Admit it, you can hear the song.
It is hard to believe, but it has been over a decade since the Final Fantasy VII Remake project was announced. It is even harder to believe it still isn’t finished. The second entry dropped two years ago exclusively on PlayStation, and it is finally dropping on Xbox and Nintendo Switch consoles, and we still don’t even know when the third, and final game is releasing. This project took so long that exclusivity rights ran out, and we are finally in lockstep with releases as I expect the third and final game to be released on all platforms at once. That is a long time, but if the quality continues like that found in Rebirth, I am perfectly fine waiting.
I am not going to go deep into all the mechanics of this game. We have reviewed this entry twice already on both PS5 and PC, so for this review I am going to focus on what has specifically changed in the last two years as well as how it performs on Xbox. Much has already been said about the content of the game, and much like the previous two versions, this one contains so much content that players have plenty to look forward to whether they are jumping in for the first time, or double or even triple dipping for these versions.
MSRP: $49.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $49.99
Bringing the game to Xbox has been something owners of the console have been waiting for. Sadly, it comes with some real issues in the graphics department. While it has the same visual modes found in the base PS5 version, it feels like there was little care poured into this version. The 30fps mode is fine, it looks great, and if you are fine with that frame rate, there is little to complain about here. When we get into the performance modes though, the issues start to crop up. While it feels fine most of the time, there was something constantly hampering the experience. It appears the camera has a judder issue when turning, which makes it feel like frame drops. This is disappointing as it was pointed out in the demo, and the final version didn’t fix it.
For those of us with 120hz displays and VRR this should be a non-issue. Sadly, this is not the case as it appears it doesn’t trigger correctly. This makes the game feel like the original PS5 version at launch with some real frame pacing issues. It truly feels like this version was simply not a priority for the developers. I hope this is fixed over time, but as it stands this version suffers from some fairly noticeable graphical issues. The visual quality is also not on par with the base PS5, which is just embarrassing.
I spent a little time testing on Series S and it is basically the same narrative. The 30fps mode is fine, and honestly the best way to play this version. The performance modes are extremely blurry and soft, and just not worth the visual downgrade. This is a gorgeous game, and seeing it look like someone smeared Vaseline on your TV screen is not worth it. While we didn’t get a chance to check out the Switch 2 version, I hear it received a ton of care, which is even more disappointing that as much care wasn’t poured into the Xbox versions.
With the release of these versions of the game, Square-Enix has also added a bunch of modifiers for people like me returning to the game. Much like Remake before it, there are options to kill enemies with one-hit or always have limit breaks available, basically allowing players to breeze through combat for the story. It is a nice addition for those of us who have already spent dozens of hours in the original release of the game.
As for everything else, Rebirth is by far one of the best RPGs of this generation. I had an absolute blast revisiting this game and even did a bit more of the side stuff this time around. The Remake project has improved with each entry so far, and I really hope the final entry will continue this level of excellence. I do hope Square-Enix takes the time to fix this Xbox version though. It is really disappointing to see the state it is currently in. Fix the camera judder and the VRR implementation so we can enjoy the game as it should be. Still, I cannot recommend this game enough, it was my 2024 game of the year, and I am happy it is finally releasing on these two consoles.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
