With Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the trilogy surrounding the original Final Fantasy VII continues. Many fans are eagerly waiting to see how the journey of Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, and Co. unfolds. At a preview event, MeinMMO editor Jasmin Beverungen got a taste of the first hours of the game and instantly fell in love with one of the characters. She also got an impression of the open world and mini-games.
In Final Fantasy VII Remake, the first part of the trilogy, Sephiroth appeared only occasionally. There were hardly any insights into his past or why he became such a villain. Moreover, throughout most of the game, he could only be perceived by Cloud. Those who haven’t dealt with Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion know very little about his motives.
Who is speaking here? Jasmin Beverungen has played several parts of the Final Fantasy series. She has spent a lot of time in FF14, but she also enjoys solo games like FF16, FF12, or FF3. After FF7 Remake, she can hardly wait to continue with Rebirth.
But in Rebirth, Sephiroth receives the stage he deserves. Without giving too much away: We see the heroic, young Sephiroth. He is celebrated by the world’s population and besieged by the press.
Through a fateful event, Sephiroth suddenly realizes that one detail from his past is incorrect. He immerses himself in several books and suddenly discovers something that drives him mad.
What awaits us in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth can be seen in the following trailer:
Sephiroth’s transformation is dramatically staged
And this transformation is staged so brilliantly that I found Sephiroth even more sympathetic. I can suddenly understand why he became the antagonist and went mad. The mood in the game shifts when he uncovers the secret of his past:
- the lighting becomes darker and the music more menacing
- he locks himself in a basement, immerses himself in books, and exhibits manic behavior
- Cloud narrates in the third person how he experienced Sephiroth’s transformation and what kind of monster he became
The scenes captivated me so much that I couldn’t put down the controller. I even waited to have lunch because I didn’t want to interrupt these atmospheric scenes. The chaos that breaks out afterward was also a gripping experience.
I was very pleased that Sephiroth’s character transformation was so well staged. He is one of the most beloved Final Fantasy antagonists of all time and ranks high in all rankings.
His story is credibly written, and he transforms from a hero to the worst threat to the planet. Additionally, his theme “One-Winged Angel” is one of the most iconic soundtracks in the entire video game series.
Warning, spoiler: The following section reveals details about the story from Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Open World and mini-games provide more entertainment
In the second part of the series, players will have more freedom. In Remake, the adventures took place only in Midgar, but in Rebirth, they move to more open areas. Unfortunately, the progress from Remake is not carried over.
There is a good reason for this, according to Game Director Naoki Hamaguchi: Since Cloud and his friends changed their fate by breaking through the barrier, their abilities have also experienced a reset. It makes sense for the development team in terms of gameplay to reset the abilities – after all, players should feel a sense of freedom when released into the open world and not be bound to old skills.
After experiencing the great sequence with Sephiroth, I ventured out into the open world – or rather, an area of the open world. The game world is a cohesive world, where individual areas only become accessible over time through newly learned abilities.
The new game world is richly filled: After unlocking the area by towers, suddenly several symbols pop up on the map. This is reminiscent of the many side activities from The Witcher 3 or the Horizon series, which made me a bit worried that players might expect a large forest of unnecessary side activities.
It’s already a big leap that Cloud and his crew suddenly find themselves in an open world. If it were also packed with MMO-like fetch quests, it would spoil the enjoyment of the game for me.
But Hamaguchi was able to partially alleviate my concerns:
I understand that there are some worries and concerns about whether these story-driven games fit well with the idea of an open world and the style of free choice. […] But in the end, it’s up to the player; they have the choice of what they want to do.
Naoki Hamaguchi, Director of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
While there should still be more side quests, it should be clearly marked which quests are important and useful. Some side quests can, for instance, raise the group level to unlock new synergy abilities, which otherwise only come through the main story.
Through the side activities, the playtime can easily double. The new mini-games, which I got to test some in the preview, also contribute to that. For instance, it is possible to play a piano early on in FF7 Rebirth. Casual gamers will likely tap on the keys a few times, while musical virtuosos might enjoy themselves with it.
I had a lot more fun with the new card game Queen’s Blood. Here we play against a direct opponent and lay down cards in such a way that we gain the most areas for ourselves with points. Tactical skill is called for, and I can imagine spending as much time with this game as I did with Gwent in The Witcher 3. I couldn’t say no to a match there!
Hamaguchi also teased another mini-game to me, which is said to be a homage to the Gambit system from Final Fantasy XII. He mentioned that in this mini-game, especially logicians will get their money’s worth. He didn’t want to reveal more details, but I already know where I will spend my time aside from saving the world.
By the way, Hamaguchi isn’t sure if he will remain true to the franchise after the Final Fantasy trilogy. He wants to focus on the release of Rebirth first and deliver the best possible gaming experience.
The first part of the series was already a worthy remake of the original Final Fantasy VII. MeinMMO author Irina Moritz explained in an article what she particularly liked: The remake of Final Fantasy 7 helps me survive the drought in the MMORPG
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