Phoenix Down for the Remake

Final Fantasy VII is a landmark game for me. It was the first Final Fantasy title that resonated with me. I have beat it numerous times over the years, and I consider it one of my favorite games of all-time. That being said, I had mixed feelings about Remake. It felt like a proof of concept. It was padded in a lot of areas. I was concerned after it came out that this remake was going to take 30 chapters to finish. Rebirth alleviates all of my concerns. Square-Enix has made me so much more excited about this project going forward. It may end up taking well over a decade and three console cycles to see it through, but the Final Fantasy Remake project has hit its stride with Rebirth. It will take a modern miracle if this game is not in my top three by the end of 2024.

The first game took place entirely in Midgar. Sure, there were some expanded sections and character development, but it somehow still felt padded with mundane side quests. I was able to 100% the first game in under 30 hours. I couldn’t even mainline this sequel in under 40. Rebirth is much more fleshed out with multiple environments, expanded character stories, and so much more. I was worried after the events of the first game’s ending. Those are quickly squashed within the first hour of Rebirth, and the ensuing adventure is outstanding. I was glued to my TV from start to finish. The moments I remember, and those I did not all hit exceptionally hard here. Thanks to incredible visuals, excellent voice acting, and of course a heavy dose of nostalgia.

MSRP: $69.99
Platforms: PlayStation
Price I’d Pay: $69.99

I will avoid all spoilers here, for those that have memories, this is best experienced without any knowledge, and for those coming in fresh, you are in for a treat. The game spans a much larger section than the first game. There are multiple environments, open world areas, and tons more mini-games and places to explore. It takes everything laid down by the original and enhances it ten-fold. The combat simulator is expanded, the side quests are much more interesting, and the Folio system is giving me hard Sphere Grid vibes. There are so many pieces in this game that some of them barely last a quarter of a chapter. It can be overwhelming, but it is always fun.

With open world areas exploration is key. The map is massive, and each area has tons to see and do. As I explore the world it would uncover it to showcase new areas. There are towers to unlock places of interest to expand upgrades. Again, I am being extremely vague here, simply because I don’t want to spoil any characters or events. Fast travel is also a part of this game as are various modes of travel. I loved that every area has a unique type of Chocobo that adds new traversal options to the mix. As with everything else there are also a bunch of sidequests for each area including the Chocobo Farms. Customizing Chocobos is also a thing, though I was not a fan of the stealth-focused missions to obtain the birds.

Mini-games are a huge focus of this entry. Whether it is Costa Del Sol or everyone’s favorite Gold Saucer area, this game is packed with fun stuff to do. Some of these feel like they could be fleshed out games, which makes sense as that is exactly what happened with the original release. Chocobo Racing anyone? I could have spent hours at the Gold Saucer alone just exploring it. Seeing it all fleshed out with the new visuals gives things such a larger impact. This again includes all the characters. Seeing Dio in this game was an incredible moment, and he ended up being one of my favorites in the entire game.

There is so much to see and do in this game I could talk about it for hours, but I don’t want to spoil it. Just know that if you have love for this world and characters, it has been retained the way I wanted it. The story is familiar with some added context and ideas, but they all work. The characters sound almost like I imagined they did. It was just a treat for me to have these experiences with this new engine.

There were a few hiccups throughout the game though that did annoy me. For starters there are a lot of sections where things slow down to a crawl. These range from shimmying along walls or squeezing through holes and forcing characters to walk slowly. I understand the idea sometimes, while others are bewildering. I was also never a fan of the Queen’s Blood card game, and for the most part I was able to bypass it throughout the game. Sadly, there is one quest where it is required to defeat three opponents. I was able to beat the first two in a couple tries, but the third opponent is extremely cheap, and it had me stuck for well over an hour for one game. It brought my entire experience to a halt, and it was very frustrating.

Combat remains similar with a few new tweaks. You can still slow down time to issue commands to other party members. It is important who you bring with you at times as the game also has a relationship mechanic. There are now synergy attacks where party members can team up for visually pleasing beatdowns and of course Summons have returned, and they fight alongside players for a set amount of time. There is a new Transmuter system where crafting items can be turned into small things such as potions, up to gear as you level up your crafting skills. The game literally has something for everything.

There are three difficulty settings. These are easy, normal, and dynamic. The dynamic difficulty will adjust as you play, and from my minimal tests, it seemed to work fine. On easy difficulty you can usually power your way through battles within 2-3 levels. While normal requires paying attention to enemy weaknesses using the Assess ability and constantly switching between your party members to cast spells and heals. Combat is never boring and the addition of the new characters to the party allow for some really enjoyable game play. There are also party loadouts that can be switched at any time (outside of obvious moments) and it is good to see what synergy you can create.

Visually the game is stunning. It offers up two modes as per usual and the 4K mode clocks in at 30fps, but I always prefer performance mode. Sadly, through most of my playthrough it was very blurry. They did patch the game to improve fidelity in that mode towards the end of my journey, and sadly it doesn’t help much. If graphics are your concern the 4K mode runs fine, I just prefer this combat at 60fps. The music is absolutely stellar. The familiar themes return with new arrangements and even a piano mini-game that lets me play them myself. Every time I hear those tunes though, I get nostalgic. That music is embedded into my brain, and hearing these new arrangements made me smile every single time.

There is so much more I want to say, but I do not want to ruin any part of this experience. Being such a huge fan of the original game, I could not be happier with how this sequel turned out. After being lukewarm on the first entry, this one squashes all my concerns and doubts about this remake. I do wish it wasn’t going to take over a decade to see it all, but this sequel gives me confidence in the finale. I cannot recommend it enough, but mute all keywords on Twitter, experience this for yourself, and enjoy what is easily an early contender for the best game of 2024.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.