Follow
Genre: JRPG
Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
Platform: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2
Tested On: Switch 2
FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH (Switch 2) – Review
It seems like only yesterday that FFVII Remake Intergrade’s Switch 2 port blew us away, and we’re already being treated to FFVII Rebirth. To be fair, Remake Intergrade is a fairly large game, and we’ve been dipping in and out of it, with our visits to Midgar ramping up in the run-up to Rebirth’s arrival, so it hasn’t been like we’ve been taking a break from Cloud’s adventure for months. Still, Rebirth is here now, and it’s bigger and bolder in every way compared to its predecessor. Said predecessor was a technical marvel in its own right, so the question at hand is just how well the Switch 2 can handle Rebirth.
Story
Being the second installment in the FFVII trilogy, Rebirth picks up in medias res, shortly after the events of Remake Intergrade. If you need to freshen up your memory or if you haven’t played Remake Intergrade, you can watch a short recap of the events in the previous chapter directly from Rebirth’s menu. In Rebirth, we rejoin Cloud and his companions Tifa, Barret, Aerith, and Red XIII as they escape from the oppressive industrial metropolis of Midgar. They step out into a massive, wider world to pursue Sephiroth across the planet, aiming to stop him from unleashing the ultimate destruction. There is a palpable change in scope in Rebirth, as the focus shifts away from the linear introduction of Midgar to the freedom of an open-world-like structure. The story balances its sprawling epic stakes with quiet, intimate character moments that emphasize the growing, family-like bonds and interpersonal dynamics within Cloud’s party. Interestingly enough, although much of Rebirth’s tone is gritty and serious, the game isn’t afraid to throw the occasional silliness into the mix, like when you’re adding a literal dolphin to the party, or when Red XIII, a quadrupedal lion-like beast, rides a Chocobo in the same way as the human party members do. These cartoonishly absurd moments never feel out of place though, and instead add some much-needed lightheartedness that counterbalances Rebirth’s more grimdark elements.
Graphics
Like its predecessor, Rebirth straddles the line between being one of the best-looking Switch 2 games so far and simply not living up to its PS5 counterpart. Visual compromises were inevitable, with the Switch 2 version targeting 30fps. Resolution also takes a hit, maxing out at 1080p in docked mode and 400p in handheld mode, albeit with DLSS upscaling. Pop-ins are common, textures are occasionally muddy and fuzzy, with character hair in particular standing out in a poor manner. And yet. When Rebirth looks good, it looks really good. The game’s artistic direction carries the brunt of its visual presentation. Scenic overviews look outright gorgeous, and character models remain highly polished and detailed. The game’s animation quality is top-notch: pre-rendered cutscenes look fantastic, of course, but even combat animations and moving around in the world look fluid and organic rather than stiff. And let’s be honest here: even with the compromises made here, being able to play Rebirth on the go and still have it look this good is nothing short of a technical miracle.
Sound
To say that Rebirth’s soundscape is just “more of the same from Remake Intergrade” would be dismissive… if “the same” wasn’t so fantastic in the first place. Nuobo Umematsu’s soundtrack keeps hitting highs here, and the music from Rebirth perhaps even surpasses that of Remake Intergrade. The voice cast also continues with their excellent performances, adding emotional depth and likability to the characters they portray.
Gameplay
The core gameplay of Rebirth builds on everything introduced in Remake Intergrade, combining the fast-paced hybrid ARPG combat we’ve come to know and love with exploring a vast open world. We’ll refrain from repeating ourselves when it comes to the combat basics, as we’ve covered these previously, but one major new combat mechanic does warrant mentioning: Synergy Attacks. These allow active party members to team up for spectacular combo attacks. They require tactical setup but if you can pull them off, you’ll unlock powerful temporary bonuses, such as eliminating MP costs or accelerating ATB charges. Synergy Attacks add a new layer to Rebirth’s intricate combat system, but it’s not like the game was short on combat variety in the first place: Every party member features a distinct playstyle. For example, Tifa focuses on close combat and manual “chi” level management to raise stagger damage, Barret serves as a ranged combatant with a subtle rhythm element to charge his arm cannon, and Yuffie introduces high-mobility mechanics involving grappling hooks and oversized shurikens. Furthermore, as characters level up, they unlock custom nodes on a grid, earning new abilities and passive stat upgrades tailored to their archetype. Character building is centered around attaching Materia orbs to equipment slots, granting spells, stat bumps, or passive perks. The Magnify Materia converts single-target spells into Area-of-Effect attacks, for example. Materia is entirely interchangeable between characters.
In contrast to Remake Intergrade’s linear corridors, Rebirth features a variety of open biomes, including grasslands and coastal regions that you explore atop Chocobos to uncover all sorts of secrets and side objectives. Interacting with so-called Remnawave towers populates your map with activities managed by an android named Chadley. You’ll be tasked with hunting monsters, restoring Chocobo Stops and finding Lifesprings, which yield crafting resources and regional lore. Rebirth’s exploration content is dense, at times almost overwhelmingly so, and we estimate that seeing and doing everything the game has to offer in this regard adds up to well over 100 hours of gameplay. That’s without even getting into the unprecedented number of mini-games, which range from a full-fledged Chocobo racing mode to the incredibly addictive Queen’s Blood, a grid-based card game.
You’re getting a ton of content here, but any side content is entirely optional, which does feel liberating. If you get frustrated with one of the side quests or mini-games, you can simply drop it and return to it later, or even skip it altogether. That sense of liberation continues into Rebirth’s accessibility options, which allow you to tailor the game’s difficulty level to your personal preference. If the game’s high-dexterity combat seems too daunting, you can instead opt for a more traditional turn-based system, for example, and difficulty settings allow players of all skill levels to get stuck in. It goes without saying that the €49.99 RRP reflects excellent value here, albeit with the caveat that Rebirth is still part of a trilogy rather than a standalone title. Not only will you need to fork out at least thrice the price for the full experience, but FFVII’s finale is at least a full year away. It’s a good thing then that there is plenty here to keep you occupied ahead of that closing chapter.
Conclusion
The Switch 2 version isn’t the definitive version of FFVII Rebirth, owing to those technical compromises, but it’s still a solid port of an outstanding game. If you value being able to play the game on the go, then it’s well worth considering this one over the superior technical performance and visual fidelity of the PS5 version. Regardless of the platform that you’re picking this one up on, you’re in for a good time, as FFVII as a whole is nothing short of phenomenal. If Remake Intergrade was just the appetizer, then Rebirth is the main course. We can’t wait for dessert.
No Comments