Early on inFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, I was having a terrific time. Every time there was a chance to stop and take on a few side quests, I soaked them all up and explored every inch of each new region. But as I’ve gotten further through the game, the central story arc has grown more intense whilethe maps have grown more sprawling, and I find myself wanting to rush past activities to get to the point more. Nothing underlined this better than the chickens.
After a dramatic moment between Cloud and Tifa, things settle down again and you’re back in one of the game’s many villages, where Cait Sith tells you there could be some folks in need of help. One of these is an old woman who wants her chickens back, which is done by luring them with feed in the most annoying way possible. You must get close - but not too close - and be fast - but not too fast - while backing away into an invisible wall that Cloud moves against with resistance, despite nothing being there. Turn around to see where you’re going, and the chicken catches up to you, making you start all over.
So Many Quests, So Little Time
There are now too many things to do and the maps are getting too big. Before, I liked the satisfaction of sweeping up every activity, but now I am desperate to move on with the story, and everything seems to be getting slower. I already love what Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is doing, but every few minutes it stops me to say ‘Don’t like it? Try this!’, and it’s making me want to give up on the whole thing.
Part of this is not Final Fantasy’s fault at all. This year started withThe Last of Us' Part 2 Remastered, which led nicely intoLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. The time it took me to play through that gave me a week to become obsessed with Balatro before Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth dropped, and now I’m in a race against time to beat it before moving on to Dragon’s Dogma 2 and Rise of the Ronin, while juggling a review for a third game. I don’t want to put FF7R down before beating it, but I don’t want to be too late in starting either of the two above so that I can write about both of them while they’re still in the news cycle.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Feels So Close To Greatness
I’m aware this ‘problem’ is a luxury for journalists, but a nice problem to have is still a problem. And whether I was eager to move on to a new game or not, it appears to be a common sentiment that FF7Rgets its maps and pacing right in the first half, then goes too big on the home stretch. It’s Devon Loch game design. I don’t want Rebirth to end because I’m sick of it, but because I’m engrossed by what will happen next, especially knowing the ending is controversial. My desire to play other games may pull me away from theextra optional content like chocobo racingor Chadley’s research, but the problem is the game consistently does not make this feel optional at all.
I first noticed this withthe Queen’s Blood tournament on the cruise ship. Though you could throw in the towel and get on with the story, it was folded into the narrative that Cloud played and won this tournament. It also asks you to opt out, to quit like a whiny baby, rather than opt in, taking in extra challenges as you wanted it. This continued with having to feed and then race a chocobo while Barret was on the run from the law and Tifa and Aerith were in jail, or having to take in all of the Gold Saucer’s minigames while chasing Shinra.
Most of these activities are fine on their own. Though it was too much Queen’s Blood in one go, I still dabble when a table is right in front of me. I can see myself revisiting the chocobo races in New Game Plus, though maybe not until Dragon’s Dogma 2 is wrapped up. As for the Gold Saucer minigames, maybe I’ll take a raincheck on most of them, but none are bad enough that I would actively avoid them. I just wouldn’t choose so many of them over the story, and I’m not given the choice.
Technically, the chickens were a choice, but the game makes constant assumptions that you want to engage in this. I have been kicking off each side quest to see if it’s an Aerith quest to maximise my chance for romance, then abandoning it if it’s anyone else. The chickens are a Red XIII quest, but as a result, he runs around the village with a quest marker flashing above his head constantly, pulling you toward this task. It’s not feasible that you might be bored by a task, Rebirth assumes, so it always drags you back to it.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will still feature highly on my Game of the Year list, and I know that mild annoyance with a chicken-based side quest isn’t going to spoil that. But it is in danger of feeling too varied, with too many things, not because these options are bad, but because it is too eager to show them off. We don’t get to discover them, they are forced on us, and that’s no clucking fun.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
WHERE TO PLAY
Final Fantasy Rebirth is the second part of the FF7 Remake project. It continues the story of Cloud Strife, a former SOLDIER turned mercenary who joins Avalanche, a group of eco-terrorists seeking to save the planet from the malevolent Sephiroth. As the party pushes out of Midgar, leaving the Shinra Corporation devastated, where will their paths take them?
