Ultimate Myth 7 Rebirth overview: Sq. Enix’s genre-defying magnum opus

Perish the concept that splitting FF7 into 3 sovereign portions used to be a wicked concept because the unfathomable scope and elegant detail of Ultimate Myth 7 Rebirth definitely radiances all the way through its 100+ masterful hours of flawless a laugh and reminds us all that endurance is a utility.

The a lot sought-after FF7 remake used to be in spite of everything viewable in 2015, and it took 5 agonizing years for the primary juicy installment to reduce. Age it titillated the senses and took the daring resolution to tinker with the sacred supply subject matter, its observable padding and need to put together Midgar a full-length, standalone entity made the primary access cast however somewhat undercooked.

In hindsight, 2020’s part-one remake appears like a prologue in comparison to the monstrous proposition of Ultimate Myth 7 Rebirth. Age we had the probability to play games an early preview of Ultimate Myth 7 Rebirth, this used to be just a taster of its providing. With Rebirth, Sq. Enix has harnessed the ability of the lifestream to manufacture this once-in-a-lifetime revel in.

Junon too shabby

Upcoming a moderately unbending opening bankruptcy to poised the level, welcome again gamers, and provides a Barret-sized slap at the again to rookies, FF7 Rebirth opens as much as expose its multi-faceted international that includes cherished biomes.

Kicking up mud in Mt.Corel occasion being blasted by means of a sizzling backdrop, joyfully skipping round to the infectious Gold Saucer jingle, or having a look on the astronomical and satirical-sized Junon cannon will drop you enamored. Long gone is the detached atmosphere of Midgar as Ultimate Myth 7 Rebirth takes to the air the handbrake and has us jet-setting throughout iconic settings. For FF7 enthusiasts, the nostalgia issue is abundance.

Optical my favourite mythical locales beefed up and having a look so glamorous in 2024 is one thing I couldn’t believe as a child. The Costa Del Sol is now not only a few backstreets with the peculiar development and seashore; it’s a gigantic lodge fleshed out with minigames, stores, and quests galore. Junon’s miserable recesses are out, changed with a colourful, lively residing public with a abundance cavernous overhead.

Sq.’s manufacturing finances and a long time of business experience in point of fact radiance throughout all of FF7 Rebirth’s areas—does somebody do JRPGs higher?

Materia lady

It’s no longer all in regards to the worn, even though. A wealth of pristine content material offers FF7 Rebirth a sumptuous makeover: reinventing antiquated mechanics and content material for the twenty first century or even making improvements to on a few of section one’s inadequacies.

Motion is upgraded, with Cloud and co ready to auto-mantle maximum surfaces and ledges freely without having a steered. Unutilized tag-team Synergy assaults praise you for the use of ATB instructions with each and every of your energetic birthday celebration to well discourage you from specializing in your favourite—including some other layer to the already deep fight.

Don’t concern; there’s nonetheless a ludicrous plenty of interchangeable Materia to cycle thru, customise, and degree up, along lots of guns and equipment to assemble and sculpt your bespoke squad. I nonetheless to find it a ache to continuously change out your best possible Materia when pressured to modify to alternative characters to fit the situation, nevertheless it’s greater than manageable.

Every patch within the Global Map isn’t just run ragged by means of fiends and foes to struggle within the wild however has extra aspect quests and actions than Yuffie has tantrums. Not like 2020’s remake, the vast majority of Rebirth’s non-compulsory content material is a pride, with my favorites that includes the workforce becoming frogs and the go back of worn, fun complications.

Minigames additionally want their very own point out right here, as occasion the common Gold Saucer ease ground has enough quantity of bite-sized demanding situations from Chocobo Racing to digital preventing, you gained’t move too lengthy thru the primary recreation with out encountering your after distraction. The Queen’s Blood card recreation additionally offers The Witcher 3’s Gwent a run for its cash and is most definitely my favourite major FF minigame but.

While alternative open-world titles are continuous content material trains passing thru stagnant wastelands with much less past than a petrified birthday celebration member, FF7 Rebirth’s numerous hours are teeming with power, identification, and a catchy remastered soundtrack that can resonate with you for weeks on finish.

A heartwarming homecoming

You could assume that being partial to the untouched discredits my opinion on FF7 Rebirth—I feel it’s the other. I’m hyper-critical, and the path of the heroes and tale give me extra of an worried center than a mid-fight “10,000 Needles” steered with a Cactuar ever may just.

So once I let you know that section two takes an already bunch of lovely misfits and provides each and every of them a platform to build and bloom ahead of your seeing, you understand I’m telling the reality. Upcoming a irritating conclusion partly one, which noticed Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, Barret, Yuffie, and Crimson XIII struggle the maniacal Sephiroth as he bids to break the planet, they proceed of their exit to give up Sephiroth, thwart the sinful Shinra Company from siphoning the planet’s herbal useful resource—Mako—and in the end save the arena.

Section one was too entrenched within the dynamic between the similar couple of duos and didn’t dig as deep because it will have to have, however Ultimate Myth 7 Rebirth’s ultimate runtime of 50-100 hours+ supplies complete chapters for characters to attach with you.

Crimson XIII is now playable, and his cathartic Cosmo Canyon portion of the sport is a masterclass in storytelling; Barret’s unhappy background is explored; we delve additional into the unraveling descent into madness of Sephiroth; and the Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith love triangle blossoms. However, the awful however gorgeous plot is aware of when to dial again the drama in partial of the ones uncommon “Final Fantasy moments.” One, specifically, had me howling with laughter, and it’s this type of zany show, among others, that I will already inform will develop into meme-worthy.

Age we gained’t be discussing sure characters’ fates, Sq. made it unclouded from the outset in 2020 that every one bets are off. The emergence of Whispers—the Arbiters of Destiny—will have to dispel any preconceived notions you’ve gotten about Rebirth’s bite of the full narrative—be expecting the surprising. 

Consequently, the already lavish tapestry of the Ultimate Myth 7 universe interweaves pristine strings, and it’s unhidden that the core narrative of the untouched is now syncopated and beats to the track of Rebirth’s aberration drum. 

Take into account, this can be a remake, no longer a remaster, and as such, Sq.’s distant license and penchant for creativity put together for some wholesome tweaks and twists, showcasing revisionism at its magnificient—despite the fact that die-hards might whip umbrage with its boldness.

Your 2024 recreation of the month

It’s no longer regularly you incrible over 1,000 phrases and feature just about not anything wicked to mention a couple of recreation, however that’s Ultimate Myth 7 Rebirth. It’s a masterpiece, a murals, bonafide breathtaking brilliance.

The rest I felt used to be a shortcoming with the 2020 remake has been rectified in Rebirth and blown away as though stuck in an Aeroga witchery. 50 hours in, I’ve no longer even come related to achieving my Prohibit Fracture but. If Sq. Enix wishes some other 4 or 5 years to bring the general iteration and convey indisposed the curtain at the FF7 remake trilogy, Rebirth is evidence that just right issues come to people who wait.