Ever because the launch of Final Fantasy VII Remake again in 2020, followers of the unique have been questioning how the following installment of Square Enix’s reimagining of the landmark 1997 recreation would deal with the various iconic setpiece moments, reveals, and twists but to come back. The Nibelheim Incident, which facilities round Cloud’s consequential return to his hometown 5 years earlier, has been an particularly fertile floor for hypothesis. The unique recreation and its many spinoffs revisit this mission quite a few occasions to point out off the various views of the important thing gamers. It’s an overused analogy, however The Nibelheim Incident is actually FF7’s equal of the Rashomon homicide scene. With every barely completely different retelling, we inch a bit bit nearer to the reality.
FF7‘s save-the-world story wasn’t revolutionary in 1997, and it actually isn’t at this time. But the palpable sense that one thing is “off” with Cloud and his mentor-turned-nemesis Sephiroth elevates it into one thing much more memorable and enduring. For a lot of the sport, the destiny of the planet kinda takes a backseat to discovering out what the deal is with these guys. At the identical time, with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the builders at Square Enix face the daunting activity of attracting newcomers to the second chapter of a trilogy, those that might primarily know Cloud and Sephiroth as cool badasses with enjoyable hair from the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster.
So after I booted up the sport at a current media preview occasion, I used to be delighted to see that Chapter 1 of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth instantly begins with Cloud telling his model of what occurred at Nibelheim. Rebirth throws you in on the deep finish and delivers excessive stakes proper up entrance—and it’s precisely what longtime followers need and newcomers want.
Pre-order Final Fantasy VII Rebirth: Amazon | Best Buy | Target
Déjà vu another time
I’d performed a smaller phase of this part at a preview occasion a number of months again, however that slice was extra combat- and traversal-focused. True to the unique recreation, the complete model of Rebirth’s Nibelheim incident is a gradual burn, a comfortable night with buddies winding down after the frantic escape from Midgar. Present-day Cloud narrates over this prolonged interactive sequence the place you play as his youthful self, and his storytelling is punctuated by interruptions from Barrett, Tifa, and Aerith. Many of those exchanges are taken beat-by-beat from the unique recreation, and it’s good to see them return right here to inject some levity and sense of camaraderie into Cloud’s suspenseful and gloomy story.
Rebirth’s tackle Nibelheim largely sticks to that of the unique FF7. (Mostly.) The cause for Cloud and Sephy’s mission stays the identical—they’re despatched to analyze a malfunctioning mako reactor at Mt. Nibel, and cope with any monsters alongside the best way. We get a clearer sense of Sephiroth’s renown and movie star—we’re largely instructed, not proven this within the unique—as townsfolk breathlessly gossip about him and jostle for pictures. As earlier than, you get the possibility to regulate Sephiroth in fight in the course of the climb, and he’s absurdly robust and enjoyable to play.
Ascending Mt. Nibel features as a light-weight tutorial for Rebirth’s new traversal mechanics, together with leaping and climbing. It’s nothing difficult, but it surely does convey that Mt. Nibel is harmful sufficient to require a information’s help higher than the unique recreation did. Speaking of guides, we get fairly a bit extra of younger Tifa on this part of Rebirth (Nibelheim is her hometown too, in any case), full along with her lovable cowgirl outfit. And there are some very intriguing penalties of that, which I’m not going to get into right here.
On that word, Chapter 1 of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is a veritable bonanza of jaw-dropping spoilers for folk who haven’t performed the unique recreation. Despite understanding precisely what was coming at sure moments, the impeccable visuals and environmental design blew me away. And, as was the case with Remake, when Rebirth’s soundtrack is firing on all cylinders, it’s the stuff of real-deal goosebumps in your arms. As the flames attain greater and the music shudders like a terrified coronary heart, out of the blue I’m 11 years previous once more, sitting cross-legged on the ground subsequent to my older brother in entrance of a CRT with a skateboarding sticker on the facet, unable to say something however whoa.
A complete new world
After Cloud provides his buddies the rundown of what occurred with Sephiroth in Nibelheim, we resume the present-tense story within the metropolis of Kalm. And golly, what a glow-up. In 1997’s FF7, the city was little greater than an RPG fuel station—a spot to choose up some potions, low-cost tools, and a fast snooze on the inn. There was by no means a lot cause to return when you’d progressed to different locations. This time round, its cobbled streets, overgrown flower packing containers, and rabbit-warren structure ooze a tranquil appeal that’s worthy of the identify.
You received’t spend too lengthy right here in Rebirth both, but it surely does provide an opportunity to get acquainted with a number of new gameplay additions. The most notable of those are celebration relationships and celebration degree, which let you strengthen your bond together with your teammates by means of dialogue selections and optionally available actions. The unique FF7 had a much less fleshed-out model of this that culminated within the notorious Gold Saucer date, and it’s good to see that the devs are discovering new methods to let gamers spend extra time with their favourite characters.
The innkeeper at Kalm will introduce you to Queen’s Blood, Rebirth’s reply to card video games like Witcher 3‘s Gwent and FF8‘s Triple Triad. I can already inform a great deal of individuals are going to be totally obsessive about this minigame, although I sadly am not certainly one of them. (Happy for you guys, although!) This part additionally affords a short rundown of ability bushes, weapon upgrades, and merchandise crafting. I stay unconvinced that Final Fantasy 7 wanted a crafting system, and I didn’t discover a lot event to make use of it throughout my demo. I can see the way it could also be helpful for some optionally available fights afterward, however I hope it’s extra of a “take it or leave it” mechanic.
But we will’t keep in Kalm for lengthy, and it’s quickly time for our merry band of weirdos to hit the street looking for adventures, pocket cash, and ultimately Sephiroth. Rebirth’s model of the unique recreation’s huge open world is larger and extra lovely than I’d hoped, with loads of nooks and crannies to discover. You’ll acquire entry to each menu-based fast-travel and chocobos just about instantly after leaving Kalm, mercifully chopping down on the ponderous backtracking of the 1997 recreation. Instead of enormous swaths of empty area for random encounters, now there are small farms, hamlets, and ruins between cities and dungeons. This makes Rebirth’s open world really feel like a pure enlargement of scope fairly than only a concession to the expectations of followers. After hitting up the Chocobo Farm, you’re free to probe for some time, however when you’re able to return to the principle story, a Ghost of Tsushima-esque inexperienced Mako path will seem to nudge you towards your vacation spot. It’s a considerate design alternative that avoids the immersion-breaking “map game” vibes which have turn out to be a bit too commonplace in open-world design.
Naturally, when you get out into the large extensive world, you’re gonna be doing a little preventing. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth provides one other layer to Remake’s real-time fight system, and I’m nonetheless not completely certain how I really feel about it. You’ll have greater than three celebration members to select from at any given time, and every distinctive duo or trio can workforce up for a novel particular assault. On paper, this seems like Chrono Trigger, which is terrific. In observe, it kinda seems like one factor too many to maintain monitor of. Remake’s fight had a satisfying cadence of managing cooldowns to tug off magic spells, heals, and particular assaults. But within the early hours of Rebirth, even mundane fights have a noticeably stop-start really feel to them. I’m hoping to settle right into a move ultimately, however I’m additionally curious if this all may really feel higher in traditional, turn-based mode as a substitute. (Thankfully, it’s an on-the-fly toggle within the full recreation.) Quibbles apart, I’m nonetheless having fun with the heck out of the fight and the demo left me hungry for extra. Pro tip: Red XIII’s unusually Sonic Spinball moveset is extraordinarily enjoyable to play.
The huge query heading into Rebirth and its unnamed successor is: can it recapture—and even exceed—the magic of the unique recreation? That stays to be seen. But, thus far, the primary three chapters are a helluva good signal for what’s to come back.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth launches February 29 on PlayStation 5.
Pre-order Final Fantasy VII Rebirth: Amazon | Best Buy | Target
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