Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Review (PS5)

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth picks up during our heroes' escape from Midgar and takes us across the world in pursuit of the villainous Sephiroth. After a fantastic introduction to the trilogy with FF7 Remake, we are immersed in a game with a much broader scope and an open world. As launch neared, we had to wonder if Square Enix could get things out from under the steel pizza or if this reimaging and sequel part was doomed to failure.

Please note that this review is aimed at fans of the original. As such, there are some spoilers for those who have only played FF7 Remake.

A faithful adaptation

While many fans (myself included) were concerned that the appearance of the Whispers would be used as an excuse for an abbreviated storyline, that is far from the case. Despite the twist we saw in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Rebirth largely follows the same path as the original.

While almost all equivalent content has been incorporated into Rebirth, everything is written bigger in Rebirth. In particular, Kalm, Gongaga and Costa Del Sol have been greatly expanded and you will spend hours discovering new aspects of these places. Some of these locations were only a few screens in the original, so it took more imagination to fill in the gaps than to recreate Midgar. As such, don't expect everything to play out exactly the same.

For example, Gongaga was a completely optional area in the original, and the only reason to visit it was to collect the Titan Materia. However, in Rebirth it was expanded to a mandatory part of the game which consists of its own region. As such, although it draws inspiration from the original, it is actually a new location due to the amount added and new story content found there.

Fortunately, most of the new story elements sync up well with the old ones. However, some strange choices exist, such as having a character from the closed free game The First Soldier play a leading role in world events. It also seems like the developers had a hard time figuring out what to do with Yuffie and Cid. Despite a solid introduction in FF7 Remake Intermission, Yuffie seems a bit odd in Rebirth. She's awkward, constantly talks about getting material, and doesn't show the character growth one might expect after the events of Intermission.

Conversely, Cid is presented without much fanfare as the face of a regional fast-travel mechanic. Rocket Town is omitted entirely and his personality changed from an angry, grumpy stoner who hates Shinra to a soft-hearted philanthropist with a southern drawl. Unfortunately, he and Vincent aren't playable characters this time, so aside from a few scenes, you don't get the same focus on their story as you do on the rest of the party.

Find a reason to fight

If you are new to the series, I recommend starting with the original or the remake. I don't see how anyone could have the proper context to get the most out of Rebirth without having the context of the party's journey.

The renaissance is beginning in the media, and in the grand scheme of things, not much is happening in terms of the overall story. For much of the game, Cloud and his group pursue Sephiroth based on whatever clues they can find, and it's not until the climax that this really comes to fruition.

Instead, Rebirth is about providing details about our party's history and the world they live in. You see how Shinra's world domination has affected the planet and the weight that Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Aerith and Red XIII carry due to the company's actions (Yuffie unfortunately has to wait as Wutai is not in this entry) .

It is also a journey of discovery. Coming from modest backgrounds, most of the members of the group do not particularly travel. For example, Barret's excitement about discovering the spiritual center of planetary science, Cosmo Canyon, is palpable.

There are also plenty of story-driven side quests featuring a host of memorable characters, many of which are new. There are also a massive amount of mini-games to take part in, including a full collectible card game called Queen's Blood, all of which help lighten the mood after particularly heady scenes.

The Chadley problem

Unfortunately, not all of the side content is as well integrated as it could have been. Spread across the regions of Gaia are points of interest such as Remnawave Towers, Combat Missions, Summoning Crystals, and Life Sources. These are all called regional data and are used to “gather insights” for Chadley. Apparently you're doing this so he can develop new materials for you, which is a relatively minor feature in the grand scheme of things. However, for some reason the developers decided to make him a key part of the game, and he has by far the most lines of any NPC (and probably some of the main characters) in Rebirth.

From the beginning, Chadley offers you the CHAD module, which is a combination of scanner and cell phone. From this point on, you'll hear from him every 5-10 minutes for almost the rest of the game. If it doesn't prompt you to search for information, then it reminds you that there is information to search for. Only during the linear sequences of the story are you not subjected to a near-constant Chadley cacophony. But you're not even safe there, because it also frequently intervenes in the plot.

Chadley's is a clumsy way of justifying generic side content, and it could have been handled much better. Why not assign a content type to each character so it feels organic? Aerith might ask you to find Lifesprings so she can communicate with the planet, while Tifa might want to fight the most powerful demons to perfect her martial arts. Chadley also does not need to be present to facilitate Summon Materia. Each of them is part of the history of the region they are in, so why not hide them and use the Summoning Crystals to find them?

Chadley feels contrived and out of place in a game that otherwise spends so much time fixing every little detail. There wasn't a single moment where I thought it added anything to the experience, and it actively dampened my immersion in this carefully crafted world.