Highlights

  • Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth expands on the original with more lore and story, offering a 40-50 hour main story experience.
  • Rebirth fixes minor plot inconsistencies, treating Avalanche as wanted criminals, unlike in the original game.
  • Despite some filler moments, Rebirth delivers a more intricate and well-explored story thanks to its extended runtime.

The original Final Fantasy 7 boasts one of the most engaging, beloved narratives in all of gaming, and it holds up remarkably well all these years later. A story revolving around environmental terrorists, an evil corporation, a mind-controlling alien, and an ancient civilization long gone, Final Fantasy 7's story is complex, and it packed a whole lot into its original ~30-hour runtime. But being split into three separate parts, the remake is even more expansive than the original, and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has much more lore, world-building, and story to offer.

Generally speaking, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth takes around 40-50 hours to complete, and that's just its main story. Already, this means that it's about 10-20 hours longer than the original, and while there's definitely some slower moments and sequences that feel like filler a bit too much, Rebirth makes great use of its extended runtime, delivering a much more intricate, well-explored story, while also fixing a few minor inconsistencies from the original 1997 game.

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Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Goes a Long Way In Improving One of the Original's Underdeveloped Characters

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's updates to its source material give one character in particular a chance to shine brighter than in the original game.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Fixes a Minor Plot Inconsistency From the Original

The Original Final Fantasy 7 Party Goes Pretty Much Unnoticed

Due to the sheer scope of the game and its limited resources, the original 1997 Final Fantasy 7 has one or two minor plot holes, or general inconsistencies in which certain plot threads are dropped suddenly between chapters. One of the most apparent in the original FF7 occurs after Cloud and the rest of the crew leave Midgar. Escaping by the skin of their teeth after assaulting the Shinra headquarters, Cloud, Aerith, Red XIII, Tifa, and Barret set out on their journey to find Sephiroth.

Despite only just escaping from Shinra - the most powerful military corporation in the world - Cloud and the rest of the gang don't seem all too worried about being hunted down, and the general citizens of the towns surrounding Midgar don't seem too fussed either. Though they're presumably well-known wanted criminals, no one in Kalm, Junon, or the other surrounding locations recognize Cloud or the now infamous members of Avalanche, whose likenesses have been spread all over by Shinra's propaganda machine.

Though it's pretty much assumed that everyone in these towns is on Avalanche's side in their fight against Shinra, it's still odd that nobody ever really addresses Cloud or the rest of the party as these wanted criminals. It's not necessarily a major plot hole in the original Final Fantasy 7, but it definitely feels like a strange omission when going back to play it all these years later.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Treats Avalanche Like They're Wanted Criminals

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth goes out of its way to fix this minor plot discrepancy from the original, with several story moments confirming that Avalanche is still very much being hunted down. The first sequence occurs right at the start of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, where Shinra forces seize the entire town of Kalm just to try and locate Cloud and the rest of the group. This is further explored when the party first arrives in Under Junon, with the mayor immediately recognizing them as Shinra's most-wanted, and directly stating that they'll only be allowed in Junon for as long as she sees fit.

Unfortunately, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth doesn't continue fixing this plot hole throughout its duration. After Cloud & co. leave Junon, they board a Shinra ferry headed to Costa del Sol. Despite being owned and operated by Shinra, no ferry employees recognize Cloud or the rest of the party, nor do the party even attempt to disguise themselves any longer, instead deciding to participate in the fun but very high-profile Queen's Blood tournament.