Video gameplay of “Final Fantasy VII Rebirth”. (Square Enix/Contributed)
The first part of the Final Fantasy VII remake did a great job of fleshing out the game's opening chapters and adding new story elements to intrigue veterans. Still, many wondered if Square Enix would be able to deliver in the same way when the game had to be published. The answer is yes, but for every great idea there are some strange choices that create an inconsistent experience.
“Final Fantasy VII: A Realm'' begins with the group leaving Midgar and staying in the city of Callum. After some introductory parts, players are thrown into an open world divided into several huge parts of the world map. Although the entire world map isn't available at first, the pace at which new zones are unlocked is perfect.
The success of this game will depend on how well it adapts the open world of the original, and Square has done a great job. Activities in the open world range from combat and exploration to puzzles and even new card games. The world is beautiful, and fans of the original can see more of the iconic locations than ever before.
One of the things that takes away from the open world's appeal is Chudley, a character introduced in the previous part of the remake. Every time Cloud and his party do something in the open world, this little twerp buzzes and quickly becomes a nuisance. It also takes away the mystery of the world and the joy of discovering new things through exploration.
Combat is almost the same as the previous game. In this game, combat uses real-time action combat, with the option to pause to use special abilities and items. Each character plays differently, so it's fun to try out different parties and see who works best. Yuffie and Case Sith join the cast, and their playstyles are different and strong enough that they feel like meaningful additions rather than added baggage. Most of the characters have also grown significantly, and it's great to see a cast so beloved.
The materia system hasn't been updated as much as I was hoping for, but it does provide a way to level up that feels a little faster. The biggest problem is that you can't save loadouts for all your characters, making managing them a pain when swapping out weapons or party members. It never feels like there's enough materia for everyone to have a useful loadout, so you have to stick with 3 or her 4 characters or go through the tedium of constantly swapping items. there is.
Many of these problems are minor compared to the grand world and spectacular story, but Rebirth's biggest problem is its reliance on gimmicks. Almost every chapter has a story segment where you break up the group and try out some new gimmicks. What started as an interesting idea becomes a series of bullets that the game uses to shoot you in the foot. There's no particular reason for this, as the core gameplay elements are good enough to make the game great, but the developers have done things like throw crates at levers and run around theme parks. I insisted on slowing down the operation to make it work.
While Final Fantasy VII: A Realm does a lot to make the story deviate significantly from the original, it still feels like those changes haven't resulted in anything meaningful. This second chapter covers most of the original story, and I hope this ending pays off for all the weirdness Rebirth has set up. The game's combat, open world, and pure spectacle are enough to earn him five stars, but the constant speeding up of the pace brings the rating down to 4.5 stars out of 5.
