General Gaming Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Remake Part 2) - "An Excellent But Inconsistent Experience" (Digital Foundry Technical Review)

[Biggie]

 

[Best]

Still on chapter 17 after playing 2 more hours today. It just never wants to end. 

[Best]

Finally beat this tonight. Confusing ending so I'll read up on it and also check @legends writeup.

 

Overall, a fantastic game that dragged on at the end. 9/10

[crispy4000]

32 minutes ago, best3444 said:

Finally beat this tonight. Confusing ending so I'll read up on it and also check @legends writeup.

 

Overall, a fantastic game that dragged on at the end. 9/10

 

Cool, you still have time for the Intermission DLC now

[Best]

Just now, crispy4000 said:

 

Cool, you still have time for the Intermission DLC now

 

Well it said I can do the Yuffie stuff but I don't want to tire myself out before Thursday. So I'm jumping right into Rebirth and I'm pumped. 

[Biggie]

39 minutes ago, best3444 said:

Finally beat this tonight. Confusing ending so I'll read up on it and also check @legends writeup.

 

Overall, a fantastic game that dragged on at the end. 9/10

Exactly. If they make that ending just a tad bit shorter and get rid of all that extra fighting it’s 10/10

[crispy4000]

5 minutes ago, best3444 said:

 

Well it said I can do the Yuffie stuff but I don't want to tire myself out before Thursday. So I'm jumping right into Rebirth and I'm pumped. 

 

I listened to some of GiantBomb's spoiler-free discussion.  They did say that Yuffie DLC does play into Rebirth in some way, and that Yuffie becomes a major character in Rebirth at some point.  The mini-game introduced in it also makes its way into Rebirth.

 

So maybe go revisit the DLC if you tire of the open world stuff at some point and want a linear romp.

[Biggie]

1 minute ago, crispy4000 said:

 

I listened to some of GiantBomb's spoiler-free discussion.  They did say that Yuffie DLC does play into Rebirth in some way, and that Yuffie becomes a major character in Rebirth at some point.  The mini-game introduced in it also makes its way into Rebirth.

 

So maybe go revisit the DLC if you tire of the open world stuff at some point and want a linear romp.

How much is it do you know?

[Best]

1 minute ago, crispy4000 said:

 

I listened to some of GiantBomb's spoiler-free discussion.  They did say that Yuffie DLC does play into Rebirth in some way, and that Yuffie becomes a major character in Rebirth at some point.  The mini-game introduced in it also makes its way into Rebirth.

 

So maybe go revisit the DLC if you tire of the open world stuff at some point and want a linear romp.

 

Man, I spent 32 hours on this already. I will try to understand things before Rebirth but I'm not going to over do anything where I get tired of FF7 lol. I want to be fresh for Rebirth on Thursday.

[crispy4000]

10 minutes ago, Biggie said:

How much is it do you know?

 

Pre-order FF7 Rebirth under the "Twin Pack" label on PS5 and its free.  Same with the rest of FF7 Remake.

[crispy4000]

9 minutes ago, best3444 said:

 

Man, I spent 32 hours on this already. I will try to understand things before Rebirth but I'm not going to over do anything where I get tired of FF7 lol. I want to be fresh for Rebirth on Thursday.

 

I get it.  I seldom ever jump into series sequels back to back... though you kind of are already.

 

Holding off on Intergrade until now was a great choice for me, since it got me re-acclimated to the combat system after years away.

[Biggie]

13 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

 

Pre-order FF7 Rebirth under the "Twin Pack" label on PS5 and its free.  Same with the rest of FF7 Remake.

Not gonna work for me. I already own FFVII Remake and I just beat it last week. 

[legend]

The Yuffie DLC isn't part of the OG. You don't need to play it before starting Rebirth. If you feel like going back after playing Rebirth because you want more, that would probably be fine.

[crispy4000]

2 hours ago, legend said:

The Yuffie DLC isn't part of the OG. You don't need to play it before starting Rebirth. If you feel like going back after playing Rebirth because you want more, that would probably be fine.

 

You didn't need to play the original FF7 to play Remake.  But clearly you'd get a lot more out of it if you do.

 

The problem is that no one who hasn't beat it knows what is essential backstory in regard to Rebirth.  There's too much shit out there they've opened the door to, and they keep opening more than they shut.  They could follow up on some of it, they could follow up on none of it.  They say Crisis Core will matter.  They say a short novel will matter.  Who knows how much that should be taken at face value, or said just to sell us on things.  (Though it was mentioned on Giant Bomb that the book actually does enrich the game a lot ... ugh)

 

Since the Yuffie DLC is part of the Remake project, I'd think it has closest proximity to where they'll take Rebirth (or the last game), especially with its dangling threads.  I don't think it should be skipped it for that reason.  Maybe you trust Square to give it to people in flashbacks, but as the end of Remake illustrates, that can be problematic of its own accord.

 

 

All said, @best3444 is going in more or less blind to the original.  So really, to him, it might just mean one, two, or three more characters where it might take further explanation than the game gives.  Or not.  Who knows.

[Keyser_Soze]

1 hour ago, crispy4000 said:

The problem is that no one who hasn't beat it knows what is essential backstory in regard to Rebirth.  There's too much shit out there they've opened the door to, and they keep opening more than they shut.  They could follow up on some of it, they could follow up on none of it.  They say Crisis Core will matter.  They say a short novel will matter.  Who knows how much that should be taken at face value, or said just to sell us on things.  (Though it was mentioned on Giant Bomb that the book actually does enrich the game a lot ... ugh)

 

No one mentions it but Advent Children is also essential in a way. The end of remake:

 

Spoiler

literally shows footage from the movie

 

And I think the creators have gone on to say that it will be implemented more into Rebirth (which is probably part of the reason they re-released it in theaters.

 

Also, as for the Giant Bomb breakdown of the game, I disagree with some of what they say in regards to the original game (like TurboShawn) such as Cait Sith having a small role in the original. He's actually got some of the biggest parts in the original game.

[Spork3245]

@best3444 @Biggie

While Intermission/The Yuffie DLC is worth playing, I get not wanting to and I posted a recap a few pages back so you can be caught up (same post I had the crisis core video in).

Also, Biggie, even though you have the OG FF7 Remake, if you order the twin pack for Rebirth it should still upgrade your version to the PS5 update and/or give you the Yuffie DLC for free.

 

EDIT:

 

[Biggie]

16 minutes ago, Spork3245 said:

@best3444 @Biggie

While Intermission/The Yuffie DLC is worth playing, I get not wanting to and I posted a recap a few pages back so you can be caught up (same post I had the crisis core video in).

Also, Biggie, even though you have the OG FF7 Remake, if you order the twin pack for Rebirth it should still upgrade your version to the PS5 update and/or give you the Yuffie DLC for free.

 

EDIT:

 

It says I can't. I own the PS5 version not the OG PS4.

[Spork3245]

5 minutes ago, Biggie said:

It says I can't. I own the PS5 version not the OG PS4.

That’s lame AF.

[legend]

8 hours ago, crispy4000 said:

 

You didn't need to play the original FF7 to play Remake.  But clearly you'd get a lot more out of it if you do.

 

The problem is that no one who hasn't beat it knows what is essential backstory in regard to Rebirth.  There's too much shit out there they've opened the door to, and they keep opening more than they shut.  They could follow up on some of it, they could follow up on none of it.  They say Crisis Core will matter.  They say a short novel will matter.  Who knows how much that should be taken at face value, or said just to sell us on things.  (Though it was mentioned on Giant Bomb that the book actually does enrich the game a lot ... ugh)

 

Since the Yuffie DLC is part of the Remake project, I'd think it has closest proximity to where they'll take Rebirth (or the last game), especially with its dangling threads.  I don't think it should be skipped it for that reason.  Maybe you trust Square to give it to people in flashbacks, but as the end of Remake illustrates, that can be problematic of its own accord.

 

 

All said, @best3444 is going in more or less blind to the original.  So really, to him, it might just mean one, two, or three more characters where it might take further explanation than the game gives.  Or not.  Who knows.

 

I enjoyed it, but I just don't see what they presented as being critical to the rest of the story. Mostly it will give you some additional background on Yuffie and what's motivating her.

[Spork3245]

8 minutes ago, legend said:

but I just don't see what they presented as being critical to the rest of the story.

The post credits scene and possibly the introduction of those two bosses (who are from the PS2 Vincent game iirc)

[legend]

1 hour ago, Spork3245 said:

The post credits scene and possibly the introduction of those two bosses (who are from the PS2 Vincent game iirc)

 

You mean the bit with

 

 

Spoiler

Zack?

 

I'm not sure that really is required viewing since they already showed you something weird was happening with

 

Spoiler

Zack in the main game ending. And the little extra they showed can be covered extremely quickly. "He goes to the Church to find Aerith"  

 

I'm not sure I remember which bosses you're talking about and I never played the Vincent game. But the stuff with Nero doesn't really cover anything meaningful other than the fact that Nero 

Spoiler

kills Yuffie's partner.

 

But that can be summed up real quick if needed.

[Spork3245]

16 minutes ago, legend said:

 

I'm not sure I remember which bosses you're talking about and I never played the Vincent game. But the stuff with Nero doesn't really cover anything meaningful other than the fact that Nero 

  Reveal hidden contents

kills Yuffie's partner.

 

But that can be summed up real quick if needed.

You should be doing a bit more spoiler tags, but I never said it couldn’t be summed up (hence the video I posted) and I think those bosses may serve a larger role in Rebirth  

[Best]

I read as much as possible now for me to go into Rebirth. I should be ok. If not, oh well! 

[legend]

21 minutes ago, Spork3245 said:

You should be doing a bit more spoiler tags,

 

I suppose, but this is a rebirth thread and I think the only people ITT who hadn't played FFVIIR but are interested in rebirth have now finished it! I've added additional spoilers out an abundance of caution though.

 

21 minutes ago, Spork3245 said:

 

but I never said it couldn’t be summed up (hence the video I posted) and I think those bosses may serve a larger role in Rebirth  

 

 

If you agree it can be easily summed up, that's precisely my point. There are only little tidbits that are so easy to briefly mention. It's just not critical to play the DLC to understand what's going to happen in Rebirth.

[Best]

Can you download Rebirth now? If so, I need to get on that!

 

Edit: Answered my own question and just bought it and I'm downloading now. Let’s fuckin go!!!

[Spork3245]

34 minutes ago, legend said:

 

I suppose, but this is a rebirth thread and I think the only people ITT who hadn't played FFVIIR but are interested in rebirth have now finished it! 

 

Two of the people ITT haven't played Intermission which is why it's being discussed  

 

34 minutes ago, legend said:

 

 

 

If you agree it can be easily summed up, that's precisely my point. 

 

I think you're mixing me up with crispy. I was only replying to: "but I just don't see what they presented as being critical to the rest of the story." with what I thought may potentially impact Rebirth, I never said the Remake DLC needed to be played, just implied that there may be some narrative carryover and that's why it shouldn't be completely skipped (ie: watch/read a summary at least)  

[legend]

9 minutes ago, Spork3245 said:

 

Two of the people ITT haven't played Intermission which is why it's being discussed  

 

 

I think you're mixing me up with crispy. I was only replying to: "but I just don't see what they presented as being critical to the rest of the story." with what I thought may potentially impact Rebirth, I never said the Remake DLC needed to be played, just implied that there may be some narrative carryover and that's why it shouldn't be completely skipped (ie: watch/read a summary at least)  

 

But not being critical I meant you don't need to play it, you can skip it and go straight to rebirth.

[crispy4000]

2 hours ago, legend said:

 

I enjoyed it, but I just don't see what they presented as being critical to the rest of the story. Mostly it will give you some additional background on Yuffie and what's motivating her.

Or you know, who that guy is you fight right at the end.  Or the other one.  Or the fact that they’re there has implications about who else they’ll bring in.

 

Spoiler

Genesis, per the ending of Crisis Core.

Its easy to see this stuff factoring into at least one of the timelines.  Yuffie’s plot isn’t really done in that regard, and really, it could end up being the larger party’s issue as well.

[Spork3245]

9 minutes ago, legend said:

 

But not being critical I meant you don't need to play it, you can skip it and go straight to rebirth.

 

Sure, but you should still check out a summary  

[Spork3245]

 

 

...

[Keyser_Soze]

Is it better than the Red Bull FF rebirth ad though?

[Biggie]

Has the PS5 preload started?

[legend]

41 minutes ago, crispy4000 said:

Or you know, who that guy is you fight right at the end.  Or the other one.  Or the fact that they’re there has implications about who else they’ll bring in.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Genesis, per the ending of Crisis Core.

Its easy to see this stuff factoring into at least one of the timelines.  Yuffie’s plot isn’t really done in that regard, and really, it could end up being the larger party’s issue as well.

 

Sure, there's references to stuff. But it's all window dressing. I find it hard to believe that playing the Yuffie DLC will make a difference in understanding Rebirth.

 

 

32 minutes ago, Spork3245 said:

 

Sure, but you should still check out a summary  

 

If someone want's the read a two sentence summary in advance I'm not going to stop them! Nevertheless, I maintain that it is not critical to play the DLC before you play Rebirth. You'll be able to follow Rebirth just fine. Or at least as well as without (The FF7 story isn't exactly simple so I can see people have trouble regardless   )

[crispy4000]

11 minutes ago, legend said:

 

Sure, there's references to stuff. But it's all window dressing. I find it hard to believe that playing the Yuffie DLC will make a difference in understanding Rebirth.

The things left unexplained in the DLC may be explained later.  But I could see it being a situation where you see these characters have some history but lack context.

 

Giant Bomb hinted that Yuffie becomes a more major character than the original by the end.  That alone is enough reason to familiarize yourself with the events of Intergrade.  It may not be window dressing, we don’t know, other than they will be dipping from the well in places Remake didn’t.

[Spork3245]

5 minutes ago, legend said:

 

Sure, there's references to stuff. But it's all window dressing. I find it hard to believe that playing the Yuffie DLC will make a difference in understanding Rebirth.

 

 

 

If someone want's the read a two sentence summary in advance I'm not going to stop them! Nevertheless, I maintain that it is not critical to play the DLC before you play Rebirth. You'll be able to follow Rebirth just fine. Or at least as well as without (The FF7 story isn't exactly simple so I can see people have trouble regardless   )

 

You said you don’t recall anything important, I only noted what could be important going forward and wasn’t arguing about anything