Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth preview: Part 2 of remake project cuts loose

A current report by Bloomberg detailed some soul-searching and scapegoating at Square Enix after a drop in its share worth and the perceived underperformance of Final Fantasy 16. Sources criticized disorganized administration in a panorama of unruly “fiefdoms” led by single, highly effective producers. That could also be true, and I wouldn’t need to underplay the frustrations of builders working beneath these situations. But there’s additionally one thing to be stated for letting enormously skilled, artistic, massive personalities run issues how they please (inside motive). What they make could not grasp collectively completely, however it by no means feels designed by committee. It feels bespoke, obsessive, extravagant, and peculiar.

That couldn’t be extra true of the Final Fantasy 7 remake project, a sprawling, three-game reinterpretation and enlargement of the 1997 basic, masterminded by producer (and director of the unique) Yoshinori Kitase with an help from artistic director and Kingdom Hearts overlord Tetsuya Nomura. It’s indulgent fan service that’s one way or the other additionally prepared to alter the script; followers had been shocked by the slick real-time fight and apparently metafictional twists of the primary installment, 2020’s Final Fantasy 7 Remake, however nobody may deny that Kitase’s group was actually going for it.

Now we’ve got Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, coming to PlayStation 5 on Feb. 29, 2024: a lavish, blockbuster restaging of the center bit of an outdated online game. As recommended by the extraordinarily energetic newest trailer, this sequel will lower loose after all of the scene-setting and moody iconography of Remake’s re-creation of the choked, dystopian metropolis of Midgar. Rebirth follows Cloud Strife and firm as they comply with antagonist Sephiroth’s path throughout the land, from desert to coast to gaudy pleasure park; confirmed areas embody the navy fortress metropolis of Junon, the Gold Saucer theme park, and the Forgotten Capital. They discover! They hunt! They experience chocobos! They play minigames! They experience Segways!

At a current hands-on session, I acquired to play two sections of the sport: “The Fated Mt. Nibel Mission,” a flashback sequence by which Cloud and Sephiroth are playable collectively, and “The Open Wilds of Junon,” a taster for the extra open exploration and looking gameplay on provide in Rebirth, earlier than the story took me to Under Junon, a fishing village struggling within the shadow of the oppressive metropolis.

Story-wise, Rebirth is a direct continuation of Remake, however in gameplay phrases it’s higher to suppose of it as a conventional online game sequel: increasing the scope, including options, however cleaving near what made the primary sport tick. (Game saves and character builds from Remake don’t carry over — Rebirth is a stand-alone sport — however Square Enix guarantees some bonuses for returning gamers.) Combat performs out simply the identical as the primary sport: a mix of issuing Active Time Battle instructions, in an echo of the unique sport’s turn-based system, and switching between characters to run round, assault, dodge, and block in real-time motion fight.

The main addition is Synergy talents that pair collectively characters out of your celebration of three for coordinated strikes. There are low-key Synergies out there at any time once you maintain down R1 to dam, however the principle Synergy talents are slow-charging showstoppers that step by step construct up on their very own impartial gauge, very like Limit Breaks. They’re flashily animated and satisfying to make use of, plus there’s a enjoyable wish-fulfillment dimension to watching these beloved characters group up in such a variety of combos. (I don’t know if each attainable permutation from the sport’s playable solid can be featured, however going by the demo, it looks as if it.)

Image: Square Enix

Image: Square Enix

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Image: Square Enix

Image: Square Enix

My solely hesitation about Synergies is that they might push an already extraordinarily busy, tiered fight system to the purpose of feeling messy and rushed. A brief sport demo isn’t one of the best atmosphere to discover these items, however greater than as soon as I discovered myself pondering that if Rebirth gives the choice to automate the real-time fight and simply deal with the extra strategic instructions, as Remake did, I would take it. Remake and Rebirth’s brawling is ok, however Final Fantasy 16’s crisp, fluid, and refined fight motion has quite proven it up, anyway.

Synergies had been successfully proven off within the Mt. Nibel mission, which sees Cloud and Sephiroth collectively of their SOLDIER days, investigating a malfunctioning Mako reactor, accompanied by a younger (and never playable) Tifa. Sephiroth is intentionally tuned to really feel overpowered on this part, dominating Cloud. It’s an nearly uncanny kick to govern this iconic character, together with his outrageously lengthy locks, coat, and blade, in actual time, because the pair faces a boss struggle towards a scorpion-like Materia Guardian monster.

Square Enix solely provided a small part of the wilds outdoors Junon to discover within the second mission; as is commonly the case with the corporate’s video games, it felt like a condensed impression of an open world, a lot in order that it was scarcely value mounting chocobos to discover and sniff out treasure (though reps say the world within the remaining sport can be a lot bigger). In any case, the actual enjoyable right here was experimenting with the three out there celebration compositions — permutations of Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, Barret, and the newly playable indignant cat man, Red XIII — in hunts towards highly effective monsters (known as “fiends”) within the discipline. These confrontations are replayable, and include non-obligatory targets (pressuring or staggering your opponent, assembly a time restrict, and so forth) that improve rewards. They look like an incredible place to work out the peculiarities of the battle system and excellent your celebration methods.

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Image: Square Enix

Image: Square Enix

Image: Square Enix

Image: Square Enix

After messing about with these for some time, I adopted a marker resulting in the shadowy lean-tos of Under Junon — a gorgeously rendered location that, maybe much more than something in Remake, seems like wandering into the hazy, low-poly maps of the unique, now absolutely realized. Here, one other boss struggle with a large aquatic menace, the Terror of the Deep, heralded the arrival of the ninja Yuffie Kisaragi (launched within the Intergrade DLC), however the demo sadly ended earlier than I had an opportunity so as to add her to my celebration.

In an interview with the PlayStation Blog, Kitase and his group famous that the order by which areas are visited will fluctuate from the unique, and the Gold Saucer may be revisited to play minigames at any time. They promised an expansive world map with many areas that aren’t even included in the principle storyline, and Kitase stated the group has challenged itself to be extra formidable with new scenes that divert from the unique narrative. “I am confident these new scenes will be wildly enjoyable for fans and newcomers alike,” he stated.

I’m not as assured as Kitase that everybody in Final Fantasy fandom goes to like Rebirth’s diversions from the unique sport. But the sense I acquired was of a sport that, much more than Remake, manages to be free to be itself and have some enjoyable — even because it hits the nostalgic notes everyone seems to be ready for.