Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthhas been met with universal acclaim, but that doesn’t mean there were no complaints about the game. Some players have accusedFF7 Rebirth’s side content of being tedious filler, likening it open world games like Ubisoft’sAssassin’s Creedfranchise. While I can see the logic behind these arguments,I just can’t bring myself to dislikeFF7 Rebirth’s side content. In fact, I actually love most of the content that many point to as unnecessary bloat.
Don’t get me wrong,I didn’t love every single side-quest equally, and I’m asunamused by Chadley as anyone, but I’ll take a few scanning missions if it means I get all the good sidequests too. Also, while some of the side quests may seem tedious, they are far from the most tedious thing I’ve ever done in a JRPG. Most importantly, adding side content did what I wanted most from this game and its predecessor: enhance the experience of the originalFinal Fantasy 7.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s Side Quests Are More Than Filler
Side Quests Offer Important Story Moments For The Main Cast
I think it’s important to acknowledge that not all side quests inFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthare created equal. At their worst, they are tedious fetch quests, but if you enjoy the game’s combat system, you can keep yourself occupied with random encounters along the way. At their best,Rebirth’s side quests are an opportunity to get to know your party members better.
FF7 Rebirth’s 10 Most Important Side Quests, Ranked By Story Impact
Some of FF7 Rebirth’s side quests impact the story more than others. Here are all the most important side quests to FF7 Rebirth’s lore and plot.
When entering a new location, there will typically be a few different types of quests. There are the World Intel missions that are likely what most will point to as filler. Thenthere’s Queen’s Blood, an in-game card game that becomes pretty entertaining once you’ve collected enough cards. Finally, there are theside quests that are denoted by green exclamation marks, which have more of a narrative tied to them and include voice acting, cutscenes, etc.
These more fleshed-out quests typically pair Cloud up with a single party member (though it doesn’t actually matter if you use them during combat) for a brief mission. These missions are themed appropriately to the specific party member Cloud gets paired with. Good examples include a mission about collecting flowers pairing Cloud with Aerith and a mission about training a young ambitious soldierpairing Cloud with Yuffie. While I did go through all the side content, it’s this last type of mission that I would argue isabsolutely essential playing to fully experienceFF7 Rebirth.
Final Fantasy 7’s Story Improves When You Spend More Time With The Party
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Fleshes Out Its Characters More Than The Original
I never played the originalFinal Fantasy 7when it came out (in my defense, I was three), so my first time throughFinal Fantasy 7 RemakeandRebirth, I wasn’t sure what was in the original game and what was added later. When I started playingFF7after my first playthrough ofRebirth, I was shocked to discover justhow much content had been added in the remakes. I got choked up when Jessie died inRemake, and again during the tribute to her inRebirth, so I was caught off guard by learning what a nothing character she was originally.
There’s One FF7 Rebirth Protorelic Quest You Have To Do
Of all the Protorelic quests available in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, there’s only one that adds enough to the story to be considered an imperative.
Likewise,I was surprised to see how little interaction there was between Cloud and his party members in the original. In fact, if the player chooses not to have certain characters in their party for combat, they just aren’t even present during certain scenes in the game. Playing through it, I couldn’t help but wonder if I would have been as excited to see Cait Sith redeem himself or as devastated at the loss of Aerith if this was the first version of the story I’d experienced.
That isn’t to say the originalFF7story is bad, but I definitely thinkRebirthimproves upon it by giving the player sidequests dedicated to learning more about their companions. For example, Yuffie is a character that took some time to grow on me inRebirth, but by the time I was headed to Cosmo Canyon, I had started to appreciate her more. In contrast, I just finished up at Cosmo Canyon inFF7and still haven’t met her because I keep forgetting I should step into the forest to get her random encounter.
“Sometimes when you finish a good story, you just want more, regardless of the quality.”
While they aren’t necessarily the most fun things to do, I would even go so far as to credit some of the filler quests as helping me feel closer to the characters. Because you can always see your party inRebirth, instead of only during battles or specific scenes like the original, you get used to being around them.Rebirth’s most tedious quests are made a little better because you’re doing them alongside well-fleshed-out characters that you’ve grown attached to, and in the end,you just want to spend more time with them.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Gave Me Exactly What I Wanted From FF7: More
It’s Hard To Complain About Extra Content In Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth When The Game Is So Good
Have you ever enjoyed something so much that you want to engage with every little bit of available content for it? Whether it’s reading obscure lore on a wiki, or reading ancillary media like tie-in novels,sometimes when you finish a good story, you just want more,regardless of the quality. I’ve done this with plenty of things. I even forced myself to get back intoLeague of Legendsbecause of how much I likedArcane. And, had I played it when I was younger, I suspect the originalFF7would have been one of those stories for me.
FF7 Rebirth’s World Makes No Sense, But Gaia Never Did To Begin With
One element in particular doesn’t add up, but it doesn’t necessarily need to, especially when considering the original game’s approach.
By starting withFF7 RemakeandRebirth, I was essentiallygiven the version ofFF7I would have always wanted: one with more. More story, more places to go, and more excuses to keep engaging with a game that I really love. Even if not every single part of a game is the best, I don’t think I’ll ever complain that one of my favorite games has more ways for me to engage with it.
As a player, I have been guilty of generalizing when we I something in a game I don’t like. Typically, if I see something that reminds me of tedious side content from games liketheAssassin’s Creedseries, I also make the snap judgment that it automatically makes a game worse. However, after having fully completed every “tedious” side questFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, I was forced to realize that these traits didn’t necessarily make a game bad. Maybe, when a game creates a beautiful world, has interesting characters, and makes gameplay fun, there’s no such thing as “tedious.”
