PSA: Don’t burn yourself out on Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s open-world activities

PlayStation 5 players have been raving about the second part of the FF7 remake project Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. As with the first part, it was made clear well in advance that this game would be a PlayStation exclusive at launch, however, we did eventually get Remake of the first part on PC around a year later. This gives PC players hope that the same treatment will be given to Rebirth, but the big question becomes how long will we have to wait this time? Is it possible to see it come to PC storefronts faster than its prequel, or will we need to bide our time avoiding spoilers for months on end? Here’s our best estimate as to when you can expect to see Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth on PC.

When you reach Costa Del Sol in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, you will quickly realize that Cloud and the crew aren't exactly dressed for a relaxing vacation at the beach. All that leather and black certainly won't be comfortable — and don't get us started on how much sand is going to get in those boots. Before you can even set foot on the sand to relax by the water, Cloud will need to earn some tickets to get more appropriate beachwear. The only way to earn these tickets is to participate in some team minigames, including the Card Carnival on the docks. This is a twist on the Queen's Blood card game you may have been playing throughout your adventure up until now (or perhaps you've been completely ignoring it). Either way, this game is not your typical match, with specific challenges that are more like puzzles than proper games. They can be rather tricky, so we'll help you play your cards right to beat the initial set of Card Carnival trials and earn that swimsuit.

While Mario has become the face of Nintendo, and perhaps video games as a whole, it’s important to remember that it was in a Donkey Kong game that he really became an icon. Since then, our beloved ape has bounced between being friend and foe of the plumber, as well as broken free to star in his own series of games with an expanded cast of friends and enemies. It’s been a long time since we’ve been graced with one of his banana-fueled adventures, so we decided this was as good a time as any to look back at Dinkey Kong’s legacy and decide which of his many solo efforts stand as the best.

While there’s no shortage of ways to distract yourself while playing Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, one of the most unexpected minigames is the surprisingly deep piano system. In most of the major hub towns you encounter across the expansive world, Cloud can find a piano to sit down at and tickle the keys. You’re free to play any song you want in free play, but you can turn this system into a full-on rhythm game, almost like Guitar Hero, by collecting sheet music of some of the game’s most iconic tracks. There’s even an NPC near each piano who will reward you if you get a high enough rank on each song. Cloud may not be the most expressive in his words, but he can sure play the piano with heart. Here is where you can find all the sheet music and what rewards await if you can master them.

This article contains story spoilers for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

Chadly has a lot of tasks lined up for you in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Now that the world is far more open and explorable, you’ll have a ton of extra activities to take if you wish, but the first few are a bit more required. Aside from the usual tower climbing and item gathering, one task is to fight specific enemies with a series of requirements. The first one, which asks you to pressure a Thunderclaw, is more troublesome than it should be, even if you understand the system. Not to worry, because we’ve used the Assess skill to gather all the data on this foe to make pressuring it a breeze.

Junon is dangerous territory for Cloud and his friends in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. The city is already one of Shinra’s major hubs, but matters are made even worse when the president himself is set to arrive to host a parade. This presents a perfect opportunity to don some disguises and hide in plain sight among the ranks, though things get a little out of control when you are recruited to lead a team of troops to perform in a rhythm minigame. You could brush this off and just get by, but where’s the honor in that? Show the president your stuff by making the best parade formation possible.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth has been a huge success and is 2024’s highest-rated game on Metacritic at the time of writing. However, despite the praise there is one part of the game that needs a little tweak as players have noted that in Performance mode the lighting may be a little off.

If you were as a excited as we were for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth then you almost certainly played the demo before release. This gave you a sneak peak at the first chapter of the game where Cloud and Sephiroth are sent to Nibelheim in the flashback sequence. While great, there are a lot of slow moments here that make this section take quite a while so you may want to skip past it when starting the full game instead of doing it all again. Thankfully you can, but you have to do one little thing first that isn't very obvious.

One of the most memorable moments from the original Final Fantasy 7 is the date scene at the Gold Saucer. There was no way that Square Enix would leave that part out of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. In the original, it was almost an Easter egg of sorts to learn that you could end up going on a date with almost every member of the cast, not just Aerith. That’s because the relationship system was hidden and almost impossible to manipulate without a guide. Thankfully, Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth makes things much clearer with the new bonds system that shows you just how strong your relationship with each character is. That plays directly into who you end up sharing a touching moment with near the end of the game.

Players have been gushing about Final Fantasy VII Rebirth since its launch last week, and there’s a good reason for that: the game is incredible by all meaningful accounts. Just as important, the title expanded upon the game’s lore, world, and more to ensure that gamers had the best experience within it. Remember, the original “remake” title was set entirely within Midgar, with the team at Avalanche only getting out of the city after a clash with Sephiroth. However, while the Square Enix team did make the world vast, they ensured that there was still plenty to explore within the next entry, which will finish the story.

By expanding the Midgar section of Final Fantasy 7 into an entire game, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth finally takes us beyond the walls into the world beyond. This much larger swath of land to explore begs the question of just how big this game will be. Between all the open-world tasks, sidequests, and minigames awaiting in the Gold Saucer, could this game really be a 100-hour experience as was claimed? What if you just tried to focus on the main story to see what has or hasn’t changed? We’ve played through the entirety of Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth and can give you a good idea of just how long it will take you to reach this chapter’s conclusion.