The end of 2024 is here, and it’s been a fantastic year of game releases. As a website, we published well over 100 reviews this year, awarding six games with a prestigious 5/5 rating. This includes Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Tekken 8, Persona 3 Reload, Fate/stay night Remastered, Metaphor: ReFantazio, and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.
At the end of each year, we gather as a staff and each discuss our pick for Game of the Year. Every person, regardless of position, has one vote, and following voting, a winner of Game of the Year 2024 has been crowned. I’m happy to reveal that Final Weapon has selected Final Fantasy VII Rebirth as our Game of the Year for 2024.
Final Weapon’s Game of the Year 2024 – Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
From the get-go, expectations for Rebirth could not have been higher. The ending of Final Fantasy VII Remake left many players with endless theories after its final chapter, and the mere thought of exploring a vast, open world was enchanting for any Final Fantasy fan. Comments from Creative Director Tetsuya Nomura only increased anticipation for many, with Nomura describing Cloud wandering through the wilderness. It wouldn’t be until Summer Game Fest 2023 that we would receive a first look at the world of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and like everyone else here at Final Weapon, I’ve been enamored ever since.
That anticipation, which by February was even higher than Final Fantasy VII Remake, was met and exceeded with ease. Rebirth delivered on everything it promised – a massive, living, open world, rich character writing, and a forever-memorable recreation of one of gaming’s most iconic narratives.
Everything starts from the moment you walk out of Nibelheim in a flashback sequence five years ago as Cloud, accompanied by 1st Class SOLDIER Sephiroth and Nibelheim’s best tour guide, Tifa. A triumphant rendition of the Main Theme of Final Fantasy VII enters as the camera pans out to reveal the pathway to Mt. Nibel, an environment larger than anything we saw in Final Fantasy VII Remake.
This larger-than-life feeling of seeing such iconic locations remade continues throughout every area of the game. The Grasslands made the entire wait for Rebirth feel worth it, sprawling with all kinds of run-down buildings and remnants of Shinra to discover. Corel featured a desert region with hidden Cactaur hideouts, the deserted pieces of a mako reactor, and, of course, what is essentially Final Fantasy Disney World – the Gold Saucer. The list goes on and on, but every location brought dozens of hours of activities, with a refreshing blend of fresh and nostalgia for players to experience.
In the modern gaming landscape, open worlds have become extremely common, and it’s far too common to walk through a world that has no reason to be open. The opposite is true with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. The planet is begging to be explored, with secrets in every corner. The development team at Square Enix gave exploration and the open-world nature of Rebirth a purpose to exist. There is as little or as much as you want there to be, allowing anyone to tweak their experience to their liking.
Naturally, exploring the world is only as fun as the gameplay is, and that was yet another area where Final Fantasy VII Rebirth excelled. The existing combat system from Remake was already excellent, yet it’s even better here. A new team-up mechanic called Synergy was implemented, allowing powerful combo attacks to be performed with different characters. Every party member has a few of these that are directly linked with the others.
Each time you use an ATB ability or attack, your synergy meter raises. Once a certain level is achieved, you can unleash a Synergy Ability. This can range from Cloud and Tifa using the Buster Sword together with Synchro Cyclone or even Barret and Aerith throwing on a pair of shades with Sweet-and-Sour Salvo to rain fire on an enemy. As the game progressed, this system opened up with more moves and abilities, creating a faster and more technical combat system all around. This was joined by a rework of aerial combat, allowing characters to attack in the air this time.
With now seven of nine party members playable (and perhaps a few extra playable characters here and there), Rebirth was far and away one of the most fun games to play this year. It’s everything you could want from an action RPG, requiring quick action but thoughtful tactfulness.
Beyond standard combat, this gameplay extends to one of the biggest attractions of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth – the minigames. Over 25 original minigames are available throughout the world, offering plenty of fun (and frustration) for all. The Gold Saucer acted as the star of the show here, offering a wonderland of fun with its Chocobo Racing, 3D Brawler, and more.
While the development team at the recently renamed Creative Studio 1 brought the original game’s minigames into Rebirth better than ever, its best minigame was a new addition – Queen’s Blood. It’s been some time since a new card game was introduced into the world of Final Fantasy, and Queen’s Blood did not disappoint. As an avid Triple Triad fan, I was more than satisfied; Queen’s Blood was my favorite card game of 2024! Opponents ready to challenge you are scattered throughout the world, and there’s an entire questline to climb as you traverse through each region.
Above all, the heart of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth lies with its characters. Final Fantasy VII is one of the most beloved games of all time, and by the time it is finished, this remake project will have expanded what was a 30-hour game into a 120-hour experience. As the middle part of the trilogy, Rebirth faced an uphill battle, covering the events of Disc 1 after leaving Midgar and ending on the most iconic scene of Final Fantasy VII, the events at The Forgotten Capital.
What Final Fantasy VII Rebirth accomplished is nothing short of remarkable. The trek that some once considered monotonous, moving from location to location, has been reborn as a journey. The goals, challenges, and dreams of each party member come to light, beautifully explored as you traverse through some of gaming’s most iconic locations. An all-star voice cast offers characterization and emotion at levels we’ve yet to see in the world of Final Fantasy, and that’s only the beginning.
Every character has time to shine, and even the smallest, most obscure people from Final Fantasy VII Remake return with new storylines that catch us up on what they’re up to. And that’s not even considering the countless new characters, who all receive immense depth and care in writing. No one is shoved aside, which feels borderline impossible for a game of this size. Yet, Square Enix did it.
That accomplishment carries over into the story, told over 15 hours of cutscenes. New additions by Scenario Writer Kazushige Nojima, such as the events in Gongaga, were simply incredible. Every conversation had a purpose, building toward both the ongoing narrative and each character’s individual story. And that’s not even touching on the ending of the game.
Final Fantasy VII Remake took risks with its narrative. Risks that no one before release saw coming. Risks that you would never expect a remake of one of the greatest games of all time to take. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth one-upped these. The ending of Rebirth is bold, beautiful, and more than I ever could have imagined.
This ending sequence was purposefully made to provoke conversation, and it’s proven to be a major success. Even now, as we approach 2025, fans are still debating what lies ahead and what happened at the end of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. While that can be disappointing for some, I find it unbelievably exciting. Square Enix has made a clear path forward for the final chapter of this trilogy, and I could not be more thrilled.
Naoki Hamaguchi, Yoshinori Kitase, Tetsuya Nomura, Kazushige Nojima, and the rest of the development team are singlehandedly redefining what a remake means in the world of video games. This expression of art goes far beyond translating the polygons of the PlayStation 1 to the 4K visuals on PlayStation 5. Instead of experiencing the same story, in line with the 1997 original, so many new elements have been blended in.
Some have been carefully pulled from the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, while others are completely new, expanded on ideas and themes from the original. It’s a decision that I believe will be looked back on as one of the most innovative choices in the modern gaming landscape, acting as a pathway some developers might look to follow in the future.
Regardless of whether you are a die-hard fan of Final Fantasy VII or someone who has only played the Remake series, Rebirth was a brand-new experience for you. And that was impossible to replicate by any other game in 2024.
Every year brings new, amazing games that stay with us for years to come. For Square Enix, Rebirth is not only the best game of 2024, but it’s one of the greatest titles that the company has ever released. I firmly believe Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will be looked back upon for decades to come as one of the shining achievements of narrative storytelling in video games during the 2020s. If the third and final title of the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy follows in its footsteps, there is no limit to what it can achieve.
With that being said, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth takes the crown as Final Weapon’s Game of the Year 2024. Thank you so much for the incredible support this year; we’re looking forward to making 2025 even better! For more on Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, be sure to check out our Game of the Year 2024 discussion below, acting as Episode 12 of our Final Fantasy VII: Under The Plate video series.
