Game Review: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth – The Adventure Continues
Introduction
Hello, dear readers! My name is Victor, and I am a totally blind gaming, technology, and entertainment journalist. I am also an ambassador for universal design, an accessibility consultant, advocate, and tester.
Last week, PlayStation gamers around the globe celebrated the highly anticipated arrival of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the second installment in Square Enix’s episodic remake of the original Final Fantasy VII game, which is now more than 27 years old. Although I wasn’t a Final Fantasy fan during my childhood, I became one after playing Final Fantasy VII Remake alongside Alina in the spring of 2020, and my enthusiasm for the series grew even further after spending a considerable amount of time with Final Fantasy XVI last year.
First and foremost, I need to address the accessibility aspect of this title. Sadly, I can confirm that Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is not at all accessible for totally blind players like myself. We don’t even have navigation assist, a feature which was available in Final Fantasy XVI. However, as these are two distinct projects managed by different teams within Square Enix, I can understand the different approach that resulted in the absence of most solid accessibility features for impaired and disabled players.
With that said, I had quite a lot of fun playing through Final Fantasy VII Rebirth alongside Alina using the co-pilot function on the PlayStation 5. I was able to excel in all the battles, and Alina assisted me in navigating the world, ensuring we had an enjoyable time together. However, as I mentioned earlier, the game is not accessible for blind players, and I wouldn’t recommend picking it up unless you have someone to share in your adventure.
The good news is that if you don’t live with a serious impairment or disability, you will be blown away by how awesome Final Fantasy VII Rebirth actually is!
I invite you to read below my spoiler-free review for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, with the caveat that we are not yet done playing through the main story, but have spent enough time with the game in order for me to make an impression and to be able to write these impressions. Understand that it can take somewhere within 150 and 200 hours to complete everything in the game.
The Adventure Continues
The action of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth picks up immediately after the events in FF VII Remake and sees players take on the role of mercenary Cloud Strife and his comrades as they hunt down legendary swordsman Sephiroth. You should know who he is if you played the original game or the Remake, but if you don’t, I highly recommend that you fix that as soon as possible. A haunting figure from Cloud’s past, Sephiroth is bent on ruling the planet and will destroy mercilessly everything and everyone that stands in his way. These unlikely heroes, including beloved, iconic characters Tifa, Barret, Aerith, and Red XIII, join forces with new companions like the spirited ninja operative Yuffie and the wisecracking, feline-shaped robot Cait Sith to chase Cloud’s nemesis across a vast, colorful and vibrant world filled with danger, adventure, secrets, and uncertainty.
Those of you who played Remake will feel quite at home in Rebirth as the battles feature a unique blend of action and strategy, with the new addition of synergy skills and abilities that increase the addictiveness of combat. The world is huge and is comprised of multiple regions, each of them featuring unique environments for us to explore and experience in our adventure.
You can modify the difficulty level to suit your liking, from easy-breezy fights that allow you to concentrate on the narrative, to action-oriented gameplay that will force you to be on your toes at every encounter. There is a way to play for everyone here. Between the main missions, you can also explore the world at your own pace, looking for secrets, completing side quests, and gathering collectibles.
Gorgeous and immersive
Just like other recent titles in this series, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth takes full advantage of the PlayStation 5’s power and features. It looks stunning in both Performance and Fidelity modes, with fast loading times, smooth transitions, and high-quality details for both characters and the environment. The levels load instantly, the transitions between cinematic and gameplay are barely noticeable, fast travel works great indeed, and everything else runs smoothly.
In Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, there is also a Graphics Mode that prioritizes 4K graphics and a Performance Mode that unlocks 60 FPS, which users can freely select within the options menu. Selecting between these two modes has become a trend among PS5 players and I believe it is important to have such choices at our fingertips.
The sound design is also excellent featuring immersive 3D audio, and an epic soundtrack that accentuates every moment in the adventure. The voice acting is flawless, with the talented actors putting a lot of heart and soul into their performance.
As Final Fantasy VII Rebirth makes full use of Tempest3D audio, it allows for most of the voices, sound effects, and background music in the field to come from each object and character, with the sound varying according to its distance from the camera and the surrounding space. The 3D audio system also actively responds to verticality and a recent SDK version upgrade also supports the Dolby Atmos output, so if you have a soundbar, speaker system, or other compatible devices in addition to headphones, you can enjoy an even more immersive soundscape as well.
I believe that the DualSense remains as revolutionary as always and it is great to see the developers incorporating haptic feedback and adaptive triggers in their games for battles and cutscenes. Even more, as Final Fantasy VII Rebirth features game segments with strong action elements and cinematic presentation, everything conveyed through the graphics is also directly synchronized with the controller too.
In addition, because there are many minigames in this title, the engine utilizes the DualSense function for each minigame. Aside for haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, we will also experience a wide range of mechanics that require the motion sensor, built-in microphone, and the touchpad on the controller.
Conclusion
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is a masterpiece, it is a game that longtime fans and newcomers can both enjoy because it delivers a brilliant story, filled with unexpected twists, unforgettable characters, addictive combat, extensive exploration, epic music, vivid graphics, but also some jaw-dropping set pieces and cinematics!
It is crystal clear that Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was a labor of love for everyone involved from Square Enix and I’m sure it will remain one of the best games of 2024. Now, all we have to do is wait for the next and last game of the trilogy which I understand is in the same state as when the Remake launched four years ago. So, if there are no delays maybe we will get to play it in 2027 or 2028. I know it is a long time until then, but I’m sure it will be worth waiting for the conclusion to this thrilling and entertaining adventure!
The only downside for me and for other totally blind gamers is the fact that we cannot experience these adventures on our own and that’s a shame! As always, I recommend that you check out the free demo available right now on the PlayStation Store in order to ensure that you will enjoy the experience.
Review copy provided by Square Enix
Victor Dima
