Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth from Square Enix has finally hit another device! While we are all super excited for the version that appeared the Xbox Series X|S family, I want to say that I am focusing on the version that somehow found itself on the Nintendo Switch 2. Rebirth is triumph of sorts, proving that yet again Nintendo Switch 2 owners are deserving of good things. But, there is a huge compromise in the journey to achieve greatness. So, without any delay, let’s get into this.
A Brief History
I don’t think in the history of Seasoned Gaming we have ever talked about one particular game more than Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth. After Alex wrote the review, then the retrospective, and then three of us tackling the PC port, you would think we are all out of opinions. That we just have nothing more to say.
But alas, I am here alone, looking at my TV which is somehow playing the game in a visual setting that feels a bit better than the Steam Deck, but nowhere as good as the PlayStation 5 Pro that sits just below in my entertainment center.
Final Fantasy as a whole has this convoluted history as I have already pointed out. Chances are, since its initial 2024 release, you may have already played and beaten this game. So why are we talking about it again for the fourth time? Perhaps it is due to the fact that anything that comes out for the Switch 2 automatically becomes a far more interesting proposal. With every game that enters the hybrid console’s library, the more and more I become enamored.
Charming Eyesore
I’m not going to sit here and revisit everything Alex already covered thrice over. That is a waste of time. The fact is that there is nothing here on the story or combat side of things that would sway me to throw a number on the box. All I can really do is tell you if grabbing this behemoth of a game is worth it on handheld. If you want the short answer then yes, especially if you haven’t played it before. But there are compromises.
Rebirth does take a huge visual downgrade compared to its other versions. Tables are missing fruit, hair looks like wavy pasta again, and other fine details are washed out in an attempt to satisfy a struggling frame rate. For many, the overall jank may not be seen as something up to snuff, but to me, all of this adds a bit of charm to the experience.
After several hours, I got used to the frame rate and welcomed the performance profile into my heart. But some technical aspects like draw distance left a sour taste in my mouth. Trees and foliage take the brunt of the downgrade, especially when trying to capture a chocobo. Apparently a thin bush is more than sufficient to fool a well trained giant bird. When running and traveling, bushes seem to appear out of nowhere. I would normally ignore it, but due to how they just randomly pop in, it takes me out of the game just a little bit.
Surprisingly, I found the handheld mode to be quite good compared to other games that provide a crystal clear visual in docked mode and then a mosaic in handheld. It sure did run around the same speed with the choppy frame rate, but that didn’t necessarily take me out as much as the draw distance did.
Elphadunk in the Room
Honestly, I don’t know how many words will suffice when it comes to my experience on the Switch 2. It is fine across the board for me. I find a lot of heart in the attempt. Trying to push a game of this caliber onto a device that has some very limited power is a feat of strength for the developers. I don’t want to call this a watershed moment for the device, because it has already been proven to handle a lot of what developers throw at it.
But I don’t want people to take a game like this and then use the graphics as the catalyst to claim that devices like the Switch 2 are just not sufficient enough to explore games like Rebirth. Not everything will have the tender love and care that Cyberpunk 2077 got. Rebirth takes these lower resolutions and frame rates and holds them up loud and clear. Everything else in the game feels fantastic when compared to the more robust versions out there.
Playing Rebirth on Switch 2 opened my eyes to something else, a longing of the past. A time where we didn’t really need to have these insane particle effects and the ability to make out every strand of Cloud’s hair. These are all nice at times, and seeing them on more powerful hardware sure does fight back the buyers remorse of the PlayStation 5 Pro at times.
The one thing that Rebirth does well, besides play well enough to keep me hooked in, is bring me back to a time. Rebirth reminds me of when I was a teen standing in my friend’s room. I told him how Final Fantasy VII was getting a remake and that it will be done in three pieces. He told me that he has no interest in that, and he will play them all when they are all available. I think about how all we really wanted was something that looked a bit nicer, felt good, and complete.
While I think Rebirth is worth porting over to the Switch 2, I think people’s expectations should be checked. It is a great experience, and I thoroughly believe that those who haven’t played it before should play it now. No additional cook time would improve the visual fidelity in any way. If anything, with the rise of costs in technology, maybe we could use a few more games that understand the modern struggle of trying to buy RAM. Maybe more games should set themselves to keep the Switch 2 in mind when the future comes around.
