Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

gameinformer.com:

Final Fantasy VII Remake set the tone for what players could expect from this three-part retelling of the beloved 1997 Square RPG. The excellent updates to the combat system, the fantastic expansions on character relationships, and the stellar production values told us Square Enix is not taking the responsibility of remaking one of its most iconic games lightly. However, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth looks to take several components of the experience to the next level, largely thanks to its emphasis on side content.

Following the events in Midgar, as depicted in Remake, the party emerges into a vast, open area. In the original game, this was depicted through an overworld map, but in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, players remain in the same perspective as the rest of the game as they move from one point of interest to another. After the more restrictive approach to Final Fantasy VII Remake, the new sense of openness is refreshing, and something the team was deliberate in integrating, particularly when you consider how much more open this segment is during the original title.

«Seeing that Remake is set in the world of Midgar, in which the player can explore within that area, we leaned heavily on story elements and were focused on a more narrative-driven game for Remake,» director Naoki Hamaguchi says. «Now that we're entering into the outside world and going forward in that direction, I have this desire to depict more of that feeling of exploration, and I very much feel that this was able to be accomplished for Rebirth.»

While you're exploring, you should plan on having the opportunity to enjoy a ton of side content. Hamaguchi estimates that approximately 80 percent of Rebirth's exploration-based content is side content, while the mainline story makes up the remaining 20 percent. If that makes you worry that Rebirth lacks story content, Hamaguchi says you can relax; even simply focusing on the main storyline, he estimates it will give players around 40 hours of gameplay.