Review - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

My full review of the second part of Square's Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy. Will we get to finally explore an open world? Will we be able to change destiny? Will we see Tifa in a bikini? Find out here.

[@harrisonbeesonvo]

"I'll never understand why they have Cait Sith an Scottish accent. " My guy. With a monsoon of respect... The cat-sìth is a creature from Irish/Scottish folklore. It stands to reason they would have given him one accent or the other. It just so happens the cat-sìth appears more in Scottish culture.

[@TheEffectOfMass]

Maybe the Drinker will understand if we pronounce it with it's Gaelic name. Ket-Shee!

[@DrCoomer_1]

@@TheEffectOfMass Oh now that is something

[@user-yv4mm6bx3c]

This game should be a lesson to all story tellers that it's the characters we relate to, sympathize for, and fall in love with, is what drives all stories.

[@Schokioki]

Please no. This game's story is like it's been told for 70IQ people.

[@eledgy]

@@Schokioki the fundamentals of the best stories are understood by 70 IQ children. You will understand more of the possible meanings as your brain develops.

[@dr.derekrobinson1920]

@@eledgycopium

[@arvinjay336]

They feel like old friends since the old PS1 days and I love Rebirth and cannot wait for Part 3!

[@kjh4496]

Lol no.

[@the_legit_tsm]

A Cait Sith is a cat from Scottish and Irish folklore... hence the accent

[@captbuckyohare5585]

Hence their name. Cait. Which is a shortened version of Caith or Caithlin. Which is one of those Irish girl names you can try to pronounce but god be with you ;)

[@user-tr4tx2qv9b]

He has a Osaka accent in the Japanese version, so they had to choose an accent for the English one

[@kilssj2250]

​@@user-tr4tx2qv9b Because Osaka is the Japanese equivalent of a "simpletons accent" 🤪

[@TheEffectOfMass]

Wasn't there a whole fanbase debacle about how to pronounce the name because of it's origins. "khet shee" i think it was?

[@BlackCatsXVII]

No one cares if he's scottish, Jenova is a reference to Jehovah, you don't hear her speak hebrew. Just give him a english accent and stop with the ridiculousness. It was just a reference to the myth, he wasn't actually scottish.

[@crisiscoreffv2]

Critical Drinker being an expert Final Fantasy fan is genuinely shocking LMAO 😂 great taste dude

[@RealEvilLordExdeath]

If he likes that trash he isnt a final fantasy Fan at all

[@xitaris5981]

​@@RealEvilLordExdeath 🙄 I haven't even played any of the new stuff yet, but condescending purists are always insufferable, no matter their cause

[@RealEvilLordExdeath]

@@xitaris5981 yeah people that treasure good things and dont want it to be graped by a greedy weirdo whos only goal in life is to piss off og fans, yeah, where the worst. We who want a timless game to be a timeless game that can be enjoyed by evryone, who want the themes of loss and dealing with yourself not being the big number u thought u where, not soiled with modern themes that are forgotten in a year and multiverse sht that works exactly nowhere it was ever introduced into. Yeah we are the Definition of evil. But wait till u have ny age and u see your childhood memories get graped and mutated for a few quick bucks and u will write just the same as me

[@fenner1122]

💯

[@user-tr4tx2qv9b]

FF7-Rs have so far been great, looking forward to the last installment

[@LinusNorton]

Cait Sith has a Scottish accent because it's based off the Scottish legend: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat-s%C3%ACth

[@SotonyaAcckaya]

Except they cant even get proper pronouncement of it's name

[@Malohta]

​@@SotonyaAcckaya I chalk it up to translation. "This guy are sick"

[@user-tr4tx2qv9b]

Also not sure if the Drinker is aware that Reeve is Cait Sith

[@reisen9235]

I thought it was because of that ff7 spin off game with Vincent

[@Evanz111]

@@SotonyaAcckayaOh god please don’t dig up this drama again.

[@MisterSinisterReviews]

I remember what my grandmother always told me, “ignore your teachers, when Yasuke said he can’t breathe, it is true.

[@yasuke0003]

wrong video bro 😂😂

[@clubkid13]

Mini games drove me nuts but the humour between the characters was the best

[@101Snipeshot]

I swear the minigames are probably the biggest bog down of this game. Thankfully most aren't required for the story, but if you want to do all the exploration they are required. Some are enjoyable like Queen's Blood, but some are just really frustrating.

[@12ealDealOfficial]

Had a hard time with the minigames as well, but I also struggled with cards in IX and VIII. Seems like difficulty skyrocketed on the Condor stuff, which the completionist in me can't let that go. Good Lord is Condor hard.

[@Beezer1742]

Many of them are good, some of them are irritating. Piano and Queensblood are awesome and could be their own mobile 😊games.

[@johnohrstrom5112]

There are too many, but I feel most of them are pretty fun at least!

[@TheEffectOfMass]

I loved Barret's banter when you escort the dog in Junon. He can't let his little Marlene go, and starts bawling. i loved it.

[@Pedigru]

I don't think I've ever seen Drinker this emotional before. I am changed.

[@RealEvilLordExdeath]

This bs talk from him makes me so angry Sounds like the cope of a man who just gave up on ever getting a real faithfull remake of the game he loved as a kid and because of that he became delusional

[@andrewramirez3998]

@@RealEvilLordExdeathjust accept that some people enjoy and even love the game

[@RealEvilLordExdeath]

@@andrewramirez3998 yeah i can accept it, its still a strange feeling to know someone u really like to watch has a fetish for sht.

[@connorstace]

​@@RealEvilLordExdeath it's a good game broski, here, have a snickers.

[@KingdomKeyJT]

@@RealEvilLordExdeath Terrible point. This can apply to literally ANYONE you disagree with. Your mindset seems to be, "oh you disagree with me? That MUST mean you're coping and delusional" 💀

[@fenner1122]

“Lost my train of thought” gold

[@bluecollarloser6654]

I mean Tifa in a bathing suit should do that to any man lol

[@gonzos3b645]

This game with this ending is basically kinda like "Empire strikes back". People walked out of the cinema and didtn know how to feel about it. But they have been so invested to it that they wanted to know how the whole story plays out. If you can achive this then you have done something right. I do trust Square here. Cant wait to play part 3

[@frogglen6350]

original game did it better

[@tidusace0721]

Cid’s connection with Aerith is not in the original but in the short story Picturing the Past within the Traces of Two Pasts novel written by Kuzushige Nojima, the same writer of the games. It depicts Aerith and Ifalna’s time in captivity in the Shinra building and Cid used to work there, that’s where he came across them while doing various odd jobs for Shinra

[@evansvisual]

i dont think the book mentions cid by name but would make sense

[@dangriffiths1372]

Regarding cait Sith - I believe it's from the celtic Legend of cat-sìth. A supposed ghost like cat that haunts the Scottish Highlands. So the Scottish accent might be due to that!

[@r.l.royalljr.3905]

This. It's actually pronounced "kat shee" and comes from the same etymology as the word banshee. FF has always had a grand obsession with folklore and mythology of foreign countries.

[@zachariahjonahmaldonado5897]

I know his segment ain't the greatest but I loved Cair Sithe in this game. Just being an adorable kitty cat riding around on a fat moogle that's more weaponized and powerful than anything Shinra's RnD is actually making.

[@spartanhawk7637]

It made me happy they added Cissnei to the game in Gongaga. She’s a tiny but really important character in Zack’s story in Crisis Core, so seeing her there just felt right.

[@dandychiggins6143]

My only major complaint is that they took the Ubisoft approach to the open world and side content. Just like Ubisoft games you climb a tower to reveal icons on your map which tell you exactly what the events at said icons are removing any and all forms of interesting exploration in the open world as all you'll do is activate a tower then go to the icons on the map and ignore everything else on the map since you know there's nothing there if no icon is there. And the amount of mini games, many of which are forced on you in story moments and many of which can just be brute forced without need to use any intelligence strategy screams that just like Ubisoft Square Enix thought the more quantity the game had the better, rather than focus on quality.

[@SuperRamos619]

The writers intentionally made the ending very confusing, and they also intentionally left evidence that supports a number of theories, but each one has a flaw.

[@ohnosmoarlulcatz]

It's standard Nomura design at this point.

[@holy9781]

To intentionally make a confusing ending is the worst cope I've ever read

[@SuperRamos619]

@@holy9781 that's literally what the devs said. It's not cope.

[@Dayv018]

I think it's not actually that confusing, it's just leaning far more into the Cloud broken mind story (which is something they've done throughout the first 2 games).

[@frostyrenegade_]

Eh, despite what Critical said, the theory that Cloud is hallucinating Aerith at the end is pretty strong and very on brand for his character. Aerith does die and show up in the final fight, because that final fight takes place in the lifestream.. where she went when she died. It's actually pretty funny crit is so heated about this point like it's so absurd but Cloud hallucinating to deal with the trauma is.. literally his entire character arc lol It would make total sense to break Cloud even more than the original to make his eventual realisation and hero moment hit that much harder. Like, the idea Aerith is still alive is contradicted by the literal ending of the game where Sepiroth tells us he's reuniting the timelines and telling Cloud to his face what he's seeing isn't real lol

[@bigmediafan]

Solid review. Best game I've played in decades. No I don't think it stuck the landing with the ending but hey, he story's not over yet.

[@samraines6966]

Here's hoping part 3 ends up only elevating Rebirth's ending and story choices. So far it looks like the writers might be cooking one hell of a third act, given that Rebirth pretty much retrospectively salvaged everything I had issues with on part 1. They clearly have it all thought and mapped out. What a time to be a fan of the OG game.

[@DaRkLoRd-rc5yu]

I already love rebirths ending so I really hope part 3 can do the same for everyone else. To me it's the best and most interesting part of the game. But I like that they left it open with so many questions and interpretations of what happened I know alot of people aren't keen on that type of thing. But theory crafting is some of the most fun part of the game post beating it.

[@samraines6966]

@@DaRkLoRd-rc5yu Hey here's some more fuel to your theory crafting pyre. Remember how Sephiroth said that the Reunion is a confluence of worlds and *emotions*? Well, take a look at the shimmering rainbow effect that happens during cutscenes when new timelines are supposedly created and compare that to the color of the effect on limit break commands... If limit breaks are tied to the character's emotions (as strongly suggested by everyone but Cloud having limit bar already full at the start of the last fight) does that mean strong emotions are key to Sephiroth's plan at "defying destiny"? ...And did he in fact manipulate Cloud into limit breaking the flow of destiny itself in order to save Aerith..?

[@DaRkLoRd-rc5yu]

@@samraines6966 oh yeah definitely. They have so much attention to detail in these games and it's crazy how much subtle story telling is done with just the mo cap and the facial expressions of the characters without even using dialogue. As well as the gameplay mechanics being used as story telling like when the whole party have limit breaks after Aerith dies. But you are right about the rainbow effect and the merging of worlds. And sephiroth even says that he uses the misery of other worlds as his power. As cloud saved Aerith in our timeline by parrying that sword. But because he Aerith died and he failed to save her in 99 out of 100 other timelines and all of the negative emotions from those worlds are so strong. Sephiroth managed to use that power to change the result of this world. It's like going against the current of a river and being swept away. But also meta sephiroth has been travelling between all the other worlds causing devastation and world ending events to collect the misery as his power. But also to try and hunt down meta Aerith who was hiding the whole game in Zacks world with the white materia. Some really good quotes like "so this is where you've been hiding" And also after she gives cloud the white materia, he says something like "This doesn't belong here, very poor form" and "I underestimated you"

[@jase276]

@@samraines6966 Yeah, what a time to be a fan of the OG, alright. Seeing everything you loved about the first game be butchered. Deaths and hardhitting moments mean nothing anymore. It's all Disneyland hooha.

[@jerodhott3022]

Great review. This game was quite possibly the best game I've ever played; both because of the story and character development, but also because of the amazing gameplay. I also did not want it to end!

[@yhnbgtrfv100]

As someone who played the original, I’m really loving these remakes.

[@RealEvilLordExdeath]

🤢🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮

[@fullpolish]

The duality of man

[@RanOutOfChannelNames]

I gave up the original a little after meeting the stupid dog thing. Don't think I'll be picking up the remales.

[@RealEvilLordExdeath]

@@RanOutOfChannelNames "stupid dog thing" Yeah JRPGs are not for you, go play fortnite and use that one furry dog suit skin

[@RanOutOfChannelNames]

@RealEvilLordExdeath Was I suppose to stick around for shitty anime characters 1 through 4? It was worse than FF6 in all the ways that's weren't exactly the same. So why keep playing?

[@harbl99]

Schrodinger's Aerith, letting the writers have their cake and eat it too.

[@Evanz111]

Was a blast watching your podcast where you delved into this, wasn’t expecting to be spoiled with a proper review video too! Can fully understand the criticisms for this game, but from a gameplay perspective I love how it opened up, and I’ve got a lot of faith in the third and final game (FF7: Return?)

[@tylergoodman3560]

This game seems to have been made with a lot of love and dedication to the source material. I'd play it anytime. Great review, drinker. 🎉

[@BusesAreFatCars]

I have the complete opposite impression of it.

[@DrakonR]

It's nothing like the source material...

[@TomislavAntic-bt1cz]

​@@DrakonRwell you know its a multiverse right?

[@DrakonR]

@@TomislavAntic-bt1cz ah, a poser. Muted.

[@TomislavAntic-bt1cz]

@@DrakonR no that are just facts

[@rosant7074]

10:06 They knew exactly what we were hoping for. EXACTLY.

[@StarRain6]

I do not consider short skirts to be swimsuits.

[@robbiepellagreen]

Love the review mate, pretty much summed up my exact feelings about it. Even though there were a very small handful of things that were a tad frustrating, this game made me legitimately feel things moreso than any other game ever has I think.

[@candyrub1105]

I'm 40 and this was amazing... What an incredible game!

[@anonony9081]

Agreed. I think remake was pretty cool but I felt like I was convincing myself to like it more than I actually did but with rebirth I was absolutely captivated. I played 120 hours and it felt like nothing, I was so engaged the entire time and seeing that world in such incredible graphics really felt like a special experience as someone who played the original in their early teens

[@stephenduffy2527]

Same here im about 350 and i won't stop till i plat​@Dis2good

[@keiichimorisato98]

They change that Barret hadnt been to Cosmos Canyon in the remake. In the original game, he had been there before, and was where he and the rest of his crew resolved to join Avalanch.

[@KrakkaJax]

Not really sure about my thoughts on the story and where it's going, but when I finished this game I had that "empty" feeling that I had just gone on a great adventure with friends. It's been a long time since I've felt that from a game and that alone has made this one of my most memorable recent gaming experiences.

[@arvinjay336]

This is that FF game that actually reminded me of the past FF games in the PS1 era and I can't wait for Part 3!

[@Dime_time333]

Nice pfp. Angelo reverse has saved me far more times than invincible moon.

[@xMarrilliamsx]

@@arvinjay336 Same! I felt like a kid again :')

[@fy4b230]

Game is a god damn triumph. This game took 3 years to develop and 1 year was during lockdowns. And before someone says it took 4 years, 1 year was used for intergrade. 200+ hours of content if you want to 100% it with no guides. 250+ new music tracks. Minimal bugs at launch. No micro transactions. Top tier VA’s. A love letter of what JRPGs and games in the 90s did with over 50+ mini games. Love or hate where the story is going, I can’t comprehend how someone would have a bad experience with this game, especially if you played remake first. Not a fan of multiverse/timeline stuff, but hey, I’ll wait to see what they do with it and judge the story changes once the story is complete. Cheers and great review.

[@Dis2good]

Well said!

[@RealEvilLordExdeath]

Im glad most Fans arent that stupid, didnt buy that sht and made it a failure

[@Drkflame64]

It does't matter how long the game took to develop.. if they took shorter or longer it is still fine to critique the finished product.. Sometimes less is more.. just because the game has more than 200+ hours of content doesn't make a game better..most people that I have seen review this game, even if they love it and give it a 9.5 out of 10 say that there is too much to do in this game and it would have been even better if there was a little less side content.. Nobody asked for 250 new music tracks, they could have just reused the music from ff7rebirth and people would have still loved it. The quality of the content also matters.. I did not buy this game to play mini games I came to play an rpg and collect gear that will enhance combat but the only way I can do that is if i get a high score on all of these lame mario party mini games which take hours to get good at. I didn't buy an rpg to spend most of my time racing to checkpoints running errands for Chadley.. The "open world" isn't even an actual open world, it is still heavily zoned off.. the map looks huge but only 50% of it is actually explorable.. Theres no point in even exploring any of the world because you don't find anything useful in it just endless crafting materials.. I am willing to bet that in another 20 years when people get over their recency bias they will look back on this game and say "what the hell were they thinking".

[@fy4b230]

@@RealEvilLordExdeath you sound like a fun person.

[@holy9781]

​@@Drkflame64ya,give it 10 years then everyone will say its a horrible remake. We all know reviews and youtuber want the fans but clearly there aren't many anymore as sales show it. Imagine how much money they would have made if it was one game and a true remake, shiz imagine how much money they could have saved smh

[@kirkginoabolafia3650]

I immediately respect Drinker's opinions here because he is clearly Team Tifa. And jokes aside, this game was a masterpiece. Played it over 100 hours and enjoyed every last minute of it.

[@RealEvilLordExdeath]

Master piece in how to fk up a beloved game?

[@anthonybell4554]

Opinions

[@donarthunaraz9361]

​@@RealEvilLordExdeath it's a masterpiece in his opinion man, stop being so bitter

[@arvinjay336]

​@RealEvilLordExdeath dunno about you maybe go PLAY THE GAME instead of watching it on youtube.

[@stevenvegh7964]

This game is one of my top 5 of all time. I put over 200 hours in it and still haven’t platinumed it (I basically never platinum anything, but I was tempted here). It compelled me to experience everything I could, and the gameplay here might be my favorite combat system in anything ever.

[@KainsAddiction]

I platinum everything and said no to this one. Ridiculously difficult

[@rockstarpeppe0]

One of the most consistent things I hear people say about Rebirth is "Now that I'm done, I don't know what to play next." It's like getting back home after a long vacation with close friends and suddenly feeling alone and sad. Rebirth is having a profound effect on the people who play it. What better compliment can a game possibly have?

[@TipsyArmadillo]

This game sits up there with Nier: Automata, Hollow Knight and Elden Ring for me where, after they were done, I couldn't even look at another game for months. Some games just sit heavy in your heart and you realize after playing them that all those stacks of shovelware titles just isn't doing it for you anymore.

[@Centrioless]

Very few games have managed to give that feeling for me. ME2, RDR2, FF10, and now this game.

[@kw4595]

Two moments in this game brought tears to my eyes: Red XIII's discovery of his father, and Aerith's flashback. Amazing stuff.

[@moreblack]

I finally finished it today, had so much fun with this and there was a big sense of family and communionship the party had. They really did feel like a family, and when the thing happens, they're all heartbroken. Hats off to this one for me.

[@twyx6928]

I must say the feeling that this game is special is not nostalgia. I haven’t played the OG, only the Remake and I have seen Advent Children a while ago. Otherwise my only context to the universe is bits of info I’ve gained over the years through osmosis and I still enjoyed both Re- games very much and Rebirth hit like a truck in quite a few places.

[@chrisbanks2689]

Nice Review Drinker. FFVII Rebirth is my GOTY, easily. It might be bias as FFVII is my favourite game, but I thoroughly enjoyed my experience- changes and all.

[@DarkyMikoc]

Great review Drinker! I loved the game and sunk an easy 90 hours into it, which is really hard for me to do these days with all my adult obligations! However I felt so damn disheartened with how they butchered Aerith's death scene. I was 10 or 11 years old the first time i played FF7 and that scene where Cloud lets her body go in the water really stuck with me. As i neared THAT moment in the game i just had chills the entire time, trying to explain to my wife what was about to happen and why it meant so much to me... But the set up went unpaid... and i was just confused and angry by the changes they made. It left a dark stain on what was up until then a very enjoyable experience.

[@DrCoomer_1]

The entire ending is by design meant to stimulate conversation and theories, and it's so much fun discussing and making new stories of what could happen.

[@marcosdheleno]

up until people start calling others stupid because they themselves dont realize that the discussion IS part of the experience. they want to keep the will she wont she mistery going for a bigger payoff, because they knew that EVERYONE already knows how her story ends in the original game. so they are literaly trying to give it again to people that played the game. but i guess everyone complains about being treated like a kid, until they stop doing that, and then they whine because they werent fed pre-chewed plotpoints. even when they made it THIS OBVIOUS.

[@CaptainTitforce]

The only thing it stimulated for me was the feeling of the power button that I pressed to turn the game off right after.

[@amharbinger]

I think what I did like about Remake and Rebirth is the uncertainty. I know the story is polarizing but the idea that Remake highlighted you don't know how the story will continue left me constantly curious when playing Rebirth, especially during the end. With the final game leaving wondering if you can't change fate and things will happen as intended.

[@KingdomKeyJT]

How is Cloud rearranging memories in order to cope with Aerith's death a bad theory? He QUITE LITERALLY forgot Zack's death after seeing him die RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM. Why wouldn't he do the same thing with Aerith's death? It's consistent with Cloud's character and I think it's a good theory.

[@Evanz111]

Plus the fact that his limit gauge is empty whilst everyone else is emotionally charged with full limit breaks really adds weight to the idea that he’s suppressing the death.

[@JonnyCPrime719]

Clouds is referred to as the unreliable narrator especially when comes to the nibelheim incidents

[@mysteryace2129]

Cause we know for a fact that this Sephriroth is timeline hopping and is from the OG timeline. He has already changed events to alter destiny. To chicken out of the story of us, the player fighting and changing destiny(literal boss fight of the part 1 remake) and to say, "No, Cloud's been hallucinating this entire time hehe....." just to stick to the OG timeline because you was to afraid to commit to a new story is bad execution. It's literally the all a dream ending that people hate for a reason because it kills stakes/payoff. All that build up of promised events is now a waste of time. Nobody wants to waste their time so everyone is rightfully pissed about this ending

[@garywood97]

@@Evanz111 That piece of data works with both theories. Also makes sense with the idea that he thinks he saved her, and is therefore not sad.

[@cloudspiky66666]

I agree! Drinker saying that theory is some weak shit made me feel sad inside 😂

[@TheSlysterII]

Nice video, thanks Drinker, I am just gutted I will have to buy a PS5 to play this.

[@bluecollarloser6654]

Yeah I've said as well they need to stop with console exclusives. I wish more people could play this game who don't own a Ps5

[@BlindMango]

Most fun I’ve had with a game in years, it really brings me back to how games were made in the PS2 days, there’s just something about it that makes it special

[@IdeasbyFrank]

Love it! Glad you reviewed this sir. Part 3 needs fewer checklist quests and more free discovery. Chadley needs to sod off for half of the open world. Cut out the towers, increase random monster lairs, give the team some collaborative environmental puzzles, and increase the size and spectacle for the Weapon fights.

[@IdeasbyFrank]

Also. Let either Zack or Aerith to live. Not both. None of that united in death shite.

[@JK-of3es]

I’m ok with it. It’s not an ending. It’s a cliffhanger. Another 140 hours of story still to come. I’ll bet it will be insanely awesome when all 3 parts are put together

[@zachariahjonahmaldonado5897]

Except I paid 69 dollars for this shit they need to have the fucking decency to give me an actual ending. If they didn't want to end the game then they shouldn't have broken it into 3 parts.

[@im1085]

@@zachariahjonahmaldonado5897 There is an ending. Just because you dont find it cathartic doesnt mean its wasnt an ending. Its ending is in line with the overall story of the second game while also filling the role of cliffhanger for the trilogy. You would be the person that gets mad that Revenge of the Sith ends with Vader winning and the good guys being on the backfoot just because you want there to be a good ending

[@LoomDoom]

I just finished the game last night and it was amazing. I agree that the ending was kind odd and almost sour in a way, but it makes me even more intrigued with how they’ll close it out in part 3. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt because I’ve really enjoyed the remake trilogy. I’ve never been so connected to a cast of characters in a game for a long time man.

[@katfu]

Much respect to you Drinker for giving it a fair review. I think the third game will determine everything for this series. My hope is they do nail the ending and we will look back on Rebirth and think "Wow, Rebirth was exactly what it needed to be".

[@Dan-yw2ku]

Oh yea... that ending

[@yodoleheehoo90]

Weakest and most confusing ending I have ever seen. I went back to playing Elden Ring after helping Hosts, it was just so dumb🙄

[@Mondoness]

After remake's spaghetti ending, I was expecting the same over the top convoluted grimgrosh... and it happened. 😟

[@finixmoon127]

Not gonna lie, I actually find that it gets better everytime I rewatch it

[@zack.ry.mo02]

It was awesome

[@LeeEverett1]

​@@yodoleheehoo90 I went back to Forbidden West. Great game if you've never played it

[@bluecollarloser6654]

Rebirth is hands down my top game of 2024 and maybe the past 2 years. A game you can spend 100 hours into easily in one playthrough. If you're a purist, and maybe a sadist lol you can get every trophy and dump anywhere from 150-200 total hours into the game Yes some mini games are better than others, but they are optional, and some are fricking hard to the point where i had to google a few like how do i beat this stupid card game???? The combat is flawless, but poor Cait Sith i just found totally useless lol. Graphics are 10/10 and some cinematics i felt like i was watching a live action film. The soundtrack is worthy to buy. The voice acting and actors never phone it in. In the end the only real controversy is the ending. Some fans want a definitive answer and the ending explained to them. Others like myself prefer NOT knowing. Because I'm that much more excited for the third and final game. I never wanted a graphical remaster of Final Fantasy 7. I've played that game, know that story and how it ends. Now i have no clue wtf to expect and how this story is going to end. And that makes me happy. I really hope that Square going forward doesn't keep games like this console exclusive. Sales are low because not everyone owns a Ps5, nor do they want one. I alone have 5 friends who would buy this game on Xbox and i don't play on Steam, but many do. Also the drinker made a live stream discussing the finale of this game. It's a must watch 😀

[@TrvisXXIII]

After completing the game for myself, I kept saying I wish there was a Nerdrotic in gaming to really dissect what the developers are doing with this franchise lol glad drinker is here to fill that niche

[@shnobby3547]

Rebirth really was fantastic. Sadly, with how emotional many scenes in the game were, I find myself disappointed that the emotion of Aeriths death was blunted due to both the "ambiguity" of her death, and the fact that the game threw you into a 20 phase boss fight while trying to make sense of the multiverse shenanigans immediately afterwards. It felt like there wasnt a moment to let the scene breathe.

[@KrakkaJax]

I also felt this after the Dyne scene. Body just hit the dirt and Dio immediately shows up to flex on everyone. I think they were afraid that with so many extended cut scenes they needed to rush to the gameplay so it doesn't just feel like you're watching a movie, but it could've been handled better in a few areas.

[@sam.246]

I cant help but think the "true" Aerith death scene will play out in Part 3, when Cloud has to come to terms with his real persona, and overcome his trauma of losing both Zack and Aerith. We basically just experienced her death through Cloud's broken PoV for now. His recollection arc will sure be painful.

[@chrislee5268]

Why is it hard to believe that a guy who created a fake identity with fake memories after an important person died in front of him would create a new fake reality when another important person died in front of him?

[@garywood97]

It's not hard to believe. Although there were repeated signs that suggested it was just an alternate timeline, and not a delusion.

[@Melterer]

I think people really are struggling without having the final answer. I think people are jumping to their own head cannon conclusions and it makes people confused or angry or happy depending which way you go. Ultimately we won't know the story they are trying to tell until it's all said and done. Which I don't think is a bad thing.

[@andrewcarlton6196]

I thinknit is more the ambiguity that people have a problem with. Is she a made up illusion to help Cloud cope with what happened or is it her spirit before it goes to the life stream. Since they have failed to stick the landing on both ending to the games I am still reserved and really hope they do not do this everyone is alive and happy in some world crap.

[@Melterer]

@andrewcarlton6196 I think it would be really cool if all the timeline stuff was literally just cloud failing to cope with loss, and how in "his world" or "dream world" he wanted to save everyone and wanted everyone to be happy. But then has a realization that all this timeline stuff wasn't time being manipulated, it was cloud failing to see what actually was happening. And in the life stream has to come to terms that the friends lost are gone. And the part that lives on of them is in our memories. Would hit so hard in my opinion but I don't think that is the case since zack seems to have another purpose. But would be cool! Haha.

[@jase276]

Because you fake fans don't understand the importance of Aerith's death. Aerith's death was the catalyst for Cloud to snap out of that and finally accept death. Hers and Zack's. Her death made him start developing as his own character. Cloud not doing that in these "remakes" completely fails to understand what the OG game was doing. Having him repeat the same mistakes doesn't lead any development.

[@Ingisen]

SPOILER ALERT There are three things in Rebirth I'm especially curious about in regards to the 3rd act: 1) When Tifa was swallowed and then spat out from the Weapon (whale in the Lifestream); when it landed in front of Yuffie and the camera pans around IT LOOKS A LOT LIKE SIN from FFX. I wonder how this will tie in with the supposed connection with ShinRa - and, of course, a possible FFX Remake and/or 3rd FFX installment. *Just look at Aerith's dance in the Forbidden Temple, does it not look like Yuna's sending in Kilika? 2) More backstory on JENOVA; more info or "less is more" approach? 3) With all the confusion at the end of Part 2 and the players' feelings, how will SE handle Cloud's inevitable breakdown? We already know how the OG panned out. However, I personally want the team to REALLY deep-dive into Cloud's psyche - namely, the broken psyche of a (modern) man who failed in so many ways during his life. Think of it as a "documentary" on how many males today - both in the East and West - struggle to find meaning and purpose. That is, after all, one of the core issues of Cloud. Edit: 4) How will SE handle the "Under the Highwind scene"? Especially with all of the things happening in the game industry these last years. Censorship, etc. These are adult characters that share a very intimate moment before their (almost guaranteed) end. I think a fade-out and/or heavier censorship would ruin that point in the story (referring to the early copies of OG 7, when Cloud and Tifa get together). Nuance will be appreciated, of course. Leaving it out, however, would be detrimental to both the story and characters, I think.

[@TheAuron32]

Honestly the fake out saving her really messed with my emotions, i felt happy to see Cloud STOP Sephiroths attack unlike the original, only for fate to seemingly say no. Then we have Red XIII who senses her afterwards. My theory is, physically she is gone but her soul still lives, i wouldnt be shocked if the two timelines (the other being Zacks) merge and she puts her soul in the Aerieth's body.

[@moneyball32]

Divisive ending but I think it’ll pay off in part 3. Easily in my top 5 favorite games of all time, I loved every second of it.

[@scotteh885]

As a 39yr old who has very fond childhood memories of playing the original, which is one of my all time favourite games, I've really enjoyed Remake and especially Rebirth. No idea where the multiverse stuff is going, but I give them credit for doing something different instead of a scene for scene remake. Looking forward to the final part.

[@holy9781]

Doin something different isn't good when it doesn't add anything

[@patrickleblanc613]

My guess is a happier ending and real closure for cloud, considering they practically made sephiroth almost totally immortal so long as cloud has memories of him.

[@Leescreativeart]

Yo, I live in Los Angeles. I’ve been in North Hollywood for 20 years and know a lot of writers and game, developers and people that work within some of the bigger studios, and that comment about four people living in a studio Is 1000% accurate. Lol I think this is my first video hearing you. I dig the accent and wish you a merry day.

[@Leescreativeart]

And I wanted to feel destroyed at the end of this game so that the next game would as you say stick the landing. But did feel that confusion about what to feel instead of a happy and or sad feeling, but the lead up to that final moment was perfect.I enjoyed this game so much from the demo introduction all the way through the battle with the end boss. And I do hope that in the final game they really bring this home. AnyWho, cheers see you later.

[@benardpoernomo]

I totally agree with the assessment on Aerith and Tifa's friendship. If it were handled by a western writer, they'd surely be shown to have romantic interest for each other. It reminds me of the situation in The Acolyte between Mae and Jacky Lon the female Jedi. But in actuality it wouldn't have served any purpose and it would make the story veered off course. I found small things like these are the ones making the story enjoyable to follow and make each emotion beat hit its mark with aplomb. Kudos to the Square Enix

[@brichan1851]

I stopped when you gave a spoiler warning. THANK YOU for that!!! It’d be so nice if other KZbinrs did that for us. I have this one in its Deluxe Edition form. I’m waiting to play it until I’m done with *Remake* . Your assessment seems very spot on from what little of the game I have played. I’m just so thankful you have both Critical Drinker and Critical Gamer. This is my first of your Gamer vids, but it won’t be the last. Instant Subscriber, all over again. Cheers. I’m going away, now.

[@yumyumeatemup]

Ending aside, what an amazing undertaking in recreating the over world of FF VII. A feat I thought Square would NEVER be able to accomplish. I know its not the same as what it was in the classic 9 games of traveling the overworld but it still somehow FELT like you were embarking on this grand adventure and just being able to go out of your way to run around and get lost and stumble upon things (when Chadley wasnt being a goober and pointing every damn thing out) was truly something special that evoked memories of decades past as a kid playing these games. Truly Rebirth was something special, with a lot of love and care and thought put into it. Its a shame its not selling as well as the first one. I think a lot of FF fans who have yet to play it are missing out on something truly breath taking!

[@TomislavAntic-bt1cz]

The ending seems to make sense to very dedicated Fans normal gamers are Not too deep in it

[@imyoursuperbeast8220]

I do love just about everything in this game. The gameplay, the scores, the recreated areas from the og like Junon, grasslands, etc. The combat is definitely top-notch, especially what they've done with the aerial combat and synergy attacks. The little extras they've added to the og story like in this game, the black materia being created by the Gi to get them out of their state of limbo. The ending, I'm still not 100% on board, though. I did see somebody break it down bit by bit and thinking about it, it's almost just as sad, but then it basically just adds more to the confusion. We'll see where this direction goes

[@NightwoodGuns]

Great review! 😎

[@jamestorey9641]

A few things I wouldn't mind Drinker addressing: 1. What was going on with the Zack scenes where Aerith and Cloud are comatose. Alternate universe? Then Aerith from that universe never died, and Cloud is only a comatose shell. And the rest of the party is dead, but Biggs is alive? They never really explained any of that. 2. Ghost of Tsushima played a heavy influence on the gameplay in Rebirth, did he notice this as well? 3. Cloud did save Aerith, in my opinion. And I think Sephiroth wanted this because in the original timeline, killing Aerith led to his own failure and demise. So after Cloud saving her, is Aerith being dead a strategy by Aerith to stop Sephiroth, despite surviving the deathblow? Meaning, is her survival a path for Sephiroth to ultimately win?

[@rileydennis2777]

I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on the ending. Maximilian Dood has a very compelling interpretation of the final events of this game that acknowledges and debunks many of the contradictory evidence. I won't say it here in full, but it does indeed involve Cloud imagining many of the events in real time to cope with his loss, with other more complex elements thrown in. The potential result of this theory (if true) could set up for part three to be even more emotionally devastating than the original, followed by an even more uplifting recovery. I'd highly recommend checking out his archives on Twitch and hearing his thoughts after experiencing the end of Rebirth if you haven't already.

[@Evanz111]

Honestly usually I’m on board with Max’s theories, but it felt like he went *WILD* with his Rebirth theories :’) definitely think there’s some kind of suppressed trauma thing going on here, but his theories about Aerith manipulating everyone were pretty out there

[@rileydennis2777]

@@Evanz111 I’m not sure I understand. Can you give an example of what you’re talking about with Aerith manipulating everyone? Because depending on the reference there may be a suitable explanation.

[@hk_802]

@@Evanz111 He generally goes in every direction at first, then tends to narrow down things over time that are in the same ballpark of what'll happen. When he first beat Remake, he had some very crazy theories right after that made no sense, lol.

[@andrewcarlton6196]

The problem is that Cloud does not make up stories or is shown to do so with cope. All of Cloud's sezures and mantal issues are caused from the degradation and JENOVAs manipulation. So when Cloud seed Sephiroth and pn one else does that is because that is JENOVA manipulating his mind. For example Cloud does not forget Zach because he cannot cope with his death, Cloud forgets Zach because JENOVA repressed the memories and created a false memory from Zach's memories. By the time Zach is killed Cloud is suffering from high levels of mako poisoning and his mind is fragmented and barly functioning. More than likely after Zachs death the JENOVA cells transfered to Cloud to recover him and those cells carried Zach's memories and personality which JENOVA imprinted on to him. So for the theory of Cloud to be seeing Areith as a cope to work it would have to be that JENOVA is the one that is allowing to happen and that the vision of Aetith is in actual fact JENOVA manipulating Clouds mind.

[@rileydennis2777]

@@andrewcarlton6196 *SPOILERS* While it is true that Cloud is being manipulated by Jenova, what allows her to that so easily is because Cloud is extremely manipulable and doesn’t cope with loss properly. After his awakening in the original game, he states outright that his weakness and his desire to be perceived as something he’s not are what made him get caught up in Jenova and Sephiroth’s manipulations. Not only that, but Cloud isn’t actually suffering from degradation. He is the only successful Sephiroth clone, as stated by Hojo in the Northern Crater, since he was successfully merged with Sephiroth cells that do not degrade. His fractured memories and interpretations of Zack and other events are a defense mechanism for Cloud to continue on without processing his grief, something he has a subconscious awareness of and a desire to protect, but he outwardly interprets it as degradation after what President Shinra told him in Midgar, and especially after what happens to Broden and Roche. Cloud forgot Zack and took on his persona all on his own, and Sephiroth is using this to his advantage so that he can get Cloud to deliver the Black Materia to him. In terms of what happens in the ending of this game, the theory goes as follows: Cloud sees a reality where he saves Aerith from being killed. We don’t know yet how factual this reality may have been, whether it was an alternate timeline or a figment of his imagination, but it convinces Cloud that he saved her life even while he is cradling her dead body in his arms. Everything Cloud sees from the moment Aerith puts her hand to Clouds face to the moment he lays her down to fight Jenova Lifeclinger are in Cloud’s imagination. This is further informed by Sephiroth’s remark about how Cloud “will never se the truth behind such clouded eyes.” The rest of the party sees that Aerith is clearly dead, with the exception of Tifa, who seems to shift between seeing her as alive and dead. There could be many different reasons for this, including ones that contradict this theory, but my interpretation is that she is also experiencing the same denial as Cloud in this moment. She wants to believe that Cloud was able to save her life, and so for a split second, she saw Cloud cradling Aerith and thought she was injured but alive. However, she is much better at facing reality than Cloud, so the illusion doesn’t hold for her in the same way. I acknowledge that this is flimsy and could be contradicted at any point, but we simply don’t have enough information to be definitive at this point. The Aerith we see fight alongside Cloud in the final battle is indeed an alternate version of Aerith and not an illusion in Cloud’s mind. An easy tell for this is that Sephiroth actually has to fight and acknowledge her during the confrontation. He even uses her presence to manipulate Cloud further, but unlike his statement at the altar, it’s phrased as a thought experiment for Cloud rather than an insult to his perception, implying Sephiroth doesn’t believe that it is a fever dream. Where this alternate Aerith came from is still a mystery, but since the Sephiroth at the Edge of Creation is described by the developers as a mysterious new Sephiroth that knows Cloud better than the others, the theory goes that this is a similar version of Aerith. Perhaps from the lifestream, perhaps from another timeline. We can’t know for sure. After the final boss, Cloud telling Aerith to wake up is all in his head. She opens her eyes exactly on cue and doesn’t say a word to Cloud, when the real Aerith would be shocked and confused, or maybe even mad that she can no longer cast Holy from the lifestream. Moreover, when we see the party at the edge of the water below the altar, she isn’t there initially and there’s no acknowledgment of where she is from Cloud. The common interpretation of this is that Cloud manifested this reality to distract himself from the fact that he is laying her body to rest in the water at this moment, just like what we see in the original game. This is likely a setup for this moment to happen in a flashback in game 3 once Cloud finally comes to terms with what happened at the altar. Here’s where things get interesting. At the water’s edge, the Aerith that Cloud sees is *not* a figment of his imagination. He is actually seeing an illusion from Jenova, using Cloud’s defense mechanisms against him in order to convince him that Aerith is still alive. In Rebirth specifically, Jenova is described as a deceiver that stole the faces of the dead and sowed the seeds of discord among the Ancients and Mankind. This ability that Jenova has is given special emphasis in this game in order to inform what is happening with Aerith in the ending and where it will take the party into the next game. Cloud’s belief that Aerith lives will tear himself and the party asunder. Aerith is only visible to Cloud, something we’ve seen happen with visions of Sephiroth throughout the game, and what separates this from an imaginary event is that Aerith actually holds conversations with Cloud and convinces him of things that he couldn’t come up with on his own. Her dialogue is lifted directly from previous lines in this game and Remake, as if it’s an approximation of her using past information. She had a meta awareness about the original Aerith’s plan to stop the meteor using her prayers, despite the fact that meteor hasn’t even been summoned yet at this point. She pretends to be involved in what the rest of the party is doing, but she cannot answer Cid’s question about what she did at the altar and she disappears when not in Cloud’s line of sight, as if this is all a charade to convince Cloud. The biggest contradiction to this is that Red senses her presence, but while Red is indeed more in tune with the planet than the others, he isn’t infallible. He is indeed prone to manipulations from Jenova. If he is chosen to hold onto the Black Materia at the Northern Crater, he is manipulated into bringing the materia to Cloud by Sephiroth. What he is sensing in Rebirth may actually be Jenova posing as Aerith, which would set up for that same scene to happen in the next game. In fact it could even be a vision of Aerith instead of Tifa that convinces him. Finally, when informed by Cloud of his resolve to defeat Sephiroth, she tells him to make it a promise. A direct contradiction of what she said to Cloud in the Sleeping Forest, that he should leave Sephiroth to her and focus on finding himself. This is not Aerith. This is Jenova, or possibly Sephiroth, just like how Rufus was convinced by Sephiroth disguised as Glenn to start a war with Wutai. Cloud is being set up to have his psyche break to the point of no return once the truth comes out at the Northern Crater, and he will not only have to confront his history, but his grief over Aerith’s death. The final bit of contradictory evidence comes just before the credits, as Aerith looks wistfully at the Tiny Bronco flying away and says goodbye. This one moment stands in opposition to the entire Aerith/Jenova theory, and while Max cites it as a cop-out for the emotionally resonant ending, I want to give it more credit than that. In truth, a single definitive piece of evidence is all it takes to knock this theory out, but there has to be no room for interpretation. There is very little we can say about this ending with absolute certainty, which is a criticism of Drinker’s that I agree with in part. I believe the intention of the developers is to have these questions answered definitively at the Northern Crater and in Cloud’s self-reflection in the lifestream, but for many people, the story has become too vague to be interesting. Ultimately, for me anyway, it’s as the Drinker says: it all depends on how they stick the landing.

[@julienwaite1274]

Oh they’ll stick the landing. No doubt. Part 3 is going to be absolutely nuts.

[@NickyLaurienzo]

I can’t wait to play this. I’m about to buy a Ps5 and get Remake, Rebirth, and FF XVI. Got a shit ton of content to get through but I’m excited lol

[@Joshua-do7vo]

Having played the first part when it hit Steam, I'm looking forward to this. Here's hoping the wait for the Steam release isn't long.

[@lanepalmer]

As much as people like to give the kingdom, heart series flack, the reason so many people love that series is because they love the endearing characters. Yes, the story can be confusing, but as long as you want to see a character thrive, it can be enough to weather through any story madness.

[@paulmccluskey3466]

Cait Sith is brilliant to play. But I agree, the box section was tedious. That section and a couple of navigation issues in the open world aside, the game was gold for me

[@harryhenderson2479]

Fantastic review, drinker! Hoping they stick the landing on the final game.

[@clarkkeller]

"physics are fixed" *a literal sneeze and half the room explodes* Beyond that this review is pretty spot on.

[@AlmightyRodga]

Game of the year

[@JB-nt4jt]

Game of the decade...

[@sagecentral1809]

For sure

[@Kaybossboi]

@@JB-nt4jtcalm down it’s defo not, mate 😭

[@dansmith1661]

Billions sold.

[@pietrozavattaro2323]

@@Kaybossboiit is

[@stratosfire1943]

Loved Aeriths song towards the end.

[@dannyg88]

Great review! This is a very special game, especially in this day and age.

[@JimSelfisHere]

Maybe people forget that the beginning of the original FF7 was also extremely linear.

[@kenpachi1114]

Barrett’s section of the game when he confronts his old village and best friend was really well done

[@noneayourbeeswax2323]

I didn't ask for Final Fantasy 7 2ish. I can't speak for everyone, but what I can say is that what a lot of people wanted was to see the original Final Fantasy made with all the power of modern hardware. I didn't want to be surprised, I wanted to show people who have never played it how it felt and what it was about. I wanted to see all the things I imagined when I played the original realised in a way that the original creators wanted, but simply couldn't do with what was available to them. I don't want a game where they taunt me by telling me that they could have made the original, but aren't going to and here's some grey ghosts to remind you that we won't... And the worst part? Every time someone excuses them doing this and buys the game or reviews it glowingly, the odds of them stopping doing stuff like this and actually doing what we asked for the in the first place only get slimmer and slimmer. This is like when people pardon how bad the Witcher TV show is: It's not like it ruins the other Witcher material... That's true, but the problem is, we wanted to see a live action, modern special effect, Henry Cavill lead Witcher TV show to put actors and images to the stories we read... And now that it's been done and has failed and wasn't what we asked for? Nobody will try it again for years. Maybe not even in my life time. The failure of these people to give us what we asked for, all the while claiming it's what we asked for, means that when we ask for it again, the people responsible for making it will say: "No, we already tried giving you that and you didn't want it." So now?... I'll likely be dead before anyone attempts to make a FF7 remake that sticks to the original story with modern hardware, voice acting, orchestra and game play. Instead, Remake and Rebirth will be held up as the thing I asked for and didn't sell very well and I'll be told it isn't a profitable idea as I, and I know other people, hold fistfuls of money that we have been ready to hand over since we were children, waiting for them to actually give us what we asked for.

[@ohnosmoarlulcatz]

People didn't pardon The Witcher TV show. The first season usually doesn't get judged as harshly because it always takes a few episodes for them to get their stride, especially in the modern era when the entire season is now filmed without the ability to react to criticisms. This means that fans are more likely to give the second season a chance and why people are upset when it gets cancelled without a second season. It was when the second season of The Witcher landed that people began to harshly criticize the show because of the increased emphasis on Ciri instead of Geralt. But, even that didn't get people to completely drop it yet. It really took season 3 for the show to die off because it doubled down on the problems of season 2 instead of fixing them. You even saw this with shows like Willow and Batwoman. Willow was bad, but most people didn't criticize it as harshly despite it getting cancelled. Batwoman was bad, but it took until season 2 before all their decisions started to get harshly criticized. Even Game of Thrones didn't get criticized as hard as it did until around season 7 despite going off the rails earlier. The sad thing is that Square Enix is ultimately not learning any lessons from their failures and instead doubling down. Ever Crisis was more of Remake's Classic Mode that pissed a lot of people off. Yoshida's whole PAX 2023 and documentary response to criticism of FF16 already killed any chances of success with the PS5 era with the exception of maybe Dragon Quest 12 if they can actually deliver on that.

[@danielcentini8703]

It’s not the same as the Witcher. Regarding FF7, the people involved in the Remake trilogy are mostly THE CREATORS of the original. It’ s their story. It’ s not about what some people want. The creators feel they have to expand the story and go to another direction. So let’s give them a chance to show what they have in mind. We call still not like it, and that’s ok, no story has complete unanimity. But so far, MOST people are enjoying the changes and looking forward to the part, including FF7 experts And we could never know what modern audiences would feel about an exact 1:1 Remake. And btw: the plot of the original game was not perfect…

[@drewtheunspoken3988]

Look on the bright side: at some point, all 3 games will be on PC and some enterprising modder(s) will alter the games to be closer to the original. I'm going to be "that guy" and say that I actually preferred this over a 1:1 remake. I would still have loved it but it it would have felt fairly routine. No matter how great that game could have been, it was never going to hit the same as the first time you played it. Most people who never played the original know the biggest twists. Two points in this games favor: it's being reworked by some of the original creators. So it's not like The Witcher where randos are "making it better." The second is that it still mostly follows the OG with some flourishes. It's debatable if it works for everyone or even most people. I'd be willing to bet good money they will never attempt another remake of a mainline Final Fantasy. Outside of the alleged 1:1 FF IX remake.

[@andrewcarlton6196]

That is why SE would be really smart to take the Ever Crisis models and creat 3D, not realistic, just simplistic levels and make the game. Split it into three chapters and sell each for $20. I have met so many people that have not played the original game cause the poor graphics and its buggy nature and they are only fans of the game because they live Crisis Core.

[@danielcentini8703]

Yeah. The problem is not the Remake Trilogy. In my opinion the “Ever Crisis” should not have been a mobile game.

[@lekanraposte6732]

This game was absolutely fantastic and the gameplay was solid. The story gets confusing at some places, especially the end. But appart that, I don't regret having paid full price. My only criticism is the same as the first part of Remake: SO MUCH PADDING. And the padding here has been cranked to 11. Still, I prefer padding to make my levels rather than the classic way, meaning grinding the same battles over and over the classic way.

[@DigiThorn]

9:44 I feel like this need to be talked about more in general, because yea platonic relationships have become depressingly rare 😢

[@alextheblueman-reviewergam9655]

I have put 240+ hours into the game. I'm 3 trophies away from the platinum. The hard combat challenges are no joke. Only completed 6 of them. But I'm still heckbent on going through them all.

[@saltyk9869]

I need to get back to it. A little intimidated from trying to get all the minigames done. Especially the Sit Up one...

[@andrewramirez3998]

Rulers of the outer worlds and bonds of friendship just may be the hardest thing I’ve done in a game. I’ve beaten every souls game like over 10 times too

[@bluecollarloser6654]

I envy you lol. Wish i had the time to platinum this game but I've got so many other side projects I'm backed up on lol

[@cs8712]

took me 16 hours of focus to get bonds of friendship. optinoob is the goat

[@guszo77]

Charley, Fucking hell. FF7 REchadley is what they should’ve called it and I loved this game. After the grasslands I wanted to fire that stupid android out of Junon’ Sister Ray

[@Brandonweifu]

Bro I love the game is even aware how Chadly and the female AI are annoying 😂😂😂

[@12ealDealOfficial]

The girl Chadley is absolutely insufferable. Another guy said he put her voice on the controller and turned it all the way down.

[@jase276]

At least in Remake you could ignore him, I NEVER approached him or did his stupid quests. Only once did I go to him to get Shiva's summon and that was it

[@jorsinorphaeus]

Honestly, I have not played the remake at all since I heard about the story changes. I don’t know if this review is going to change my mind but it definitely meant something to me to see you give it the pros and cons.

[@arthurliarte1350]

loved the remake, especially the combat and characters, can't wait for rebirth to get on PC.

[@kontrazgaming]

Yuffie was added very late in the original game, and could even be missed entirely as a party member, which is why she had such little character development or impact on the main plot. Glad she was fleshed out because she went from my least favorite party member to quite possibly my favorite.

[@CaiusNelson]

What bothers me most about Rebirth is that now we'll probably never get a true remake that faithfully adapts the original story. The devs seem to have this attitude of, "well what's the point of telling the same story again?" as if they think the original story and themes aren't good enough to be told on their own. Rebirth can be brilliant at times with its story and characters, which makes it so much more frustrating that it's all in service of this convoluted nonsense of a plot. Modern FF's obsession with forcing the "defying fate" message into everything killing the writing.

[@abovewater6918]

Exactly. I think fleshing out the characters and the world are great, and I don't mind changes that expand on those things. But there was no need to turn this into Kingdom Hearts, multiple timeline crap. There still would have been enough new things to satisfy people through all the fleshing out. The worst part is there is a ton of new players that have never played OG, and they will never get to experience the real story of FF7.

[@andrewramirez3998]

@@abovewater6918kingdom hearts doesn’t have multiple timelines lmao, have u even played kingdom hearts?

[@abovewater6918]

@@andrewramirez3998 I know it doesn't. That's why I put a comma in between Kingdom Hearts and Multiple timelines, I should have specified better. I was trying to say some aspects of KH and also multiple timelines. Remake had what was essentially a giant heartless for a boss in the fate whispers main boss. Also Kingdom Hearts makes things needlessly complex. Not saying it is terrible, but they sometimes go a little overboard. While KH doesn't have multiple timelines, there is Xehanort. I was basically just saying that FF7 has multiple versions of the same characters, but obviously it is done differently in FF7 than KH, but there's some similarities

[@andrewramirez3998]

@@abovewater6918 As a die hard fan of kingdom hearts, I can agree that it is needlessly complex. In part also because intricate parts of the lore are strung out among a bunch of little side games. I do think they have a specific direction of where they are going with rebirth, it’s just they intentionally make it more confusing for us to string together atm by leaving out certain pieces of information and mixing contexts around.

[@CaptainTitforce]

The biggest thing that I still don't see a lot of people talking about; if you haven't played the original game then all the big changes make no fucking sense. Same with all the big twists that reference the original. Especially the ending of this game with different outcomes for Aerith. It means nothing to a person who doesn't understand what originally happened. But the developers originally said that this game is for new and old fans alike. But how could it be with this kind of writing?

[@azariahawthorne9760]

I have no life to sit here day by day waiting for his review, but I'm glad I waited. 😂😂😂

[@chroniquephilousophique9983]

Honestly, you are the only reviewer who gets me.wanting to play it. Cause all i was seeing and hearing about it everywhere else was giving me creeps. And i talk about good and bad reviews.

[@victorsullivan9107]

Something about this game was exceptionally disappointing to me, despite it clearly being a high quality product. I think my biggest complaint is the pacing. It feels weird to spend half your main quest time doing nothing of importance, like joining a Shinra dance competition or spending 2 entire chapters at Disney world. I’m happy to do that as side content, but it felt like there was too much downtime during the main quests. It also feels weird to have chapters that are like: 1 hour of random encounters then 5 bosses back to back, instead of spacing things out properly. I know the story covered a lot of ground, but it also feels like the characters accomplished nearly nothing of importance over the 70ish hours I spent with the game. Idk man, there’s so much good to say about this game but for some reason I walked away feeling like it mostly wasted my time.

[@finixmoon127]

Idk man, I play games to goof around and basically have fun, so yeah it probably comes down to personal preference

[@Dayv018]

Honestly I felt they followed events of OG pretty closely throughout, and gave players a lot of agency in choosing their own pacing of the game. So much of the content is optional that it's very easy to focus more on main story if you want to push it forward. Some of the main story parts were more dense than others, that's true, but that's pretty much true for the same parts in the OG as well. It's quirkiness has always been one of its traits.

[@v1x100r]

The parts of this game that are good are brilliant, the parts that are bad are awful. I still prefer the original

[@Gakusangi]

I'm very much in the same boat. The new additions and changes (save for some QoL stuff and boosted graphics) really didn't do anything better than the original, making it feel like I would have just preferred something closer to a remaster over a full-blown remake by the end.

[@pietrozavattaro2323]

Classic nostalgia merchant preferring a 97 pixelated turn based game 😂

[@Gakusangi]

@pietrozavattaro2323 or they just prefer the original story and did think the bloat of new fearires really added anything more than a boost in graphics and some QoL would have.

[@LastSamurai80]

I have to agree. Chadley is a massive negative for me, and is constantly "kicking me out" everytime he appears. I think he's a really lazy (mechanic/function?) in the game.

[@pantsgaming759]

was a great game and i liked the first one alot aswell. They are saying it didnt sell as well as they liked and might not make the 3rd one. Lets hope sales get better over time so not only its made but they go all out like rebirth.

[@PilferpupCartoons]

Rebirth is the one game after 80 hours i still didnt want to end. In contrast to any other rpg (especially jrpgs) that after 10 hours i often wish was in the endgame content.

[@jeremygardner3183]

The game developers intentionally wanted this game to have a “conflicted” ending. All emotional payoff and catharsis will happen in the final game, and honestly, I can’t blame them for wanting it to be the best of the 3.

[@mangomariel]

I don`t see how they can top this tho. But looking forward to the game!

[@DaRkLoRd-rc5yu]

I'm so excited for part 3. It's gonna be all Godzilla monsters and the end of the world. It's gonna be awesome.

[@connorstace]

Drinker. Gotta disagree on one part. Cloud imagining aierth makes sense. He has been deteriorating psychologically throughout rebirth. I think it's a wild and bold choice to make your cool anime protagonist finish up the game in essentially the most broken state possible. This rings true further when you see that he has the black materia and is subservient to sephiroths will still. I'm not saying he must be imagining her, but I think it's a valid theory. I also like it better then just "Oh she from the multiverse". :P Wouldn't be surprised if it was a bit of both.

[@317Chris]

Cait Sith's Scottish voice was used in FFVII Advent Children as well. I think they were trying to keep it consistent.

[@garywood97]

I don't think they're going to do the "she lives AND dies" outcome, at least not for the final ending. I agree that would be pretty lame. But they've heavily foreshadowed the fact that all of the alternate timelines are unstable and will collapse before the end (that's what the crack in the sky represents), and that everyone who somehow survived longer than they should will end up dying in the exact same way, but at a later time (they're clearly hinting to that by the way Zack keeps getting surrounded by a platoon of soldiers, just like in his original death scene). So both Aerith and Zack will die in part 3, that's my prediction. Probably after they've given the chance of reuniting one last time.

[@sakrowley]

I won’t buy the next one until reviews come out by people whose opinions are similar to mine. I do NOT like rebirth. I platinumed remake - hoping this Rebirth was going to be amazing. Landed on 30% positive/70% negative. Why did they change the story so much??? What was so bad about the OG. I can see why they are trying to incorporate the extended universe and wrap it up. But they didn’t need to do that with this game. I am so sad after beating this game. What a waste.

[@shro_okee]

reasons that I've heard as of why is that such a long project (a decade of development for all three games) would be pretty dull for creatives who already worked on a finished story and just make another samey game wouldn't be exciting for them (creative people want to create, expand and reimagine their old work and give it new life, not replicate)

[@felldoh9271]

Whaddya mean man lol? Some things are different because of Sephiroth using the Lifestream to redo things so he succeeds. And it’s it like all that music was changed; we still got to experience this part of the original story in a UE5 engine with an exceptional combat system.

[@blewidescorpio]

Too many mandatory mini games. That Cait Sith was a prime example. I don’t like the retcon timeline thing they’re doing. But admittedly I’m harshly bias cause the original has been my favorite game since I was a wee lad when it first came out

[@fy4b230]

Mine too, but rebirth is a triumph imo. I don’t mind the timeline thing because the story isn’t finished yet so I can’t judge, and I also did not want a one for one remake. I have my favorite game of all time still on my shelf whenever I want to play it. Big fan of not knowing what’s coming, while still getting that nostalgia hit. Completely understand if you don’t feel the same way though. Cheers.

[@blewidescorpio]

@@fy4b230 I wanted same game with new gen graphics and combat. It was over 20 years from original to announcement of the first next gen so I just wanted an upgrade. Otherwise like you said I can just play the original which is almost 30 years old now so gameplay and graphics are way outdated and any kind of upgrade will never happen. I’ve played it so many times over 27 years an upgrade would have been nice but that’s tainted

[@fy4b230]

@@blewidescorpio cool. Understandable. At least you got the graphics, music and combat. Honestly for me, the majority of the main plot points and scenes I wanted to see are better than the original imo. They kinda threw the Aerith scene though, but I’ll hold out to see if that decision pays off in part 3. For example, segments like Junon are pure bliss for me and 1000 times better than the original imo.

[@Rawrele]

I haven't played the original, but let me just say this with a straight face: Rebirth is the best game I have ever played.

[@solomoneom7665]

I loved the game. Had basically the same criticisms as you did. The game is more of a challenge than the last for platinum trophy. Worth the play.

[@DeathblowMateria]

I can see past its faults, absolutely loved it. Soundtrack is up there as one of the best ever IMO

[@elisodrakulia]

I agree with thiiss, i love the game, is fantastic but God that ending... it got me just thinking... "what the hell just happen???" Was so anticlimactic, so confusing.... just lets hope the ending actually explains and expands what se is trying to do...

[@RyanMaiden666]

When you actually hear honesty in a review, you can tell. That's why we love the drinker

[@charlesedwinbooks]

I cannot sing the praises enough for the writing and rework of the plot and characters. So much of ff7 is just missable and now most of it is not. Which is required for fluid story telling. I never liked Yuffie in the og, hated using her, and wutai was a nightmare with her over the top nonsense. But in remake and rebirth they've reframed her and reworked her entire character and personality into something thats so enjoyable. And shes such a joy to play. Her playstyle is loud, bold, and incredibly rewarding.

[@briana.9395]

This game turned Aerith into Schrodinger's cat.