FF7 Rebirth Is Like A Dream

[@Deport_All_nonWhites]

No.

[@erinfee5104]

Rebirth is the rare modern AAA game that feels like a true labor of love. An unfortunate side effect of Rebirth's buckwild polarizing ending is that discussions of the game as a whole get buried. So this video is right up my alley! Also I can definitely relate to struggling through the arguably absurd platinum challenges just to squeeze every drop of content possible out of the game haha, worth it though. As for my favorite party composition, I have to go with the ever-reliable Cloud/Tifa/Aerith trifecta. I'm going to miss using that team in part 3...

[@fysl305]

This might be my favorite game ever, best two months i've had playing a game nonstop.

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

@@fysl305 for real, I did back to back streaming playthrough of this game on Twitch, and I only did that for one other game and that was Jedi Survivor, which was my favorite game of the last 15 years. This game is right up there with Jedi Survivor and The Jak and Daxter Trilogy (my favorite games of all time) it was so much fun

[@Deport_All_nonWhites]

queer and race mixturing, truly evil

[@MochaMicah]

I cannot emphasize how much I love this game and how much I looking forward to part 3. 💙

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

Nah, I believe in you, you can emphasize it! Tell me what you would do for Part 3 to come out sooner and be just as good if not better than Rebirth!

[@maccamachine]

Same I’m so ready for part 3 it would be nice if they released it faster than the wait between parts 1 & 2

[@maccamachine]

Great video man it’s really well made and you aren’t even a big channel. This video is better quality than some big channel’s videos. I really enjoyed rebirth for the most part it was a great time but it of course has its problems that and some issues that I do hate like the amount of mini games. I’ve loved both parts of the remake so far though I’m so ready for the third part for these two parts I’ve stayed up waiting for it to release and then played them all night long. I even took off work for a day when rebirth came out so I could really stay up late and then play all day.

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

Aw, thanks man I appreciate that! Damn, you got some dedication, ha ha. I haven't done the staying up late for the game to drop since before I started streaming! I did know that I was going to be "sick" the day Jedi Survivor came out, tho, and I probably will be "sick" again the day Part 3 drops. I can't wait for more, and for more mini games >:). My guess is that they're trying to release Part 3 in 2027 for the 30th anniversary, and while is definitely possible to make a game like this in 3 years (they definitely have a lot of assets already pre made which should cut down on time) the Narrative Designer in me really hopes they don't crunch to get it out.

[@zaierethekitsune]

This game is still one of my favorites, it took a good while to figure out the synergy system, but once grasped it was really fun to unleash a bunch of atb commands capped off with a synergy combo. Ended up using barret and red through 90% of the game when able to, love how fast they made red

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

Yeah, I was kinda surprised at how fast he was, but I wasn't complaining. The Boyz is a good party to have!

[@52icon]

Wow. Really made me love rebirth. Thanks man

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

Thank you for watching the vid! I'm glad you liked it and the game!

[@samthecaribbean6466]

Yeah! Chadley did nothing wrong, He was giving me stuff to do and it was worth it. I was mostly running with my favorite local florist as magical artillery and a lab-rat-dog for tanking. But as you said, every team composition is viable. Man this game was so much fun, I quess I'll come back to it after I'm done with space marine. Third part can't come soon enough. And I really enjoyed the video, great job.

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

Chadley led me to loot, Chadley is the best. Magic artillery is definitely apt for that florist. I shall miss raining down comets with her in Part 3 :'(. Here's the weird thing, I'm strangely comfortable with never coming back to the game to play it after I finished my second playthrough on Hard Mode and got the platinum. I was that satisfied by the game. I was the same way with Remake before Rebirth came out, but when Part 3 lands, I can see myself doing another playthrough of both Remake and Rebirth to get ready. I need Part 3 just injected right into my bloodstream. I'm so glad you enjoyed the video! This one gave me some headaches with uploading for sure. I meant to upload this on the weekend before I went to help my sister move into college, and I did, only to wake up the morning we left to find out only half of the damn vid exported and I was too far away from my computer to do anything so I privated it, and then spent a near sleepless night when I returned trying to figure out what was wrong with the damn file! I'm so relieved this is out and done, lol.

[@samthecaribbean6466]

@@ZerotoHeroProductions yeah, I'm gonna disagree about Aerith. Remake sold me the idea that this time is going to be diffrent. So if you ask me, my radical take is let the world burn but bring her back. And I'm glad you managed to fix issues with the file. Rebirth is so good, there is not enough people talking about it.

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

@@samthecaribbean6466 I actually had the opposite reaction when I first played Remake and I think it might be due to Remake being my introduction to FF7 proper. Obviously before I played FF7 I knew about the big three moments of the game; Aerith Kebab, Cloud Tweaking, and then Airship Sex, and that was about it. Remake had me kinda convinced that we were gonna change fate until Sephiroth killed Barret and then the whispers brought him back and I knew then and there that no matter what things wouldn’t change. It kinda clicked in my brain further because when I played the OG after and saw just how much Remake expanded on in Midgar alone that the Whispers didn’t interfere with, like basically everything in the tutorial is different, that I knew we weren’t changing things. Physically, I think Aerith is gonna remain dead, but she is probably going through the same shit and in the same place as Zack now.

[@vicdaman]

Oh man I really love this review! You got an instant sub from me! I really like your flow. I feel like most people don’t talk about the gameplay as in depth as you did and I love that because Remake/Rebirth’s combat is so unique and I really would like FF to go forward as a whole with it. It just feels like the perfect balance of turn based bit with action rpg elements. Anyway to answer your question question: Favorite character to play: Tifa (a fellow man of culture) favorite Party: Cloud, Tifa, Yuffie I’ll admit I do get a big kick out of playing around with Cait Sith for some wacky shenanigans.

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

@@vicdaman aw, thanks! I’m glad to have you as part of the Fancy Banana Enjoyers! I hope you enjoy the rest of my content, for as little of it as there is. I am looking to make a vid on Black Myth Wukong as soon as I finish it, and then I have a few plans for a video on Roguelike Narratives (games like Hades and GoW Ragnarok Valhalla DLC), more platformers and their narratives, and some other additions to my gushing series like gushing over Second and Third Acts, so I hope you can bear with me for my long upload downtimes. In the meantime, there are more Fancy Bananas in my discord, where I’m fairly active, so you are more than welcome! While I am a Narrative Designer at heart and for my job, narrative doesn’t end at just the dialogue, cutscenes, lore items, etc. it keeps going with the characters movesets and the gameplay. Rebirth is honestly one of the most perfect combat systems I’ve ever played. Not because it’s perfectly balanced or anything (Yuffie seriously breaks the game holy shit) but because it’s perfect for what the game is trying to do, and that’s a factor that I rarely see be considered by many KZbinrs. I don’t need the combat system to be objectively the most perfect combat system ever made, I just need it to be perfect for the experience the devs want me to have. And yeah, I think you are absolutely right that this combat system perfectly adapts the OG system to a real time action setting. Based choices for your party. Can never go wrong with your little sister and wife in the party! Tifa’s mechanics are just so damn satisfying, bruh. It’s also kinda fun that the most satisfying to play isn’t any of the characters with the super wild magic powers or super soldier enhancements, but the lass with two fists and a dream Cait is surprisingly fun when your roll the dice and do the lottery slots ability because you can get some crazy buffs from em

[@Tinbeef22]

Man what a great game. I had to put every other game down until I finish this.

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

I didn't play anything else for a whole ass month, man.

[@BrandonMalone-x1b]

Ass months are the worst

[@ionel2921]

True. I just started Remake again to play it in a row with Rebirth Cloud, Barret, Aerith, which was also my OG party. Probably Cloud, Barret, Tifa in part 3

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

I just finished my Remake Playthrough, life got in the way, and now I'm jumping right into Rebirth again, ha ha! Good party choices, and tbh idk who I will play in Part 3. I'm expecting to go a decent chunk of time without Cloud in Part 3, so I'm expecting to enjoy playing Cid in Part 3. Tifa will 100% be in my party when I can have her tho

[@Rheoko]

I really enjoyed this game and I really ended watching this review. I’ve subscribed can’t wait to see more!

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

@@Rheoko hey, I’m glad you liked the video and I’m so happy you subscribed! I hope my future content is to your liking! This game was just too much fun to pass up on a video

[@CJKS-wo8dm]

My favourite character to play was Cloud. While I usually kept my party constantly shifting to give everyone some love, Cloud, Barret, and Tifa has a special place in my heart as the OG Trio. I was resigned to getting Red's or Aerith's Date since I had gotten them to Level 5 Affinity well before anyone else, so imagine my surprise and delight when I got the Tifa Date instead. Wonderful.

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

@@CJKS-wo8dm Cloud is soooooooo much fun to play since he got those mobility upgrades, god dayum! I respect the shuffle for the party. I did the same on my first playthrough, it was 90% Cloud, Barret, and Tifa until I got crazy with the builds for Aerith. Funny you mention the dates, I too aimed for getting Aerith (I let chat decide) and so I tried to be Prince Charming for Aerith, only to be too smooth a criminal for Tifa and got her both times on accident, lmao. Twas just meant to be I guess

[@fearlesscheshirecat1411]

Cloud, Barret, and Aerith are the original OG trio…. Actually Cloud, Aerith, and Sephiroth. But Cloud, Aerith, and Barret were the initial trio created from the OG.

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

i believe they are referring to the first Trio you play as in both OG and Remake, which would be Cloud, Tifa, and Barret.

[@Valborn_]

Thank you for this awesome review, you spoke exactly how I felt about the game! My favourite character to play is definitely Cloud, especially now that they improved his aerial combat. Favourite team would be Cloud, Yuffie and Aerith! But I love the whole casts so much, they are the best in any video games I've played so far.

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

Thank you for the kind words! I'm glad you enjoyed the video and I was able to articulate things right! Cloud is so smooth in Rebirth is insane (and Zack and Tifa are somehow smoother which perplexes my poor potassium brain), and yeahm the cast is soooooooooo much fun. I love these goofballs so much!

[@LTOver99k]

This is in my top 3 games of all time and somehow I expect the next one to be even better lol

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

Dude, i dont even know how they're gonna make it better, lol. This is why I'm just a Narrative Designer and Writer, not a combat designer, ha ha

[@christiangonzalez8983]

Yuffie is my goat, with cloud and tifa of course lol

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

@@christiangonzalez8983 the little sister is the GOAT indeed. Based party choice to have her tag along with the husband and wife

[@Nekomania]

My biggest takeaway from the video is that spiderman has shipping wars 😂😂😂 But good video for sure. If i had any real issue is that some of the meme parts were really loud at least with headphones. I didn't put as much time as you did into rebirth but i can easily see and agree with how amazing of a game this is (this is probably why i didn't care that there were no materia loadouts though even though i def thought there shoulda been)

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

Oh dude, you have no idea. It's so exhausting. I was happier with both Spider-Man and FF7 when I didn't step into the fanbase warzone, lol. Thanks for letting me know about the audio, I'll be sure to improve on my balancing next time around Yeah, the materia loadouts as an issue is 100% more of annoyance for the psychopaths like me that spent hours testing builds for the challenges instead of just looking up a build online. I have only myself to blame there, lol.

[@Operation_Bagel]

11:11 Favorite character to play: Tifa Favorite team: Cloud, Barret, Tifa

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

@@Operation_Bagel a true man of culture I see. Cloud Barret and Tifa was my second favorite and was my main party for most of my first playthrough. Once I hit Hard Mode it turned to the Polyamory Party

[@strychen]

@@Operation_Bagel Cloud, Barrett, and Yuffie is my dream team!

[@Valentien23]

Im so deep in that black hole of theories you mentioned; ive become one with it ..

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

@@Valentien23 oh no… I’ll pour one out for you homie. Tbh, while I love the theories, I do think some of the OG fans go a little too deep down the rabbit hole with them. As someone who played Remake before he played the OG (I really hate turn based combat so that’s what kept me away from the OG for so long, but it turns out FF7 is actually GOATed all around because I actually liked the turn based combat) I wasn’t confused at all by anything in Remake, and it was kinda fun to see all the OG fans go crazy with theories while I’m over here like “yall, this brickwall texture is just a brickwall texture” That or I’ve spent too much time seeing the shippers go crazy on Twitter trying to prove that their ship is the one true ship and… good god it’s exhausting

[@Valentien23]

@@ZerotoHeroProductions as long as you understand the plot; you’ll understand which theories have weight and which could be tossed aside; same with the shipping; if u understand the story; youll realize the shipping is a very low level way of looking at the relationships that bond each character. Its more symbiotic than monogamous. Due to the nature of the lifestream

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

⁠@@Valentien23oh absolutely. I don’t engage with the ship wars because I prefer to let the story guide me to my conclusions about the romance subplots. And I saw Tifa and Cloud kiss, so I ain’t really one to argue about that. It’s why most of what Max Dood and Prof Noctis have theorized is some of my favorite stuff because I feel like it’s true to the game.

[@strychen]

Easily the greatest game ever made.... i started a back to back playthrough of Remake and Rebirth last week... fresh playthroughs and no hard modes, just to see the storyline straight through and up to this point. Started Rebirth yesterday.... the game still hits like the first time a few months ago. It's sild to see how much of Remake's portion of the story Id forgotten by the time I played Rebirth for the first time. Cannot praise these games enough. Im so ready for part 3!

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

Playing through Remake honestly wasn't as rough as I thought it would be. The biggest thing to get used to was just how close to the characters you were because of the camera placement. After that, it is a little bit of an adjustment to realize you aren't as mobile overall, but engaging with the combat systems will help mitigate that. I totally get it too! I also forgot a decent chunk, and I'm glad the recap was there for me to get me up to speed on the major plot points! I am beyond excited for Part 3 too! Especially with the Highwind coming up, and what happens below the Highwind ;)

[@MoonWolf1016]

Awesome video 👏👏👏 Some of us bin waiting for this really long 😔

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

And we only gotta wait just a few more years for the finale... I'm glad you enjoyed the video too, btw!

[@ThienTruong-iy5ix]

really want to play this game but I know I won't be productive for months if I start, so I satiate my needs via videos about the games lol.

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

This is why I haven't touched Dead Cells yet. I know exactly what will happen to me if I do.

[@KINDABERRY]

Favorite Character will always be Cloud But my favorite team is Cloud Barret and Yuffie

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

Ooooooohhhhh, unorthodox goin for Dad and the siblings!

[@Operation_Bagel]

Finished, so you already know I got the Tifa date as you saw my live reaction to it lol. After thinking, a part I didn't really like is something that's a personal preference. It's the big scene with the Aerith-kebab. I understand why it was presented the way that it was, and I'm sure part 3 will bring it together it a way that will ruin us, but I found that having it be an initially head scratching moment rather than letting us taking in the impact of her loss a bit disappointing. We might cut back to actually see Cloud's speech and the water burial in part 3, though I would've liked to have it in that moment. Again, I know it wouldn't have worked for this version of the events and I will let Square cook with what they do with it in part 3, just as it stands now, I don't like it as much as the og's version

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

I understand the personal ick about it. I felt a little of the same when I first was going through it, but when I saw the final cutscenes and saw that Cloud was just straight up refusing to acknowledge that she died, it all clicked for me with what they were doing, and I was happy. My personal preference, and this was an ick i had when I first played through the OG was that Cloud, the guy shown to not really deal with traumatic events very well to the point of blocking out that his best friend died protecting him, accepted Aerith's death way too quickly. It still worked in the OG for what they wanted, it just always bothered me, so now having the ReTrilogy do exactly what I wanted from the OG makes me sooooooo happy. I think you are definitely right that we will see Cloud's speech and the Water burial in Part 3, and I am so ready to cry. Hurt me, Square, hurt me good.

[@Operation_Bagel]

@@ZerotoHeroProductions Good points on how it makes sense for Cloud’s mental state, both versions do indeed work for the version of the story they’re telling

[@CautiousAmber]

The polyamory party is the best solution to all the shipping issues actually 👍 (ALSO INCREDIBLE VIDEO. FFVII has been my favorite game for years, but Rebirth consumed me in a way even Remake didnt and ive been searching for ways to explain why it hit so much deeper this time around. You delved into so many of the reasons.)

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

Two legends can coexist, but tbh I think my Wife likes her girlfriend more than me. I'm glad you liked the video! Rebirth also consumed me in a way Remake didn't (i did NOT bother with Hard Mode Remake at all, I said no thank you) so I'm glad I was able to help you explain it!

[@PlatinumSascha]

i need to get on it again. got about 110 hours for my first playthrough and im missing still a lot of hard mode chapters and trophies. i love that game so much

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

only 100 hours away from the platinum man, you can do this! I believe in you!

[@Uhoh_itsAshley]

I felt exactly the same way, I felt like I was in the best dream. I’m so sad it’s over it’s gonna be a long 2.5 years. I’m having withdrawals 😭

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

@@Uhoh_itsAshley I feel your pain, which is exactly why I jumped into Hard Mode so fast after beating the base game. I’m so glad I did because it cured my withdrawals and now I can happily await part 3 without the shakes, lol

[@devon9374]

Cloud.... I'm WAITING

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

wait just a lil longer Cloud, Aerith and Sephiroth need time in the lifestream to cook up some Mako

[@devon9374]

@@ZerotoHeroProductions 😆 🤣

[@trevonbourne1706]

favorite to play was yuffie and my team comp was either cloud yuffie and aerith or cloud yuffie and barret

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

ooohhhh, unorthodox team comp, ya love to see it! Yuffie was kinda crazy and broke the game a bit, lol

[@hayabusa09]

443 Hrs and can't wait to start a fresh run on PS5 Pro 👌

[@jayemerengueli]

Does the video start glitching out at 1:23:46 for anyone else, or is it just me? Other than that, I was enjoying the video. I loved the way everything flowed.

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

@@jayemerengueli yeah, I was told about that shortly after uploading, but tbh this vid gave me so many headaches uploading that I’m just gonna let it lie. Like, dude, the first time I tried to upload before I left for the weekend it only uploaded half the vid for some reason. I was pulling hairs out, lol. I’m glad you liked it! This vid was a long time coming for me, and I had to cut so much cuz there was just too many things about the game for me to gush about! This one was so hard to script, but I’m glad I did!

[@jayemerengueli]

@@ZerotoHeroProductions You could have broken the video into a series if you had that much to say. I, for one, am one of the unlucky ones who hasn't gotten a chance to play Remake nor Rebirth due to financial difficulties. But I have watched many videos. I do have Ever Crisis to hold me over though.

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

@@jayemerengueli it was more that the so much I had to say was literally just me rambling for hours and I didn’t want that to disrupt the flow of the video, and same with cutting it up into chunks. One of my peeves about long KZbin content is videos that are hours long that could in actuality be cut down by just making things more concise, so I try to do that with my videos. It’s why my video runtimes on my channel vary so much. Sometimes I need more time to be concise and convey my thoughts about a topic, other times I don’t. If you wanna see what I’m like (mostly) uncut and raw, go check out my From Soft tier list video. I ramble a LOT. Damn, that sucks you can’t play the games yet, but I’m glad Ever Crisis is doing a good job at scratching that itch! I’ve seen some clips of the story going on in Ever Crisis and it looks genuinely interesting!

[@aureateseigneur5317]

I had 0 probalem with Chadley in Remake, it even like the Robo Kid, hes just giving him my phone number in Rebirth was a miatake, dude calls more then a clingy girl friend. It gets old. Otherwise hes fine.

[@ShineV-fg667]

Hey, never played the original so please no spoilers. But what is meant at 1:15:49, about “Tifa fulfilling her promise to Cloud”? I know Cloud promised to be there for Tifa if she’s in trouble, but what&: Tifa’s promise to Cloud?

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

Ah, so that is a new addition to the story from Chapter 9 of Rebirth. Tifa makes a promise to Cloud that is essentially the same as the one that he made to her on the Water Tower back in Nibelheim

[@ShineV-fg667]

@@ZerotoHeroProductions, thanks for responding! Guess I’ll go replay Chapter 9!

[@nickmurkel2469]

The reason why the shipping wars are heating up is because the original made things ambiguous, allowing both sides to plausibly believe their ship was Canon. But in rebirth they have officially chosen, I think this is for the better because while it may have heated things up in the short run, it will in fact heal things in the long run. There's nothing wrong with having an opinion on such things, but for me if the choice they made was that big of a deal I simply would have not engaged with the remake trilogy.

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

@@nickmurkel2469 probably right, tho I think I’d disagree that the original made things ambiguous. Only one of the two ladies vying for Cloud’s affection was the reason he joined SOLDIER, and made it to the end. I’ve always thought it was clear as day that Tifa was the one, and that’s not any shipping inclination. Just a conclusion I came to from playing the game. That is a based outlook tho. I wish more people had the mentality to just not engage with things they aren’t getting any enjoyment out of instead of throwing a tantrum

[@Pikachu-qr4yb]

How do your chars look so dark sometimes? Like the black Red XIII

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

Ah, I believe that is a reward for doing well in the Loveless play. I actually have no idea how I unlocked it specifically, I just know that I did.

[@Pikachu-qr4yb]

@@ZerotoHeroProductions I found it when I was trying to clear the enhanced gold saucer crafted Accessoires. It’s in the store for GP, along with a jester costume for cait lol. I don’t even remember that being in the play

[@momenteimlicht]

I still sitting here and waiting with my 4090 ... Sad to see all this exclusive bulshit ! I hope ist comming to pc soon .. starting to lose all the hype

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

stay strong brother, the game will be there soon. You will have your moment, just think of the mods to hold you over

[@ookamigenji-pv2st]

Not sure if you do this in an attempt to not spoil things but neither Remake or Rebirth are "remakes" of FF7. It's very explicit that this is a sequel and the changes to the story only work with the context that the original story was different and presumably happened before.

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

@@ookamigenji-pv2st genuinely, I’m not really sure where the idea that this is a sequel comes from when the game itself has never really given that explicit implication and in every interview with the creators they’ve said it’s not a sequel but an expansion of the original. And I don’t really understand what you mean by saying I’m attempting not to spoil anything.

[@ookamigenji-pv2st]

@@ZerotoHeroProductions I could list a lot of things but I'm not sure it's worth it. Aerith and Sephorith in Remake know things that they literally couldn't have known in the original game. A huge one is that Sephiroth doesn't know Cloud personally at the start of the story. The Whispers are *literally* the manifestations of fate. They only appear because someone is trying to *change* things. This implies that there is a correct sequence of events. FF7 does not have any Whispers but Remake makes them a central part of the story and introduces them specifically when they make big diversions from the OG plot. The very last sequence of the game is the team stepping into a completely new future after defying Sephiroth's attempt to manipulate fate. That alone confirms this is a new story, not an extension to FF7. A huge portion of Rebirth is explicitrly dofferent from OG, not just from structure/event order but the events themselves, even ignoring the new zones. There's no rational explanation except that this is a story about fighting fate and said fate is FF7. The Remake/Rebirth story only works as a continuation of the OG game because it needs that context to work. It's also the only way to explain how now characters have knowledge they literally couldn't have at that point or all the weirdness that happens. Ex: you should rewatch all the cutscenes involving Materia towards the last portion of the game! As for not spoiling, that's in the context of me not knowing whether you knew all of this or not. Obviously if you don't even know it's a sequel you couldn't spoil it.

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

@@ookamigenji-pv2st different things happening in the story doesn’t make it a sequel. If it was supposed to be a sequel, it wouldn’t be titled Remake, now would it. It is a Remake of the original story. That means there’s going to be new things added to it. If it was a sequel, they would’ve been as upfront about that fact as they have been with the fact that it’s the same story as the OG, just with new elements added and older elements expanded on

[@ookamigenji-pv2st]

@@ZerotoHeroProductions look, i'm not going to argue much with you. it's very explicit in the game that people are aware of what is happening/going to happen. the whispers' entire schtick is things are *not as they should be*. neither of these things make sense in a remake, unless you think it's just a wink at the audience (it isn't). It's not a traditional sequel in the sense that it doesn't pickup where the previous game left off but it is without a doubt *not* running in parallel or as a replacement to the OG game. It is clearly a story that only works if you (and some characters) have lived it before. You are too focused on the game being called "Remake". That word can be used i other contexts as well. How do you explain the *extreme* plot deviations?

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

@@ookamigenji-pv2st barring the fact that the whispers are explained as the Planet’s own defenses against Jenova and Sephiroth’s attack on it in a way that’s similar to the weapons, the same way I explained it in the video. The overall design of the game fundamentally changed from an isometric open world turn based RPG to an open world action RPG. This fundamentally changes everything else, including the open world and narrative design both of which had to be more focused than in the OG. They couldn’t exactly get away with massive PNGs of grass anymore since tech has evolved since 1997. Did you watch my video? I explained this all

[@saschaberger3212]

Did Tifa always wear that black shirt under her white shirt or am I losing my memories? Is this some Mandela nonsense or was it changed?

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

@@saschaberger3212 that’s been part of her design since Remake. Which honestly I think is an improvement. I love her OG design, it just didn’t look all that practical for a brawler outside the gloves and boots. The new design keeps the vibe of the OG, and just looks more practical with a Sports bra, pleated skirt, and leggings underneath. I also prefer her new bracer and gloves

[@saschaberger3212]

@@ZerotoHeroProductions agree, it's fitting. I just wasn't sure anymore. Even searching for pictures on Google almost only showed the redesign.

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

@@saschaberger3212 if you look up Dissidia, I believe she still has her classic design

[@danteunknown2108]

Dream? More like acid trip. It's for like five timelines all trying to have their cake and eat it too while buried in mini games to distract you from how messed up the whole "plot" is going.

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

Those aren't Timelines, its just the Lifestream. If you listen/read some of the NPC dialogue in Cosmo Canyon, it elaborates on this, along with the Aerith/Cloud date in the Lifestream in Ch13. The plot is pretty simple to follow if you just pay attention and block out all the theories that have been makin the rounds since Remake, lol

[@danteunknown2108]

@@ZerotoHeroProductions they literally have to give dog pictures to tell them apart, their timelines. Deal with it.

[@mikerude5073]

Overall, I liked the game. I do have my criticisms, but that's NOT saying I didn't enjoy it overall. My critiques are based more on why friends of mine are unwilling to try it out. I can criticize their logic of refusing to buy based on these issues, but they are the customers and the game is struggling in sales. It's not possible argue someone into liking something that they don't, it will just make them hate it more. 1. The main reason, lots of people are still mad that it's episodic. Several refused to buy it due to the gear reset, as they felt all the effort they put into part one was wasted. I do hope that after the 3rd part, there is some synergy version released or a patch that can combine them into one congruent game and add later features to the earlier story chapters so that things like aerial combat are better in the 'Remake' chapters. More importantly, there would be no sudden gear, level, or materia reset. Players could start leveling and mastering their stuff without it being reset twice. 2. Frustrating 'optional' content. Remake had it and a lot of players said "heeelll noooo" when the heard how many minigames would be in Rebirth. I don't think it's the amount, but the difficulty bar results in players getting stuck on them for a bit too long, and that starts to make them resent the game overall. I platinumed BOTH Remake and Rebirth, but I can certainly see the criticism here. Lots of the minigames were much more frustrating than fun. I was doing them solely for the item or trophy, but really didn't enjoy it. They were a chore and felt like it. Games like this heavily encourage players to 'do everything', and engaging with optional content ought to make the players like the game more not less. I'd have had a better time had I skipped a lot of those games, but because I liked the game so much for the primary content, story, and battle system, I wanted to engage with it all, and it reduced my enjoyment. Despite "getting gud", it really didn't make me enjoy it. That also applies to the zero checkpoint VR missions. Yes, I beat them all, Rulers, Bonds, Hero, all of them. But, again, it started to feel like a chore, repeating fights that I already knew I could beat, and had beaten a half dozen times already, just for one more chance to practice where I actually needed it. In the end, over 6 hours were spent in abject frustration, and I remember that more than any endorphin hit I got from finally beating them. The total power of the bosses was totally fine; it's the zero-checkpoint format that burns a lot of players. I know gamers who got burned by Top Secrets in Rebirth, gave up, and still have bad enough sour grapes that they refuse to buy Rebirth, which totally did triple down on the issue. It'd be easy to snicker about them needing to "get gud", but that'd be being an elitist, and at the end of the day, what matters is that people buy the game and it financially succeeds, and any area that angers players so much that they swear off the series altogether is bad for business. So, here is the short version of suggestions for improvement: 1. When part 3 is done, figure out a way to combine them all into one big seamless experience. This might bring in a lot of players who sat on the sidelines. 2. Tone back the difficulty of the minigames by about 10-15%, just so players aren't stuck on them too long. Remember, it's not that primary thing players came for initially, which is that fantastic battle system, the feeling of exploration of the vast world and encountering interesting monsters, and the characters they love and their interactions. 3. Put checkpoints in those gauntlet rounds. I beat them because I have the time on my hands to do so, but I can see how some people cannot stomach repeating fights they have already beaten over and over. It starts to feel like being forced to watch a half-hour cut scene between attempts.

[@bruticaloz2627]

If you completed everything you should be happy you are among the best. Those who got sour grapes can piss right off. Why does it matter to you how much the game sells? Money isn't everything.

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

I'm glad you liked the game too, what was your favorite party to roll with? Tbh, if a person doesn't want to buy it, they don't want to buy it. There's not much that any of us can do on that front, and I'm not really going to say its the game's fault because what is and isn't fun to any gamer is incredibly subjective, and it's valid to have a preference in game design. As far as I'm aware, we don't actually have the sales numbers for the game, all we have is that the game didn't perform as well as Square wanted it to. All that means is that the suits up top had a certain amount of money they wanted it to make, and are annoyed that it didn't. And I'm not really going to use sales to say anything about a game's quality. Hogwarts Legacy was the biggest game of that last 10 years, and I stopped playing it about 5 seconds after the game's story took me out of the castle and into the open world. For Number 1 that is again something I can see people being mad about, and I would agree with them if this was a singular game like the OG, but it's not. It's starting a completely new experience so reseting everything for the sake of game balance and for the new systems you want to implement is the smarter choice, imo. Especially since carrying things over from game to game would screw with the new permanent additions like Removing the Deadly Dodge and Parry Materias. If you keep those from Remake, you are holding your system back. I do agree with you that I hope they release a collection of all three games where they add in the combat features like Aerial combat to Remake, but I'm also not going to campaign for it because I really like playing a game series and seeing the progression of mechanics from entry to entry. A collection would definitely help to bring in the people who are waiting, even if I do think the percentage of people waiting is smaller than those who are in to play every entry as it drops. I have no problem with it being episodic because I'm getting so much story content that is really engaging and helps me love these characters even more than I already did. I absolutely disagree on any VR Missions or Combat Challenges that are advertised as being Brutal or Legendary having checkpoints in them tho. They are meant to be the hardest content in the game and to test your knowledge and mastery of the combat systems. It would feel cheap if I could just get a checkpoint, especially because those challenges grant you access to the best shit in the game. And they also went above and beyond to add different moves and bosses to those challenges as well. Gilgamesh and Virtual Sephiroth have almost completely different and expanded movesets from their base game counterparts. And as you said, it is optional content. You are not required to engage with it. As far as the mini games go, that is also another subjective thing that is valid to levy your criticisms at. If you didn't find them fun and found them more frustrating, that sucks because I had a great time with all of them. Even the Piano. And also, as you said, they arent the primary thing people came for, nor are they even the primary thing you do in the game. They don't need to be easy.

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

I agree that money isn't everything, however just because someone completed something doesn't mean that they should feel happy about that. Sour grapes are valid to have as long as they're offering a constructive way to talk about them and aren't just letting them fester and rot.

[@sammitch524]

Minor critique of this video, and this is kind of typical of a lot of video essays on games. I'm at 7:20 and you've just spend the last couple minutes describing the combat, even though you've already encouraged people who have not played the game to go and do so before continuing the video to avoid spoilers. So who are you explaining this for? Those us who have played the game already know all this.

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

@@sammitch524 I’m trying to cover my bases a bit on it as I know some people still prefer to watch a video that explains everything before they choose to buy it and play it themselves, and I like to explain it because sometimes people who did play the game miss a few things about the combat system, so I am trying to be informational for both. Like with Barret’s Iron Defense ability, I didn’t know how broken it was until I played hard mode, so that was for other people like me. I see your point tho, and thank you for the advice!

[@edy3950]

Like a WHAT?

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

A Dream >:)

[@JDoggPokepixels]

I feel like while the gameplay was perfect it isn’t as good as remake even if just slightly bc the story just wasn’t as hype probably bc its the middle child of the trilogy and it is also proof not every game needs to be open world just cause zelda did it doesn’t mean ff can

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

That's an interesting take. What about Remake's gameplay puts it above Rebirth's for you? Do you just prefer more linear stuff to Open World? And to be fair, FF7 was always Open World (I can't speak to the rest of the FF series as I have only played FF7), even back in the OG days. Open World's were just a lot different back then due to the tech of the time.

[@JDoggPokepixels]

@@ZerotoHeroProductions Rebirth had one of the greatest combat systems ever its the best elements of dmc and old final fantasy the issue for me was the open world didn’t feel interactive or necessary and everything in it felt like filler for side quests and world intel rather than meaningful to the story or to your progression with equipment and levels I use zelda as an example bc I feel like breath of the wild along with elden ring, and red dead 2 were the best at having an open world that was integral to the gameplay

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

I will hard disagree on them not feeling meaningful to your progression with equipment and levels given that the World Intel directly influences your folios and materia setups, along with a lot of the side content giving you some of the best rewards of the game. World Intel increases the party rank, which allows you to unlock more skills within the Folios, and they are naturally placed on your path from area to area for the chapters as well. The side quests, I understand your mileage can vary for those, and they aren't meant to be as important as the main story, but they still do add a lot of meaningful stuff to the story. They really flesh out the personalities and dynamics of the party, and shows us what type of relationship Cloud has with all of them, and that's really fun. I get the examples of Zelda and ER, but Red Dead i can't comment on as those games are not my cup of tea, so i have no frame of reference. I love BOTW and ER.

[@JDoggPokepixels]

@@ZerotoHeroProductions thats fair, I kinda quit messing with the folios after a while since I thought all the skills you got from them were outshined by weapon skills but I did really like the synergy skills in the beginning and in the video it sounded like you were really getting into the builds which I never did since I felt no matter what build you had it wouldn’t change the play style, there is nothing wrong with that since ff has never had that and should never have that but I just see build progression as that Overall I still think the game is 10 out of 10 but in my opinion part 1 was better that doesn’t stop this game from being my goty though

[@Deushesicle]

I mean that to me was part of the joy of the original was when u realize there was a world outside of midgar! And realize the map was huge .. i believe they realy had to do some pretty big open world stuff here to please many fans ... the scale they went well i thought it was perfect and exceeded expections!

[@zaidebtw4438]

I really wish this game was as good as remake man. Remake is my favourite game of all time now that I played it earlier this year and this game was just good. Nothing great. The story started in chapter 9 because that’s pretty much when things actually started happening. The junon parade is what people use to tell me that things actually happened but this just proves my point here. Because Barrett wants to “rough up” rufus and cloud obviously doesn’t cus that’s suicide so we do a mini game where we dance around and get a talk with him. He offers us a deal to leave us alone long as we kill sephiroth and Barrett says we wouldn’t have even taken the deal anyway because it’s shinra. So wtf was the point of that whole parade? Just an excuse to do a mini game? The ending was fine but the boss ruined it. Having to fight sephiroth every game where he’s not even a threat to me anymore because I’ve beat this guys ass like 10 times it just pointless. I strongly think they should’ve ended it on aeriths death and then just a cut to black or something because a boss fight with the same amount of phases as there are episodes in one piece IS NOT A GOOD IDEA. To sum up the story. We went to the beach danced in a parade went to a funfair and went to the Grand Cany- sorry the Cosmo Canyon and flirted with tifa and aeirth the whole game. 7/10 story 9.5/10 combat

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

I will disagree that the story started in Chapter 9 and your summary of the story (combat ranking on point tho). Chapter 9 is definitely the part where the story gains more forward momentum, but I wouldn't say thats where it started as there's still so much that happens in the first four chapters alone to kickstart things going forward. Tifa confronting Cloud in Ch1 specifically. We also spend a lot more time learning about various backstories. Barret's backstory is the entirety of the story after Junon and right before Gongaga, and we also get extra story bits about how Tifa survived Nibelheim that feeds into Cloud's mental state as she now has another person backing up her memories, but Cloud has no one. It all continuously builds on each other in really fun ways too. Chapter 9 is just where the overarching plot of Jenova and Sephiroth vs the Lifestream has more of a presence because we actually get to see into the Lifestream when Tifa goes on her Never Ending Story, since the majority of the story before this follows the OG's structure after leaving Nibelheim where we get all the condensed backstories of the rest of our party members. The point of the parade was to get as much information as they could out of Rufus, but unfortunately Yuffie screwed that deal up, plus it also shows more about Rufus as a character since we really didn't get to know that much about him in Remake give he's only there for a bossfight. As far as how Sephiroth as a threat goes, that's really up to the person's experience with his bossfights. I still feel him as a threat because he did kick my ass a bit and had me on the ropes. I never felt like we completely whooped him as much as we made it through by the skin of our teeth, and Cloud also has not beaten Sephiroth yet. Sephiroth/Jenova still has a hold over Cloud, and its honestly scarier now than it ever was before after that finale. The multiphase final boss was insane and honestly, im jut glad it had checkpoints because it I had to do all twelve phases again I think I might've swallowed the Buster Sword

[@zaidebtw4438]

@@ZerotoHeroProductions yeah your right about some moments regarding tifa and barret but those are literally the only people we didn’t need to know anything about. We know enough about tifa with her childhood and her moment in chapter 9 was probably the best part of the game. Barret tho wasn’t something we needed to know much about. I don’t see why we needed to know backstory about barret because everything in his flashback with dyne didn’t tell us anything different about him. He was still pretty much the same. Always looking for the best outcome not just for himself but for his people too. He is the literally voice of his town in the meeting during his flashback scene. Yes in the gold saucer there’s a dyne boss fight that is cool and all but barret spends like 10 seconds mourning his death? This pissed me off the most because if your gonna spend 10 seconds mourning your buddy’s death then have the balls to make me play a mini game then I ain’t spending 7 seconds to even have an emotion afterwards. It was forgettable. A lot of the people I know beat this game and forgot about this scene entirely 😂. This tifa thing really just goes nowhere until chapter 9. Cloud not having control over himself literally starts in chapter 9. Nothing is being fed into clouds mental state if he is pushing her off a platform into mako. Hell it was because of the events in chapter 9 that we got led to an actual plot and goal for the story in general. Find the black materia. This actually mattered. The Rufus info thing was still pointless because we got no new info anyway? Besides the robed men heading west WHICH WE KNEW ALREADY because they mention it before they head to under junon.

[@devontejefferson6520]

It’s true the story for rebirth is ok this is the part of the game where it’s all explore the world visit Junon Cosmo canyon Gongaga all that with some few story bears like Dyne meeting Yuffie and what not but honestly even with the og game the story doesn’t really pick up till after Aeriths death part 3 will be all story

[@zaidebtw4438]

@@devontejefferson6520 that’s what everyone’s telling me so why are they glazing this game telling me it’s goty? It has terrible open world quests and isn’t immersive at all with an ok story that rarely hits the same high notes as remake.

[@devontejefferson6520]

@@zaidebtw4438 I wouldn’t say it has terrible open world quests far cry has terrible op world quests sure theirs lots to be desired I won’t sugar coat it remake to me was better story wise but rebirth was better just for how much it offered this part even in the og is the most boring part and it really should have ended with northern crater we would’ve gotten a lot more story to balance the open world

[@Burberrydalive]

This dude must've played another game. The is an awful remake that has a bad anime story that feels more like Kingdom Hearts. I really don't get how people like these SE remakes. They're pretty bad and so much worse than Capcoms. Seriously for a rpg the writing and plot is sooooo bad.

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

I really don't mean for this to come off as rude, and it is not my intent to; did you watch my video all the way through? I thought I outlined why I liked this game fairly well. Would you mind telling me what is in these games that makes you think that the story so bad since it is still the exact same plot and story as the Original, just with more expansion on the little moments the OG didn't have time to do. Unless you mean that the OG FF7 is also bad?

[@Burberrydalive]

@@ZerotoHeroProductions well it's not just the original plot...like at all. In the OG this was like three hours, not stretched to 30. Sephiroth never appeared so early and so constantly. Kinda ruins his mystique. He was built up slowly and over time. He has more screen time here than in all three discs of the og lol. Not to mention there was already a multi tiered epic battle with him at the end of this...which is just the first part of this remake. A bit premature and kinds ruins him as a threat when, for all intents and purposes, you have ALREADY defeated him lol. In the OG there was also no giant DMC, kingdom hearts battle with big epic colorful MCU villains either. There was no...kingdom hearts style ghosts interrupting the narrative serving as some heavy handed analogy for fans of the old games...no Barrett fake out death that is resolved in seconds, no over bearing thirst trap Jessie, Red XII was actually PLAYABLE, Aerith didn't act like a girl with autism who read the script of the game but wad overly cryptic, no Roache...which seems like he belongs in another game with how over the top he is, no over abundance anime gyrations from characters. The og didn't have such an surplus of filler fetch quests, it's writing wasn't so heavy handed, it didn't introduce all this multi version crap...the game only resembles the OG as a basic skeleton...that's really all. The "expansion" in this game is just fluff to make it seem like a full game. There's invisible walls everywhere, the side quest you get are actually insulting, and it's not you like actually get to really explore the sectors that you couldn't in the OG. That should've been the bulk of this games "expansion". Instead you just get some incidental quest with Jessie...Neat. oh boy fetch quests for waifu bait lady, chocobo redneck and flamboyant ghey guy. Wow, such notable inclusions that enhance the game. Lots of filler and padding, esp near the end with the simp Leslie and his pointless quest and backstory that amounted to nothing. Perhaps my original comment came off a bit flippant, but saying this game and the original are the same is like saying Halloween 78 and Rob Zombie's remake are the same. You simply cannot have played the first game if you think the games are the same aside from featuring the same characters(...theroically) and the same conceptual location. This game reeked of a 15 hour or so game stretched desperately thin to appear as a full game. One thing I'll give this game though, it nailed Tifa, from her voice to her writing. It was really well done and feels like someone else handled her entirely.

[@HealRD]

Then play Ever Crisis, the faithful remake you purists have always wanted. The remake series IS a continuation of the story, so of course, it won't be a 1:1 carbon copy of the original FF7.

[@Deushesicle]

​@@Burberrydaliveyou either gotta love it for what it is ! Or not i guess .. i appreciate how much extra there is .. however not all of it is nessesary you can clear the game in 40 plus hours if you just play story ... however they make so many quests Worth it lore wise or for party synergy/relationship stuff ... 1 to 1 remakes are not nearly as impactful ... this game feels much better than OG to me with the nostalgia and story beats pus much more ... they cant please every1 i guess depends on what your expecting feom them ! I am open minded to the new interpretation .. if i wanted to play OG i can always go do that

[@ZexeezTwitch]

More like a bad dream.... Screw SE

[@ZerotoHeroProductions]

@@ZexeezTwitch that is what we in the biz would call a nightmare. What makes you say this tho?