This second instalment brings the whole party together
As Square Enix demonstrated with Final Fantasy VII: Remake, revisiting a previously published work can be about a lot more than providing a faithful, refurbished retelling. It can also be a reimagining, a restructuring, or a revisioning. What, then, to make of the suggestion of a Rebirth? For those who reached the conclusion of its predecessor, the title of this second instalment in what is now confirmed to be a trilogy implies a brand-new start. Though it could just as well mean a literal reset for ex-SOLDIER member Cloud Strife and his band of eco-warriors as they leave behind the dystopian metropolis of Midgar to save the rest of the planet from the fascist Shinra Corporation and megalomaniac Sephiroth.
Our hands-on, which begins with our party on the outskirts of the towering military installation of Junon, doesn’t start immediately after the end of Remake – assuming it sticks to the original script, there’s a brief stop at the village of Kalm and a sojourn into the Mythril Caves. But it still takes place early enough that we’re conscious that everyone is at a conspicuously lower level than most players would have been at the end of Midgar’s highway, in a game where it was possible to max out at 50. If it’s disappointing that your progress, including Materia or Summons, may not carry over to Rebirth, there are practical reasons for that. Though a continuation of FFVII’s story, this is not an MMORPG expansion, and with a four-year gap between releases, even we’d admit to feeling rusty if we were expected to face high-level challenges from the off. And Square Enix is clearly conscious that for some players – even if they represent a minority – this might even be their starting point.
More importantly, Rebirth significantly expands upon Remake’s hybrid of realtime action and command-based party combat, almost as if it were a direct response to Final Fantasy XVI’s singular but divisive character action. Many of Remake’s mechanics have been retained, such as switching to Cloud’s Punisher mode, which remains a deliciously optimal offensive and countering stance. His suite of abilities, executed via charged-up bars of the ATB gauge, has also expanded: as well as a variety of different ways to wallop enemies with his outsized sword, he has some unusual new skills, including being able to transmute weakened enemies into items.
Unlike Remake, where the events of the story dictated your trio, here you can choose between five party members: Cloud, his close childhood friend Tifa, healer (and last descendant of the Ancients) Aerith, Avalanche leader Barret, and talking beast Red XIII. While we’re given three preset parties to pick from, the final game allows players to adjust party composition outside battle, while during combat you can switch which character you’re controlling with the ta
