“Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is God-tier” Japanese fans give their first day impressions 

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Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Cloud Sephiroth Zack

With Final Fantasy VII Rebirth releasing yesterday, many people around the world are finally getting to experience the long-awaited second part of the FFVII remake trilogy. Japanese players have been taking to social media to give their release day impressions, with main talking points being the game’s sheer volume of content and high degree of freedom.    

Post translation: I played the game for nine and a half hours today but I’m still on Chapter 2. I stopped playing because I got tired. Can chocobos run in shallow water like this in other FF titles? I noticed that Tifa’s face looks a little different. I was surprised to see cactuars in the towns. The size of Rebirth might be ten times bigger than I imagined. 

In one of our pre-release interviews for the game, director Naoki Hamaguchi mentioned that “the theme of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is ‘choice.’” In other words, players would have the freedom to either focus on the main story, tackle the vast side content or do a mixture of the two. On the first day of play, it seems that many players have found themselves utterly engrossed in exploring the new expansive world and tackling sidequests to the point of not even touching the main story yet. Lots of X users mentioned how stunned they were by the beautiful scenery when exploring and how the game world feels so alive. 

Post translation: I have been playing for about eight hours straight since this morning, but there’s so much exploration and side content that I haven’t made any progress in the main story.  
Has anyone here tried doing some of the main story? 
I’m curious as to how everyone is progressing through the game… 
Post translation: This is what I wanted to see from FFVII Rebirth! 
The towns are vibrant, the world is large and enjoyable to explore- really fun. 
But I won’t forgive the White Fangs. They are too strong. 

In relation to being able to explore and tackle the game’s content however they wish, players praised the game’s high degree of freedom. Many said that they felt like they could play the game at their own pace, without the sense of having to go through the game’s goals in a checklist-like manner.  

Post translation: The elements I wanted in FFXVI are in FFVII Rebirth. 
The exploration with your party, the light comedy in your conversations with your friends. The world is more detailed than I imagined, and it makes me feel like I can take my time adventuring, instead of rushing through goals. 
Post translation: For those who only do the minimum online research because they are worried about spoilers, I’ll tell you this: FFVII Rebirth is a God-tier game. This is the first time I have neglected a story to freely adventure. It doesn’t get boring. My rating for the game may fall depending on how the story goes, but at the very least the gameplay gives you a high degree of freedom, the game is so expressive and beautiful that it moves your heart, the combat is interesting and the world map is vast.

The combat system, which builds on the foundations of FFVII Remake’s active battle system, has garnered much praise. In particular, Japanese fans seem to be enjoying the new cooperative actions and abilities, which allow two members of your party to perform various special techniques in battle by working together. 

Post translation: I’m still near the beginning of FFVII Rebirth but it’s super interesting. There are so many exploration elements that it’s interesting even if you don’t progress through the main story. Thanks to the addition of cooperative actions, the battles have even more depth. I want to get back to that feeling I had when I played FFVII Remake as soon as possible. Combat is fun but difficult. 

Unsurprisingly, many of these tweets were posted late last night or in the early hours of March 1. After a long day of nothing but FFVII Rebirth, many Japanese players were happy but tired- a feeling that FFVII Rebirth players all over the world can relate to. 

Post translation: My eyes hurt from playing the game for such a long time. I think I’ll take a break for a bit. 

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is out now on PS5. 

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Verity Townsend
Verity Townsend

Automation West Editor and translator. She has a soft spot for old-school Sierra adventure games and Final Fantasy VIII (yes, 8!). Can often be found hunting down weird forgotten games and finding out everything about them. Frequently muses about characters and lines from Metal Gear Solid and Disco Elysium. Aims to keep Automaton fresh and interesting with a wide variety of articles.

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