There are MASSIVE story spoilers in this review. Read with care if you have not played the game yet!
A garden houses plants, birds, snakes, and 23 tiny wishes. The garden of this game creates an immersive world, filled with Cloud's witty sarcasm, Tifas mental prowess, Aeriths guidance, and Barret’s strength that holds everyone together. Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth is a story that encompasses the entirety of what Final Fantasy 7 is, and what brings it to life in this remake of, Rebirth. The entire story of Final Fantasy 7 is massive and takes on many forms, ideas, and concepts. Sephiroth questioning his existence causes the meltdown of cataclysmic proportions to occur, while Cloud is fighting Sephiroth mentally at every turn, along with the possibility of full body degradation. Playing this game, made me fall in love with the first part of Final Fantasy 7 more than I ever thought possible. At first, I was not too fond of the first part of seven, even though it had its moments. At times it felt lackluster and somewhat confusing. But now after playing the first part of seven, Crisis Core, and now rebirth it all makes sense. This is one of the most intricately woven stories I’ve seen in a game that maintains its momentum and grows with every chapter played.
It Doesn't Make sense, but it will:
Throughout my time playing Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, the storyline got a little hard to follow. Whether it’s because of how the story went back and forth between Cloud and Zack’s timelines, or how there is no concrete explanation for new players on how Zack is even alive at this point in the timeline, (which, side note, I don’t expect there to be an explanation but maybe cleaner storytelling). While it made sense at the end, the backing and fourthing of the timeline were weird, and when it first happened I thought it was ill-placed. Towards the end of the game, it clicked that Zack was there because there were multiple timelines. One where Zack survives, and one where he doesn’t, this applies to Marlene and Aerith as well, and why Cloud is the only one who can see Aerith after she’s dead, he made one reality where she stayed alive. The story from 7 to Crisis Core, to Rebirth has its ebb and flow that carries through the multiverse that is Final Fantasy. It’s almost like a running gag that characters are in on, (even though I know that’s not the case), but fun to think about. I’ve had this theory that Tseng is in on all of the timelines, he's always monitoring Aeirth, so it only makes sense that he would be aware of multiple timelines, right? Keep in mind I’m a recent Final Fantasy fan. I started my journey with Final Fantasy 15, then Final Fantasy 7, then Crisis Core, then 16, then Rebirth. So, if I say something that isn’t cannon, or accurate theory to the lore, don’t be afraid to tell me! The story in this game has multiple answers because more than one thing can be right at the same time, and I didn’t fully realize this concept until playing Rebirth. With Aeriths death and Cloud losing himself in Sephiroth's spell out of pure admiration for him, this is one of the arcs as well in the timeline that adds another layer of complexity and sometimes confusion. Everything flows together, and even when at the moment it won’t make sense, trust me it will when you least expect it to.
Rebirth is a great game with a few problems:
The mechanics in this game are amazing when they need to be. Rebirth is a mixture of beautifully done graphics, a card game, combat design, and music design. When it comes to the way certain mechanics flow, it's another story entirely with them being too slow at points during an action that is taking place or needs to take place. For example, when climbing walls it will take Cloud a full second and a half to climb from each yellow ledge. Even when fighting certain enemies and/or bosses, the time it takes for Cloud to get up, or even dodge for that matter is either slow or none existent. Take the dodging mechanic for example, it might as well not be there because, from my experience playing, I could barely land a dodge, especially in some of the later game bosses with Rude, it was almost impossible to dodge accurately. On top of the things I mentioned, the music at times feels to be too loud over what the characters are saying during cut scenes. it will take me out of the immersion because I’m trying to hear at points what’s being said. I truly enjoyed the combat and how smoothly a lot of things ran in this game. Exploration was a big reason why this game works as well as it does. I got to see the openness I loved about Final Fantasy, mixed with the linear aspect that makes games enjoyable for me. Open-world games that let me explore without pushing me towards a linear objective become too overwhelming for me and take me longer to get through as a result. Now, that being said I know some like the reverse and prefer an open-world experience over the linear one. Depending on the flow you enjoy this game will be received differently.
The Psychology of Rebirth:
The story of Rebirth is deeply psychologically rooted both in how the story is constructed and how the cut scenes are orchestrated around the story of 7, Crisis Core, and now Rebirth. Cloud’s journey around stopping Sephiroth isn’t just about stopping him and that’s it, it's more about detaching himself emotionally from the person he thought Sephiroth was, and who he respected. The robed men act as a reminder that Sephiroth is a part of the universe, and a part of Cloud as a person, that he isn’t going anywhere. That’s why they are always looking for the next place that Sephiroth will be by the end of the game. It’s not about actually finding him, it’s about confronting what he has instilled in each character. Whether that is an awakening of sorts or something repressed Sephiroth is more a state of mind, an awareness of sorts. Since he can be everywhere at once, taunting each character forcing them to face the thing they don’t want to, to bending reality during the final boss battle where we see two realities merge of both Zack and Cloud. Could it mean that the split in how the multiverse works is because of Sephiroth splitting the character’s mental states? Or maybe, (this is a stretch) but the lifestream and its memories are colliding with the planet and what is “alive”. Im unsure, but interesting to think on nonetheless.
Queens Blood:
Am I dedicating an entire section of this review to Queens Blood, Yes, yes I am. This game is the only card game I ever enjoyed in a video game. I wish it would become its own game separate from Final Fantasy because I can see this becoming something similar to the likes of Arena for Magic The Gathering. There was a learning curve with this game at the start, but by the time I got the hang of it, I was so immensely happy each time I went in to face another Queens Blood player. I love that this was incorporated into the main storyline as well so players are in a way forced to learn how the game works. I hope this becomes a standalone game because it’s truly a gem.
The tears will never stop: Rebirth had so many unforgettable moments, some that I could do without, and philosophical points that made me question life. I loved my time with this game, it's something special that makes me cry in a happy cathartic way. Could I have done without chapter eight being all mini-games, yes I could. I feel that chapter in particular could be taken so many different ways. One where there is calm before the storm, or on a very surface level where it's just all mini-games distracting from the story. I think it’s a mixture of both, a calm before the story and something unneeded that could have been left later for the player to discover and go about after the main story was completed.
After Aeriths death I just sat back in my chair, cried, and then I giggled when she woke up because she’s not dead, is she? She’s a part of the lifestreams memories which is a happy way to think about death. You’re not gone, just somewhere else, incorporated into the place you came from. With 59 hours being my total playtime, my score for Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth is 8.5/10. “True strength comes from our ability to forgive” Aerith.A review copy of Final Fantasy 7: rebirth was gifted by Square Enix. The company did not read/watch the review before its publishing.
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