Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthis the latest installment of theFF7 Remakeseries, but if the trilogy is going to end on a strong note, then there’s one big problem that needs to be fixed in the next game. Being heralded as one of the best games of 2024 and even netting a nomination for Game of the Year at The Game Awards,FF7 Rebirthhas all the trappings of a fantastic game and a proper reinvention of a classic. Despite its praise, there was one common point of criticism that kept some players from finishing the game at all.
As one part of a three-game remake ofFinal Fantasy 7,FF7 Rebirthadapts only the middle portion of the original and expands it into a full game. In doing so, the game adds a wealth of extra content to the core experience to make it feel fuller, but a lot of that extra content could have been left on the cutting room floor.FF7 Rebirthquite simply has too many mini-games, to the point that it detracts from what is otherwise an excellent game.
A Fantastic Experience Watered Down By Side Content
TheFF7 Remaketrilogy had its work cut out for it in trying to recreate what many consider to be one of, if not the greatest JRPG of all time, especially if the project was going to be split into three parts. So far, the trilogy has been able to accomplish this by not just remaking, but reimagining the original game’s story in a new form and by delving deeper into the subplots and supporting characters. But there’s still the problem that one-third of an almost 30-year-old game needs to be expanded into a full-length modern triple-A title.
The problem is that those large environments are filled with a glut of side games and fluff that often feel like they were designed simply to pad out the game’s length rather than add value.
The middle installment of a trilogy is always the hardest to do well, andFF7 Remakedoes what it can by expanding the original game’s locations into a series of large, open-world environments to explore. The problem is thatthose large environments are filled with a glut of side games and fluffthat often feel like they were designed simply to pad out the game’s length rather than add value.FF7 Rebirthis a bloated experience as a result of this over-stuffing.
Every Costa Del Sol Minigame In FF7 Rebirth, Ranked Least To Most Fun
FF7 Rebirth offers a lot to do in Costa del Sol, but although all can be entertaining, some activities end up being a lot more memorable than others.
Between card games, races, music performances, and ab crunches,there are a total of 28 mini-gamesspread across the14 chapters ofFF7 Rebirth; for a bit of context, the originalMario Party, a game built almost entirely around mini-games, had a total of 50. Mini-games are nothing new to the JRPG genre or evenFinal Fantasy 7in particular, but the sheer overload at that scale is daunting. It leaves the game feeling less like an RPG and more like aFinal Fantasy-branded mini-game collection.
Too Many Mini-Games Distract From A Compelling Story
Saving The World Often Takes A Backseat
Final Fantasymay be no stranger to mini-games, but with the caveat that they’re typically relegated to optional side content. InFF7 Rebirth,mini-games are all too often mandatory for advancing the plot, and as a result the narrative frequently feels like it’s slamming on the brakes at the most inopportune times. It robs the story of its urgency – the quest to prevent the world’s destruction feels far less dire when we’re taking a break to buy swimsuits for the party.
FF7 Remake Part 3 Needs To Fix Rebirth’s Biggest Pacing Problem
Square Enix will have to curtail its tendencies of excess if Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3’s concluding story is going to stick the landing.
Though most of the mini-games are ostensibly optional, it’s an approach that’s at odds with the wayFF7 Rebirthis structured. As neither the beginning nor the ending of the story,Rebirthsmartly takes the approach offleshing outFinal Fantasy 7’s supporting castas the focus of its story, butmany of those important character moments are locked behind side queststhat, again, often require mini-games to be completed as part of the process.
How FF7 Remake Part 3 Can Fix This Problem
Trimming The Fat Will Be A Must
The triple-A gaming market often suffers from a need to make every game feel as big as possible, andFF7 Rebirthis a prime example of how this approach can potentially backfire. It creates a drive to make games bigger and bigger, but not necessarily better and better, all for the sake of creating the most perceived value for the price tag.FF7 Remake Part 3needs to shift its focus away from padding out the experience to creating a tight, focused finale for what promises to be an epic story, especially in light ofFF7 Rebirth’s disappointing sales, at least by Square Enix’s metrics.
FF7 Rebirth DLC Gets Disappointing Update From Director - But Good News For FF7 Remake Part 3
Final Fantasy 7 director Naoki Hamaguchi has some bad news about Rebirth but good news about the as-yet-unnamed third art of the remake.
PerHowLongToBeat, the originalFinal Fantasy 7takes about 36 hours to play through to the end, bumped up to 80 hours for those seeking 100% completion. By comparison,Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’sHowLongToBeatstats show takes about 47 hours for a standard playthrough, and a whopping 167 hours for full completion – over double that of the original game.
Many players have admitted they were unable to finishFF7 Rebirthdue to burnout from the relentless grind of side content, and that’s a big problem for the next game to come. The trilogy’s director, Naoki Hamaguchi, has already promised thatFF7 Remake Part 3will tone down the difficulty of completioncompared toRebirth, and hopefully that sentiment holds true when it comes to cutting the game down to size.Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthdeserves all the accolades it has received for its story and gameplay, but its flaws must also serve as a cautionary tale forFinal Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3.
Source: HowLongToBeat(1,2)
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is the sequel to Final Fantasy 7 Remake and will see Cloud and his friends set off beyond the walls of Midgar to explore the world, stop Sephiroth’s machinations, and see the world outside their slum prison. Now that the whispers of fate no longer guide the characters along the pre-destined path set in the original PlayStation classic Final Fantasy 7, the heroes (and villains) will shape the future. The game will still visit prominent locales and revisit crucial story points, but it will be a more significant departure from the first game from the source material.
