Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthisso hot right now. Millions of gamers around the world are eager to get through the campaign before pivotal moments are spoiled for them. I’ve already seen far too many people hit credits over the weekend, which must have amounted to a 40 or so hour marathon at least. Either way,they aren’t savouring this excellent game like they should be.
It’s elitist of me to gatekeep Rebirth or demand you shouldn’t play it because you might not be caught up on the narrative and characters, but this is a special case. Let’s compare this game toDune: Part Two, whichhappened to release on the same day. They’re both brand-new pieces of a much larger story, and to consume the second, you are expected to have all the narrative context before diving in.
Without it, you’d be blown over by the spectacle, but still lost. Both Rebirth and Dune: Part Two have brief recaps, but they are incredibly swift and are designed to freshen the existing audience up rather than welcome new ones into the fray.
Rebirth kicks off mere moments after Remake, expanding on the ending before it dives into more unfamiliar territory.
Remakecould be approached by a curious newcomer, but even that was built with the solid expectation that players at least had a passing knowledge of the 1997 original. Yes, most of its narrative is faithful, but by the final act it is both referencing the classic text while unafraid to constantly subvert it. It doesn’t quite border on Kingdom Hearts levels of nonsense, but your party is actively fighting against supernatural espers designed to represent the first game’s story. Remake never suffers from its attachment to the original experience, but it is tied to it in a way that’s impossible to deny. Rebirth is a direct sequel, and carries that same weight.
I’ve seen countless people online reassure new players that they can watch a recap and get stuck into Rebirth without a worry in the world, but I sadly don’t think that’s true. From a pure gameplay perspective, obviously, you could find a lot of joy in Rebirth and its open world, ace combat, and lovable characters - but they are all building upon an existing foundation there’s no context for.
Not to mention you are writing off Remake, which is incredible, purely to jump on the hype and ultimately dilute your own experience. I think it’s worth taking your time and seeing Remake through to the end if you’re that feverish about Rebirth. Besides, it is a much shorter game with side activities that aren’t really worth your time, while you’ll want to spend every waking second seeing everything through in Rebirth.
Our own Stacey Henley recently wrote about how brilliant it is that Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth are so different, yet still carry the same creative ambition and zany charm that carries the player through, respecting the investment they made in the previous game as it pushes everything even further.
Remake isn’t the only key narrative ingredient in Rebirth either. It also makes many references to Crisis Core and a number of other spin-offs in the series’ canon.
As Rebirth begins, you already understand what Cloud and his friends have been through, and what they’re fighting for, so it’s easy to jump aboard and finally get lost in an open world that the previous game spent dozens of hours teasing, but never let you explore. Now, you are discovering it alongside these characters for what may be the very first time, like it’s a long-awaited reward for the melancholic linearity that helped define the previous game.
There’s also the Episode Intermission DLC that introduces Yuffie Kisaragi, a character who is briefly introduced in Rebirth because the game assumes you’re already caught up on her backstory. Like any sequel which follows a continuous story, I don’t think it’s ridiculous for a game to ask players to make that sort of investment. I understand the time required is much longer than a film or television series, but that doesn’t make the experience any less valuable.
A story recap will get you part of the way there, but I beg you to disregard the FOMO, pick up a copy of Remake on the cheap, and experience the first chapter of this trilogy before a trip into the second. It will be worth your time, I promise. Besides, every big game that comes around doesn’t need to awkwardly justify itself as a perfect entry point for everyone.
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?
