Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthis set to be a real chunky RPG. Instead of taking place entirely within the confines of Midgar as you explore a number of reimagined towns and dungeons, we’ll be set loose in a sprawling open world filled with new characters, quests, and distractions.
I wrote recently about how I was relieved thatRebirth would boast a curated open worldover aprocedurally generated nightmare akin to Starfield.The majority of places and people we’ll interact with will have been implemented with deliberacy, meaning there is hopefully far less chance of throwing hours away on side quests that ultimately mean nothing. This gives me hope that even minor interactions and combat scenarios will be worth sticking around for.
Speaking toGame Informer, co-director Motomu Toriyama confirmed that the open world in Rebirth is heavily inspired byThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, perhaps more so than other RPGs in recent years, as the franchise strives to adopt western sensibilities without leaving its integral identity behind. Geralt’s swansong was considered a “baseline” for the experience Square is hopeful for Rebirth to become, making its sprawling world one with range and consequence as opposed to ripe with filler that won’t be worth the time it takes to seek out.
Looking at both what we’ve played and everything we know about The Witcher 3 however, is there a more concise picture we can draw regarding Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and what it may look like in its finished form? The answer is sort of, especially with Square Enixrecently releasing gameplay clipsthat not only showcase fast travel, but the sort of scale we can expect from the world.
The fast travel video features a developer opening the map and slowly dragging the cursor across it, passing a plethora of different icons and activities that can be sought out or ticked off on an ever-growing checklist. This is your usual open world fare, and hopefully there won’t be too much of it, or it will at least be accompanied by character-driven missions that aren’t all about earning experience for the sake of progression.
This is exactly what Wild Hunt did so well. Question marks littered across the map might point towards monster dens or a cool treasure hunt, but the things worth doing come from speaking to people in towns or naturally stumbling across handwritten notes in abandoned cabins, kickstarting adventures that could keep your attention for hours if executed well, entire odysseys that open doors to additional quests found in towns and cities you haven’t even discovered yet.
While its combat and act of actually exploring its world could be finicky at times, Wild Hunt made up for it with top tier writing and characters which perfectly understood what it took to make Geralt feel like a part of his realm. An outsider to many perhaps, but still a monster hunter with decades of history on his shoulders. Whether Rebirth can achieve a similar feat remains to be seen, but it’s not impossible if Square Enix has learned the right lessons. The last thing I want to see from an RPG like this with such excellent combat and an ensemble cast is to have them diluted by a dozen hours of repetitive quests. Heading down that road would tarnish not only the main story, but what we can also expect from the inevitable third and final entry.
Some players are understandably worried that after receiving a greater view on the map, that we’re poised to receive yet another predictable triple-A open world, but I like to think Square Enix subverts our expectations enough with Remake that it wouldn’t risk hinging its follow-up on such banal mundanity. Only time will tell, but if the sequel can capture even a fraction of the open world magic found in The Witcher 3, we’ll be in for one hell of a treat.I just hope it doesn’t also peak at the Bloody Baron.
