TGS 2023 - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Hands-on

You can find all of my Tokyo Game Show 2023 coverage here

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was a late addition to the Square Enix Tokyo Game Show line-up. Late but expected. The pair of TGS demos were confirmed immediately after the new trailer dropped during last week's State of Play, and we all got very excited indeed.

Fortunately, Square Enix came prepared, kitting out their booth with one hundred demo stations, thus ensuring that everyone could have a go. Konami, please take note: six demo units is not enough for a highly-anticipated release!

The two demos were very different. The first was a flashback concerned with Cloud and Sephiroth's ascent of Mt. Nibel, accompanied by a young Tifa and an unnamed Shinra soldier in non-playable roles. The second demo took place on the outskirts of Junon, and gifted us a full party of Cloud, Aeris, Red XIII, Barret and Tifa. This was a far more open segment of Rebirth, which encouraged some exploration and culminated in a familiar boss battle.

I played the Sephiroth scenario first, and liked it less than I hoped I would. I returned to Square Enix a couple of hours later for the Junon mission, which more than renewed my enthusiasm for Rebirth.

The Sephiroth and Cloud-led demo reminded me so much of Remake, for better and for worse. While it was wonderful to be back in that world, and experiencing a very familiar event in a slightly different way, the linearity and the confined nature of the setting, as well as its lack of colour and character, proved to be major letdowns. It brought back unwelcome memories of Remake's oppressive corridors, which is the opposite of how I want to experience the memorable and varied world of VII.

Combat remains a supremely well-balanced mix of action and time-based attacks. I'm no modern-RPG expert, but it's the most effective classic/modern hybrid that I've come across, and is far more convincing than XVI's DMC-lite brawling. Subjecting stronger attacks to ATB-limits ensures that you're constantly balancing the need to deal effective damage and heal your own wounds. Movement across the battlefield is smooth and effortless, with Cloud and Sephiroth instantly locking-on when using magic, abilities and limit breaks, which was a god-send when fighting the airborne monsters that inhabit the mountain.

There are a few minor tweaks, all of which are positive. Synergy Skills, which I believe were introduced in the Intermission DLC, are devastating tag team attacks that beg to be used at every opportunity. A feature that I failed to access in the demo, but learned about subsequently, is the option to switch between saved, three-character line-ups mid-battle, giving you full access to a range of attack types and unlocking further Synergy Skills. Sephiroth, newly playable here, packs a serious punch, whether you're controlling him or trusting him to do his own thing; he can also teleport across the arena to ensure that he always remains where the action is fiercest.  The full FFVII compilation has done a great job of expanding upon the Sephiroth myth, conveying his unrivaled power and establishing his high standing among his peers, and Rebirth seems poised to further enhance his reputation as a once-in-a-generation killing machine with hair to die for.

Outside of combat, gameplay was rote and uninspired. Seek out dead-ends to pick up trinkets, and climb up rock faces by moving between blindingly obvious yellow ledges; kill something small then have a quick chat before moving to the next rock or ladder. The rock is brown; the ladder is grey. A final puzzle has Cloud pulling around a huge air purifier to suck up Mako gas in an effort to unlock an elevator, which was as exciting as it sounds. The device somehow felt both unwieldy yet also floaty, and the entire process of dragging it backwards and forwards was thoroughly unsatisfying and utterly boring. In complete contrast to combat, physical interactions feel sluggish and I often found myself struggling with the camera. It collided into rocks with worrying frequency, and seemed unsure how to see through or around the supporting characters, who tended to be either in the way or in the process of turning invisible and returning to their prescribed path.

As you can see, I had my fair share of issues with the first demo. Yet being back in this world, surrounded by familiar sights and sounds, made for a welcome experience. The power of VII, I guess.

While the first demo may have fallen short of my expectations, the second exceeded them, and I came away newly enthused. Gone were the linear paths of Mt. Nibel, replaced by a far more open and vibrant setting, and one that encouraged the kind of playfulness that I want from this game.

Visually, the second demo was far more interesting. The Junon area represents a more varied slice of Gaia, encompassing coastal inlets to rocky plains, farms to seaside slums. There was color and warmth here, though I'd stop short of calling Rebirth a looker. It looks nice, yes, but the visuals certainly didn't bowl me over.

Here, outside of Junon, I got a feel for how things will play out between towns and narrative beats. Chocobos make traversal fast and easy, there are treasures to dig up, locals to aid, and pesky monsters to slay. I also came across hunts, timed battles against slightly more challenging enemies that dole out rewards depending on how convincingly and quickly you deal with them. These encounters encouraged me to make full use of my arsenal and interact more meaningfully with the combat mechanics. 

Once I'd had my fill, I headed to Junon and a familiar encounter with a young girl, a sea serpent, and a dolphin, which played out a little differently to how us VII-heads might expect. Another example of how Rebirth, following in the steps of Remake, will look to both meet and subvert our expectations.

As for the combat, by this point I was back into the swing of things, and was delving into each character's full range of abilities, switching combatants more freely, firing off Limit Breaks at every opportunity, and having fun with the newest party member, Red XIII. It takes very little time to get to grips with this battle system, yet I believe it offers the depth necessary to retain player interest across a trilogy that will likely span more than a hundred hours all told.

In tone, the second demo was much closer to what I expect of VII. Lighthearted, cute, and not afraid to be completely over the top.  Red XIII clumsily riding a chocobo was an obvious highlight, as was the painfully adorable chocobo chicks that begged to be petted. The demo ended with a ridiculous dolphin assist, aiding Cloud in landing a killing-blow. I honestly can't wait to reach Gold Saucer and all the glorious nonsense that awaits inside.

All in all, I'm still pumped for Rebirth. The aspects of the first demo that bothered me most are consistent with the those that bugged me in Remake, a game that I still greatly enjoyed. Freed from the constraints of Midgar, and the need to stretch twenty hours of viable content into something twice that length, Rebirth is where I expect the VII remake to fulfill its considerable potential. Roll on February 29th.