I’d rather get more Now in the 90s. It was like my comfort food that I just kinda got used to being there, reminding me of all the cool gaming memories I remember living through in the 90s. I had gaming magazines back then and loved games, so the series was so perfect for me. A perfect hit of nostalgia, that for some reason stupid me just assumed would continue through 2029 so we could relive PlayStation, N64, Saturn, Dreamcast and more. The format for the show was so freaking cool. I hope someone else rips off the idea and creates something similar. It was just such a sweet trip down memory lane.
@@NoLongerUploadingHere they arent doing any more now in the 90s content, they're shuttering the channel because it underperformed and didnt make good money.
The better scene is when Sephiroth turns Zack into a pickle for the the final boss and Zack yells IM A PICKLE CLOUD. IM PICKLE ZACK before doing his limit break
I think one parallel timeline where Zack lives is all that we needed. The fact this went full on multiverse is just so convoluted and has lowered my excitement for part 3.
I feel the same way. Just because a story is complex and convoluted doesn’t make it good/clever. Only reason I’m excited about pt 3 is the combat. If I were to play rebirth again I would completely ignore all the side content.
The last chapter and the "shock" ending made me feel absolutely nothing. It's like they wanted both ways, but couldn't commit to one, so they wrote it into the story that both happen in two different timelines, and now we have to contend with Cloud's fuckery in part 3, which I just hate. Nothing has consequences because "anything can happen anytime it wants so nothing matters."
The best conversation in the game was the one between Cloud and Barrett in the Gold Saucer. You all know it probably. You know, the one about the pickles?
When Barret mentions "all the pickles on this giant @&#% pizza" I was confused, but then I remembered that cactuars are really just abnormally large mutated cucumbers after all
IDK how well this works for this game, but in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom I experimented with purposely turning off the mini-map UI and avoiding the towers that filled in the overworld map. I found it really changed my experience with open world game design for the better. I started taking better notice of my surroundings and the subtlety's in how things were laid out to help you navigate and discover things. Areas I might have described as empty or boring before suddenly became interesting as even something like a change in elevation altered my ability to navigate the world. I suddenly became more aware of the subtle differences between seemingly copy/paste content (this bokoblin camp has a ledge I can exploit, this one has some boulders, etc.) and these things became a lot more interesting. The difference in discovering this content through natural exploration instead of trying to check off EVERY SINGLE box also played a big role in preventing burnout and letting me move on at my own pace. I didn't find nearly everything, sure, but it turns out you really never needed to and modern game UI's just condition you into thinking you do. If anything this just makes your experienced more personalized and interesting. Admittedly, I think Zelda TotK is better designed around this than many other open-world games (in fact, I honestly feel like BotW and TotK were MEANT to be played without a map sometimes), but when the option is available I definitely consider turning off as much of the navigation and quest UI as possible these days.
I guess we're so used to hand-holding that we hold it against the game when it for a moment doesn't do so. Gongaga region is mostly jungle, I think it being harder to navigate is part of the charm.
Damn bro you’re right!!!! brings a different feel and keeps its exciting because you can’t wait to find a area and special items and equipment also keeps you very sharp it challenges you
i actually started doing this in gongaga and i noticed it did make a much better introduction to all the open world zones. after a while i would start using the map more to complete stuff, but just wandering around just feels better than going staticly to point A, B, C and so on.
7:54 - 8:24 Makes me think of Tales of Arise, how every single side quest specifically has two party members interacting, and they'll have moments of character buildup, backstory elements, and moments of friendship. I like that a lot
Something you didn't cover directly that I found extremely annoying with the game was the forced waiting. Every single time you completed or progressed a quest or objective, you had to wait for the objective UI to do its thing. You then had to wait for Chadley or whoever to contact you... followed by maybe another contact. You have to wait to get on/off the buggy. You have to wait to do turns on the chocobo from standing still. You have to essentially move at a crawl pace for some quests. Like the chickens in Gongaga, protorelic where you had to follow/push the robed guys, etc. On it's own, in an individual sense, not a big deal. Towards the end of the game though, you're gonna notice it. This is especially true if you do most of the side content, regardless of when you choose to. It would be a non-issue if the waiting was a one-time thing, where subsequent occasions allowed you to move around. There were just so many small annoyances that it basically amounted to a landfill of them.
@@JenovaGirzz Devs generally didn't make games that had so many quest completed/updated notifications back then either though. My complaint isn't about load time. It's about unnecessary pauses. If they don't utilize techs strengths (and limitations) appropriately, that's almost never a good thing. If you're trying to say those update locks are because of loading requirements, then that's an even worse standing for them lol.
I don't think Reds personality changes as much as you say it does. In the first half you can always see him trying and failing to hide his childishness, like in his first sidequest or when they arrive at gold saucer. He still gives input post Cosmo Canyon he's just not hiding his inexperience, his heightened connection to the planet is still important. It definitely took some getting used to for the voice though.
He basically like cloud in the first half, trying so hard to be cool but constantly failing at it. You can see the hint the he is faking the "wise" persona through all of it. And like you said, he still has those knowledge and he can be playful like changing to his "wise" voice like in the pirate sidequest.
@@staticbystandermark1 I'm actually curious about that. There is some optional content that's available before Cosmo Canyon that I didn't complete until after Cosmo Canyon, and he actually used his "kid" voice in those scenes. I wonder if they actually recorded 2 takes for if you complete that optional content before/after Cosmo Canyon?
I fully endorse this review. I'm reeeaaally feeling the criticism on pace. The start/stop of Rebirth is a lot. And the multiverse thing is..... yikes. It's very telling that there's an option to completely skip the Zack cut scenes.
Very refreshing to see someone express how I feel about the ending. All that I’ve seen online is how the ending was great and such, but I feel like they wanted to change it but couldn’t decide on the best way to do it so they just didn’t commit to anything. Ever since I finished the game, I’ve felt that it’s 95% pure bliss and enjoyment and that remaining 5% is the ending. Seeing all the info they’ve put out on the Ultimania has solidified my stance of not liking the ending at all. That said, I’m very excited for part 3.
Nah they lost me, the moment with what they did with the ending of Remake, then watching what they did to Red and Aeriths death scene in Rebirth. Glad I didn't buy Rebirth, and will watch how they handle Reunion or whatever the third installment will be instead of buying it.
Pickles is right here - the ending’s execution left me not feeling what I thought it would, because of *how* it was executed. Instead of being ready to feel something, I was put in a place to try and understand something going on. And you’d think I’d have been ready for this, given Nomura’s Kingdom Hearts-heavy hand, but yet here I am. Great review!
14:46 Hold on... is that Aerith on a segway? I can handle Sephiroth turning himself into a pickle, but that's where I draw the line. Come on Master Chief, lets get the fuck outta here.
I've read and heard so many reviews that say the World Intel can be done in an hour or two per region, and for the life of me, I think we should start including an additional line to that statement. "And although you *can* you probably won't" because not one single region took me less than at least 3, with an average being 4-5 hours. Between navigating the Terrain x Map, redoing Battle intel to satisfy annoying conditions, clearing cache locations, side quests, etc., it's just not feasible for anyone to do all World Intel in a region in just 1 or 2 hours without knowing the game like the back of your hand. I admit, I take my time, but getting through everything on those "sprint" days still took hours. Especially Gongaga.
My problem with Final Fantasy 7 Remake/Rebirth is that it was marketed as a remake, but they're really not. Nothing turns me off to a game more than a bait and switch.
You explained the ending's problem better than anyone, using the exact needed words. "The game sets you in logic mode", "It needed to be the exact same scene or the complete opposite", these are so on point..
This is a fantastic review and 80% of the video is you being positive about the game. I did not expect that from the title as I thought you were going to rip into it the whole way through 😅. But yeah this is one of the better reviews I've watched. Keep it up
I think a fair point to be made about Nanaki is that he barely has any notable dialogue after Cosmo Canyon in the original game, so the tone shift is not something people would have remembered that much. He has an incidental line here or there and that's kind of it. The significant dialogue he _does_ have (if you ask him to hold the Black Materia, or when Bugenhagen "goes away") definitely does show how young he is.
Solid review. Agree with all the criticisms, specially the ending. And definitely agree with all the positives. This review is the closest to how i felt with everything compared to other reviews I've seen.
“Rebirth” feels like it was made by Ubisoft and I honestly don’t know if I have the desire to finish it. It’s just bloated with nothing but filler. I don’t want to ping towers and dig up items with a chocobo. Let me play through the game without 90 distractions. I’m still in the Gongaga area two months later 🤦🏽♂️ lol.
Regarding RED XIII’s change, I was generally thrown off by it too and not sure if it added anything. However, I do believe the writers may have had a deeper meaning behind it. When Aerith first encounters Red in Hojo’s lab their encounter gives Red a vision and he gains an ability similar to Aerith, the ability to understand the nature of the whispers and how fate was meant to play out as well as an almost prophetic ability. Aerith gives this same insight to Marlene when they meet, and in both cases Aerith was trying to show them she could be trusted. I believe this gave Red the perspective an older and wiser being than he really was, and so he was able to portray that without issue to the party. The problem is, when they defy fate at the end of Remake, Aerith and Red both lose their connection and memories of fate’s course as well as their seemingly prophetic abilities, they discuss this together in Kalm when we first hear the voice of Nanaki the teen wolf, lol. Red keeps up the charade of the old wisened sage but once he is back home the veil drops and he no longer feels the need to pretend after that. Long story short, contextually one can argue that Red’s old and wise persona was actually backed up by Aerith’s influence over him and when they defied fate it was only a matter of time before Red stopped pretending. Also, I like Claussen pickles.
Nah, I think Nanaki was just trying to sound cool. Like in the original, you kind of get the sense he’s older, until you go to cosmo canyon. Then you find out he’s actually like, a teenager. In rebirth when the girls ask how they look in their beachwear, his real voice accidentally slips out for just a moment. He was caught off guard lol.
...An interesting and somewhat convoluted theory, but no. It was the Remake project's take on how in the OG version Red's speech pattern becomes more like a teenager or child once he's back home and in familiar territory. That's the moment where we're meant to realize that Red is much younger than he seems. He's been somewhat reserved up until that point because he's unfamiliar and uncomfortable with the world outside of Cosmo Canyon, and he projects an air of wisdom both to hide his inexperience and because he believes that's how he should behave as an adult. In the OG it's just a slightly different pattern of speech, but in Rebirth for some reason they decided to have his entire persona and voice be an affectation that falls away once he's back home.
I'm in that spot where all the boring ubisoft open world chores really can't force me to give them my time and attention, but that leaves me under leveled and under geared, struggling against the bosses. Simply great.
I can dig any JRPG that want to give us more great side quest and mini games. As long as it's optional, it doesn't hurt any pacing because we are the one that control the pacing And same as Jared. I think the greatest character in Rebirth is Barret. Kudo to his VA too
@@louradean9293 Because Marvel made a lot of money doing it. That's why. Literally the only reason. You have an intellectual property. Hey, it was pretty great! More importantly, _it made a lot of money._ It sure would be great if you had a valid excuse to make a ton of sequels and tie-ins. *BOOM, MULTIVERSE/EXPANDED UNIVERSE.*
Title made it seem more negative then I thought. It's far from perfect but still ended up being one of my favorite games. The things it does good, it does so good.
Very fair review. The game is amazing and it's baffling how they were able to make it but it also has some odd decisions and your point about the ending putting people too much in logic mode trying to understand is one I hadn't thought about before and is valid, the writers and directors (cause there are multiple not just Nomura) I think definitely have a point to all this and aren't just writing random shit as they go for pure shock value but they have an issue of too much showing and not enough telling which has created a feeling of dissatisfaction from all sides. Purists are foaming at the mouth, theorists are all trying to scrape together all the information they can find and dissecting each frame trying to make sense of what they just watched and overall everyone is just confused. Remake also introduced a lot of questions and left a lot of intrigue for people to speculate on but it was a lot more clear than Rebirth. It's widely accepted that the confusing ending is because Cloud is our POV and his brain is soup at this point in the game making him an extremely unreliable narrator and things should be a lot clearer in Part 3 which should retroactively improve the ending of Rebirth.
I wasn't in logic mode when I saw it, I was in shock, and was a little confused at first, but still saddened, only afterwards did I actually enter logic mode. I think I've cracked the code for what's going on in the ending, but we won't know for sure until Part 3, and also I think they're saving some of the stuff from that scene we didn't see/hear in Rebirth, but we did see in the OG, for Part 3.
This is why splitting to different parts is a really bad idea and just hurts more than it helps. Splitting it like this makes things confusing and convoluted with little to no answers, if it was a single seamless game we wouldn't have had this problem and the story would be much more coherent, it also doesn't help that the split makes the whole remake feels rushed.
@@TheCheeseMovesSideways The game would take forever to finish, take forever to release, and would be too big for consoles like this if it was just one game. And the split is actually more interesting because it opens up the possibility for MORE things to happen that didn't in the OG.
@@mariogirl8100 I didn't exactly say the split was awful but what i meant was the split hurts the story more than it does good. I know splitting it was necessary but still it doesn't really help much with the story imo
I like pickles on my burgers 🤣 I agree that for the most part they didn't drag out parts unnecessarily like they did in Remake. The only place of the top of my head that overstayed it's welcome in my opinion was the temple of the ancients. There was a couple of other places but they aren't as bad. I also agree with what you said about the ending too
the game feels, plays and just comes across as filler until they get to part 3. it felt like, what can we throw in to draw the game out because we really only have 5 hours worth of actual content, how do we bloat the game out to get it to be a trilogy instead of just 2 games
My main issue with this game is the moogle designs. F that. That was disturbing. Everything else is just perfect for what I want in a game. This si exactly my type of game. Love the battle system, love thr story, I love exploration games (prior to this, forbidden west was my favorite open world game), the music is perfect and I love the sidequests. I also loved Gongaga personally. I was hard to get around, but it's a jungle. I expect it to be and I just felt that added to it.
@@projared no. They just stare into your souls. I hated it. Also as for the RedXiii in the next game and his point. The GI and black materia. He promised them (lying) to give them back the black materia. But also swore to the party he'd find another way to release them. That will be his point in the last game. I think
@@projared I know. I did not like the way the moogles design looked at all, they went from cute and adorable to shocking and disturbingly staring into one’s soul. Big oof indeed.
Man, I'm a bit stoned off of some Gysahl Green Pickles right now, but it's damn good to see you do what you do best. Mighty glad to see you once more, ProJared!
Very well said Jared. I think you really nailed the exact feeling I had during the ending. It is going to be interesting revisiting this game with the context of the last game, but to your point, it shouldn't hinge on another game to make it work.
I have always been a huge fan of the OG game and being able to explore the regions in greater detail was a real treat. Plus, the combat was fun and deck building card games are my jam.
What a great video man, your critiques on both red and aerith are on point! This is one of the best games I’ve ever played and despite what it failed at, it was incredible at everything else, the characters, music and combat being its strongest points imho. On a side note, can’t say I’m a fan of the post game difficulty. I’ve got the plat but it did cost me many points of my sanity 😂
Unfortunately the ending being confusing was by design, since it generates discussion and anticipation for the next game. Remake did the same thing. If they really needed to do this just to keep people interested in the trilogy then they should've just made it one game without any major deviations.
Yeah..agree with most of the flaws except I would consider alot of the extra stuff bloat even tho you didn't need to do them. They're a substantial amount of the game and what you're paying for so you feel obligated to do them. And yeah they handled Aerith in the most confusing way possible. Honestly I wasn't sure till like the last scene in the game.
Even though I play board games in real life quite a bit, I usually do not like card minigames in video games. Even Witcher 3 Gwent was overhyped in my opinion. But Queens Blood worked for me big time, I loved it!
@@sanddry738reminder that the yugioh cardgame's lore currently have two big ongoing storylines still being expanded, besides all the already concluded storylines outside the anime game and manga, the ones made exclusively for the real cardgame
@@akiradkcn Dear god I can’t believe they’re adding lore to Yugioh Dual Monsters. Still haven’t healed from the ending of the series. Maybe one of these days I should check it out…
@@sanddry738 lol, they have been doing it since the synchro era if I'm not mistaken. There was the Duel Terminal world, which was a absolute huge saga of connected stories involving a war between tribes and even tho the main story is concluded, they are still adding small extra info here and there, like how the most recent Ritual Beast card for example explains how one of the characters survived said war Currently, the Sinful Spoils and Visas Starfrost cards are the ones with the biggest ongoing storylines
*13 Minigames in FFVII PS1 (From the moment you leave Midgar to Aeris's Impalement) Fort Condor, Junon March, Speed Square Roller Coaster, Battle Square Arena, Wonder Square: Super Dunk, Arm Wrestling, Wonder Catcher, G-Bike, 3D-Battler & Mog House, Chocobo Square Racing, Date Sequence, Bone Village Excavation *23 Minigames in FFVII Rebirth PS5 (Minigames that were in the PS1 version) Piano (techinally it was in the PS1 version but you only get a gil when playing on Tifa's piano, when you're not in the flashback), 3D Brawler (3D-Battler), Chocobo Race (Chocobo Square Racing), G-Bikes (G-Bike), Musclehead Colosseum (Battle Square Arena), Junon Parade (Junon March), Fort Condor, Moogle Mischief (technially this is Mog House) (Minigames that were exclusively made for Rebirth) Queen's Blood, Desert Rush, Dolphin Show, Jumpfrog, Pirate's Rampage, Run Wild, Galactic Saviors, Crunch-Off, Minecart Adventure, Hustle de Chocobo, Wheelie Rendezvous, Cactuar Caper, Cactuar Crush, Glide de Chocobo, Gears and Gambits, Moogle Mischief I don't appreciate them stretching their game out by putting in minigames that weren't in the original (there weren't that many minigames in the PS1 version, calm it down) and making the story so convoluted to the point it becomes pretentious/superficial. Aerith's death in this game didn't work because "they had their cake ate it to"...so what was the point?
Thanks for putting the spoiler warning in. I've avoided pretty much all FF7 Rebirth content since release, but I can't pass up a new ProJared video, so I'm glad I was able to cut to the end until I end up picking this one up. (After getting burned pre-ordering Remake on PS4 only to have every other console get bonus content shortly thereafter, I'm waiting until either the finale is released on PS5, or Rebirth is released on Steam, whichever comes first.)
Sure, Red XIII is young for his species, but he's still older than all of the other party members, he could still have lots of wisdom for them. Seems like a weird change.
4:35 TFW you get to the Corel Region and the game is telling you to move onto the next region but you can't finish the last Protorelic quests until later in the game, so you can't complete the region before moving on...
I normally don't play games more than once, but I enjoyed FF Remake so much that I played it twice. FF Rebirth is a good game, but there's something that I'm not enjoying about it.
Fantastic game. Really mind-blowing! I have watched your channel since you started and I really liked that you joined Final FanTV last episode. It was fun!
This comment is going to have spoilers, so if you're not a fan of pickles you may want to stay away from this. Red XIII's personality change is definitely very different, but I think they were trying to indicate something super super subtle between him & Cloud. There's this specific moment where the camera looks directly at Cloud's face contemplating something after the reveal of how old he is. It definitely felt like Cloud's view and opinion of Red changed from this wizened old man to the kid Cloud remembered being when joining Shinra. They were both young teens who wanted to do nothing but defend the people and community they cared about. And I feel like Cloud may need that person in the party to relate to when it comes to the 3rd game. I definitely hope they explore it a lot more coming up. As for the ending, I completely agree with you. It was so hard to keep a track on what was happening, and I have a feeling it's because they intentionally wanted to give us the idea that we're experiencing it from cloud's perspective, and he will just make up stuff to cover the trauma. And I think they still could've nailed that feeling, but what they needed to do is play out the death exactly as it happened in 7, then later on let Cloud reminisce on the scene and throw all the glitchy stuff in his head, panning around to Aerith hanging out with the team next to the bronco. And you can still have the final fight happen almost identically to current Rebirth, with Aerith glitching into the astral plane with Cloud. Personally I think that would've really nailed exactly what they were trying to go for with this ending, rather than the incredibly confusing will they won't they that the game chose to do.
They couldn’t play out the death the same way because that makes remake pointless. In remake you beat the arbiters of fate and seemingly change aeirths fate as her death is one of the visions that gets changed which made me believe she wouldn’t die in this remake trilogy. There’s no point doing things the exact same way when there’s already been changes in the previous games. I think it’s funny how people can’t see that it’s a remake and not a remaster. When films are remade they’re not the exact same film word to word scene to scene because that’s not fresh or practical. We’ll see how they handle the third game but think they’ve done a great job so far I mean tifa in the lifestream is one of the best things ff7 has ever done
Can't agree more about your gripes with the ending. I was sitting there wondering why it wasn't really hitting as it should. I did play the OG back in the late 90s.
The problem with rebirth in bullet points - The ENDLESS boring mini games - Costa Del Sol chapter - Queens blood is pointless. It’s nothing like Triple Triad or other card games in ff titles. - Story narrative changes (Vincent being a boss, Zack, The “Multiverse”) - Repetitive gameplay. New area, new chocobo, new hunts. - Vincent not being a playable character - Red 13 Voice change - World is too big and too empty - Gets boring very quickly after Chapter 7 - The ending
I just have to accept that open world games just aren't for me. As a pseudo completionist, I did complete every area before moving on and by the end of the game I was fucking done. I didn't care about anything, I just wanted it to end. I was so done with this game that I didn't even actually complete it and I couldn't care less. I didn't play hard mode (which is exactly the same as it was in Remake and I thought it was utter shit then too) and I didn't do any of the extra content that unlocks after beating Sephiroth. I'll say this, after Remake I was looking forward to part 2. Now that I'm done with Rebirth, I do not care in slightest about part 3. I won't be playing it, and I doubt I'll even watch someone else play it. It's been over 15 years since I played OG FF VII and I was thinking I'd get it on my Switch after finishing Rebirth, but that is absolutely not happening now. Also, yes Queen's Blood is awesome, but Triple Triad is still better.
I thought the Costa Del Sol chapter was one of the better ones. It felt more satisfying than Kalm or Junon. I loved Remake. I had no issues with the mini games or Queens Blood. My main issues were the folio system, the combat felt too quick, boring RPG elements, and side quests. Also, it would've worked better as a linear game like the first one.
Triple Triad is awesome though, one of the best card games. That's a cruel comparison, like comparing FF7 with FF6. The original FF7 was all about the minigames...that's actually something I would approve of for Rebirth. Core gameplay of FF7 was actually so-so compared to other entries in the series. I think the biggest mistake with the whole thing was making them action games like the other new FF titles, that's not what I was looking for.
I don't agree with the idea that optional content is not bloat. You as a player don't know what is and isn't required or what is and isn't fun before playing.
As someone who never played the original, the way the Remake series has been handled basically excluded me from getting onboard. The story isn't presented as a re-imagining, or a retelling, or anything that would attract a newby, it's a sequel to the entrire ff7 series. You have to have played a bunch of it, because the time-line elements that are so intrinsical to the new games require you to already know how things are *supposed* to be, and to be wow'd at how things are different. Zack carrying Cloud into Midgard at the end of Remake wouldn't feel like any kind of special moment, or divergence, if you didn't play ff7 or crisis core, because for all you know, this is just a flashback to Cloud being helped by *some guy*. Same with Aerith's death, to a newcomer, Cloud saves her but then magically he doesn't, because wibbly wobbly timey whimey, so what investment can the player have in anything that happens when it can be undone without any real reason beyond "the writer decided the timelines yada yada". I have to admit, when I discovered the director was the same guy who did Kingdom Hearts, it all suddenly made sense. The guy jumps from idea to idea, without consideration to anything he's already established or how the new thing will lessen the impact of previous moments. Just explaining things away with retcons and mysteries answered by mysteries, and promises that there will be satisfying answers eventually. Bleh.
I think most people that say this are overstimating a lot how good the OG story was. I am playing the og for the first time now, 32 hours in, close to the end. Yeah, the story IS pretty good, especially toward disc 2 (which remake and rebirth are just disc 1), but a lot of characters development are close to non existant or just when it is their region, after that they stay silent, mostly because you dont have a full party following you. The remake series do so MUCH MORE for chatacter development and for the world that it is insane. I meam costa del sol in the og was just.... some 3 boring screens, cosml canyon too. Amazing for that time I am sure about it, but not as good as in reamake series
@@abraaomitichon7868 I'm all on board for more inclusion and development, especially for character stuff. My issue is the core plot has a whole other layer of Kingdom Hearts-esque timeline nonsense that A) requires a deep familiarity with the original; and B) is used to justify retcons and twists that aren't satisfying for the sake of cheap drama. Things like mini games, further development of the story and characters, even major changes to the side or main stories are all perfectly acceptable, and probably necessary for a good remake, and tell the story better. The problem is that they instead chose to add a whole meta-narrative about fate and timelines and stuff, so the internal plot of the world takes a back seat. They introduce an alternate universe version of Zack where he survived, before his character and death were even introduced into the main story, which is supposed to be a twist reveal about Cloud's repressed memories. Cloud saved Aerith, but then the timeline changed and she's dead anyway, so why invest in any of Clouds actions or successes when it can be instantly undone for cheap drama?
I am the person who has to fill in every dot before moving to the next area. 114 hour game for me on Dynamic difficulty. The only time it drove me crazy was at the very end when I kind of was ready to see how everything was going to play out, but before Gold Saucer visit 2 I had to do a ton more side quests. Still enjoyed them, but I felt that pull of wanting to move on.
I haven’t played Remake or Rebirth, but I knew that they would absolutely bungle the big Pickle scene. What made the original version so impactful was that we (as the audience) tried our best to stop Cloud from opening the Pickle Jar, only to be subverted and Big Mr. Pickle just came and opened it anyway. And we saw the entire thing. Nothing was off-screen. It’s par for the course with Nomura’s work. The man struggles to commit to a cohesive story.
@CastorGaming pretty sure the WRITER of the game isn't Nomura, but Kazushige Nojima. Also Nomura wanted a 1:1 Remake, but the OG director and now producer of the game wanted some changes.
Nomura is the art director and character designer. He's not the director/project lead or the writer. He's actually never been credited with writing a single thing. I'm not sure why people blame him for everything. He's not the person in charge of these decisions ever.
@Kriizikaan He's the creative director lol. His name is at the top of the credits for Remake and Rebirth. He's literally said in interviews that he is responsible for the overall direction of the game
@@shiny460 Overall direction? you forgot the Writer and Scenario: Kazushige Nojima, and the original director and now Producer who has the final say and the one who wanted the changes: Yoshinori Kitase.
The game did exactly what it was going for with the ending. They weren't trying to fake anyone out at all because its very obvious she died. The emotional impact is meant for the third game and this game wants you to end in the same space as cloud where we really dont get a cathartic release for what has happened
Yeah can't wait to mourn Aerith three years after the fact. If they wanted to make you feel like Cloud her death should've been way more ambigious so you'd have a 50:50 split in the fandom. Schrödingers Aerith so to say. Instead we all know she's dead but get zero closure when the Investment in her fate is at its peak. The moment got ruined in my eyes.
@@TheLastDaysOfSorrow yes it will be impactful 3 years from now when they include it in clouds trauma dump section and will have a big pay off. This team did a great job paying off stuff in rebirth that was set up in remake. Dont understand how people can have the same doomer outlook they had after remake when theyve proven they know what they are doing story wise with this game. You just want the death to be the low point of this game when the focus is clearly set to be clouds decent into madness being fully realized
@@im1085 sorry but I'm not dooming on this game. I really enjoyed about 70-80% of it, I'd say. I wanted to feel something else than confusion and frustration when Aerith died though. Especially after they needlessly padded out the last stretch of the game like that. I get the artistic choice they made - if it truly was intentional - that doesn't change that it completely ruined the emotional high point of the game. I also really don't get where you think they paid off what they build up in Remake? Remake left with the big promise/warning to not take anything for granted and that things would change. 90% of this game is incredbly faithful to the original and only the last 2 hours are really tackling the "elephant in the room". And all they do is doubling down on the completely laissez faire nature of the storytelling, giving reddit more food for conspiracy theories while undermining every aspect of narrative causality. What even does anyones death mean when Cloud can just "see" other universes? How is Sephiroth supposed to be threatening when he shows up every 2 hours at the parking lot to give Cloud a knowing nod. And most importantly: what is the ruleset for the multiverse/rubber reality mechanic inside of this narrative? Multiverse storytelling CAN be super interesting and rewarding when it is operating in a strict framework of rules. I don't see this here at all. All we have are interpretations and conspiracy theories. I expected Aeriths death to be the moment where the whispers- and "defying fate" theme would culminate. It'd have been pretty ingenious because this way they actually made the player question whether she's going to die and introduce the chance that she might survive. They basically made her Schrödingers Cat and the moment you lift the box it turns out there's just another box under there and another box and another box and then a final box with the words "got ya, play the third game!" pinned to it. Personally for me the stakes in the trilogies story feel completely hollowed out by this ending. Nothing means anything when you introduce an untethered deus ex machina. The third game could have Cloud, Keanu Reeves and Jesus fighting Jenova enslaved uber drivers in New York City so everyone gets revived and they could somehow make it work with enough rubber reality relativism.
@@TheLastDaysOfSorrow You have a fundemental misunderstanding of the "multiverses" here. Cloud cant just see people in other universes. The Aerith at the end isnt just a different universe that cloud can see. Sephiroth isnt actually in 90% of the scenes you see him in because thats all clouds mind playing tricks on him. The other "universes" are just the dreams of the dead in the lifestream that Sephiroth manipulates now that he has some control over the lifestream and is using them to create negative emotions for the brief time they exist to empower himself by absorbing them once theyve run their course. Materia is made from the lifestream with memories of the dead so of course "world" could be made from those memories if it could be manipulated. Zach coming back is the work of a dead Aerith who through her praying to the ancients has gained some ability to manipulate the lifestream which was shown to a lesser degree in TOA. Nobody has been revived or brought back from the dead. TLDR you dont understand the concepts of the game enough to comment on them
(Spoilers for the ending) I totally understand if you expected Aerith’s death to be emotional and didn’t like that it wasn’t. But I don’t think that’s what the emotional gut punch of the scene is supposed to be anymore. It’s supposed to be Cloud’s reaction to the event causing a tragic wedge to be placed between him and the crew. A scene that I see barely anybody talking about is the scene where the whole crew is standing over the water Aerith's body is in. Barret says that they have to leave and Cloud (after the whole crew saw him witness a death right in front of him) says very unsympathetically "sounds good" and this makes Tifa SCOFF. Then, Tifa gets up slowly and looks at Cloud (seemed like an invitation for Cloud to mourn with her) and he literally responds with a SMILE. This is NOT normal behavior for somebody who just saw one of his closest friends/lovers DIE in front of them. What this does is creates a wedge between Cloud and the group, he can no longer mourn with them, understand them, relate to them, this leaves Cloud in a VERY BIG hole that he must dig himself out of. THIS is the emotional gut punch that you were probably expecting. And I am somebody who personally believes that the worse the situation, the better the triumphant come back is. The lifestream plot twist will be EVEN MORE impactful now due to the conflicts that will arise due to the event that is Aerith's death. What I really like about the ending as well here is the payoff and consistency for Cloud's character. Cloud has ALWAYS been somebody who copes with trauma through rearranging memories and suppressing them, we have seen him do this with Zack and the Nibelhiem incident. Cloud straight up forgetting that he saw Aerith die in front of him is not only consistent to his character but it also sets up for insane conflicts in the next game.
Exactly and well said, but to be fair the ending requires some time to process to truly appreciate it (much like with Remake's ending). Personally I was left very confused when I initially beat it (something they clearly want you to feel), and it took a few hours of digging through stuff to realize the incredible set up it made. Just hoping they stick the landing in part 3.
@@oEXTRA for sure I agree with that. I actually didn’t like it at first but you REALLY need to process it and think about the decisions they made and WHY they made them. Some people will like the post ending processing session and some people won’t. I totally get that
Yes! Like with Remake, you initially have this confusion to the ending but then things make sense the more you sit and chew on what happened. I really enjoyed the Spoiler Review talks with Max and Easy Allies because it of all the details I missed while watching. Small things like Tifa being dead silent, Cloud being the only person without a limit break, *THE MUSIC* that plays when everyone is mourning but Cloud sees Aerith! My biggest hope is that they really nail the northern crater. It’s going to be one of the most important parts for the next game.
The ending expects a lot of the audience and I love that sort of 'respect' it has for the audience in that way - not treating them like idiots and feeling the need to explain everything on the spot. There is a healthy amount of ambiguity and I hope in part 3 they don't go the way of over-explaining every single plot point (Kingdom Hearts 3). I was kind of neutral on the ending at first, but once you 'see through it' it just gets better and better every time I watch it.
Let’s call the lifestream springs what they really are: quick-time events, not mini-games. One or two singular button presses does not constitute as a mini game. EDIT: I love pickles.
Pros: Basically everything about the game (IMO including the ending, since the emotional farewell is already given to you in different scenes beside the infamous death scene.) Cons: Cait Sith's dungeon. Chadley needs to STFU.
I know a lot of people were harping on the ending, but after rewatching it a few times… I’m honestly terrified for Cloud and loved it. Like it went from being bittersweet and a little sad to straight up dark as hell. At least if you consider the theory *its not Aerith* Game has small hiccups but overall an amazing game.
Thank you so much for making this video Jared! Not everyone can afford to have every kind of console or a gaming PC so this is the only way many of us get to enjoy this game at all.
I, for one, think pickles are super gross and I can't stand the taste of them.
...you monster.
Unsubbed 😞
Based pickles are pretty nasty
I take them out of my burgers when I forget to say no pickles
Are pickles in FF13?… is that why you won’t acknowledge it🤣
ProJared will find literally anything to review that's not FF13
Easy to do, when you just make up a game like that. There was no Final Fantasy 13.
@@Bananahammock681”there is no war in ba sing se”
Good!
@@Bananahammock681 There is a real FF13, it's called Lost Odyssey.
Solo FF Tactics review when?
"Cloud, your Pickle!"
"Ate it, I know, moving on"
Moral of the story: No half-measures, Walter.
I used to think Sylvia in the Pickles comic was hot.
Someone is into single moms.
Hey there, Tim! I knew if I looked deep into the bathroom I would find your comment on a ProJared video!
"What I'm back" peeks out the window like whack a mole😂
"Shall I give you dis pickle?" - Sephiroth
No but have seen the cup noodle commercial
@@danielleon5928”I shall bring you Donbei.”
@@dablazingbryan5559 oh god its happening again
Remake Sephiroth when he sees Cloud.
Aerith: "shall I give you this chair?"
We lost Now In The 90s but get more Projared content. It's bittersweet.
Yeah
HopefuIIy he gained some working consistently experience and we'll be having a lot of good content here in the future. (Cope)
I’d rather get more Now in the 90s. It was like my comfort food that I just kinda got used to being there, reminding me of all the cool gaming memories I remember living through in the 90s. I had gaming magazines back then and loved games, so the series was so perfect for me. A perfect hit of nostalgia, that for some reason stupid me just assumed would continue through 2029 so we could relive PlayStation, N64, Saturn, Dreamcast and more. The format for the show was so freaking cool. I hope someone else rips off the idea and creates something similar. It was just such a sweet trip down memory lane.
We didn't lose now in the 90s, it has its own channel now.
@@NoLongerUploadingHere they arent doing any more now in the 90s content, they're shuttering the channel because it underperformed and didnt make good money.
The problem is new writers apologising for good writing in the old story with bad writing in the new story.
Its so strange
I like the scene where Sephiroth gives Cloud a pickle
Chadley constantly popping up was annoying, especially during that really weird Pickles mission
Wasn't it a pear?
The better scene is when Sephiroth turns Zack into a pickle for the the final boss and Zack yells IM A PICKLE CLOUD. IM PICKLE ZACK before doing his limit break
I think one parallel timeline where Zack lives is all that we needed. The fact this went full on multiverse is just so convoluted and has lowered my excitement for part 3.
I feel the same way. Just because a story is complex and convoluted doesn’t make it good/clever. Only reason I’m excited about pt 3 is the combat.
If I were to play rebirth again I would completely ignore all the side content.
Yup thats what i wanted. Just the one Zack timelime. Was so excited. Then the multiverse deflated me
Cry babies
It didn't go full multiverse. That's not what was happening. I guarantee you won't be disappointed in part 3.
Yeah part 3 I’m not looking forward to it . The ending was just a mixed bag
Pickles are pretty good.
The last chapter and the "shock" ending made me feel absolutely nothing. It's like they wanted both ways, but couldn't commit to one, so they wrote it into the story that both happen in two different timelines, and now we have to contend with Cloud's fuckery in part 3, which I just hate. Nothing has consequences because "anything can happen anytime it wants so nothing matters."
Exactly. Immersion and the ability to be emotionally moved by a story is completely removed when stuff like this happens in stories.
The best conversation in the game was the one between Cloud and Barrett in the Gold Saucer. You all know it probably. You know, the one about the pickles?
Wait. Do they really have a conversation about pickles or did you just say that for the joke?
When Barret mentions "all the pickles on this giant @&#% pizza" I was confused, but then I remembered that cactuars are really just abnormally large mutated cucumbers after all
IDK how well this works for this game, but in Zelda Tears of the Kingdom I experimented with purposely turning off the mini-map UI and avoiding the towers that filled in the overworld map. I found it really changed my experience with open world game design for the better.
I started taking better notice of my surroundings and the subtlety's in how things were laid out to help you navigate and discover things. Areas I might have described as empty or boring before suddenly became interesting as even something like a change in elevation altered my ability to navigate the world. I suddenly became more aware of the subtle differences between seemingly copy/paste content (this bokoblin camp has a ledge I can exploit, this one has some boulders, etc.) and these things became a lot more interesting. The difference in discovering this content through natural exploration instead of trying to check off EVERY SINGLE box also played a big role in preventing burnout and letting me move on at my own pace. I didn't find nearly everything, sure, but it turns out you really never needed to and modern game UI's just condition you into thinking you do. If anything this just makes your experienced more personalized and interesting.
Admittedly, I think Zelda TotK is better designed around this than many other open-world games (in fact, I honestly feel like BotW and TotK were MEANT to be played without a map sometimes), but when the option is available I definitely consider turning off as much of the navigation and quest UI as possible these days.
Super interesting. I gotta try this sometime
It sort of works well in this game too. Aside from maybe in the grasslands which felt a tad too big for its own good for a first region.
I guess we're so used to hand-holding that we hold it against the game when it for a moment doesn't do so. Gongaga region is mostly jungle, I think it being harder to navigate is part of the charm.
Damn bro you’re right!!!! brings a different feel and keeps its exciting because you can’t wait to find a area and special items and equipment also keeps you very sharp it challenges you
i actually started doing this in gongaga and i noticed it did make a much better introduction to all the open world zones. after a while i would start using the map more to complete stuff, but just wandering around just feels better than going staticly to point A, B, C and so on.
This video dropped literally 5 minutes after I finally watched the credits on my first play through…. Talk about timing!
You are in the projared time line
@@gregbrown6921As are we all
7:54 - 8:24 Makes me think of Tales of Arise, how every single side quest specifically has two party members interacting, and they'll have moments of character buildup, backstory elements, and moments of friendship. I like that a lot
I'm from Pittsburgh and we have a Picklefest every year. You should come visit!
Even if you’re not a fan of pickles (me, went with my family) there’s lots of great other stuff too!
Something you didn't cover directly that I found extremely annoying with the game was the forced waiting. Every single time you completed or progressed a quest or objective, you had to wait for the objective UI to do its thing. You then had to wait for Chadley or whoever to contact you... followed by maybe another contact. You have to wait to get on/off the buggy. You have to wait to do turns on the chocobo from standing still. You have to essentially move at a crawl pace for some quests. Like the chickens in Gongaga, protorelic where you had to follow/push the robed guys, etc.
On it's own, in an individual sense, not a big deal. Towards the end of the game though, you're gonna notice it. This is especially true if you do most of the side content, regardless of when you choose to. It would be a non-issue if the waiting was a one-time thing, where subsequent occasions allowed you to move around. There were just so many small annoyances that it basically amounted to a landfill of them.
This is what happens when you give consoles an SSD. People forget what waiting over a minute in a loading screen was like.
@@JenovaGirzz Devs generally didn't make games that had so many quest completed/updated notifications back then either though. My complaint isn't about load time. It's about unnecessary pauses. If they don't utilize techs strengths (and limitations) appropriately, that's almost never a good thing. If you're trying to say those update locks are because of loading requirements, then that's an even worse standing for them lol.
yeah having to hear the world intel or quest completion jingle every single time gets old.
Some of this annoyed me too. But I will give the game credit for making it quicker to get on your chocobo than in ff16.
And those mog minigames, man sooo frustrating
Pickle materia when?
They have the summon fat chocobo. so YES summon pickle.
Bro that part in the game where cloud starts eating pickles was my favorite
I don't think Reds personality changes as much as you say it does. In the first half you can always see him trying and failing to hide his childishness, like in his first sidequest or when they arrive at gold saucer. He still gives input post Cosmo Canyon he's just not hiding his inexperience, his heightened connection to the planet is still important. It definitely took some getting used to for the voice though.
dude his combat lines
He basically like cloud in the first half, trying so hard to be cool but constantly failing at it. You can see the hint the he is faking the "wise" persona through all of it. And like you said, he still has those knowledge and he can be playful like changing to his "wise" voice like in the pirate sidequest.
@@staticbystandermark1 I'm actually curious about that. There is some optional content that's available before Cosmo Canyon that I didn't complete until after Cosmo Canyon, and he actually used his "kid" voice in those scenes. I wonder if they actually recorded 2 takes for if you complete that optional content before/after Cosmo Canyon?
@bvoyelr Yeah they did record 2 different voices depending on where you are in the story.
@@bvoyelr They did that in the original game too, although obviously it wasn't voice acted. It also didn't make it through translation.
I fully endorse this review. I'm reeeaaally feeling the criticism on pace. The start/stop of Rebirth is a lot. And the multiverse thing is..... yikes. It's very telling that there's an option to completely skip the Zack cut scenes.
2:21 I read Thunderpeck as Thundercock and thought that's what they named the cockatrice
Accurate
Very refreshing to see someone express how I feel about the ending. All that I’ve seen online is how the ending was great and such, but I feel like they wanted to change it but couldn’t decide on the best way to do it so they just didn’t commit to anything. Ever since I finished the game, I’ve felt that it’s 95% pure bliss and enjoyment and that remaining 5% is the ending. Seeing all the info they’ve put out on the Ultimania has solidified my stance of not liking the ending at all. That said, I’m very excited for part 3.
Nah they lost me, the moment with what they did with the ending of Remake, then watching what they did to Red and Aeriths death scene in Rebirth. Glad I didn't buy Rebirth, and will watch how they handle Reunion or whatever the third installment will be instead of buying it.
Thank you for not being a ban wagon rider
@@kapriseedwards9687 Thank you for not being a ban wagon rider chud.
Pickles is right here - the ending’s execution left me not feeling what I thought it would, because of *how* it was executed. Instead of being ready to feel something, I was put in a place to try and understand something going on.
And you’d think I’d have been ready for this, given Nomura’s Kingdom Hearts-heavy hand, but yet here I am. Great review!
The funny thing about his critique about the ending is that according to the Ultimania interview, that's the response they were actually going for.
14:46 Hold on... is that Aerith on a segway? I can handle Sephiroth turning himself into a pickle, but that's where I draw the line.
Come on Master Chief, lets get the fuck outta here.
😭😭😭
You cannot run from your destiny for long, ProJared. Lightning is waiting.
I've read and heard so many reviews that say the World Intel can be done in an hour or two per region, and for the life of me, I think we should start including an additional line to that statement. "And although you *can* you probably won't" because not one single region took me less than at least 3, with an average being 4-5 hours. Between navigating the Terrain x Map, redoing Battle intel to satisfy annoying conditions, clearing cache locations, side quests, etc., it's just not feasible for anyone to do all World Intel in a region in just 1 or 2 hours without knowing the game like the back of your hand. I admit, I take my time, but getting through everything on those "sprint" days still took hours. Especially Gongaga.
My problem with Final Fantasy 7 Remake/Rebirth is that it was marketed as a remake, but they're really not.
Nothing turns me off to a game more than a bait and switch.
You explained the ending's problem better than anyone, using the exact needed words. "The game sets you in logic mode", "It needed to be the exact same scene or the complete opposite", these are so on point..
Honey wake up, ProJared uploaded
Great to see a new Jared upload, sorry about Now in the 90s. However, great vid.
Suddenly I have a craving for pickles.
This is a fantastic review and 80% of the video is you being positive about the game. I did not expect that from the title as I thought you were going to rip into it the whole way through 😅. But yeah this is one of the better reviews I've watched. Keep it up
This game felt like I was in a pickle with the combat a lot of the times. But I did like the new quick block mechanic that negates damage.
Thanks for continuing your videos!! Big fan!!
I think a fair point to be made about Nanaki is that he barely has any notable dialogue after Cosmo Canyon in the original game, so the tone shift is not something people would have remembered that much. He has an incidental line here or there and that's kind of it. The significant dialogue he _does_ have (if you ask him to hold the Black Materia, or when Bugenhagen "goes away") definitely does show how young he is.
Solid review. Agree with all the criticisms, specially the ending. And definitely agree with all the positives. This review is the closest to how i felt with everything compared to other reviews I've seen.
“Rebirth” feels like it was made by Ubisoft and I honestly don’t know if I have the desire to finish it. It’s just bloated with nothing but filler. I don’t want to ping towers and dig up items with a chocobo. Let me play through the game without 90 distractions. I’m still in the Gongaga area two months later 🤦🏽♂️ lol.
So glad I binged all your VODs before this came out
You nailed my thoughts on how it ended.
Regarding RED XIII’s change, I was generally thrown off by it too and not sure if it added anything. However, I do believe the writers may have had a deeper meaning behind it. When Aerith first encounters Red in Hojo’s lab their encounter gives Red a vision and he gains an ability similar to Aerith, the ability to understand the nature of the whispers and how fate was meant to play out as well as an almost prophetic ability. Aerith gives this same insight to Marlene when they meet, and in both cases Aerith was trying to show them she could be trusted.
I believe this gave Red the perspective an older and wiser being than he really was, and so he was able to portray that without issue to the party. The problem is, when they defy fate at the end of Remake, Aerith and Red both lose their connection and memories of fate’s course as well as their seemingly prophetic abilities, they discuss this together in Kalm when we first hear the voice of Nanaki the teen wolf, lol. Red keeps up the charade of the old wisened sage but once he is back home the veil drops and he no longer feels the need to pretend after that.
Long story short, contextually one can argue that Red’s old and wise persona was actually backed up by Aerith’s influence over him and when they defied fate it was only a matter of time before Red stopped pretending.
Also, I like Claussen pickles.
Nah, I think Nanaki was just trying to sound cool. Like in the original, you kind of get the sense he’s older, until you go to cosmo canyon. Then you find out he’s actually like, a teenager. In rebirth when the girls ask how they look in their beachwear, his real voice accidentally slips out for just a moment. He was caught off guard lol.
...An interesting and somewhat convoluted theory, but no. It was the Remake project's take on how in the OG version Red's speech pattern becomes more like a teenager or child once he's back home and in familiar territory. That's the moment where we're meant to realize that Red is much younger than he seems. He's been somewhat reserved up until that point because he's unfamiliar and uncomfortable with the world outside of Cosmo Canyon, and he projects an air of wisdom both to hide his inexperience and because he believes that's how he should behave as an adult. In the OG it's just a slightly different pattern of speech, but in Rebirth for some reason they decided to have his entire persona and voice be an affectation that falls away once he's back home.
dont try justify that garbage decision
I'm in that spot where all the boring ubisoft open world chores really can't force me to give them my time and attention, but that leaves me under leveled and under geared, struggling against the bosses. Simply great.
Great vid my guy! Say "fuzzy pickles"!
Hell yeah new Jared upload it's gonna be a good day today. And also I will eat pickles today.
Happy to see your posting again! I went though your catalog a few years back and ran out of reviews!
I can dig any JRPG that want to give us more great side quest and mini games.
As long as it's optional, it doesn't hurt any pacing because we are the one that control the pacing
And same as Jared. I think the greatest character in Rebirth is Barret. Kudo to his VA too
I like pickle btw
I COMPLETELY agree with your take on the ending.
I just hate that stupid multiverse thing they’re doing. If it wasn’t for that, these remakes would be amazing to me
What’s wrong with the pickleverse?
Same,of all the changes they could cook up, why a freaking multiverse!!?
@@louradean9293 Because Marvel made a lot of money doing it. That's why. Literally the only reason.
You have an intellectual property. Hey, it was pretty great! More importantly, _it made a lot of money._ It sure would be great if you had a valid excuse to make a ton of sequels and tie-ins. *BOOM, MULTIVERSE/EXPANDED UNIVERSE.*
@@louradean9293To subvert expectations. Worked so well in GoT.
@@josephschultz3301 - What are you blabbing on about? Marvel's multi-verse existed before the shitty modern movies and video games.
Title made it seem more negative then I thought. It's far from perfect but still ended up being one of my favorite games. The things it does good, it does so good.
yes but the stuff it does bad its terrible
Very fair review. The game is amazing and it's baffling how they were able to make it but it also has some odd decisions and your point about the ending putting people too much in logic mode trying to understand is one I hadn't thought about before and is valid, the writers and directors (cause there are multiple not just Nomura) I think definitely have a point to all this and aren't just writing random shit as they go for pure shock value but they have an issue of too much showing and not enough telling which has created a feeling of dissatisfaction from all sides. Purists are foaming at the mouth, theorists are all trying to scrape together all the information they can find and dissecting each frame trying to make sense of what they just watched and overall everyone is just confused. Remake also introduced a lot of questions and left a lot of intrigue for people to speculate on but it was a lot more clear than Rebirth.
It's widely accepted that the confusing ending is because Cloud is our POV and his brain is soup at this point in the game making him an extremely unreliable narrator and things should be a lot clearer in Part 3 which should retroactively improve the ending of Rebirth.
I wasn't in logic mode when I saw it, I was in shock, and was a little confused at first, but still saddened, only afterwards did I actually enter logic mode. I think I've cracked the code for what's going on in the ending, but we won't know for sure until Part 3, and also I think they're saving some of the stuff from that scene we didn't see/hear in Rebirth, but we did see in the OG, for Part 3.
This is why splitting to different parts is a really bad idea and just hurts more than it helps. Splitting it like this makes things confusing and convoluted with little to no answers, if it was a single seamless game we wouldn't have had this problem and the story would be much more coherent, it also doesn't help that the split makes the whole remake feels rushed.
@@TheCheeseMovesSideways The game would take forever to finish, take forever to release, and would be too big for consoles like this if it was just one game. And the split is actually more interesting because it opens up the possibility for MORE things to happen that didn't in the OG.
@@mariogirl8100 I didn't exactly say the split was awful but what i meant was the split hurts the story more than it does good. I know splitting it was necessary but still it doesn't really help much with the story imo
The answers will be in the last game lmao how can you idiots no comprehended that
The true ending has you looking for Sephiroth’s cursed jar of pickles.
I like pickles on my burgers 🤣
I agree that for the most part they didn't drag out parts unnecessarily like they did in Remake. The only place of the top of my head that overstayed it's welcome in my opinion was the temple of the ancients. There was a couple of other places but they aren't as bad. I also agree with what you said about the ending too
the game feels, plays and just comes across as filler until they get to part 3. it felt like, what can we throw in to draw the game out because we really only have 5 hours worth of actual content, how do we bloat the game out to get it to be a trilogy instead of just 2 games
My main issue with this game is the moogle designs. F that. That was disturbing.
Everything else is just perfect for what I want in a game. This si exactly my type of game. Love the battle system, love thr story, I love exploration games (prior to this, forbidden west was my favorite open world game), the music is perfect and I love the sidequests.
I also loved Gongaga personally. I was hard to get around, but it's a jungle. I expect it to be and I just felt that added to it.
Oof, yeah. The moogle designs were not pleasant.
@@projared no. They just stare into your souls. I hated it.
Also as for the RedXiii in the next game and his point. The GI and black materia. He promised them (lying) to give them back the black materia. But also swore to the party he'd find another way to release them.
That will be his point in the last game.
I think
Who gave these moogles teeth 😬😬
@@projared I know. I did not like the way the moogles design looked at all, they went from cute and adorable to shocking and disturbingly staring into one’s soul. Big oof indeed.
Oh yeah as someone who plays FFXIV, the Moogles are fucking horrifying. I know they were trying to emulate the OG FFVII design but… god no
Man, I'm a bit stoned off of some Gysahl Green Pickles right now, but it's damn good to see you do what you do best.
Mighty glad to see you once more, ProJared!
Very well said Jared. I think you really nailed the exact feeling I had during the ending. It is going to be interesting revisiting this game with the context of the last game, but to your point, it shouldn't hinge on another game to make it work.
I have always been a huge fan of the OG game and being able to explore the regions in greater detail was a real treat. Plus, the combat was fun and deck building card games are my jam.
I need to work more on my pickeling this week
What a great video man, your critiques on both red and aerith are on point! This is one of the best games I’ve ever played and despite what it failed at, it was incredible at everything else, the characters, music and combat being its strongest points imho.
On a side note, can’t say I’m a fan of the post game difficulty. I’ve got the plat but it did cost me many points of my sanity 😂
The ending of Rebirth was so bloated, confusing and unclear...
Unfortunately the ending being confusing was by design, since it generates discussion and anticipation for the next game. Remake did the same thing. If they really needed to do this just to keep people interested in the trilogy then they should've just made it one game without any major deviations.
Would love to see more videos covering newly released RPGs like this one. PLEASE, please give us more ProJared videos.
Yeah..agree with most of the flaws except I would consider alot of the extra stuff bloat even tho you didn't need to do them. They're a substantial amount of the game and what you're paying for so you feel obligated to do them. And yeah they handled Aerith in the most confusing way possible. Honestly I wasn't sure till like the last scene in the game.
Patiently waiting for his FF13 review already, but I'm glad he got to this 1 😂
More Queen's Blood. Please Squeenix.
Even though I play board games in real life quite a bit, I usually do not like card minigames in video games. Even Witcher 3 Gwent was overhyped in my opinion. But Queens Blood worked for me big time, I loved it!
Devs legit made a Yu-Gi-Oh! level storyline for it and it’s good. Madlads
@@sanddry738reminder that the yugioh cardgame's lore currently have two big ongoing storylines still being expanded, besides all the already concluded storylines outside the anime game and manga, the ones made exclusively for the real cardgame
@@akiradkcn Dear god I can’t believe they’re adding lore to Yugioh Dual Monsters. Still haven’t healed from the ending of the series. Maybe one of these days I should check it out…
@@sanddry738 lol, they have been doing it since the synchro era if I'm not mistaken.
There was the Duel Terminal world, which was a absolute huge saga of connected stories involving a war between tribes and even tho the main story is concluded, they are still adding small extra info here and there, like how the most recent Ritual Beast card for example explains how one of the characters survived said war
Currently, the Sinful Spoils and Visas Starfrost cards are the ones with the biggest ongoing storylines
*13 Minigames in FFVII PS1 (From the moment you leave Midgar to Aeris's Impalement)
Fort Condor, Junon March, Speed Square Roller Coaster, Battle Square Arena, Wonder Square: Super Dunk, Arm Wrestling, Wonder Catcher, G-Bike, 3D-Battler & Mog House, Chocobo Square Racing, Date Sequence, Bone Village Excavation
*23 Minigames in FFVII Rebirth PS5
(Minigames that were in the PS1 version)
Piano (techinally it was in the PS1 version but you only get a gil when playing on Tifa's piano, when you're not in the flashback), 3D Brawler (3D-Battler), Chocobo Race (Chocobo Square Racing), G-Bikes (G-Bike), Musclehead Colosseum (Battle Square Arena), Junon Parade (Junon March), Fort Condor, Moogle Mischief (technially this is Mog House)
(Minigames that were exclusively made for Rebirth)
Queen's Blood, Desert Rush, Dolphin Show, Jumpfrog, Pirate's Rampage, Run Wild, Galactic Saviors, Crunch-Off, Minecart Adventure, Hustle de Chocobo, Wheelie Rendezvous, Cactuar Caper, Cactuar Crush, Glide de Chocobo, Gears and Gambits, Moogle Mischief
I don't appreciate them stretching their game out by putting in minigames that weren't in the original (there weren't that many minigames in the PS1 version, calm it down) and making the story so convoluted to the point it becomes pretentious/superficial. Aerith's death in this game didn't work because "they had their cake ate it to"...so what was the point?
What I didn't like was how in Remake we are told about changing fate and in rebirth... :(
Thanks for putting the spoiler warning in. I've avoided pretty much all FF7 Rebirth content since release, but I can't pass up a new ProJared video, so I'm glad I was able to cut to the end until I end up picking this one up. (After getting burned pre-ordering Remake on PS4 only to have every other console get bonus content shortly thereafter, I'm waiting until either the finale is released on PS5, or Rebirth is released on Steam, whichever comes first.)
Sure, Red XIII is young for his species, but he's still older than all of the other party members, he could still have lots of wisdom for them. Seems like a weird change.
It was never a change lol
@@omensoffate Making him a wise elder type in the original to making him like a kid or teenager in the "Rebirth" isn't a change?
4:35 TFW you get to the Corel Region and the game is telling you to move onto the next region but you can't finish the last Protorelic quests until later in the game, so you can't complete the region before moving on...
I normally don't play games more than once, but I enjoyed FF Remake so much that I played it twice. FF Rebirth is a good game, but there's something that I'm not enjoying about it.
Fantastic game. Really mind-blowing! I have watched your channel since you started and I really liked that you joined Final FanTV last episode. It was fun!
I love this content, this hysterical review format. Thanks for reinvigorating your channel again coming from Now in the 90s. Good shit ProJared 😊.
love to hear this man's thoughts on this game and pickles!
This comment is going to have spoilers, so if you're not a fan of pickles you may want to stay away from this.
Red XIII's personality change is definitely very different, but I think they were trying to indicate something super super subtle between him & Cloud. There's this specific moment where the camera looks directly at Cloud's face contemplating something after the reveal of how old he is. It definitely felt like Cloud's view and opinion of Red changed from this wizened old man to the kid Cloud remembered being when joining Shinra. They were both young teens who wanted to do nothing but defend the people and community they cared about. And I feel like Cloud may need that person in the party to relate to when it comes to the 3rd game. I definitely hope they explore it a lot more coming up.
As for the ending, I completely agree with you. It was so hard to keep a track on what was happening, and I have a feeling it's because they intentionally wanted to give us the idea that we're experiencing it from cloud's perspective, and he will just make up stuff to cover the trauma. And I think they still could've nailed that feeling, but what they needed to do is play out the death exactly as it happened in 7, then later on let Cloud reminisce on the scene and throw all the glitchy stuff in his head, panning around to Aerith hanging out with the team next to the bronco. And you can still have the final fight happen almost identically to current Rebirth, with Aerith glitching into the astral plane with Cloud. Personally I think that would've really nailed exactly what they were trying to go for with this ending, rather than the incredibly confusing will they won't they that the game chose to do.
They couldn’t play out the death the same way because that makes remake pointless. In remake you beat the arbiters of fate and seemingly change aeirths fate as her death is one of the visions that gets changed which made me believe she wouldn’t die in this remake trilogy. There’s no point doing things the exact same way when there’s already been changes in the previous games. I think it’s funny how people can’t see that it’s a remake and not a remaster. When films are remade they’re not the exact same film word to word scene to scene because that’s not fresh or practical. We’ll see how they handle the third game but think they’ve done a great job so far I mean tifa in the lifestream is one of the best things ff7 has ever done
@@Limebradley remakes aren't sequels.
Can't agree more about your gripes with the ending. I was sitting there wondering why it wasn't really hitting as it should. I did play the OG back in the late 90s.
This one destroyed the mystique behind Sepiroth
These were my exact feelings going through this game! Thanks for an excellent summary Jared.
The problem with rebirth in bullet points
- The ENDLESS boring mini games
- Costa Del Sol chapter
- Queens blood is pointless. It’s nothing like Triple Triad or other card games in ff titles.
- Story narrative changes (Vincent being a boss, Zack, The “Multiverse”)
- Repetitive gameplay. New area, new chocobo, new hunts.
- Vincent not being a playable character
- Red 13 Voice change
- World is too big and too empty
- Gets boring very quickly after Chapter 7
- The ending
I just have to accept that open world games just aren't for me. As a pseudo completionist, I did complete every area before moving on and by the end of the game I was fucking done. I didn't care about anything, I just wanted it to end. I was so done with this game that I didn't even actually complete it and I couldn't care less. I didn't play hard mode (which is exactly the same as it was in Remake and I thought it was utter shit then too) and I didn't do any of the extra content that unlocks after beating Sephiroth. I'll say this, after Remake I was looking forward to part 2. Now that I'm done with Rebirth, I do not care in slightest about part 3. I won't be playing it, and I doubt I'll even watch someone else play it. It's been over 15 years since I played OG FF VII and I was thinking I'd get it on my Switch after finishing Rebirth, but that is absolutely not happening now.
Also, yes Queen's Blood is awesome, but Triple Triad is still better.
I thought the Costa Del Sol chapter was one of the better ones. It felt more satisfying than Kalm or Junon. I loved Remake. I had no issues with the mini games or Queens Blood. My main issues were the folio system, the combat felt too quick, boring RPG elements, and side quests. Also, it would've worked better as a linear game like the first one.
Triple Triad is awesome though, one of the best card games. That's a cruel comparison, like comparing FF7 with FF6. The original FF7 was all about the minigames...that's actually something I would approve of for Rebirth. Core gameplay of FF7 was actually so-so compared to other entries in the series. I think the biggest mistake with the whole thing was making them action games like the other new FF titles, that's not what I was looking for.
I don't agree with the idea that optional content is not bloat. You as a player don't know what is and isn't required or what is and isn't fun before playing.
its clear what is optional in the game tho lol
Definitely my favorite game of all time I love the open world
Gongaga wasn't bad. If u keep your eyes on the compass, you will be frustrated. But use the environment cues to navigate and it's enjoyable
As someone who never played the original, the way the Remake series has been handled basically excluded me from getting onboard. The story isn't presented as a re-imagining, or a retelling, or anything that would attract a newby, it's a sequel to the entrire ff7 series. You have to have played a bunch of it, because the time-line elements that are so intrinsical to the new games require you to already know how things are *supposed* to be, and to be wow'd at how things are different. Zack carrying Cloud into Midgard at the end of Remake wouldn't feel like any kind of special moment, or divergence, if you didn't play ff7 or crisis core, because for all you know, this is just a flashback to Cloud being helped by *some guy*.
Same with Aerith's death, to a newcomer, Cloud saves her but then magically he doesn't, because wibbly wobbly timey whimey, so what investment can the player have in anything that happens when it can be undone without any real reason beyond "the writer decided the timelines yada yada".
I have to admit, when I discovered the director was the same guy who did Kingdom Hearts, it all suddenly made sense. The guy jumps from idea to idea, without consideration to anything he's already established or how the new thing will lessen the impact of previous moments. Just explaining things away with retcons and mysteries answered by mysteries, and promises that there will be satisfying answers eventually. Bleh.
Same. Which is a shame, because a ton of it IS this perfect dream of a remake.
I think most people that say this are overstimating a lot how good the OG story was.
I am playing the og for the first time now, 32 hours in, close to the end. Yeah, the story IS pretty good, especially toward disc 2 (which remake and rebirth are just disc 1), but a lot of characters development are close to non existant or just when it is their region, after that they stay silent, mostly because you dont have a full party following you.
The remake series do so MUCH MORE for chatacter development and for the world that it is insane.
I meam costa del sol in the og was just.... some 3 boring screens, cosml canyon too.
Amazing for that time I am sure about it, but not as good as in reamake series
@@abraaomitichon7868 I'm all on board for more inclusion and development, especially for character stuff. My issue is the core plot has a whole other layer of Kingdom Hearts-esque timeline nonsense that A) requires a deep familiarity with the original; and B) is used to justify retcons and twists that aren't satisfying for the sake of cheap drama.
Things like mini games, further development of the story and characters, even major changes to the side or main stories are all perfectly acceptable, and probably necessary for a good remake, and tell the story better. The problem is that they instead chose to add a whole meta-narrative about fate and timelines and stuff, so the internal plot of the world takes a back seat. They introduce an alternate universe version of Zack where he survived, before his character and death were even introduced into the main story, which is supposed to be a twist reveal about Cloud's repressed memories. Cloud saved Aerith, but then the timeline changed and she's dead anyway, so why invest in any of Clouds actions or successes when it can be instantly undone for cheap drama?
I appreciate an honest reviewer. 👍
I think giving Cloud a pickle addiction was an odd choice
Great video, definitely hit a bunch of points I also felt throughout my playthrough. Unrelated remember gyshal pickles? Wow those things are stinky.
I filled in all the dots before moving on to the next area... AND I LOVED IT.
I am the person who has to fill in every dot before moving to the next area. 114 hour game for me on Dynamic difficulty. The only time it drove me crazy was at the very end when I kind of was ready to see how everything was going to play out, but before Gold Saucer visit 2 I had to do a ton more side quests. Still enjoyed them, but I felt that pull of wanting to move on.
I haven’t played Remake or Rebirth, but I knew that they would absolutely bungle the big Pickle scene. What made the original version so impactful was that we (as the audience) tried our best to stop Cloud from opening the Pickle Jar, only to be subverted and Big Mr. Pickle just came and opened it anyway. And we saw the entire thing. Nothing was off-screen.
It’s par for the course with Nomura’s work. The man struggles to commit to a cohesive story.
@CastorGaming pretty sure the WRITER of the game isn't Nomura, but Kazushige Nojima. Also Nomura wanted a 1:1 Remake, but the OG director and now producer of the game wanted some changes.
Nomura is the art director and character designer. He's not the director/project lead or the writer. He's actually never been credited with writing a single thing. I'm not sure why people blame him for everything. He's not the person in charge of these decisions ever.
@Kriizikaan He's the creative director lol. His name is at the top of the credits for Remake and Rebirth. He's literally said in interviews that he is responsible for the overall direction of the game
@@shiny460 Overall direction? you forgot the Writer and Scenario: Kazushige Nojima, and the original director and now Producer who has the final say and the one who wanted the changes: Yoshinori Kitase.
I love how you can pickle just about anything, and yet we have a food item simply called "pickles."
The game did exactly what it was going for with the ending. They weren't trying to fake anyone out at all because its very obvious she died. The emotional impact is meant for the third game and this game wants you to end in the same space as cloud where we really dont get a cathartic release for what has happened
Yeah can't wait to mourn Aerith three years after the fact. If they wanted to make you feel like Cloud her death should've been way more ambigious so you'd have a 50:50 split in the fandom. Schrödingers Aerith so to say. Instead we all know she's dead but get zero closure when the Investment in her fate is at its peak.
The moment got ruined in my eyes.
@@TheLastDaysOfSorrow yes it will be impactful 3 years from now when they include it in clouds trauma dump section and will have a big pay off. This team did a great job paying off stuff in rebirth that was set up in remake. Dont understand how people can have the same doomer outlook they had after remake when theyve proven they know what they are doing story wise with this game. You just want the death to be the low point of this game when the focus is clearly set to be clouds decent into madness being fully realized
@@im1085 sorry but I'm not dooming on this game. I really enjoyed about 70-80% of it, I'd say. I wanted to feel something else than confusion and frustration when Aerith died though. Especially after they needlessly padded out the last stretch of the game like that.
I get the artistic choice they made - if it truly was intentional - that doesn't change that it completely ruined the emotional high point of the game.
I also really don't get where you think they paid off what they build up in Remake? Remake left with the big promise/warning to not take anything for granted and that things would change. 90% of this game is incredbly faithful to the original and only the last 2 hours are really tackling the "elephant in the room". And all they do is doubling down on the completely laissez faire nature of the storytelling, giving reddit more food for conspiracy theories while undermining every aspect of narrative causality. What even does anyones death mean when Cloud can just "see" other universes? How is Sephiroth supposed to be threatening when he shows up every 2 hours at the parking lot to give Cloud a knowing nod.
And most importantly: what is the ruleset for the multiverse/rubber reality mechanic inside of this narrative?
Multiverse storytelling CAN be super interesting and rewarding when it is operating in a strict framework of rules. I don't see this here at all. All we have are interpretations and conspiracy theories.
I expected Aeriths death to be the moment where the whispers- and "defying fate" theme would culminate. It'd have been pretty ingenious because this way they actually made the player question whether she's going to die and introduce the chance that she might survive. They basically made her Schrödingers Cat and the moment you lift the box it turns out there's just another box under there and another box and another box and then a final box with the words "got ya, play the third game!" pinned to it.
Personally for me the stakes in the trilogies story feel completely hollowed out by this ending. Nothing means anything when you introduce an untethered deus ex machina. The third game could have Cloud, Keanu Reeves and Jesus fighting Jenova enslaved uber drivers in New York City so everyone gets revived and they could somehow make it work with enough rubber reality relativism.
@@TheLastDaysOfSorrow You have a fundemental misunderstanding of the "multiverses" here. Cloud cant just see people in other universes. The Aerith at the end isnt just a different universe that cloud can see. Sephiroth isnt actually in 90% of the scenes you see him in because thats all clouds mind playing tricks on him. The other "universes" are just the dreams of the dead in the lifestream that Sephiroth manipulates now that he has some control over the lifestream and is using them to create negative emotions for the brief time they exist to empower himself by absorbing them once theyve run their course. Materia is made from the lifestream with memories of the dead so of course "world" could be made from those memories if it could be manipulated. Zach coming back is the work of a dead Aerith who through her praying to the ancients has gained some ability to manipulate the lifestream which was shown to a lesser degree in TOA. Nobody has been revived or brought back from the dead.
TLDR you dont understand the concepts of the game enough to comment on them
“You’ll exhaust yourself trying to fill in all of the dots.” Laughs (and cries) in Yakuza completionist
I was curious about doing all side quests in 0 then realized I’d actually have to learn how to play Shogi and Mahjong decently.
16 is still my favorite but im in the same boat where remake was "good" and rebirth is simply great.
I thought that scene where Red XIII found a jar of pickles and couldn’t open it.
(Spoilers for the ending) I totally understand if you expected Aerith’s death to be emotional and didn’t like that it wasn’t. But I don’t think that’s what the emotional gut punch of the scene is supposed to be anymore. It’s supposed to be Cloud’s reaction to the event causing a tragic wedge to be placed between him and the crew. A scene that I see barely anybody talking about is the scene where the whole crew is standing over the water Aerith's body is in. Barret says that they have to leave and Cloud (after the whole crew saw him witness a death right in front of him) says very unsympathetically "sounds good" and this makes Tifa SCOFF. Then, Tifa gets up slowly and looks at Cloud (seemed like an invitation for Cloud to mourn with her) and he literally responds with a SMILE. This is NOT normal behavior for somebody who just saw one of his closest friends/lovers DIE in front of them. What this does is creates a wedge between Cloud and the group, he can no longer mourn with them, understand them, relate to them, this leaves Cloud in a VERY BIG hole that he must dig himself out of. THIS is the emotional gut punch that you were probably expecting. And I am somebody who personally believes that the worse the situation, the better the triumphant come back is. The lifestream plot twist will be EVEN MORE impactful now due to the conflicts that will arise due to the event that is Aerith's death. What I really like about the ending as well here is the payoff and consistency for Cloud's character. Cloud has ALWAYS been somebody who copes with trauma through rearranging memories and suppressing them, we have seen him do this with Zack and the Nibelhiem incident. Cloud straight up forgetting that he saw Aerith die in front of him is not only consistent to his character but it also sets up for insane conflicts in the next game.
finally someone gets it!
Exactly and well said, but to be fair the ending requires some time to process to truly appreciate it (much like with Remake's ending). Personally I was left very confused when I initially beat it (something they clearly want you to feel), and it took a few hours of digging through stuff to realize the incredible set up it made. Just hoping they stick the landing in part 3.
@@oEXTRA for sure I agree with that. I actually didn’t like it at first but you REALLY need to process it and think about the decisions they made and WHY they made them. Some people will like the post ending processing session and some people won’t. I totally get that
Yes! Like with Remake, you initially have this confusion to the ending but then things make sense the more you sit and chew on what happened.
I really enjoyed the Spoiler Review talks with Max and Easy Allies because it of all the details I missed while watching. Small things like Tifa being dead silent, Cloud being the only person without a limit break, *THE MUSIC* that plays when everyone is mourning but Cloud sees Aerith!
My biggest hope is that they really nail the northern crater. It’s going to be one of the most important parts for the next game.
The ending expects a lot of the audience and I love that sort of 'respect' it has for the audience in that way - not treating them like idiots and feeling the need to explain everything on the spot. There is a healthy amount of ambiguity and I hope in part 3 they don't go the way of over-explaining every single plot point (Kingdom Hearts 3). I was kind of neutral on the ending at first, but once you 'see through it' it just gets better and better every time I watch it.
Let’s call the lifestream springs what they really are: quick-time events, not mini-games.
One or two singular button presses does not constitute as a mini game.
EDIT: I love pickles.
Pros: Basically everything about the game (IMO including the ending, since the emotional farewell is already given to you in different scenes beside the infamous death scene.)
Cons: Cait Sith's dungeon. Chadley needs to STFU.
I know a lot of people were harping on the ending, but after rewatching it a few times… I’m honestly terrified for Cloud and loved it.
Like it went from being bittersweet and a little sad to straight up dark as hell. At least if you consider the theory *its not Aerith*
Game has small hiccups but overall an amazing game.
kinda hope Chadley call pickup is optional. so if we didn't pick up his call, he will send message for us to read it later. Just like in Yakuza.
Am I the only person that actually likes Chadley?
This. I have more of a problem with them messing up the atmosphere of Shinra Mansion than I did with anything in the actual ending.
Thank you so much for making this video Jared! Not everyone can afford to have every kind of console or a gaming PC so this is the only way many of us get to enjoy this game at all.
Pickles are truly amazing