It’s no secret that Final Fantasy is one of my favourite franchises (lets not talk about FF16 right now though, I currently have no desire to finish it) and I wrote a few years ago now about my experience playing FF7R when it first released on PS4. Fresh information has been streaming through about the highly anticipated FF7 Rebirth coming in February 2024 so I thought not would be an excellent time to refresh my memory on the gameplay of FF7R and finally get around to completing the Intermission Yuffie episode. I’ve still got Crisis Core Reunion to play and with no knowledge of Crisis Core whatsoever I feel I need to give that the attention it deserves to be completely up to date with everything and ready for whatever FF7 Rebirth throws at me.
I’ve played through the game again and it’s brought back many treasured memories of the countless replays of the original and the amount of times I did actually play through FF7R on the PS4 and then again on the PS5 when I got that version for free. I did quickly become pretty engrossed with FF14 not long after getting the PS5 though so everything kind of got put on the back burner. Now I’m kinda waiting for Dawntrial and have played through several Trails games I thought revisiting FF7R to get caught up again would help reinvigorate my excitement for the release of Rebirth in February. And I am SO excited for that game.
I’ve now completed FF7R again on PS5 and will be taking advantage of the chapter selection mode that becomes available after completing the game for the first time to grab a few more PS5 trophies. I’m halfway through the Yuffie episode too and have Crisis Core Reunion ready to go after that. I feel a lot better knowing what I do know about FF7 Rebirth and that the second installment of the games is going to take us exploring all the way through to The Forgotten City. The announcement trailer showed some of the Weapons which look glorious as I knew they would. Fighting them in FF7 was a pretty spectacular moment, and the sidequest in FF14 showing the Weapons (and getting small PTSD after my first EX trial in FF14) and getting to fight them alongside friends was a cool moment. I can’t wait to see how the Weapons will be utilised in FF7R whether that’s in Rebirth or the installment that follows. If we are keeping the R theme will it be FF7 Revelations or something?
FF7R made me cry, again, probably. I’m sure I cried many times the first time I played it both from the overwhelm of finally getting it in my hands to all those beautifully harrowing moments that caught my attention the first time around. I have come to realize in this playthrough just how much I love each and every character in FF7’s world. People are always pitting Tifa and Aerith against each other for being the ‘better’ female lead but I felt a real strong sense of sisterhood between the two of them. I loved that. I love Tifa’s strength and quiet resolve, I love Aerith for her compassion, kindness and optimism. They are both fantastic characters. Playing as Yuffie for the first time reminded me just how much I love her character in FF7. I ALWAYS did everything I could to get her as a party member early on in the original game to have her for as long as possible. She’s cute, angry, small and clumsy – everything I love in her archetype of character and I can not wait to see how she slots in with the rest of the FF7R characters.
I haven’t finished the intermission episode yet but Yuffie and Sonon’s relationship at this point has had my laughing. Yuffie is exactly the sort of character I love to play; completely chaotic but with a good heart and doing things with what she believes to be the best intentions. You already get a glimpse of the strained relationship she has with her dad who a lot of people respect. She’s got a bright and sunny disposition and she fights like a complete badass. Strong Estelle Bright energy – an unrelated female protagonist from Trails in the Sky but that lovable hotheaded chaotic energy is exactly the sort of female character I love. Yuffie is going to bring some great energy and interactions in Rebirth. Sonon balances her character pretty well although seems to have taken the ‘big brother’ role and whilst he kind of goes along with what Yuffie is doing and saying he’s also very much muttering ‘why me’ along the way.
Replaying FF7R and reminding myself how weapons upgrade and how to use things like materia and summons alongside remembering that each party member has a unique style to their fighting gets me excited for FF7 Rebirth and the party compositions and synergised attacks to come. I’m really excited to get all the party members together and really see how the grow and develop together in this new version of Final Fantasy 7. Despite my initial reservations about the game being solely based in Midgar that doesn’t mean it’s lacking in depth or emotive story topics. The development and expansion of the starting city really deserves credit because even though some areas of the game do feel a little bit tedious, they are still done well. Playing FF7R again I knew I wasn’t excited about going through the Sewers and then the Train Graveyard again but since playing I have come to realize part of the reason I didn’t enjoy them is because you are at such a rush to get back to base at that point and it sort of feels like you’re blocked.
My replay of FF7R was enjoyable, emotional and has certainly got me hyped up for the next installment in February.
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