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(HARDWIRED) - When Final Fantasy VII Remake released in 2020, I was initially concerned that these remakes would be the equivalent of taking 5 hours of gameplay from the original and stretching it over a 40 plus hour open-world game. To that point, Remake did feel like a weird sectioned off experience of something far bigger. At that games end, having jumped from the predetermined fate looking out onto a vast open world, I felt uneasy yet excited by the unending possibilities.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Code provided by publisher

Fast forward to the reveal of Rebirth and my fears were swept away by elation and eagerness. Recapturing the wonderous sensation of a cultural touchstone like Final Fantasy VII is like trying to catch lightning in a bottle. There is an astonishing number of iconic moments and characters to revamp and of course a story near and dear to many players hearts.

Now having put in countless hours into Final Fantasy VII Rebirth I can safely say that the developers know what they are doing. Despite the numerous changes to both the world and story, some big some massive, Final Fantasy VII is joyous adventure, whose story deals as much with preventing the end of the world as it does dealing with family drama. A magnificent modern manifestation of everything I loved as kid about the 1997 original and in my opinion the greatest RPG game Square Enix has ever released.

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Rebirth starts out on a great neck pace and wastes no time reintroducing you to Cloud and of course the one-winged angle himself Sephiroth. From the first moments of its extravagant story Rebirth puts the focus squarely on its characters. More so than perhaps any Final Fantasy that has come before, the friends and foes of this whimsical universe make up the heart of this game and play a more significant role in progression than before. The returning cast of characters feel both familiar and fresh, as they come with deepened backstories and conflicts. The glorious action rpg blend of real time and tactical turn-based combat returns from Remake, boasting a slick new synchro move system, alongside other new mechanics culminating in what feels like the perfection of this fighting style. Especially coming off the more Arcady feeling combat of last year’s Final Fantasy XVI, it was invigorating to return to this in-depth combat style. While the team may be familiar and the combat is polished, the way the games world is designed is the most jarring change. No more narrow linear levels designed sparingly. No instead the hub world is broken out into multiple, sprawling open worlds rich with life, enemies, missions and discoveries to endlessly seek out. The sheer scale of the world is breath taking, and it’s a world worth exploring.

But a game’s world is more than just activities, like a legend passed down through generations, Final Fantasy VII Remake saw some significant changes to beloved RPG’s original story. In an ambitious desire to create something new, a timeline unshackled from the original’s, Rebirth’s rollercoaster ride of a story is as exhilarating as it is convoluted. Even at it’s most dense storytelling, Rebirth’s story is equal parts family drama and world ending action. I won’t get into the details of the story because I really do believe you should just experience it yourself. At the core of this is the characters themselves. The whole team is back and even bringing in some new recruits. While I think Remake had a hard time not relying on legacy to make the characters relationships make sense, Rebirth is a very different story. Cloud and Tifa have history together, that complicates their current relationship. Barret has old unhealed traumas, Aerith has had her memories taken away and is struggling with what she has to do. All these players feel more connected and their bonds feel more real as a result. When Jessie died in Remake, it was hard to take it seriously because Cloud said shit like “you owe me a pizza”. Rebirth’s dialogue isn’t always the best but the team has come a long way from sounding so...detached. Excellent voice acting and impressive visuals backed by an emotional score, sells the devastation or the joy or any other needed emotion throughout the runtime of this game. Though there are still a TON of anime grunts and scoffs.

Another major player in making the adventures of Avalanche special is the great ways the game’s overplayed open-world design shirks the dusty facade of it’s contemporaries. There are 6 total regions each being an expansive open world on their own, with unique enemies, environments, story beats and secrets to uncover. I can’t say for certain but the way the game subtly guides you and entices you to explore it’s world is very reminiscent of Ghost of Tsushima. Birds call to you to lead you toward a new discovery, Chocobo chicks guide you to rest stops, and even the tower systems used to analyze the area does not feel like its just adding needless busy work to the map. Then there’s the art direction here, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is hands down the most gorgeous RPG I have ever played. Vibrant life dots the grasslands far from the reaches of Shinra’s industrialization. Yet you can still find pieces of manmade influence on the ecosystem. The wastelands are a dilapidated harsh landscape, one that is being sucked dry of its life force, covered in cracking rock, massive piping and arid wildlife. Rebirth’s strength of design is in the ways it ties the world into the theme of environmental preservation. You can see the direct effects of draining the Mako from the planet. This continues into and is present in every single one of these biomes. Backing that message up is the people who inhabit this land. You travel from city to village to small farms, assisting people just fighting to survive in a world that is dying. As you help these people, hear their stories, and see the good in them, the true message of the game comes through. This is a world worth saving, with people worth protecting, and to do that you must take on whatever destiny lies ahead.

Those side quests that populate every area of the game are worth exploring. Instead of the classic and tired, fetch-quest or escort mission, these are deeper multi-objective missions. Having this extra depth means not only are the stories being told more personable, but you also get a chance to explore a region through the lens of someone living there. I loved assisting Sam the dog in his delivery or helping to recapture runaway Chocobo’s for the local Chocobo farm. Many of these stories will also strengthen your bond with members of your party, providing further insight into what makes them tick. That bond is important as every member of the team has a friendship bar. If you want to be able to date Tifa or Aerith, you have to be careful of what you say and how you act in critical side story and mainline missions. Likewise, some of the later game side-quests add context and depth that should be mandatory for you to fully grasp this universe.

Aside from the side adventures, Rebirth is practically bursting with minigames. You can find some form of minigame in every location in the game. Which is great for giving you a variety of fun stuff to do but not so great in that I spent a stupid amount of time becoming the God-king of Queen’s Blood. Queen’s Blood is the now mandatory card game within the game world of an RPG. Like Gwent before it, I became obsessed with becoming undefeatable, taking on any who would dare to stand against me. Likewise, I took to the piano rhythm game with great pleasure, learning the pieces of music that make up the game’s own score. Which does beg the question of whether or not Tifa knows she has her own theme because she can learn to play it. Do they hear the game soundtrack in the game world? Is that why Cloud does the Final Fantasy victory tune sometimes? Can they hear the boss music as it approaches? Anyway, there are many exquisite sides game to track down and I highly recommend literally all of them.

On the combat front Final Fantasy VII Rebirth has perfected its blended action-rpg and tactical fighting. You can have up to three party members in combat with two assisting from outside if needed, meaning the team composition plays a significant role here. Remake had an excellent flow to its dance of magic and melee, but Rebirth has taken it to astonishing new heights. Every character has a main attack mode and alternate attack, for instance Tifa has a martial arts attack and a swift uppercut as her alt. Additionally there are abilities like Braver, spells such as Fira and now synchro moves. The flow between this cavalcade of battering options is butter smooth, swapping in and comboing off spells into a heavy attack feels exhilarating every time. Which is partly because the combat feels tighter, I always felt like I was in a FIGHT, never just blowing through enemies. You can also control your teammates by calling out actions for them to perform or just swapping to them directly. This team combat makes picking abilities that complement each other crucial for many of the larger scaled fights. Boss fights are suitably grandiose in both scale and sheer awesomeness. These massive foes won’t be Feld by mere button mashing, you’ll need to learn about them and take advantage of the returning pressure and stagger system. Again, I won’t spoil any of that here, but I have plenty of close fights in these encounters and especially with some of the optional bosses.

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Final Fantasy VII Rebirth has successfully sated my fears of what is to come, building off the incredible skeleton of Remake and expanding into something wholly new. Few developers could have pulled off not only making a best-in-class action-rpg but also making an incredible retooling of a world so beloved by it’s fans. Delivering heart pounding action that is as challenging as it is complex, deeply connected lore, a world begging to be explored and a story that delivers on nearly every promise it made. I still have so much left to discover so I won’t be putting this one down for a long time. This is in my opinion the best Final Fantasy game ever made and arguably the greatest RPG I have ever played. A masterclass in how its done I give Final Fantasy VII Rebirth a 10.