I tried to go back to JRPGs with FFVII Rebirth, and it was a big mistake

They say you can’t go home again, and now I remember how true that is. I recently spent over $500 on a PlayStation 5, largely motivated by the opportunity to play and review. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, a title that activated youthful memories (released February 29). It was a big mistake. Maybe you can learn something from it.

None of this is particularly the fault of Renaissance. Even though I could only bring myself to dedicate about 12 hours to it in the span of 11 days of early access, I realized that those who truly cherish the original game and still enjoy Japanese role-playing games (“JRPG”) in general, you’ll find a lot to like here. It’s a beautiful game that runs smoothly in its quality-focused environment. The soundtrack is largely charming, and I found myself humming the World Map tunes while walking my dog ​​or making coffee. Many things from the original that would be difficult to navigate now, like random encounters and monotonous turn-based combat, have been transmuted here into more tolerable forms. The number of things you can do in this game, just by looking at screenshots of what awaits you, feels like a true embarrassment of riches.

I’m sure if I had stronger memories of the original game, if I had kept up a JRPG habit over the last 25 years or so, or if I had maybe started with the previous game. Redo chapter, I might have found more to remember in Renaissance. Most people aren’t going to bet $70, let alone $500, on the chance of being magically transported to 16, with the requisite free time and the adolescent brain chemistry that helps one identify with a motley group of friends struggling in a cartoonish way. oppressive villains.

But I did it. I hired the creative director Tetsuya Nomura’s suggestion that “new players might even like to start their Final Fantasy VII travel »with Renaissance, and I must politely disagree. Maybe you can learn from my mistake. Or at least laugh about it.

Before we continue, let me clarify a few things:

• I have no idea what happens to Aerith (Aeris, to some), as this is apparently the very end of this game, which I haven’t reached. THE “Renaissance“title, and RedoThe literal battle against the concept of destiny suggests that it could be changed. Spoil it elsewhere at your discretion.
• A bit like playing Redo Before Renaissance is strongly recommended, I suggest you consult our Redo review for a much more in-depth look at this series as a whole. I won’t go as deeply into all the choices and details here.
• This is not a typical “review” intended to examine how a broad audience might receive a game based on its merits and choices. It’s the story of an idiot who tries, and fails, to regain some gaming habit and perhaps a sense of wonder.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth “Final Trailer.”

Do you see this dolphin? You can ride it.

Renaissance is Square’s second epic remake of Final Fantasy VII (FFVII). Redo covered the Midgar tutorial section of the 1997 game, which originally took around 4-6 hours for most players. Renaissance begins where the original game opened after Midgar, sending your party into a world they could explore at their discretion, prioritizing the quests they wanted. You and your group, a group of eco-terrorists nicknamed Avalanche, try to stop the megacorps Shinra from draining the world of its essence for power, and the villainous Sephiroth from looking incredibly cool as he becomes a divine figure through some sort of alien meteor…life flow from the planet…deal.

After a roughly two-hour opening sequence that is part tutorial and part flashback to the Nibelheim Incident, your group is released. It’s a massive world to explore, with so much to do that it borders on parody (like many other aspects of this game). You start in a bucolic town with the singular name of Kalm, then wander through vast fields of green grass and craggy rocks.

Once you’ve collected some Chocobos and set up a few fast travel points, you’re free to become any type of FFVII player you want to be. You can check off every data point, rest stop, “Fiend” battle, shrine, Moogle house, “Chocobo Intelligence” point, and fetch/kill quest offered by NPCs. You can move around aimlessly, picking up crafting materials and leveling up during fights, or run to avoid them altogether. You can fine-tune every aspect of your character build or have the game automatically assign certain ones. And, in a modern grace that this author found very convenient, you can change the difficulty at any time, which greatly reduces the skill wall presented by some demons and bosses.

This is just the section I explored. Beyond the open fields, there’s the Gold Saucer, an epic playground where you can ride roller coasters that shoot on rails, race Chocobos, race water-like mammals dolphins, pilot a spaceship into combat, explore a haunted house, aim… Take on platforming challenges, engage combat robots that pay homage to the original FFVIIthe low-poly look of , and much more. This is expected Renaissance will cover the events of the original game up to the Forgotten Capital area, although the exact order may change.