Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Review

The synergy system is the fix. Pairing characters for joint abilities and shared ATB gives every party permutation a reason to exist, and swapping between Cloud's stagger pressure, Yuffie's elemental coverage and Barret's tanking becomes a genuine tactical language rather than a menu chore. Combat is now the best in the series, full stop. The open regions are dense and handsome, Cosmo Canyon and the Gold Saucer especially, and the Queen's Blood card game is good enough to have been sold separately.

The problem is volume. Nearly every zone gates progress behind a minigame, some excellent, many padding, and the world map checklists dilute the pacing badly across the middle chapters. Aerith's arc is handled with real care and the ending's multiverse ambiguity will divide people permanently. Building a world this large while keeping character work this specific is a serious achievement; the editing needed a firmer hand.