Rebirth Is My Second Chance At Love With Final Fantasy VII

Final Fantasy 7 was the first game in the series I ever played. By that, I mean I had a controller shoved in my hands and was encouraged to try it out at a friend’s house, while they giggled that you could make the guy put on a dress. We were about ten then, so our humour wasn’t exactly high-bar. It was the first taste of an RPG I ever had and something about it must have stuck with me, because when I saw a magazine article about Final Fantasy 8, I ripped the page out, gave it to my parents, and begged them to get me it for my birthday.

I don’t know why I didn’t just ask for Final Fantasy 7, but nevertheless, Final Fantasy 8 was the first in the series I properly played, being more than just a brief experience at a friend’s house. That’s likely why FF8 remains my favourite — nostalgia plays a big part in tipping the scales of favouritism. Perhaps if I had asked for FF7 instead, that would be my favourite. I’ll never know now. But my decision to go for FF8 first meant that, ever since, I’ve found myself in the minority when it comes to that age-old question, “What’s your favourite Final Fantasy?”

Thank God Final Fantasy 14 Is Finally Shaking Up The Moogle Treasure Trove Event

Shaking up the Moogle Treasure Trove event is just what FFXIV needed.

Don’t worry. I’m not going to restart the debate on the best Final Fantasy, but I think we can all agree that FF7 is generally held in the highest regard. If you asked a group of FF fans which game was their favourite, most would say FF7, or at least some iteration of it now we’ve had so many spin-offs and Remake.

Spoiler alert: I think Final Fantasy 8 is the best one.

Despite playing through Cloud’s adventure fully after FF8, it didn’t grab me in the same way. Perhaps it was because, graphically, it was a step back. Maybe it was because I was daft enough back then to think the series would be more similar, and I wondered where the Junction system was or why the GFs were summon materia instead. Realistically, I think it’s just because I loved the story and characters of FF8 more, but the point is, I missed the chance to fall in love with the original FF7 for whatever reason.

Remake seemed like the ideal opportunity to try again, but once again, I just wasn’t as excited as everyone else. I bought it (though not on launch day, to be fair), I played it, and while I appreciated it, I never had that same sense of “I can’t wait to play this game when I finish work” as I do with other favourites. I can’t say the same about Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, though. Maybe it’s because it dives straight into the action. Skipping past the introduction and scene setting and getting to the meat of the drama immediately feels more exciting to me, but this could be my true chance to fall in love with FF7’s characters, world, and storyline.

It’s not just because it falls at a better time or offers up a more exciting part of the story, but also because of what the Rebirth development team has achieved in taking a classic and breathing new life into it. Beyond the obvious graphical glow-up, it’s clear that the world and character building have been lovingly crafted to add a greater depth and insight to the original than we ever thought possible.

The environments are highly detailed, the buildings and their interiors feel more realistic, and the NPCs and their chatter make the world feel more real. You can wander past people chatting about their favourite pets, and NPCs you interact with have their personalities on show in how they behave and speak.

One of the big draws is the new relationship mechanics between the characters. These have a functional element that affects the gameplay because your Party Level will grow and deepen your party bonds as you complete challenges together and complete side quests. The higher the Party Level, the more skills and abilities are available to your team. However, the mechanics also affect the narrative and relationships, as Cloud can improve party members’ feelings towards him in how he acts and responds to them. In turn, the level of these bonds promises to alter parts of the story.

One of the things I loved the most about Rebirth is how it brings the past and the present together in a brilliantly effective way. This is most evident in the combat, which embraces the action combat of modern titles while retaining the pop-up boxes and cycling through menus to select abilities from the original. Describing this on paper feels like it would be a jarring match, and yet it works surprisingly well.

Rebirth goes beyond simply evolving the features of the original PlayStation classic and delving deeper into the personalities and relationships of the characters we know and love. It adds new elements to the mix to carve out fresh ground. One of the new features I’m excited by the most is the new card minigame Queen’s Blood. I’m terrible at it, but I’m determined to master it at launch.

If I’m ever going to connect to Cloud and the gang, the world of FF7, and the trials and tribulations they all go through, it’s with Rebirth, and maybe my new found love will have me eagerly awaiting the third and final chapter of the trilogy as much as the big FF7 fans I know. I’ve always felt neutral towards the cast, so it would be nice to be able to say I finally have a real favourite.

No One Has Ever Done Crossover Events Like Monster Hunter World

Monster Hunter World's crossover events were elaborate, detailed, and completely free.