FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH

I've been trying to play this game over the past 2 months or so, and it is quite the slog to get through. I thoroughly enjoyed playing FFVII Remake a few months ago, and it was fantastic and kept my attention the whole time. I can't say the same about Rebirth. I find it crazy how much filler they cram into this game just to pad out it's play time. The constant use of "minigames" in the main story pisses me off. For example, you're in Costa Del Sol, and you can't simply go to the beach to talk to Hojo, no you have to go get a swimming suit, so you are forced into 3 random mini games so you can get a swimming suit. But you have to do this TWICE for each group in your party. I know in Remake there were a lot of mini games, but they didn't feel as jarring to what was going on in the story, in Rebirth they are constant and take a lot of time. Golden Saucer is another good example, you have to visit 5 or 6 areas there, doing minigames along the way, just to progress the story. I'm pretty sure those were all optional games in the OG FFVII. Anyways, aside from all the boring minigames, they put you in an "open world" where you run around doing "Far Cry" style objectives just to pad out the runtime some more. It really is very boring, and makes the whole open world very meaningless. There aren't interesting secrets to find, Chadley is constantly annoying you, it just drags on and on. I'm about halfway into my play through and I don't know if I'll even finish, it's really been testing my patience. They just announced the third game in the remake series, and I'm not sure I'll even bother with it. Everything about Rebirth has burned out my interest in anything new regarding Final Fantasy. Lastly I'll mention that I've played Remake on the steam deck and it was perfect, and I've been playing Rebirth on it as well. The only way it's been possible is from using lossless scaling mod in Decky Loader. Without this, the game is unplayable (in my opinion.) So yeah, there you go, there's my two cents, I can't recommend this game, it is a real disappointment.

Good game, god awful optimization, probably the laziest port I ever played on PC Make sure you install FFVIIHook and tweak around with settings, I made my performance around 150% better this way

pretty cool but all of the plot and combat and lore and exploration keeps getting in the way of my card game

such a slog to get through. about 50 hours in, I think I'm just going to force myself to finish the main story so I can be ready for the third game. there is so much useless padding in not just the story but also gameplay. finished an objective? here's a useless cutscene with chadley and/or an unskippable menu animation that forces you to stay still. found a chocobo stop? hold 'x' for a few seconds, then watch another animation for a few seconds that forces you to stay still. so many slow animations, clunky pathing/movements... most of the minigames are not fun either (though mostly optional). they are cumbersome and annoying to control. it's a shame that the bright spots of the game (main story, characters, combat) are overshadowed by such annoying decisions. also i do love queen's blood.

[h1] FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH [/h1] This game is great, but not for the reasons I usually think a game is great for. It has a lot of ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, but also a lot of good in it. For example, the story in this game isn't *terrible* per say, but it kind of is. The pacing sucks, the dialogue is terrible and way too corny, even for me. The characters fall flat for 95% of the game while making very strange decisions and the plot itself is way too convoluted for its own good. Sephiroth should be a cool character but instead of being intimidating, interesting and slowly revealed like in the OG (or having well developed motives), he acts like a goofy anime super villain because they chose to go in this strange direction with the remakes. I also think that for a game that tries to be serious at times, it's REALLY afraid to actually show violence or anything more "mature" for that matter. You'd think that for such a serious story, where the stakes and consequences should be catastrophic, they would show you those consequences or make you feel like something could actually go wrong, but no, even when something does go wrong, it all feels fake. I know Final Fantasy isn't a dark franchise or anything like that, but some of these cutscenes feel way too soft when they should try to be a little heavier. And I mean the supposedly serious scenes, not the goofy ones, those are fine. But story aside, I actually really enjoyed the rest of the game, especially the world and the side activities/minigames (which is surprising, since the general opinion seems to be the complete opposite to mine). I tried to not worry myself with the story and focus more on the gameplay aspect and I ended up liking it a lot more that way. That's the main reason I'll be playing the next one after this. I know I ranted about the story for a bit which seems a bit contradictory in regards to my overall opinion, but that's exactly why I didn't focus on the narrative for most of the game and explored the rest of the content it had to offer.

I should've reviewed this game a long time ago I actually finished Final Fantasy VII Rebirth on 31 December 2025, but I was just too lazy to sit down and write a review Every time I thought, I'll do it tomorrow, n that tomorrow somehow turned into a few months Was it worth coming back to? Absolutely Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is the kind of game that sticks with you even after you've finished it Months later, I still remember the characters, the boss fights, the music, and even some of the stupid mini-games that refused to let me move on with the story (That's usually a good sign) Rebirth is the second part of the Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy, and somehow it manages to be bigger than Remake in almost every way The world is much larger, there are more places to explore, more side quests, more mini-games, and somehow even more things to get distracted by You start the game thinking you'll continue the main story, and two hours later you're playing Queen's Blood like your life depends on it The story picks up right where Remake ended and keeps things interesting from start to finish There are emotional moments, funny moments, and enough surprises to keep both new players and old fans guessing It does slow down in a few places, but when the story gets going, it's hard to put your controller down The characters are easily the best part of the game They feel like real friends instead of people waiting for their turn to speak The small conversations while exploring are just as enjoyable as the big story scenes Cloud is still awkward in the funniest way possible, Barrett gets one of the best story arcs in the game, Tifa and Yuffie are great, and Red XIII finally gets much more time to shine Aerith is still a lovely character, but compared to the original game, her emotional moments don't hit quite as hard because everyone else gets so much development The combat is easily one of the strongest parts of Rebirth It's fast, smooth, and every character feels different to play The new Synergy abilities make battles even better, and boss fights are exciting without feeling unfair Every fight feels like you're actually learning something The open world is another surprise Some people called it another boring checklist map, but I didn't feel that way Every region has its own style, different ways to explore, and plenty of side content that actually feels worth doing Most side quests help build the world or the characters instead of wasting your time That said, Gongaga almost made me lose my mind The place looks beautiful, but finding the right path is harder than finding my motivation to write this review I spent more time trying to figure out where to go than actually getting there Then there are the mini-games There are so many that it almost feels like Square Enix challenged itself to put every game genre into one game The funny part is that most of them are actually good Queen's Blood is easily one of the best side activities, but some mini-games are forced into the main story, especially in Costa del Sol, and they slow the pacing down when you just want to know what happens next The game also looks amazing Every area has its own personality, the soundtrack is fantastic from beginning to end, and it's clear that a lot of care went into making this world feel alive Final Fantasy VII Rebirth isn't perfect This is one of those games that reminds you why big single-player JRPGs are still special It has an excellent cast, one of the best combat systems in the genre, a beautiful world, and more content than most games could ever dream of Even if my review is a little late this game was worth talking about Rating: 9.5/10 -0.5 for Gongaga

Out of 10 times i started the game, i perhaps was able to play 2 times. The shader bugs i can endure, i just restart. Stutters or fps fluctuations i don't really care. But two occurences where it straight up broke my pc, not only i couldnt close the game, i couldnt even manage my other apps, not even restart the pc! Remake ran smooth like butter, Rebirth, not even close. Gameplay-Wise: Main story, gameplay, the world, the aniamtions are top-tier. So insanely fun. The main and the original side-characters characters feel so alive it is probably one of the best in the industry. But the "side-activities" are the worst i have ever seen in terms of how much it slows and stops you and chadley bothers you. This is coming from a guy who loves completing ubisoft worlds.

Great game with awful technical side. Go get it on consoles, even the Switch 2. PC version has constant shader problems, inconsistent framerate and many more issues that keeps me away from the game.

This was a spectacle. Gameplay feels vastly improved over the first installment and side-quests are not absolutely aweful like in the first game. In general, the scope of the game is far larger and it really feels epic and cinematic all the way through. The ending is a bit much... I had literally no idea what was happening in the last hours of the game, but I was having a great ride regardless. if you even mildly enjoyed the first game, this is a must play. PS. FSR got added recently, which addresses my biggest annoyance of having to use and tweak optiscaller to get decent image quality.

Completed this game on PS5 on Release. It really ♥♥♥♥♥ up the Horror Science Fiction Thriller vibe of the original. This one feels more like a Multiverse Action Musical. Once again the strongest case against Rebirth is not one bad scene; it is that the game’s structure keeps sabotaging its own tragedy. 1. The pacing damages the tragedy The main plot is supposed to be a pursuit story: Cloud’s party is chasing Sephiroth while Shinra, Jenova, the Planet, and Cloud’s unstable mind all close in. But Rebirth constantly diverts that pursuit into minigames, regional checklisting, odd jobs, Queen’s Blood, towers, protorelic episodes, comedy bits, and relationship events. Reviewers argued that minigames and side quests gradually become obstacles to the plot, causing the Cloud-vs-Sephiroth-Jenova thread to get lost in a huge world. That is the central pacing failure: the game says “the world is doomed,” then behaves like the party is on a deluxe vacation package. 2. The tone becomes theme-park FF7, not tragic FF7 The original FF7 had comedy too. It had Gold Saucer, cross-dressing, slapstick, weird NPCs, chocobos, and minigames. But those moments were usually quick tonal spikes inside a larger mood of decay, corporate horror, identity breakdown, and grief. Rebirth extends comic relief Scenes and Musicals into gameplay pillars that can be so cringe it will scare away all but the Modernist of audiences. So the issue is not “FF7 should be grim all the time.” The issue is proportion. Rebirth lets the carnival swallow the nightmare of chasing a Cosmic Planet devouring monster like Jenova around the planet. 3. Hey guys it's Sephiroth again. So the original Sephiroth works because he is distant, eerie, and legendary myth for a long stretch. You mostly see aftermath: corpses, fire, Jenova traces, stories, fear. He is like a ghost that haunt the narrative, When Sephiroth is Close you think he is gonna Fire 3 All Materia you and one shot your entire party like he does to Nibelhiem. The scare factor is Completely gone because you already beat his ass in physical Combat in the first game removing all mystique of what he is capable of. Rebirth uses him constantly as a recurring psychological jump-scare, trailer villain, dream intruder, timeline manipulator, and endgame boss presence. That gives him spectacle, but it reduces dread. Sephiroth is less scary and less special. He comes off like a Scooby Doo Villain where I am gonna rip off his face and it was Jenova the entire time. (Which is accurate but Jenova was a lot more scary and murdery in the original scripts.) Sephiroth stopped being something to be afraid of and more of a Brand Mascot. I don't get a sense of dread when Sephiroth appears he feels like Loki in Marvel movies. He's a joke you defeated before and will defeat again so its hard to take seriously because the game doesn't take him seriously. Just one deep dive into a Criticism of Barrets story if you want to indulge some spoilers. =============================== Barrets Scene: The original version of Barret’s backstory is harsh because it is about guilt, betrayal, poverty, corporate destruction, and the way a devastated community turns on someone after tragedy. Corel was not merely inconvenienced. It was burned to the ground, its people were slaughtered, and the survivors had every reason to see Barret as someone whose choices helped lead them into ruin. That is why *Rebirth’s* handling feels so bizarre. The scene should carry the weight of mass death, displacement, and communal trauma. Instead, parts of it play like a Disney Channel bullying scene. Barret gets treated less like a man carrying responsibility for a massacre and more like a kid being mocked on the playground. Then Yuffie shouting at everyone to stop bullying him makes the moment feel like a 1990s PSA. The tone is completely wrong for the material. These people should not sound like Barret stole their marbles. They should sound like survivors confronting a man they believe helped get their families executed. By softening that anger into cartoonish public shaming, *Rebirth* takes one of Barret’s darkest emotional wounds and makes it feel childish, shallow, and completely unserious. This problem becomes even worse when you compare how Corel itself is treated. In the original, Barret’s hometown feels like a dead place. It is a scar on the map. The ruins, the survivors, Dyne, and Barret’s guilt all point back to the same tragedy: Shinra destroyed a poor mining town, and Barret has to live with the fact that he helped invite that destruction in. *Rebirth* replaces too much of that weight with spectacle and nonsense. Instead of letting Corel feel like a place hollowed out by corporate violence, the game fills the area with goofy NPC side quests, silly dancing, Mr. Coates antics, and tonal clutter that makes the tragedy feel distant. The town’s identity as Barret’s wound gets blurred. It stops feeling like the remains of a massacre and starts feeling like another quirky hub designed to entertain the player. Dyne suffers even more. In the original, Dyne is terrifying because he is not just “crazy.” He is a grieving man who has been spiritually destroyed. He lost his home, his wife, his arm, his future, and his sanity. He blames Barret because Barret supported the reactor deal, and that accusation matters because Barret also blames himself. Dyne is not merely an obstacle. He is what Barret could have become if his grief had curdled into pure hatred. That is what makes the Marlene reveal so brutal. When Dyne learns that Marlene is alive, he cannot simply become a father again. He is too far gone. He attacks Barret because the existence of Marlene forces him to confront what he has become. He realizes he is no longer fit to return to her. His suicide is horrific because it is his final act of agency: a broken man recognizing that he has become a monster and removing himself from the world. *Rebirth* weakens that completely. Dyne is played too broadly, almost like a cartoon madman. His grief is drowned under exaggerated insanity, and because he becomes so unstable and theatrical, he is harder to take seriously as Barret’s tragic mirror. Instead of feeling like an angry, mournful man who lost everything, he feels like a spectacle the game wants the player to react to from a distance. The ending of his scene is even worse. Having Dyne get gunned down by faceless Shinra soldiers redirects the guilt away from Barret. The original confrontation is powerful because Barret cannot cleanly externalize the tragedy. Dyne’s pain is tied directly to Barret’s choices, and Barret has to carry that. In *Rebirth*, the emotional responsibility gets shifted back onto Shinra soldiers who appear to remove Dyne from the scene like a rabid animal. It is louder, but dramatically weaker. That change absolves Barret too much. It turns a scene about personal guilt, moral responsibility, grief, and self-destruction into another scene where Shinra is simply the obvious villain. Shinra should be the larger evil, yes, but the original understood that Barret’s pain came from the fact that he was not innocent in his own mind. *Rebirth* keeps softening that edge, and by doing so, it makes Barret’s backstory less tragic, less uncomfortable, and far less powerful. =============================== It's Re trilogies abbility to ruin what was originally such powerful narratives like this that I give this game a Thumbs down.. TLDR: The Gameplays fine the combats good, I don't like Open world Slop. The quest writing sucks, Character moments are ruined by writers immaturity, Don't ♥♥♥♥ up Revelations Square. >:[