Spoiler Alert!
This article contains spoilers for Final Fantasy VII Remake, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion, and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.
It’s been one month since the official launch of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth on February 29, 2024, and I can finally move on to a new game. I actually began my adventure with the game on February 23, dedicating pretty much every waking moment towards finishing the game in time to publish a review ahead of the game’s launch. As I mentioned in my review, my initial playthrough of around 60 hours covered the main story and some of the game’s side content. After finishing the game, I spent time exploring all the open-world content, simultaneously working my way through the trophy list. I wouldn’t consider myself an achievement hunter, but I do like getting Platinum Trophies for games I enjoy playing.
On March 20, I published an article about how I needed to stop playing Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, but couldn’t. Upon relaunching this site in 2023, I aspired to publish at least two reviews a month, managing to keep that cadence until Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s release. My initial plan was to finish the game, publish the review, then go back and finish Persona 3 Reload for review, followed by Unicorn Overlord. Those plans completely went out the window, and I went the entire month of March without a new published review. Why? Because Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is that good.
To put the amount of time I spent in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth into perspective, it’s the most hours I’ve logged in a single-player game. On console, I have only spent more time playing Monster Hunter World. Somehow, I spent less time completing the entirety of Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX and both Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal combined. Getting the Platinum Trophy in Final Fantasy VII Remake took half the time compared to Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Even playing through all three games in the Mass Effect Legendary Edition took me less than 80 hours. In other words, the amount of time I spent in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is an anomaly, truly a testament to the game’s greatness. In fact, it might very well be the best game I’ve ever played, which means I have to update that list.
As mentioned before, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth truly offers content that appeals to a wide variety of gamers. If you’re looking for an emotional and engaging storytelling experience with one of the best casts in all of video game history, it delivers in spades, even if you only focus on the main story quests. Of course, I don’t recommend that, since many of the side quests add to those characters’ stories, especially the Protorelics questline. It wasn’t until last night that I realized the various date scenes at the Gold Saucer are more than mere fan service.
However, even with just my initial 60-hour experience, which was the case at the time of my review, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth delivered more than I expected. The fact that the game could keep me engaged for another 150 hours, mostly due to struggling with the more difficult VR fights, is mind-blowing. There are minigames aplenty for those who prefer that style of content, and for players who love challenging fights, there are definitely some tough ones. You can choose to ignore most of the open world if you want, or you can engage with as much of it as you enjoy. The game is full of serious moments and countless cheesy ones that inevitably put a smile on your face. This is really an impressive package, even if you aren’t a fan of the Final Fantasy series.
After I conquered the Rulers of the Outer Worlds, I tackled the solo Legendary Bouts and decided to embark on my Hard Playthrough before taking on the final two VR challenges. My second journey through the story gave me the opportunity to pick up on certain details I missed the first time around, with some parts of the story having a bigger emotional impact than in my initial playthrough. More importantly, in my second playthrough, I discovered there are very few sections of the game I found less than enjoyable. If I were to play through the story a third time, I would mainly dread fighting Rufus, the sections of the game where you have to control Cait Sith, and certain parts of Chapter 13. I firmly believe cutting out half of Chapter 13 would have improved the overall experience. But at the end of the day, these are very minor gripes. No game is perfect, but Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s main story comes very close to a perfectly executed adventure.
When I got towards the end of my Hard playthrough, I got stuck for a few hours on the final phase of the Sephiroth battle, mainly due to a Materia loadout that was ineffective for just Cloud and Aerith. When I first attempted Chapter 14, I had planned to see how the phases of the final fight would be on Hard before deciding on Materia changes, but I ended up going straight to the final phase. Given my stubbornness, I chose to figure out how to complete that phase with the Materia on Cloud and Aerith, rather than redo the entire multi-phase fight. By that point, nearing 200 hours of playtime, I was still discovering new aspects of the battle system. I don’t think I can even say that about Monster Hunter World.
After completing the game on Hard and redoing all side quests that rewarded manuscripts, except for “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop,” I spent most of the past week dealing with Bonds of Friendship. Given the choice, I seldom controlled Cloud during my playthrough. Preferring quicker characters like Red XIII, Tifa, and Yuffie meant I faced a bit of a learning curve with Cloud. It took me a few hours to settle on a Materia build I was comfortable with, followed by experimenting with controlling Zack and understanding his role. I managed to make it to Odin multiple times, and twice I died with him at or under 1% of health. The screenshot above nearly broke me. Yet, rather than dwelling on failure, I went straight back into the fight, and managed to beat it after a couple more attempts. Anyone who has experienced endgame raiding in MMORPGs like World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XIV will understand the relief and satisfaction I felt upon seeing the victory screen. The only challenge remaining was To Be a Hero. Given Sephiroth’s setup, I managed to beat it on my first real attempt.
What’s the point of explaining all of this? Had this been any other game, I might have happily put down my controller and walked away. Although some fights were admittedly frustrating, the fun and engaging combat system of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth made the hours spent on the same fight negligible. With each attempt, I felt like I was learning and improving, despite coming to terms with the fact that I’m older now and not as good at video games. Looking back at my video of beating Weiss in Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, it’s hard to believe I was the one on the controller. There’s a part of me that worries about not having the skill to earn the Platinum Trophy in the final game of the Final Fantasy VII remake series.
The relief from completing all the VR challenges quickly turned to confusion when the Platinum Trophy didn’t appear. It turned out that resetting my quest progress for manuscripts on Hard required me to restart Johnny’s Treasure Trove quest, explaining why my Platinum Trophy screenshot is what it is. Revisiting that portion of the game was a poignant moment, knowing I was soon bidding farewell to the wonderfully crafted world and characters by Square Enix. After unlocking the trophy, I knew there was one last thing to do: head to the Gold Saucer to experience all of the date scenes.
For those unaware, you must save before speaking to the innkeeper in Chapter 12 to choose your preferred date partner or partners. I originally saved right before opening the door in the actual room, but that doesn’t work. I highly recommend that everyone who has finished Final Fantasy VII Rebirth revisits all the date scenes for some interesting story bits. Others, like the date with Cait Sith, Cid, and Vincent, are pure comic relief, while there are touching moments with Red XIII, Barret, and Yuffie. Saving the best for last, I experienced the intimate date with Tifa, since during my first playthrough, our relationship wasn’t maxed. I think it was a very fitting final scene for me to watch as I finally move on to a different game. And just when I thought I couldn’t be more impressed, the new renditions of each character’s themes for the dates underscored the game’s masterpiece status from start to finish.
Today marks the first day in over a month that I won’t be playing Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and it’s bittersweet. Growing up as a fan of Final Fantasy games, especially Final Fantasy VII, experiencing Final Fantasy VII Rebirth feels like a true blessing. The care and love poured into bringing these characters to life in this installment are evident. I’ve formed a connection with each of these characters in a way that wasn’t possible with the classic game. With its excellent voice acting and motion capture, I hope Final Fantasy VII Rebirth serves as an inspiration for what can be possible in a proper remake.
I definitely had my concerns after finishing Final Fantasy VII Remake around four years ago. But now, echoing my review, I am fully confident in the team behind the remake series and their vision. I believe they will do justice to the story’s end. Given my feelings as I put the second game to rest, saying goodbye to this cast of characters when the credits roll in the third game will undoubtedly be hard. Maybe even harder than getting Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s Platinum Trophy.
