Square Enix is going through a time in which it has had its successes and also its failures, since not long ago they experienced defeat with the launch of Fospoken, which, although not a bad game, did not convince those who were waiting for it with some expectation, and that translated into poor sales and imminent criticism. However, the strong cards had to come to light to give the company hope that everything will improve, and that brings us to a time in which we have seen more than Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, of which we did not know anything since its revelation at a certain event that took place at the end of 2022, as it was in a very early stage of development. All the uncertainty has taken a rather interesting turn, since within the framework of the Summer Game Festival out of nowhere a new development was revealed that indicated to us that finally square enix You will be focusing all your attention on the game. Well, we saw many details that include gameplay, graphics and even a little history that the next big production will have.
After this, many of us believed that new news would not be forthcoming, but how gullible we were when an advance of much longer duration was presented during the last SSony’s tate of Play. Ending the event in a decent way, and at the same time confirming the release date, which is not that far away if we analyze when the first look was taken. It seems that with this square enix She would not be satisfied, since once said advance came out, many videos on specialized media channels and influencers were released. In them they let us see an extended gameplay made up of two parts, which reveal the advanced state of development and that we are in a promotional moment in which they are going all out so that Cloud and company return to the spotlight. This same demonstration has reached large events such as the Tokyo Game Showand although we thought we would not be able to experience this on our own, we have received an invitation from square enix to be able to give our impressions. Same things that we will clearly make known to you in this previous text that we have prepared with great pleasure for you.
It will be Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is it on the right path? Or maybe, is it better that they delay it a little more due to issues detected in the version? Well, we are going to check that out in this Hands On dedicated to one of the games that is probably one of the most anticipated in years by fans of the action JRPG genre.
A big gap to overcome
Three years ago when it was launched Final Fantasy VII Remake We saw the evolution of Japanese RPGs with touches of action, since the development team did things so well in terms of combat and progression, that it would hardly be able to be surpassed. And since it was known that two parts were missing, the implementations of graphics and also gameplay were obvious.
With what we have been able to prove, it seems that things are headed towards something more ambitious, putting two types of scenarios on the table, which we precisely saw in the demo. Having a predefined path in one case, and in the other, a semi-open world so that the player is not only focused on following the point that takes him to the next objective of the story.
Speaking of the first part, here we focus on a team of only two characters, which are Cloud and Sephiroth, and the movements of our private first class are very similar to those of the previous game. That is, with the square we can attack normally until the ATB bar fills and we can cast magic or skills.
The postures of the characters are also taken up, where they have different attacks depending on the occasion, in addition to having skills if they go for a more offensive way or without much attack if they go on the defensive. To this we add the fact that materials continue to be equipped on weapons or accessories in order to add magic or character attributes.
The artificial intelligence of the characters is more or less good, since they can be programmed to be more cautious or go straight towards rivals, heal us when we are in danger or more details. So we could say that more work has been done on this issue, and of course, the most special attacks can only be activated by us, the players.
The new part here is that for the first time we can handle the one-winged angel, at least in this episode, and that its powers are very broken due to the context of the story. And we are resuming the climb to Mount Nibel, where the goal is to reach a reactor at the top to meet some beings that are fused with the Mako.
Along the way I have discovered that the special powers of Sephiroth They are easier to execute, since their ATB bars fill up quite quickly due to their combos against enemies. And of course, character limits are present, which are devastating attacks from a single individual that lower a lot of life, it doesn’t matter if we are also facing a boss.
The conclusion of this first linear scenario takes us to a combat that is somewhere between skillful and cinematic, since we will need the skills of both characters to win. However, the elite soldier takes center stage due to the fact that his double combo (new mechanic) with Cloud is devastating and finishes excellently with the giant creature that threatens us.
I really liked this part, which I predict will not be the only one regarding the issue of linearity, because it made it clear to me how the combat system is going to be working. All accompanied by graphics that feel of the generation even though some may perceive that it is just a copy and paste of what was seen in the predecessor video game.
Let’s go out into the world and see its brilliance
We reach the second part of the demo Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, where I think is the section that people had the most doubts about, I am referring neither more nor less than the open areas of the game. And yes, I have called them “areas” because the square enix has named them, which indicates that the phrase “open world” may not be used throughout the game.
The first thing I saw when I reached this part was that we can finally move on the backs of a Chocobosomething that looks pretty good on the map, although I must admit that seeing Network XIII about one of them was a little strange. Beyond that, mobility is good and of course it is more agile than simply walking.
On my way I met another of these creatures but with the appearance of a baby, and then I decided to follow him because he was very stupid with his animations in which I accompanied him. So we arrived at a kind of bus stop that you can find in any city, and I helped him raise a kind of pole that serves as a transportation point and also gives us an item known as the golden feather.
Speaking precisely of this object, it helps us buy equipment at the Chocobo ranch, a place where we can give our characters a break to rest and make customizations to the giant chickens. For now, what I saw only gives them a new look, but it doesn’t give them any kind of ability or anything like that. Of course, they can detect treasures through their sense of smell and unearth them quickly.
Another thing I have encountered in the semi-open map are enemies that function as challenges, since it will be our duty to beat them with certain requirements to obtain better rewards in the form of objects and equipment. The challenges consist of tasks such as winning within a certain time limit, defeating with certain spells or even with specific skills.
After these three activities that we have seen, I have not captured much more within the open area, which to begin with was not immense given the moment of the adventure in which they have released us. However, it is promised that there will be larger plains, so I liked this impression of the world, it is definitely better than what was seen in the last game.
Regarding the characters, it is evident that they must be used according to the situation because when we have more earthly enemies it is obvious that Cloud or Tifa can take action, but when there is someone in the air Barret will be able to defeat him by using his machine gun. For his part, Aeris has magic and always comes in handy on the team because he heals easily.
There is also the raid of Red XIII, a character that I have felt can be a balance between healing but also offense, also being someone who attacks on the ground. I don’t feel like it’s really essential, but maybe in the full version of the video game, many of us will end up getting the hang of it and making it one of our main ones.
An element that I also found interesting is the combined attacks, because although I already mentioned that part with Sephiroth, I feel that it will be much more ambitious with the other guys in the group. And that is because each pair has its own special movement, so it will be a matter of experimenting to know whether or not it is convenient for us to use them in certain combats.
As for the bosses in this section of the game, I can say that I feel that the challenges will be interesting, since accumulating specials, limits and using defensive magic will mean that we will have to constantly change between characters. This part promises a lot, and I want to see how the possibilities will expand once Caith Sith joins our journey to stop Sephiroth and his new plan that won’t take us through the same PS1 story, at least not in the same order.
The road to the destination is still long
Overall, I can say that I liked this preview of Final Fantasy VII Rebirthbecause although things that those of us who tried the previous installment already know are preserved, there are also new details that improve the experience and take it one step further in the action JRPG genre, since it is not so hack and slash compared to FFXVI.
The semi-open world has given us a promise that exploration can have its charm, and I really hope that these areas are not just limited to enemy challenges, Chocobo ranches, and erecting poles for fast travel. We need more activities so that the adventure is not just about going from point A to point B, with well-used spaces that expand the planet of Gaia.
As we have been told regarding the part of the story in which the game ends, we may not see many new characters beyond Caith Sith and Yuffie, leaving iconic ones like Cid until the third adventure that is already confirmed as the last one that We will have remakes of this series or rather, games from an alternate timeline.
There is also a lot of emphasis on Zack Fair in promoting the game, he even appears on the posters, so I trust that they will make it playable even if it is in a fairly short period. We’ll see if in the end they decide to incorporate it in some way, but that’s five months away, so we will be eager for the arrival of this game that will surely deliver, well square enix He knew how to give good treatment to the previous day.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth launches on February 29, 2024 on PS5.
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