Last week, I was madnobody told me there were frogsinFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth. It turns out I’d expunged the memory ofRemake’sribbitters, so maybe that’s on me. This week, I’m mad nobody told me there was football in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and I know I didn’t forget that one. Why was I not personally informed about this?
During the expansive Costa del Sol vacation chapter, you unlock a slew of minigames you must win to play dress-up with Cloud, Aerith, and Tifa. One of these is Run Wild, which is played by Red XIII, and involves a twist on the Beautiful Game.
I’m using ‘football’ rather than ‘soccer’. It’s the World’s Game and the world calls it football.
I realise, with the giant footballs and bouncy physics, this is more likeRocket League, but Rocket League is just football with cars. Run Wild is just football with animals. They’re similar to each other because they both have roots in football, making them both football games first and foremost. We’ve been crying out for a more arcade-style football game for years, and Run Wild shows me just what I was missing.
Run Wild Is FF7R’s Best Minigame
In the game, you play on a square pitch with four goals, each of different colours. Red XIII defends a red goal, a chocobo defends a yellow goal, two panthers (or something?) defend a black goal, and four mostly useless dogs defend a blue goal. It’s not the most sophisticated game, but then that’s the joy of football. Jumpers for goalposts and all that. You can charge into the ball or chip it, and can jump or sprint. That’s it.
In avoiding the desire to overcomplicate things, Rebirth creates a compelling version of arcade football. With multi-ball introduced after the first minute, there’s some strategy in when to attack and when defend, as well as how to cover every blade of grass when other teams have more players. The chocobo mainly keeps goal, the panthers have a keeper and a striker, and the four dogs tear around recklessly. There’s a clear personality to each team.
Run Wild Would Be Even Better If You Could Win
The only problem is it’s over too quickly. Rather than everyone starting at 0 like in regular football, we each start at 5 with every goal taking a point off. The aim is to have conceded the fewest by the time the game ends, rather than have scored the most. It’sa Southgatesian view of football.
It also means you never really get to win. Every game I played, Red XIII was the top scorer and I wish there was a harder version. But even dancing around opponents like Messi at your local Power League, the game just ends. Despite the goals counting down, you’re not trying to eliminate anyone. You just need to score one against each and park the bus. I tried for as many goals as possible, but the game doesn’t really want you to, and that takes away some charm.
There’s another version of Run Wild to unlock, but this is a time trial where you must score eight goals by pushing numbered balls into the right coloured goal despite various obstacles. It’s fun too, but it moves further away from being football. How close can you get when it’s chocobo versus dogs, you might ask, but it feels remarkably like football when Red XIII is running down on goal. It’s just a shame the final whistle blows too early.
Run Wild is now my favourite of the many, many minigames in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and one that best channels the throwback feel of the PS1 that these side activities seem to be shooting for. It’s a shame you never actually get to win, only to not lose, but it’s still a great addition to the game and a reminder of how much we need arcade football sims again.Red XIII Street, here we come.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
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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?
