Why Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Should Win Game Of The Year

I’m going to begin pleading my case for why Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth should win Game of the Year in an admittedly strange way. For most of 2024, I considered Rebirth to be a massive step down from Remake, a game that I held near and dear for its heartfelt story, tight design, and satisfying combat.

While Rebirth has shades of what made Remake so special in the 20 hours or so I played before dropping it for eight months, its open-world elements were overwhelmingly bloated and kept distracting me from Cloud’s seemingly urgent quest to defeat Sephiroth with a never-ending pile of minigames.

Combine those pacing issues with my lack of interest in the combat’s new Synergy abilities and difficulty getting to grips with Red XIII’s specific counter-heavy style, and I very quickly found myself putting Rebirth back on the shelf. I was gutted that the second chapter of a trilogy I previously adored didn’t click with me, but I made as much of my peace with it as I could.

That is to say, not at all.

If You Dropped Rebirth, Give It A Second, Slower Chance

Those fairly common complaints sound like good reasons why Rebirth shouldn’t be nominated for Game of the Year, let alone win against the near-flawless Astro Bot and underdog Balatro, but my journey with Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth doesn’t end there.

Shortly after The Game Awards announced its nominees, Rebirth’s position as one of the year’s frontrunners and my shame over having left it behind caused me to pick it back up in the hopes of seeing what all the fuss had been about.

Now that I was free from the overwhelming stress of racing to the end to see how the remake would handle that scene before I got spoiled, the sequel’s slower pace and commitment to feeling like a region-spanning adventure focused on the bonds between its characters became one of its biggest strengths.

While I previously rolled my eyes whenever the party stopped to smell the roses instead of continuing to defy fate and face Sephiroth, my second attempt made me appreciate the narrative focus on the relationships between Cloud and the rest of the party. There’s also the simple fact that dropping Rebirth at Costa del Sol meant I was giving up before it even got started.

2024’s Strongest Cast Of Characters

From the moment that the party visits Corel and deals with Barret’s traumatising past, Rebirth mostly takes the brakes off and the character development that Remake did so well comes into full focus. No longer did I want to rush events along and see what happens to Aerith, as I was just happy with every second I could spend with one of 2024’s strongest casts of characters.

I even adored Yuffie, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s most Marmite character. How can you hate her after the Materia song?

Tifa’s blurry past, Aerith’s history with Zack, and Cloud’s internal struggle with Sephiroth shine in the second half, even when the multiversal, Kingdom Hearts-esque, elements get more than a little confusing. Rebirth’s story can be messy, but it feels more human and character-focused than any of the other nominees this year.

Taking baby steps while playing Rebirth the second time around also finally made the combat and open-world elements click. While the core of the game’s combat was always strong, taking the time to study Folios and upgrade my characters properly instead of blindly running into battles made things go a whole lot smoother.

Rebirth’s Combat Is A Big Step Up From Remake’s Near-Perfection

My original bugbear with the upgraded combat mechanics was the Synergy Attacks, special moves that Cloud can use with party members that eventually result in limit break-esque team-ups with special effects. At the start of Rebirth, these moves are incredibly limited, but as you unlock more and get the right team composition, they become a smart addition to an already top-tier combat system.

Red XIII and Cait Sith still didn’t get much time in my active party unless I was forced to use them, but Rebirth’s combat, especially during boss battles, ended up being something I looked forward to being challenged by instead of fearing they’d slow me down from the main plot.

I still don’t like Queen’s Blood, though. No amount of slowing down will get me invested in a card game that isn’t Balatro!

The same can be said of Rebirth’s most divisive feature – the open world. Like many, I thought it was far too big for its own good considering how generic the tasks often felt. While I still recommend leaving a lot of it behind until seeing the credits, I’ve had a blast exploring the ridiculously massive open regions and mopping up everything I originally left behind.

I’ve been taken on a miraculous journey that completely 180’d my viewpoint on Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Like a good bath, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is something you absolutely need to soak in to appreciate instead of diving into the deep end and hoping for instant gratification.

2024 has been absolutely stacked with great games this year, and The Game Awards lineup proves that nicely. While I have a lot of respect for most of the nominees, none of them took me on as much of a journey as Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth did, both in the sense of its grand scale and my massive turnaround on it. For that reason and many more, it deserves to take the crown.