Preview
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth impressions: The sequel aims to improve on the remake and comes packed with new features
We played the first two episodes of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth for PS5 and our impressions were very positive.
The past is a memory, an image that we carry with us and that accompanies us throughout our lives. It may be true to reality, or it may become distorted over time into a warped projection that we come to believe. Cloud Strife sits with his friends and tells them a story, his own, the one that has been engraved in his mind. Five years earlier, the ex-SOLDIER had accompanied Sephiroth to Nibelheim, the Rookie’s birthplace. It was an eventful visit to the first Mako reactor built by Shinra under the pretense of helping humanity. Thus begins Final Fantasy VII Rebirth for PS5, the long-awaited second installment of the remake, a product that builds on the foundations of the first and expands beyond Midgar into an open world that we were able to get lost in, if only for a few minutes.
The first episode, an extended version of the demo that MeriStation was able to test a few weeks ago, serves as an introduction and tutorial. From Cloud’s perspective, the group arrives in the village under the watchful eyes of the villagers, who are happy about the presence of a hero like Sephiroth. Nothing seems to indicate that this peaceful village, nestled at the foot of Mount Nibel, is about to be struck by misfortune. In these first moments, the warrior goes for a walk, visits his mother and meets his friend Tifa. Then the young woman offers her services as a guide and decides to make the journey with them: it is the beginning of the end, but they do not know it yet.
The prologue, Sephiroth’s descent into hell
A scene that reflects the contrast between before and after takes place right at the beginning of the excursion, when one of the neighbors asks Sephiroth for a photo to immortalize this historic moment. Little does he know of the disaster that will occur just hours later, when the most famous SOLDIER discovers his true nature and succumbs to the delirium of madness. Following in the footsteps of Final Fantasy VII Remake, this chapter does not simply capture the story as it was in 1997, but expands it, readjusts it, and sometimes even modifies it. What was a brief flashback in the original is an hour-and-a-half-long chapter in Rebirth, an episode in which we learn the details of a memory that may not be entirely real.
In terms of gameplay, these first few minutes introduce us to the basic mechanics of both combat and exploration. The game retains the contextual use of buttons to perform certain actions, such as sitting on a rock or using the ledges to climb the mountainside. The same blue icon from the previous game indicates which areas can be interacted with. At times, movement is restricted to reflect the situation of the wounded protagonist, who moves with an almost annoying, parsimonious slowness. On their way up the mountain, Cloud, Tifa and Sephiroth encounter areas contaminated by the Mako. A rather boring mini-game begins, in which you have to move a machine that gradually absorbs the energy leaks.
The tragic events of Nibelheim are told in the following minutes, but we will not go into detail about their consequences. Suffice it to say that Cloud’s story ends and the action returns to the present, to the inn of Kalm, a small village destroyed by Shinra and rebuilt by its inhabitants sometime later. The companions have left Midgar and have taken temporary refuge in the village, where they enjoy a few moments of peace. It is at this point that we begin to glimpse some of the innovations that the Square Enix studio has introduced in this installment.
These are the main new features of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Being the second part of a trilogy, it is logical that the foundations are shared. However, Square Enix has not limited itself to repeating the same formulas, but has broadened the scope and modified some of the main systems. It is too early to judge because we have only experimented a little, but the developers have implemented an affinity system that affects Cloud’s relationship with each member of the group. For example, Aeris asks us to accompany her to the Clock Tower. This is followed by a series of dialog options and a limited response time. Depending on what we choose, the character will be more or less happy with us (reflected by emoticons).
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is built around the concept of the bond between the protagonists. Therefore, by completing challenges, helping people, exploring the world, and discovering its secrets, you will gain experience that will be added to the party’s level - separate from each character’s level. As it increases, we will be able to access more skills because the talent cores will be activated. We will then have to use the experience points (gained by increasing the individual levels of the characters or by finding certain objects) to unlock the different skills.
As in the first installment, the weapons also have a level, but as we have seen, the progression has changed a bit. This time, each weapon has nodes to which we can assign skills. To understand, it is a system very similar to that of the assignment of Materia. A new feature in terms of progression and item management is the transmutation of items. An item from the time of the Republic (the first hint of a distant past of the world of Final Fantasy VII that we did not know about?) allows us to create items from materials scattered around the world. Finding transmuter chips expands the object’s capabilities.
It may not be said too often, but one of the hallmarks of Final Fantasy is its card games. Queen’s Blood is played in rounds, with each player placing their card in one of the three rows, at specific points marked with emeralds of the player’s color. Each card has a power level, which of course affects the game. The position is another element to consider: if one of them overlaps a position you already control, it will increase in rank, so that you can only place a card of that rank or higher in that square. If you place it in the right place, you will take positions away from your opponent. The goal is to achieve the highest power score in each row, which is added together to determine the winner of the hand.
First contact with the open world and combat system
The rest in Kalm does not end in peace. The group is forced to flee, once again pursued by Shinra troops. The doors open and the open world unfolds on the horizon. It’s amazing the scale and how good it looks, the detail, and the sense of adventure it conveys. The million-dollar question is whether we’re looking at a conventional open world or whether Square Enix has gone a step further. It is difficult to say for sure, as the play session was relatively short. What we can say for sure is that the studio has filled it with missions, mini-games, landmarks, and curiosities. We found the home of some mischievous Moogle and enjoyed a mini-game where we had to press the button just before one of the creatures attacked us. Then we have to catch them all.
We won’t list all the side quests, although, during these first few minutes in the wilderness, Cloud helped Aeris pick flowers. Next, in another mission, they stumbled upon and explored some ruins, then fought some strange Final Fantasy VII Remake enemies. A photographer enlisted the group’s help to take snapshots of certain locations on the map, and later the party completed a summoning shrine, which, when completed, improves summoning materials. Don’t think of it as a shrine from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom. In this case, it’s a simple mini-game that involves pressing the X button when the light passes through the display.
The combat system works the same as in the remake, although changes have been introduced. For starters, it is possible to enter a battle with an advantage if we surprise the enemy and attack them first, a feature widely explored in contemporary JRPGs. The game maintains the idea of switching characters during battle, playing with commands and the timing of the ATB system, whose bars are refilled as we hit the bad guys. As we said, the Japanese developer has explored the concept of cooperation between friends, so the system of synchronized attacks is one of the main pillars of combat. The synergy bar gradually fills up, allowing us to unleash impressive abilities together with other members of the party. The real attraction is trying out combinations with each of them. On the other hand, synergy skills are different talents that do not consume the ATB bar and provide different effects and even block attacks.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is surrounded by the lifestream, it is a game born of nostalgia, but limited to copying what has already been done, yet taking risks and feeling fresh, with life. The final verdict, in a few weeks. In the meantime, we are left with the good feelings.
It will be available next February 29, exclusively for PS5.