Peruna Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Review

This is what I imagined when I played the original! It just oozes with charm, and hasn't forgotten the occasional goofiness from the 1997 version. This is peak character writing. The depth they're able to give each character. Every character has doubts, aspirations, a facade they portray outwards, and internal conflicts. And we as a player can understand them from the smallest cues. Simply a chef's kiss! They even managed to make the minor characters have impact and be memorable. Animation is superb, and localization goes to extra lengths. The team behind the OST is a marvel, especially Shima's new pieces. Combat has a great flow, it's a step up from Remake which was already good. There's a good variety in enemy types, weaknesses/strenghts, status ailments etc. New materia allows more variation in your playstyle, and the difficulty in NG+ is a real challenge - not just spongier enemies. I understand the critique about the ending, but I think it's masterfully done: the ending is purposefully confusing the player, because Cloud as a protagonist is confused - in that scene we do not get a Godly perspective of knowing what the characters don't themselves know. The only real negative is Chadley - the constant commentary on every single thing you discover in the world takes you out of the moment. I still 100% recommend this game.