Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (2024)

Just finished chapter 7, and I'm pretty convinced this is my favorite game of all time. I genuinely think, that if you're a Final Fantasy nerd (especially VII nerd), nothing will possibly top this for years to come. Flawlessly implemented and exciting content literally everywhere, tons of diverse activities, and I'm doing all of them with a big ass smile on my face. As much as I want to experience the story asap, I'm clearing literally everything that's on the way, and I don't feel exhausted, I'm devouring that side content with joy. Also, the amount of fan service is just unhealthy, I'm afraid I'm going to have a heart attack from excitement at some point. I'm recording every cutscene, even though I have no idea why, I possibly won't ever watch them, but they are so cool, that I feel like I have to, lmao. Gosh, I feel like an overreacting overexcited child, and I f**king love it, this is why I play video games. This doesn't even feel like a game, it feels like a dream. It's like I entered a franchise, a frickin TV show, where the plot is just excellent, but at the same time there are these slower episodes, when you get to know the characters and the world, this is how side quests and side activities feel in this game. Don't even get me started with Costa del Sol, or Junon (what they did with the parade is just too good to be true, a 1st class way to showcase the lives of Shinra Soldiers), I feel like Gold Saucer will break me. Not a single activity in this masterpiece is boring. The world is beautiful and so interesting, I love the fact, that you get to know tidbits about stuff from random NPCs talking on the streets, it's so immersive. The characters are so amazingly written, I feel like I know them, and I sure as hell care about them. The card mini-game is easily better than some actual card games, lol. The music is absurdly good, and so diverse, I keep idling all the time, just to listen to these banger tracks, and there are like 400 of them, all equally good, pure insanity right there. When it comes to the combat, it isn't easy, but once you master it, you can do literally anything, like really, things you can pull off in this game, when you know what you're doing are just incredible. Yeah, I think I'm right, this is the best game I've ever played (over 300 games finished, over 1k games played), and I've seen like a half of it, lol. I could write an epos about this game, and I probably will, when I'm done with it. It honestly feels like a product of pure love to the franchise, not a cash making tool, and this is just beautiful.

On my way to Cosmo Canyon! I’ve been holding my tongue to wait and see how things develop, but while I’m loving the experience, I’m finding some of the plot changes and how they are approaching certain twists from the original game to be… Questionable. I hope it all comes together in a satisfying way by the end, but I’m a little worried about it.

This game is doing an impeccable job giving me the same emotional thrill I experienced when I first played FFVII. They’ve captured what adult me remembers the original experience to be, while also giving me a completely new experience. I really have to applaud them for making me feel like a teenager again. I wish Squeenix approached more remake projects like this, and didn’t just think of a remake as a sheen of contemporary graphics. To take a game as beloved as this and to reshape it into something both honouring the original and reshaping it is pretty enjoyable to witness and experience. I really wish they’d approach more remakes, if there have to be any, with this approach, a type of thematic exploration and interrogation rather than just a by-the-numbers visual update.