On the finish of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Sq. Enix made it completely clear that no matter lay in retailer for our band of adventures can be considerably completely different from the unique sport. Now that we lastly have our arms on the second installment within the Final Fantasy 7 remake trilogy, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, we will affirm that there are quite a few variations between it and the ’97 traditional. From fully new fight programs, a plethora of added minigames, and a few pretty huge character alterations, Sq. Enix has added loads of new options that make the newest entry really feel recent.
Beneath we cowl all the most important modifications made to the unique Final Fantasy 7 in Rebirth. We’ll begin with the least spoiler-filled modifications earlier than supplying you with a huge, bolded warning and digging into the juicy stuff. That mentioned, for those who’re making an attempt to enter the sport with as little data as attainable, we suggest you give this a learn after enjoying.
New materia
Like earlier Final Fantasy 7 entries, materia–orbs of solidified lifestream that grant the wielder distinctive powers–come in 5 completely different types. Inexperienced materia is commonest, and provides the consumer each offensive and defensive spells. Yellow materia accommodates further battle instructions, purple gives stat boosts, blue augments no matter materia is connected to it, and purple grants the consumer the power to summon gods and creatures that may assist flip the tide of battle. Nevertheless, whereas this all appears acquainted, Rebirth provides a number of new materia to the combination.
To provide a number of examples, Fireplace and Ice and Lighting and Wind materia are new additions that give the consumer two spells whereas solely utilizing one materia slot. Disempowerment and Enervation each deal with debuffs, with Disempowerment casting Debrave (Assault Down) and Defaith (Protection Down) whereas Enervation casts Deprotect and Deshell. In distinction, Fortification and Empowerment present your crew with Bravery and Religion, in addition to Shield and Shell.
Extra new materia consists of Subversion, Synergy, Darkside, Auto-Forged, Spare Change, Restrict Siphon, Magic Pot, Bahamut Arisen, and extra. Suffice to say, there are loads of mixtures to experiment with.
Synergy talents
Synergy talents are a brand new characteristic that see your occasion members come collectively to dish out highly effective assaults or tide-changing help talents. There are a fairly spectacular variety of these, as every character has three distinctive talents they’ll carry out with set occasion members. Cloud, for instance, can use the talents Ranged Blade, Melee Blade, and Counterfire. Whereas Counterfire can be utilized solo, Ranged Blade {couples} with both Purple XIII or Barrett, whereas Melee Blade requires both Tifa, Aerith, Yuffie, or Cait Sith to make use of.
Folio system
Nevertheless, do not assume you should use each Synergy capability within the sport from the very begin. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth introduces a brand new system (that’s extraordinarily harking back to Final Fantasy X’s Sphere Grid) known as Folios. Folios enable gamers to tailor their character’s fight model by cashing in SP (Talent Factors) to unlock new strikes, stat buffs, and, after all, Synergy talents. Be warned that it is a fairly tall order to unlock each capability on a personality’s Folio, so we encourage you to look forward and set up your varied characters’ play kinds early to make issues simpler.
Weapon expertise
In addition, character’s weapons now have distinctive talents as nicely. Tifa, for instance, can acquire Divekick, Reverse Gale, Starshower, Chi Lure, Unfettered Fury, and True Strike from Leather-based Gloves, Sylph Gloves, Dragon Claws, Tiger Fangs, Crystal Gloves, and Jarngreipr respectively. By utilizing a selected weapon for a very long time, you possibly can finally stage it up, permitting you to make use of its particular capability no matter if that weapon is provided.
Assessing enemies
Until you might be enjoying on the sport’s lowest/most forgiving issue, assessing your enemies and being attentive to their weaknesses is very important. Whereas it was pretty simple to stage grind and brute-strength your manner via Final Fantasy 7, Rebirth would not let it slide. I like to recommend at the least one individual in your occasion carrying an Assess materia and utilizing it each time a sure enemy is supplying you with a tough time. Fortunately, when you scan a sure sort of enemy, you by no means need to do it once more, which retains the entire course of from feeling annoying.
Relationship statuses
Whereas it is no secret that ’97 did have a relationship gauge of kinds hidden away inside its code, it is much more specific in Rebirth. In Rebirth, your relationship standing with every character is indicated by a small icon situated above their head you could view at any time by merely urgent L1. Straightforward methods you possibly can enhance your relationships embrace finishing a celebration member’s respective aspect quests, that are indicated by their portrait proven subsequent to the search within the sport’s predominant menu, and by executing a Synergy Capability for the primary time collectively.
Moreover, a lot of Cloud’s phrases and actions will elicit some form of response out of your occasion members, and there’ll even be occasions when he’s put ready the place he must aspect with one character over one other, equivalent to when the thrill-sicking Barrett and motion-sickness-prone Yuffie disagree on a sure technique of transportation. Whilst you will not be capable to upset a personality to the purpose of leaving, having a very good relationship does make for higher conversation–and higher dates.
Chocobo wrangling
Chocobos are dealt with fairly a bit in a different way in Rebirth, pun supposed. Whereas Final Fantasy 7 required Cloud to equip the Entice Chocobo materia, run up and down chocobo tracks till one appeared in battle, and toss greens on the chicken till all different enemies have been defeated and it joined your ranks, Rebirth duties you with finishing a small stealth puzzle. Every area within the sport has a selected, named chocobo with a novel capability that you should sneak up on and catch. To take action, you will need to duck behind mine carts, keep away from the wandering eyes of its chocobo companions, and use rocks to hit levers and trigger distractions. It is a enjoyable spin on an outdated system, and do not worry–you’ll nonetheless get the possibility to race the entire ones you discover over on the Gold Saucer.
So many aspect quests, mini video games, and open-world components
Simply as Final Fantasy 7 Remake made a once-seven-hour portion of the unique sport take nearer to 40 hours to finish, Rebirth provides rather a lot of content material in its effort to show the traditional title into a contemporary, open-world RPG. Naturally, loads of this comes from aspect quests, a few of which inject light-hearted humor into the sport, whereas others dig deep into your occasion member’s backstories and feelings.
Rebirth additionally provides rather a lot of exploration components. Every of the sport’s areas has a number of distinctive places and websites to discover, equivalent to massive Remnawave towers that grant you space intel, materia-rich Lifesprings, excavation websites, summon sanctuaries, Moogle houses (or Mogstools), and extra. And to get round these areas, you will must catch the area’s most adept chocobo, which is a complete quest by itself. Suffice to say, you will not be missing issues to do.
Lastly, Rebirth is completely packed to the brim with minigames, so here is hoping you want ’em! From the newest card sport craze, Queen’s Blood, to a brand new model of Fort Condor that transforms your occasion members again into their earlier, polygonal selves, you will not go lengthy with out being inspired to play, race, and compete.
No extra non-compulsory occasion members
Lengthy gone are the times of wandering the woods seeking Yuffie Kisaragi, or slinking about via Shinra Manor in hopes of rousing Vincent Valentine from his darkish slumber; In Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, each characters are necessary occasion members. Whereas the best way you recruit them is a bit completely different from the unique and we nonetheless cannot truly play as Vincent, it looks like that is the one huge change Rebirth makes to them.
Okay, that is the purpose the place huge spoilers come into play. When you have not but completed Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, I extremely suggest you accomplish that earlier than persevering with. Like I mentioned, huge spoilers! I will be going into the character’s backstories, relationships, and the sport’s general narrative, so learn at your personal danger!
Cid Highwind’s backstory
For probably the most half, the solid members of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth are practically similar to their ’97 counterparts, albeit with extra pixels. Nevertheless, there may be one notable exception: Cid Highwind. Whereas we’d nonetheless get the possibility to pop by Rocket City within the remake trilogy’s remaining installment, Rocket City, Shera, and Cid’s total backstory are noticeably absent from Rebirth. As a substitute, Cid is first encountered by the crew after they ship up a smoke sign in hopes {that a} pilot will discover them. Naturally, Cid is that pilot, and acts extra as a technique of quick journey moderately than a real occasion member this time round.
In comparison with ’97 Cid, Rebirth Cid has extra of a Han Solo-esque persona; he confesses that he does the occasional job for Shinra if the cash is correct, and appears to be primarily pushed by the will for private freedom. Moreover, Cid reveals he was shut with Aerith’s mom, which turns into the explanation that he’s so keen to assist Aerith and the remainder of the crew. Contemplating the controversy surrounding Cid’s unique backstory, which portrayed Cid as extraordinarily verbally abusive, it is sensible that Sq. Enix is reevaluating his introduction.
A confirmed multiverse (And a sort-of-alive-ish Aeirth?)
In the event you performed Remake this assertion may appear a bit foolish, because the existence of parallel timelines was alluded to in the course of the sport’s finale. That mentioned, it is good to have precise affirmation, and it is lastly given to us in Rebirth. In the sport’s remaining chapters, we uncover that Aerith is totally conscious of a number of alternate universes, in addition to the existence of a type of “prime” universe that follows the occasions of Final Fantasy 7. In each universe that’s not following destiny’s design, an unlimited rift seems within the sky, as is the case with the dimension Biggs and Zack exist in. This turns into fascinating (and regarding) when you think about the sport ends with Cloud primarily current between two dimensions concurrently, as he’s nonetheless wholly perceived by his teammates within the prime dimension however can also be the only real occasion member in a position to see and work together with a model of Aerith who lived. Whereas everybody else grieves Aerith and appears up at a transparent sky, Cloud nonetheless sees his companion–as nicely as a rising rift above.
Cloud and Tifa’s relationship
In the unique Final Fantasy 7, there have been a number of issues about Cloud and Tifa’s relationship that felt a bit… off. It was by no means fairly clear, for instance, why the pair did not sit down and talk about what occurred to them in Nibelheim or within the years following. Positive, we will assume that Tifa was stunned by Cloud’s claims, not sure of her personal reminiscences, and finally remained quiet to make sure her buddy’s psyche remained intact, but it surely definitely requires loads of filling within the gaps from gamers. Fortunately, Rebirth makes issues much more clear and fascinating.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth kicks off with Cloud and Tifa being considerably suspicious of one another; Cloud would not perceive how Tifa might have survived being sliced by Sephiorth, whereas Tifa would not perceive how Cloud can vividly recount what occurred in Nibelheim, as she would not recall him being there. Whereas their relationship is not fully tainted by mistrust, the seeds sown within the sport’s first act are reaped repeatedly all through its story and practically result in Tifa’s demise.
Moreover, the pair’s uncertainty in direction of each other makes Aerith not confronting Cloud about Zack extra cheap as nicely. After watching Cloud wrestle when confronted with data he would not bear in mind, or that contradicts his personal ideas, Tifa primarily turns into a buffer between Cloud and all this unsavory data. For instance, when Cloud tells Tifa he abruptly remembers Zack drowning in the course of the pair’s remaining mission, Tifa tells Cloud to let her speak to Aerith about it, claiming that she is nearer to her and might break it extra gently. Nevertheless, we as gamers can inform she nonetheless doubts what Cloud is saying and is aware of Aerith will, too.
And final however definitely not least, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth lastly makes it clear that Cloud and Tifa have a deeply romantic relationship. I nonetheless haven’t gotten over their Gold Saucer date. At this level, I think I by no means will.
Tifa Will get Time To Shine
And talking of Tifa, one of many greatest variations between Rebirth and the unique is how a lot consideration and care is given to her character. Whereas the martial arts grasp has at all times been a fan favourite character and one of many sport’s most vital figures, Rebirth offers us the possibility to really dive into her character. All through its chapters, we see her deep bond with Aerith, her concern over Cloud’s deteriorating state, her grief, her confusion, and even her near-death. Whereas I might argue Rebirth offers extra love to only about each character, Tifa actually will get some distinctive therapy within the sequence’ newest entry.