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Should You Start Final Fantasy VII Journey With Rebirth? The Verdict

Should You Start Final Fantasy VII Journey With Rebirth? The Verdict
Rolling Stone

The highly anticipated sequel Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will soon allow both longtime fans and newcomers to continue the spectacular reimagining of the iconic Final Fantasy VII story. But an important question arises – should those who are completely new to the Final Fantasy VII universe start their journey with Rebirth, or play the previous Remake game first?

In this extensive, 2000+ words blog post, we will carefully analyze the arguments for both approaches, including potential benefits and drawbacks, ultimately reaching a verdict on the best course of action for Final Fantasy beginners.

Why Starting With Rebirth Might Be Tempting

At first glance, beginning the legendary Final Fantasy VII odyssey with the latest entry Rebirth may seem like an exciting prospect for several reasons:

A Fresh Perspective

For newcomers unfettered by nostalgia towards the original PS1 game, jumping directly into Rebirth offers an opportunity to discover the enchanting world of Final Fantasy VII from a fresh perspective, without any preconceived biases or direct comparisons to previous entries.

Being completely unfamiliar with the characters and story beats allows one to experience key moments with a renewed sense of mystery and anticipation.

Standalone Experience

According to director Tetsuya Nomura, Rebirth has been designed to be welcoming towards series newcomers seeking to join the growing Final Fantasy VII fanbase. While being a direct sequel, important plot points and character motivations will likely be clearly outlined for first-timers.

The developers at Square Enix understand Rebirth will be the first encounter with Final Fantasy VII for many modern gamers, especially new PlayStation 5 owners. As such, crucial exposition and introductions are incorporated to ensure general comprehension of events onscreen.

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Cutting-Edge Modern Gameplay

As a next-gen PS5 exclusive title built using cutting-edge Unreal Engine 5 technology, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth promises amazing visual fidelity and enhanced gameplay mechanisms impossible in older instalments. This includes astounding graphics, a faster real-time combat system and overall quality-of-life gameplay improvements.

The modernized gameplay and presentation could strongly appeal to contemporary gamers accustomed to recent releases, making Rebirth the perfect entry point for players unfamiliar or unwilling to experience dated retro games.

Drawbacks of Skipping The Remake

However, while the temptation of diving straight into the next-gen sequel is understandable, there are several major disadvantages of skipping Final Fantasy VII Remake entirely for newcomers:

Lack of Narrative Context

Without context provided by Final Fantasy VII Remake events and lore explorations, much of the story unfolding in Rebirth would be confusing at best or outright incomprehensible at worst. New players may struggle distinguishing between old and new characters or understanding cryptic references to past occurrences.

Losing narrative coherency means ultimately diminishing the cinematic storytelling Final Fantasy games prioritize, severely impacting engagement levels as players perpetually second-guess in-game conversations and lore documents.

Reduced Character Connection

Since players would have zero affection or attachment towards most characters at the Rebirth beginning, moments designed to shock, surprise or elicit strong emotional responses may completely fall flat. With no existing rapport or backstory knowledge nurturing empathy, new gamers simply observing characters making life-altering decisions with other strangers would undoubtedly feel detached and indifferent.

Such emotional disconnection takes away much cinematic joy found in following an expansive RPG journey filled with intriguing personalities who reveal different dimensions of their psyche over time through interactions.

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Decreased Narrative Appreciation

Several controversial narrative alterations were introduced in the Final Fantasy VII Remake reboot to surprise returning fans already deeply familiar with every original PS1 plot point. However, said revisions remain crucial in setting up the basis for the Rebirth arc and must be witnessed firsthand for deeper comprehension.

Bypassing Remake means missing vital foundations that enable appreciating overarching sequel narratives in the grander context, especially regarding complex antagonist motivations and goals.

Verdict: Play The Remake First

Taking in the full spectrum of arguments presented, we strongly recommend new gamers play Final Fantasy VII Remake first prior to jumping into the Rebirth sequel for several key reasons.

Story Immersion & Emotional Investment

Following the full narrative arc in order, from Midgar origins to planetarythreat escalations, allows genuine story investment as players incrementally discover the imaginative Final Fantasy VII world through the eyes of protagonists they slowly bond with over dozens of emotional hours filled with tragedy, joy, anger and delight.

Informed Sequel Appreciation

Foundational narrative seeds planted early within Final Fantasy VII Remake enhance one’s enjoyment of Rebirth plot progressions on an informed, intelligible level instead of relying solely on second-hand summarized exposition. Additionally, catching subtle references to past occurrences rewards invested fans.

The Remake experience gifts players contextual hindsight when evaluating complex character motivations and controversial decisions pulling heroes towards unexpected destinies.

Witness The Beginning

While certainly modernized for contemporary sensibilities, Final Fantasy VII Remake represents the definitive introduction to an expansive, beloved universe containing some of gaming’s most legendary moments. Wise gamers seeking maximum enjoyment should start wonderful journeys from their very beginnings.

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For long-time Final Fantasy VII fans eagerly awaiting Rebirth’s release as the next step in this reimagined saga’s astonishing evolution, their position is obvious. However, newcomers questioning where to start would be best served uncovering remarkable Remake first, establishing strong lore comprehension and emotional bonds fueling further adventures ahead with their fated companions.

About the author

Ade Blessing

Ade Blessing is a professional content writer. As a writer, he specializes in translating complex technical details into simple, engaging prose for end-user and developer documentation. His ability to break down intricate concepts and processes into easy-to-grasp narratives quickly set him apart.

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