions more frequently. The map is far larger than before. Remake essentially took place in Midgar, only really traveling between different Sectors, but in Rebirth we have the opportunity to see the home of Cloud and Tifa, even Zack. Instead of being surrounded by machinery, players are able to see the different cultures of these cities that were simply mentioned previously. There are dozens of new side quests consisting of photo op modes, tips on slaying fiends, and gathering summons! Chadley is still very much around for training purposes and obtaining materia, and let us not forget Queen’s Blood!
The team has also grown, bestowing players with Yuffie the Mystery Ninja, and Cait Sith. Despite these two new characters gifted to our arsenal, I must say that using Cait Sith was not one of my favorite choices and was very clunky to play as, making his solo mission very difficult. The main story is very straight forward and traveling becomes easier with being able to use Chocobos to travel across the different terrain, as well as gaining access to Cid’s aircraft. Granted, training Chocobos through the different races is no picnic in the park and will plant frustration in players if they are not a fan of timed racing missions. Also, given how many side missions there are in this game, it is pretty easy to steer off the path of the main mission. Each side mission has very detailed cinematic scenes and dialogue that encourages players to see these side missions through, making you dedicate hours to side content rather than focusing on the main mission.
Now focusing on the main mission, between Cloud’s storytelling and visions, as well as the jarring alternate reality switches, it does confuse non-veteran Final Fantasy gamers making them ask ‘What is going on?’ more frequently even towards the end of the story. Given the fact it is clear that Final Fantasy Remake and Rebirth are both not just a remake but essentially a retelling of this story, I will say that I myself was pretty surprised with the outcome, or rather the demise of certain characters. With this game essentially toying with the idea of a multiverse, and even toying with our cognition of a certain character’s ending, the wrap up of Rebirth was rather disappointing due to all the effort you put into the story, as well as watching what Cloud’s friends do for him to make his journey easier, it feels very much ‘all that work, for nothing’. It was not a bittersweet ending and simply frustrating. Yet, will I play the next part? Yes, of course. For our hero, things always have to get worse before they can get better.
So is the frustration of side missions and character development worth it? Yes.
The story telling of this game is impeccable and with the accompaniment of the Best Score and Music of 2024 Grand Game Awards, players are easily drawn into this story to finish. Alas, we will yet again have to wait for the next part and see where our Avalanche friends end up next with these new twists and turns.