Square Enix
Among its many highlighting , FinalFantasy VII Rebirthmakes simple sidequests a lot more piquant than I had expected . Take an early - game sidequest call When Words Wo n’t Do . On a open layer , it ’s a simple escort mission where thespian must get a dog from Under Junon to Crow ’s Nest whole . I did not ab initio have eminent hopes for this sidequest due to the miserable reputation of date missions ; thankfully , Final Fantasy VII Rebirthdefied that fate . To make this optional capacity more worthwhile , Square Enix gave it a potent narrative grit .
When Logos Wo n’t Do is actually a story about parents struggling to lease go of their Kyd . Under Junon ’s city manager sends thespian on this pursuit to help her Word and unborn grandchild , and Barrett inquire if he ’ll ever be able to allow Marlene go during the mission . That ’s thematically meet for an bodyguard mission where you ca n’t keep something out of your sight .
Square Enix
Then , as a flourish , the sidequest has its own call . 60 minutes later , When Words Wo n’t Dois a sidequest that still sting out in my mind , even though it did n’t radically shake up or redefineFinal Fantasy VII Rebirth’score gameplay loops . That ’s a will to how great sidequests are the trademark of a tremendous RPG .
Getting sidequests right
As games have ballooned in CRO and more usually have undefendable worlds , developers have needed to make more and more content to fill these spaces to make exploring worth it for thespian . That can come in the form of more checklist - base tasks like towers players must spark or items that need to be collected . These can be fun to complete at first but often get repetitious and finish up brush aside by players like myself after a while . Final Fantasy VII Rebirthdoes havesome organization like those , but it also embraces sidequests in a big fashion , make them find like more than checklist fodder .
Every region inFinal Fantasy VII Rebirthhas several tale - driven sidequests . Each features fully voiced characters with their own motivations , well - made in - railway locomotive cutscenes , and some unique gameplay or minigame spin . Sometimes , they even take office in area of the map or feature euphony that can be missed otherwise . Each sidequest in this style finger like a carefully crafted experience , deepen the relationship between Cloud and at least one of his ally .
Because of all those aspects , I feel motivated to play all these sidequests . I did n’t get burnt out , even when I finally started skip Chadley ’s more genericopen - world checklist target . Other small touches , like the Queen ’s Blood players Cloud can confront , which all have trenchant personalities , made me want to lease withFinal Fantasy VII Rebirth’soptional capacity even further . That ’s a ingenious design for a massive RPG like this .
Not every minigame inFinal Fantasy VII Rebirthis that playfulness , and move about its overt world is n’t as exciting as in a secret plan likeForspoken . Thankfully , the development team recognized that add depth and nuance to the sidequests that populate that open human race is what really matters . Rather than feeling like I was just working my way off a checklist or picking up lore entryway I ’m credibly never going to read , I ’m come across interesting new characters , doing something raw , or appreciate small fanfare like areas , music , or gameplay system that sense tailor - made for that specific sidequest .
Looking more loosely , I ’m recognizing that this is something that all of my favorite RPGs nail . The Witcher 3 : Wild Huntgets well - deserved recognition for doing this with things like the Bloody Barons quests , but there were even some ripe examples for this as recently as 2023.Baldur ’s Gate 3 , Like a Draco : Infinite Wealth , andStarfieldfelt so packed to the brim with engage sidequests , too ; almost anyone I mouth to in it connected to some questline or had some memorable hook to make them worthwhile .
Many of these questlines and conversation in those RPGs were completely optional but had a payoff by and by on if players study the time to do them . Seeing all that care put into the most minor content makes a game ’s world experience more talkative , the escapade more upshot - pack , and deepen my connection to the plot ’s characters as a actor . Just like spoilt sidequests can make a secret plan likeSuicide Squad : Kill the Justice Leaguedull , entertaining side message get it unmanageable for me to put games likeFinal Fantasy VII Rebirthdown .
Although I ’m sure that attention to detail on content some players might neglect or miss does n’t come cheap , memorable sidequests are a core part of why citizenry like myself have come to enjoy massive RPGs in late years . I ’m tired of completing content for content ’s rice beer . I require something more meaningful , whether through the narrative the sidequest is telling or whatever it ’s throw me do as a player . Final Fantasy VII Rebirthnails this approach to its sidequests , ensuring this RPG keep its crotchet in me for longer than I expected it would .
Final Fantasy VII Rebirthis available now alone on PS5 .
