Our Verdict
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is an RPG unlike any other, reaching through time, space, and the screen to leave a mark on you in a way few other games can. Some of its open-world design is outdated and uninspired, and it can be irritatingly stop-start at points, but the emotional highs help it to overcome these flaws. You owe it to yourself to play Rebirth, and this new PC version is the best way to do it.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth features a dog called Salmon. As protagonist Cloud Strife, you’ll help them make a delivery. This presents itself as a run-of-the-mill, oft-maligned escort mission, but Rebirth makes it special. The first time I started a battle during Salmon’s delightful jaunt, Rebirth transported me to a new plane of existence. The entire adventure is brimming with moments as impactful as this, and they come together to make for an unforgettable game.
I was born after the original FF7’s release in 1997. I’ve played the RPG since then, but I don’t have the same frame of reference as those who were there at launch. The characters and plot points had all seeped into my brain via cultural osmosis before I even went hands-on, and I never connected with it in the way I’d hoped. That has now changed with Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. While I enjoyed Remake for its table setting and cast, I felt Square Enix had inelegantly stretched the story’s first chapter into a chunky novel. While Rebirth has its faults, it transcends my lack of intimacy with the source material and cements itself as one of my favorite RPGs.
If Rebirth has a soul, it’s most present in its cast. Every party member is bursting with personality, they’re all performed to perfection, and the expansive story gives everyone ample opportunity to grow, shine, and take center stage. After spending so much time with them, it becomes easy to see past their outer shell and get to grips with their true self. Everyone has delightful banter, sure, but it’s often Rebirth’s quieter moments that deliver the emotional gut punches. Its world is also filled with colorful side characters, and each area has a rounded narrative thanks to its connection to specific party members.
Sadly, I don’t think so highly of its open-world filler, which is insultingly basic. The loop of traveling to a tower, beating enemies, climbing the tower, and unlocking more World Intel points on your map for some lackluster side content is deeply unappealing. There’s barely any sense of exploration; instead, you’re following subway lines with your finger and taking a chance on what each stop has in store.
The open-world objectives grow even worse when the cyborg Chadley gets involved. Now, instead of trekking from point to point and hearing potential party banter, this little robot boy has to pipe up almost every time and grind gameplay to a halt. No, Chadley, I don’t want to hear about how pressing triangle three times in a row relates to a giant monster; I want to get back to the game.
If you’re setting out to complete a yellow World Intel task, prepare yourself for some of Rebirth’s most uninspired gameplay. You’re not incentivized to explore and uncover them; they’re one-dimensional, with each completed objective filling a progress bar that puts the sheer volume of filler into threatening perspective.
Not all of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s side content is as frustrating or disappointing, however. You’ve got meatier side quests, Protorelic missions, and an avalanche of minigames to try. Some activities tie back into the main story and characters in novel ways, while others sit idly on the sidelines.
The green side quests are essential and work best when they hone in on specific party members. Perhaps you’ll help Salmon the dog and learn about Barret’s anxiety around parenthood in the process. Maybe you’ll snap some scenic photos with Aerith and bond with her. Or you’ll slave away bringing chickens back to an old lady. While the mechanics behind some of these side quests aren’t what I’d call riveting, the writing and characters make them work.
Alongside side quests and World Intel, you also have one Protorelic quest chain per region. Each is broken up into four parts featuring recurring characters and activities. Not all Protorelic activities are winners, but stringing them together into mini-narratives makes them far more engaging, with Cosmo Canyon’s chain providing some of the game’s biggest emotional payoffs.
Rebirth’s minigames include racing Chocobos, playing the piano, entering a sit-up competition, and even riding a dolphin, to name a few. Most of these are cute one-and-done activities that remain inoffensive, but one stands tall above the rest: Queen’s Blood.
A new and original card game similar to FF8’s Triple Triad or FF9’s Tetra Master, Queen’s Blood is a perfect example of Square Enix uniting everything that makes Rebirth great. It’s surprisingly deep and so fun to play that it made me want to explore the world in search of new cards to build even better decks.
Each opponent is also wildly different, as you’ll face off against twins, a human statue, and even a dog. It shows that Rebirth’s side offerings work best when they have a real human component. The promise of an oddball character in a wacky situation drives me to want to stray from the beaten path. Otherwise, I’m just watching numbers go up on the world map, and I’m well past finding that even remotely enjoyable.
On another positive note, Rebirth’s combat is a major highlight. Square Enix expands Remake’s real-time and pseudo-turn-based blend into something I’d love to see across the entire FF series. It’s deceptively simple, with your party dealing damage in real-time while filling their ability meter known as the Active Time Battle gauge. When a section of this gauge is filled, you can spend it to use an array of spells, unique abilities, or items to help turn the tide of battle. Remake’s version was an interesting system still in its infancy, but it’s finally grown up.
Rebirth gives you more party members to pick between at any given time, alongside a broader suite of spells and items, opening the door to more expressive combat capabilities. You’re forever switching between party members, tools, and real-time and paused combat. There’s so much going on in a fight that it can sometimes feel overwhelming, but the combat comes to life when you learn to navigate that chaos.
It’s a shame, then, that the game is often so keen to wrestle control away from you and hit pause on the action. Whether you’re climbing, pulling a lever, shimmying across a ledge, sniffing with a Chocobo, listening to Chadley waffle, or picking up a fallen sign, so many basic actions feel like pulling teeth. I’m aware that some of this is likely an effort to hide loading screens, but there’s no way Cloud needs to move like a sedated pensioner when pushing a box or opening a door. This crawling pace is present in so many minor parts of Rebirth that it hurts the overall pacing.
But even in its dullest moments, Rebirth still presents quite the spectacle. The PC port boasts fresh flourishes, including a 120 fps mode, support for higher resolutions, and quality settings for in-game assets. I had a handful of crashes and frame drops across my playthrough, but these mostly happened when sprinting with a Chocobo across a vast expanse. I also experienced some texture pop-in when panning quickly in the larger areas, further cementing that Rebirth looks its best during more linear sections or cutscenes, where characters now benefit from an improved level of detail. All in all, this is now the version of Rebirth to play.
While I never developed a strong emotional attachment to the original Final Fantasy 7, the game’s music is an exception. Well before I gave FF7 a shot, I’d listened to Nobuo Uematsu’s score countless times. It’s a provoking work filled with masterful, memorable songs from top to bottom. While retooling it for a modern audience was certainly an unenviable task, Rebirth takes Uematsu’s iconic tracks to new heights, often featuring multiple versions of songs that Square Enix then utilizes to expert effect.
The best example of this comes during one of Rebirth’s final boss fights where two of Uematsu’s most legendary tracks weave together into a transformative piece. The battle leverages music used throughout Rebirth while holding such reverence for the source material that you’ll be fighting through tears just to get it done.
Above all else, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is earnest. Square Enix’s approach to the characters, locales, music, and narrative is infectiously sincere. My second playthrough has however brought what I like least about Rebirth into sharp focus. It can be painfully slow and is overstuffed with uninspired filler, but it still rises above its issues.
Even without a nostalgic connection to the original FF7, Rebirth made me understand precisely why that game is so beloved. I can feel it oozing from every line delivery, melody, and story beat. The game reminds me of memories I’ll never have; imagined souvenirs of a childhood spent kneeling in front of a buzzing CRT screen and swapping between discs. In this way, Rebirth refuses to let me go, and my return trip on PC assures me I don’t want it to either.
