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It’s no secret that I’ve spent a lot of time playing, watching, talking, and writing about Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Having traveled to Japan to spend two days at Square Enix’s headquarters in Tokyo doing demos and interviews, and then reporting on it via our previous issue’s cover and subsequent exclusive coverage hub, I already had the idea who would be a Final Fantasy VII fan. Rebirth, the second entry in the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy, brings to the table. However, after coming out of the hours-long play session and another conversation with director Naoki Hamaguchi and producer Yoshinori Kitase, I’m somehow even more excited about the game I chose as my most anticipated release of 2024 .
Starting the game
Entering Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
My hands-on demo starts from the first chapter, which briefly summarizes the events of Final Fantasy VII Remake before transporting us to a flashback sequence with Cloud acting as narrator. The sequence is the famous Nibelheim flashback with Cloud and Sephiroth. This part of the demo is much longer than the one I played previously and much more cinematic. During this sequence, I reacquainted myself with the controls and even got a chance to get my hands on the piano mini-game, which certainly feels extremely flexible in allowing people to create their own music once s ‘tend to play different notes with the controller. .
During the expedition of Mt. Nibel, I loved seeing the younger versions of Cloud, Sephiroth, and Tifa interact as they make their way through this section of the game. And of course, if you’ve played the original, you know what happens next, which has extra weight thanks to the upgrades made by the team at Square Enix. “I’m particularly excited about the Nibelheim Chapter 1 area where we can now flesh out Sephiroth in more depth and really dive into his character in a way that wasn’t done in the original that we can now,” he says. Hamaguchi. . “I think this area is almost like the origin of the whole story of Final Fantasy VII. So I think that by experiencing the scene and playing this role, players will be able to have a much deeper understanding of the game and the story of Final Fantasy VII Fantasy VII”.
opening
opening
After a surprisingly long Nibelheim introductory section, I’m transported back to the present day. One of the first things I did was learn how to play Queen’s Blood, probably the most prominent minigame in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. “For Chapter 2, we’re starting it off right away with a tutorial for Queen’s Blood, where the player will get to play that game,” says Hamaguchi. “In this way, we wanted to express that you’re now entering this part of the game with a lot of side content. It’s kind of a message to say that there will be a variety of content available now and in this world to explore.”
This competitive lane-based card game sees you competing against NPCs from around the world. I don’t have the best feel for the gameplay from this demo as I want to check out how the rest of the game is shaping up, but I definitely think this will be a minigame I can sink my teeth into. But beyond the gameplay mechanics, you’ll discover a story that surrounds the story of Queen’s Blood. “As Cloud continues to play the card game, there’s a past tragedy surrounding Queen’s Blood that begins to unfold,” says Hamaguchi. “There’s this story that’s particular to Queen’s Blood that we’re going to get to see happen, and there, we’re going to see not only characters from the main story, but very popular characters that we all love that are involved in the story as well.”
I won’t spoil the beat-by-beat story moments, but suffice it to say that Cloud and his team’s safe haven in Kalm is disrupted, and they have to flee the shelter they once had. From there, the world opens up dramatically as I enter the vast grasslands. They tell me to get out of the area I’m in, so I do. From there I find out about a swamp I have to cross, but when I get there, warning signs tell the team that the Midgardsormr will take them, so I head to a chocobo ranch to rent a bird
As I bounce between POIs, I get another chance to enjoy Rebirth’s excellent combat system. Clearing out the smaller creatures on the grasslands, I build up my ATB gauge to unleash special abilities and spells, eventually unleashing limit attacks and synergy abilities. Everything flows so smoothly from one action to the next, and it never feels jarring when switching between real-time action and turn-inspired menu combat. After a few of these fights, I find my way to the chocobo ranch.
Once there, I’m told that the chocobos have all been leased, but I myself can try to catch one that recently escaped from the farm. Immediately after hearing those words, I have terrible flashbacks to the tedium that often accompanies those first chocobo encounters in the original Final Fantasy VII. Fortunately, it’s much nicer in Rebirth. Once in the chocobo zone, and enter a sequence where I need to sneak past some nearby chocobo friends to get to what I’m trying to catch. After waiting for a couple of chocobos to look away, I approach the target. I throw a rock to make him look away and jump on his back to successfully catch the chocobo. From then on, I just press a button to summon them.
Exploring the much more open world of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is much faster with chocobos than on foot. If you choose, you can also run away from potential enemies much easier. After that, my time is running out, so I make a beeline for the marshes. This time, when I arrive, I’ll be able to ride the chocobo as it swims through the shallows.
After a bit of exploring, Chadley asks me if I see any shiny ore nearby; I’m sure. He informs me that if I follow the light from the mineral, it will lead me to a shrine that honors the tutelary deity of that region. I follow him up a cliff to find a shrine dedicated to Titan. Chadley asks me to help him sync with the crystal so he can extract data from the entity. The minigame asks me to memorize when beeps occur in a short period and press them in time during a second rotation, but without the visual guidance. I can complete this sync, but I’m worried about the harder iterations of this particular puzzle type.
I’m back in the swamp, but unfortunately my time is short and I can’t get to the boss battle I was hoping for at the end of the demo, but when you combine my hands-on time from when I was at Square Enix. with this session, I’m at the point where I’m ready to play the final version of the game. I gave up on my controller and now I have nothing but anticipation.
The road ahead
The road ahead
In December, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth won “Most Anticipated Game” at The Game Awards 2023, and the team has noticed a consistently positive reception from fans and media ahead of release. “Seeing that Rebirth is a title within the main Final Fantasy series and the remake of the seventh title, and that Rebirth is the second title in a trilogy, this may seem complicated to some players, but seeing this extremely positive reception and being awarded ‘Most Anticipated Game’ shows that this game is really reaching both existing fans and new players of the series,” says Kitase. “It’s a really wonderful feeling to be able to get this really positive surge of interest from players right before launch. It’s a really positive flow of energy that we have here.”
Speaking to Hamaguchi and Kitase, they seem very confident about the experience players will be playing when Final Fantasy VII Rebirth arrives later this month. “I’ve been working at Square Enix for over 20 years, working on the Final Fantasy series throughout my time here,” says Hamaguchi. “I’d say that out of these years, Rebirth is easily the title I’m most confident in and proudest to bring to the world. It’s very exciting and wonderful to hear all this positive reception before launch, of course. , and I’m also very excited to see player feedback and perceptions after launch. As much as players are anticipating the game’s release, I feel the same way!”
Obviously, nothing is certain, but there are games that look great before release and games that have a massive collection of red flags. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth exists firmly on the “games that look great” side of that spectrum. While only time will tell if Final Fantasy VII Rebirth surpasses the bar set by the first entry in its trilogy, all signs seem to indicate that February 29th should stand out on your calendar for more reasons than just the fact that it’s coming every four years. .
Source: gameinformer.com