It has been almost ten years since a remake of the classic Final Fantasy VII video game was announced to thunderous applause. It has been four years since Remake proper was released worldwide, with fans around the world clamoring together for a chance to finally revisit the world of Gaia after decades of begging and pleading to SquareEnix. Now, the next part of the Final Fantasy VII saga was released on February 29, 2024 (on Leap Day, appropriately), picking up the story right where Remake left off.

To say I haven’t been anticipating this entry would not be honest; like many others, Final Fantasy VII is my favorite entry in the entire franchise. There is just so much content and weight that the original title carries that I was keen to see what would stay the same and what would be changed, and hopefully elevated, to serve the purpose of the story. While Remake (part 1 of this saga) kicks off the story by having the player explore the dystopian city of Midgar, Rebirth (part 2) opens up the world for the first time to let them survey it properly. Given the gap between this title and Remake, the developers came up with a short recap video that players can watch at any time. I am thankful for this simply because there was a lot that happened in Remake that players may not necessarily recall everything at the drop of a hat.

So what aspects does Rebirth cover that are new that players can experience? One of the very first things is, of course, the open world that awaits you. Gaia is open to players to explore and navigate at their own leisure, with multiple towns to gather up supplies, find side quests to complete, and other activities such as different minigames. The Grasslands region at the very beginning of the game is large and expansive, with green slopes and cliffs to climb up and over to find new terrain. Catching and taming a chocobo makes crossing the distance much easier, especially once you learn how vast these landscapes actually are. One of my favorite things done right with open-world games that I saw present in Rebirth was the changing of the terrain. The closer you get to Junon and the swamplands that encompass it, the more dry and dark the lands become; it becomes so different that at times I had to wonder whether I was still in the Grasslands or not.

As I’ve said before, the world map is huge and there are many locations you can visit and explore, especially with activities teeming at the ready for you to initiate and complete. I finished the game recently at around 60 hours, and in no way did I discover everything the game had to offer me. The best piece of advice, and one I wish I had better heeded, is to slow down and take your time when playing. Explore the sights and learn more about the histories of the regions. Complete the sidequests and find the hidden treasures that are waiting for you, such as all the different Moogle Emporiums. They may not bring you any closer to finishing the game, but they add so much nuance and depth that I know I would have wanted to experience over fifteen years ago when I played the original Final Fantasy VII for the first time. This includes exploring the cities and villages you come across. For the very first time, places like Nibelheim, Junon, Kalm, and so many others feel like actual towns that you can explore, with stores and NPCs conversing and engaging in activities that we would see in a real-life town of similar ambience. I won’t say more on this except that you will need to play to see for yourself the unique personalities the developers created for each town you come into contact with.

One criticism I remember thinking from my time playing Remake was that the voice acting, primarily that of the NPCs, was pretty hit-or-miss for me. It wasn’t bad, but from what I can remember some of the deliveries and pitches of some of the NPCs were grating and sounded not as natural as they could have been. This being a Japanese-RPG, I do give it some leeway as it is a genre that shares a lot of the same trademarks and beats as anime does. With a game like Final Fantasy VII, however, where the setting becomes somewhat realistic, you want the performances to echo that setting. I think Rebirth did a much better job this time around with those deliveries, as eavesdropping on different NPCs became much more fun and enjoyable. Of course, the main cast became stronger in their voice acting as they’ve gotten more settled and comfortable in their roles. The writing also reflects this growth, as characters can continue to banter and we learn more about each one’s history and quirks as they also make us laugh with their fun verbal barbs towards each other. It’s another element that I think many of us older fans of VII could have only dreamed about for over two decades.

As we learn more about our characters on their journey, we also learn more about the planet of Gaia as we come across different regions. This does come up in cinematic cutscenes related to the main story and sidequests, but completing world intel quests for Chadley, who was introduced as a character you could earn materia from in Remake. He’s back this time around wanting to learn more about the world as a whole, and he needs your help to do that.

Completing world intel and related tasks for him unlocks different benefits, such as stronger materia you can’t find anywhere else, battling and obtaining summons to fight alongside with you in battle, and learning more about the histories of the regions and cities that populate them. None of this deeper information was present in the original Compilation of Final Fantasy VII (at least, not that I can recall), so I have to say it was a treat to see the imaginations at play in helping bring the world of Final Fantasy VII to life in a never-before-seen way.

When it comes to video games, and especially Final Fantasy, we have to talk about the music. I’m really not sure if I can do it justice though, because there are just so many wonderful tracks to dive into; re-imagined pieces from the original classic to brand new background music. I sometimes had to pause whatever I was in the middle of doing and just spend a minute or two just listening to the game’s soundtrack and thinking, “Wow…this is really magical!” Music is as part of Final Fantasy’s DNA as its beat-for-beat story elements and mascots. Uematsu’s classics are given appropriate updates, from Ahead on Our Way, when played in Kalm allows you to imagine there’s not a care in the world. Costa del Sol’s iconic melody returns that really makes you feel like you’re on a coastal getaway and can soak up the sun. There are also numerous new melodies that await players to listen and enjoy, such as the theme for the Gongaga and Grasslands regions.

I think my personal favorite was the theme that plays when you visit Cosmo Canyon, Red XIII’s hometown and the pilgrimage site for the science of Planetology in-story. I read a lot of comments from players who became very emotional hearing that piece of music again after almost thirty years, and I have to say I was definitely one of them. The melodies that return not only match beat-for-beat, but have additional instrumentation and layers that simply would not have been possible back in 1997. The fact that a concert has already been announced highlighting these new pieces and reimagined melodies tells me that a lot of time and care went into making them stand out from any other title in the series depicted previously – they certainly pulled out all the stops for this one!

Going back to activities you can participate in, let’s talk about Queen’s Blood for a moment, the new card game players are encouraged to play. ‘Encouraged’ is probably too generous a word – the developers really, really want you to play this game and will shove it in your face a few times early on. I think gamers may be divided into two neat categories depending on how they feel about card games: They either hate them or love them. I struggle greatly when it comes to most card games, knowing the rules and intricacies of the different types you can play, as well as the strategies that you have to learn in dealing the most effective hand.

You can safely say that I most often belong in the former category; card games are just not my thing. That being said, once I toyed around more with Queen’s Blood, and through multiple restarts, I slowly began figuring out the rules of the game. That’s not to say that I became an expert or even a formidable player; sometimes my CPU opponent drew a stronger hand that ruined my strategy and I would end up having to improvise or restart the round altogether. I still got enough experience and wins that I ended up growing through the ranks, all the way through the 8th rank (which is pretty high up) – not too bad for a rookie like myself!

I don’t want to spoil anything, but there are a couple of nice surprises you can come across if you keep at it, both in dialogue and cutscenes, and through Queen’s Blood’s own unique sidequest. Give yourself a chance, and some patience, and you may end up surprising yourself by how fun, and surprisingly addictive, this card game can be!

Now that we have all those previous points hashed out, let’s now talk about the main story, the most important thing that ties everything that happens in this game. The original Final Fantasy VII is my favorite title in the series, in both storytelling and character development. You have a dystopian setting and a large world to explore, a cast of eight characters that are all connected one way or another to the conflict at hand, and develop beyond perceived stereotypes.

Cloud Strife is not a broody, angsty swordsman, but is someone with an identity crisis and heaps upon heaps of trauma that has ruined his perception of himself. Barret Wallace may look like a stereotypical angry Black man, at first, but is shown to be a strong and capable leader with a heart that bleeds for those who have suffered just as he has. Tifa Lockhart looks like she could throw anything who comes at her down, and she does when she needs to, but she is really a shy and contemplative individual who is concerned about how her actions affect others. I could go on and on about how these characters work so well. Rebirth is able to do all of them justice, and flesh them out further through heightened elements that just weren’t available back almost thirty years ago.

What I appreciate from the story and character dynamics, following the cues of Remake, is that while it is a fairly dark story at time that takes itself seriously, it won’t stop once or a while for a respite or a laugh that makes the characters, and the world, more endearing to the player. Your mileage will vary, of course, if this does make an impact on you as you play through the game yourself (you may find that you can’t connect to any of these characters and think the storytelling is an all-over-the-place, over-the-top mess!).

These are my personal experiences, however, and I’m happy to share that Rebirth’s story not only brought the right beats at the appropriate moments (Barret’s personal story, when it comes, made me bawl even though I had played through it long ago in the original and already knew what would happen), but added additional moments that planted the seeds for what, I hope, will be a jaw-dropping payoff when Part 3 eventually comes out.

As much as I want to keep heaping praise on Rebirth, we have to talk about some things that I observed that may be somewhat problematic. After all, no piece of entertainment is perfect, and the flaws need to be rightly pointed out so that it doesn’t make-or-break a person’s playing experience. One thing that I unfortunately am guilty of that I don’t want other players to repeat is that I rushed through the game. I work full-time and am also a graduate student, so time is somewhat of a precious commodity for me, as I’m sure it is for other working adults.

I was on spring break when Rebirth came out and mistakenly thought that I could easily finish it in a week. I was terribly wrong! There is just so much to do and see in the world of Rebirth that even a full week without interruptions is just not feasible; not if you want to take some time away from the console and practice some self-care. I ended up having a carpal tunnel flare from too much button-mashing and playing for so often that I’m still currently on treatment for (I’m doing better though, so don’t fret!). If this video is any indicator from well-known YouTubers who have been playing the game, you really need to be able to pace yourself if you commit yourself to the game. Be sure to take breaks, eat healthy, take a walk, stretch – do what you need to keep your mind and soul fresh and strong. It’s a long journey in itself to complete this game, and you want to make sure you’re enjoying the experience – in order to do that, you need to take care of yourself first.

I also struggled figuring out how characters develop and level up in this game through experience. In a traditional JRPG, you grind enemies to level up, gain experience, sell your loot and update what you can to have a stronger arsenal against stronger foes. This time around I noticed that grinding didn’t have as much of an impact in progressing character abilities as I would like. Skills and abilities are unlocked through the Maghnata portfolios, which unlocks Synergy attacks (special attacks that allow you to unleash a powerful attack with another party member), health and magic gains, and other skills. These folio skill points were not growing very high for me, though, so I wasn’t sure if I wasn’t battling the right kinds of enemies or just not grinding enough to get the experience I needed. Once I do play through the game again I may be able to figure it out, but I was not able to my first time around.

The ending of the game is, to put it simply, convoluted. I don’t want to spoil anything for players who are still working their way to the end, but it raises a lot more questions than it does answer. Like I said before, my hope is that Part 3 is able to answer them when it does come out in several years’ time. I have my own theories about what happens, but I am trusting that the writers, many of whom worked on the original title back in 1997, will be able to hopefully bring a satisfying conclusion to the Final Fantasy VII Remake saga.

So Final Fantasy VII Rebirth…I genuinely had a lot of fun. I don’t think I have had as much fun exploring the world and what the game has to offer since Red Dead Redemption II all the way back in 2018 (though God of War: Ragnarök also captivated me with its storytelling strengths). I am definitely looking forward to replaying it, either in the summertime when I have more time off, or closer when Part 3 is announced and close to release.

I do want to do a reflection series from a faith perspective on things I took away as a Christian, but that won’t be for some time until more players are able to play and complete the game at their own leisure. With that said, I highly recommend playing Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, whether you’re a long-time Final Fantasy fan or want a deep world to sink your teeth into.

Rebirth has all of that, and so much more.