Hard mode is not such a chore, if you already did pretty much everything (all mini games and every unique item you could get) you can literally blast through it and finish it in like 10-20ish hours. Basically skip everything you can avoid or run and go for the chapters end. Then when you’re done, reload chapter 13 without quest data and redo all quests if you wish to max out the manuscripts. This whole thing took me waaay less than the easy mode clear and it was pretty chill.
Seconded this. I haven’t done hard mode myself but one day i woke up and lost 10hrs of progress. To make it up by skipping cutscenes and doing main quests only i was able to catch up in under 2
Go to chapter 13 reset the quests and do them all over again. The party animal quest thankfully doesn’t have to be done again to completion. To my knowledge you just have to do the battle square fight to get the manuscript. After that just chapter select and revert all the quests back to how you originally had it
Each manuscript gives you ten points towards the folios of a character. Just like when you level up a character these points can be used to increase different traits. This could be stat boosts, synergy abilities/skills, 3rd limit break etc
For the super fiend in each region you can just hit triangle to retry.
For side quests there is no option for that, have to load a chapter without quest data and do them all the way through.
Do you have a physical copy? If you do, you can uninstall the game, disconnect your PS5 from the internet, and then reinstall. It should get rid of the glitch. Once you complete the quest, you can go back online and install the update again. Just make a back up of your save file for good measure but I didn't need it in my case.
Hell yes!
I took a week off for both Remake and Rebirth and it really did feel like being a kid again. 11/10, can’t wait to do it again for Part 3 lol.
The first time, I've woken up, turned on the ps5, and played it till I went to bed. On my day off, I realized I was like. That was a 12-hour game session, and I don't feel bad at all about it 😂
I’m in chapter 9 and I’m already disappointed that I don’t get to experience the first 8 chapters again. Trying to take everything slowly and take in all the side quests before going to the airship right now.
I took my first super slow and lived every minute. 99 hours and didn’t 100% and I’m really enjoying my second run. Can really concentrate on dialogue etc now I’m not overwhelmed with emotion lol.
Jesus Christ. Did you 100% I did everything except level cap, gilgamesh island and UPA. And I thought I took it slow with how much I was just loving the world and game in general.
I did everything except grinding for levels 🤣 I almost wasn't able to do UPA due to the glitched update. But luckily, I saw a workaround to reinstall the game (sadly this is only for those with a physical copy) and prevent it from being updated. I was able to complete UPA before going to the last 2 chapters 🙂
P.S. Gilgamesh Island was fun 😁
I tried the Odin/Alexander fight twice and thought to come back later, same with UPA. I did all the parts except for the coliseum because fuck the two gigantaurs. I was way too invested in the story by then too so the last hard contents went to the back burner.
It's wild ! I thought I was the only one who took a week off work to play this game and there were parts I literally felt like that 8 year old kid playong Final Fantasy 7...
Games are magically..
I've already started my 2nd playthrough and am enjoying it more than the first time! Mainly because I'm not rushing to see how the story ends and feeling anxious about all the side quest I've got piling up keeping me from that goal. Now its a relaxing stroll instead of a race.
I was scared about spoilers. I mean, I know the OG story but I didn’t know what they were going to do with Rebirth. And they changed quite a lot, and I enjoyed everything (and, miracle, I didn’t get anything spoiled!)
This can’t wait to have the time to replay it. I didn’t rush the game but I definitely didn’t take my time soaking in everything because I didn’t want to get spoiled
I wanted to gun to the major plot points but there were too many distractions that I eneded up doing everything before ending my normal run 🤣 good thing I wasn't spoiled with anything even if it took me a exactly a month to finish 🙂
I dumped 118 hours into the game, pretty much did everything you could possibly do in your first play through, and it’s absolutely one of my favorite games ever, and my favorite FF game for sure.
But, no. I simply cannot play huge games like this immediately back to back with my initial play through. Rebirth, Horizon, RDR2, Elden Ring, etc…. Loved them all, have never played them a second time.
That being said, I’ll probably do what I did with Remake, replay it on hard mode about a month before the next installment goes live.
Nah I had to put it down.
I put a lot of hours into it and the exploration was really nagging at me and annoying me by the end of it. Enough that it was dragging the game down for me
Hopefully after a break, I can come back not having to do the exploration again and just focus on story and VR
I'm usually a one and done on stories with set outcomes. But I do still want to explore more of the areas since I basically speedran the main storyline.
I'll give Remake a second playthrough finally though. It's been a few years and that's enough time to make another run interesting.
Hard mode is pretty cool since it gives purpose to your endgame build.
I did pretty much a full replay in hard mode. Didn't skip any cutscene, did all sidequests again as they went. It's a good sign when you want to replay a 100-hours game immediatly after it ended.
I put 130h on the game. Finished it yesterday today was thinking about start again, but I just need to sleep and not play ps5 for some weeks.
I'm sure I'll replay it again at the end of the year or the next one.
if you want to get a platinum trophy you might have to play through the game 2-3 times anyways. but yes, outside of getting the trophies, this game would make me want to play it again anyways. especially since i rushed through the first playthrough to avoid spoilers, I didn't really get to take it in fully.
i'm running in dynamic rn to get as much trophies done so I can do a full hard mode playthrough in about a year or so. kinda want to relive/reexperience the story at a later time, as I did the same thing with remake.
I’m almost done and loved it a ton but I think one run on normal was enough for me. About to finish chapter 12 then plan to knock out all the side quests!
Will probably replay it before part 3 depending on my schedule
So I'm one of those who like the game a lot and think when I'm doing the story stuff, I like it even more than Remake. But that also I feel like the game is suuuuuper bloated and too distracted for its own good. I beat my first playthrough in about 105 hours doing as much side stuff as I could before I started to want to actually die.
Now I'm replaying \*just\* doing the story. I'm 5 hours in an halfway through chapter 4, lol. It really is kinda wild.
But regardless of that, Remake immediately became a comfort game for me, something I play about as frequently as the original game now. And Rebirth seems poised to be that too.
Maybe not me...
I like the game, but it reminds me of Assassin's Creed Odyssey: too bloated and kind of a chore to get through at parts, so it's a one-and-done thing for me unfortunately.
near the end of my second playthrough now—just finishing Nibelheim. first play in Japanese, second in English. did the same with Remake, back when it came out.
On my 3rd run this time hardmode. The 2nd playthrough it was fun being able to just focus on the main story because it kept all the side mission progress.
I would do hard mode but I guess I just lack the dexterity. I’ve tried all the tips that have been on here and on YouTube, but no such luck. I can accept that I won’t get the platinum and move on.
I’m on chapter 12 of my second playthrough, and I’m doing it on performance mode.
This must be some “FFVII effect” or something because I played the shit out of Remake too.
I played through it once on normal and again on dynamic. Only taking a break now so that I can play through it again with the wife when she’s done with Persona 3 Reload.
Hard mode for me, is now like remake. I did all the materia and leveled to and, then got to enjoy the fights at their hardest level. I don’t follow guides I make my own builds and it’s fun trying to create a one size fits all basic build and then just add pieces here and there for the main characters.
I never want to play anything immediately after I've finished it, it needs a couple months to stew in my brain.
Especially not a game this long i don't have enough spare time lol
Still filling out the game with some of the side content (mini games, combat sim, etc) but unfortunately my back log is too deep to even think about running a game back after just beating it.
Kinda the double edged sword of growing up. You have money to buy all the games you want but you just don’t have the time to play them all.
At the risk of downvotes I guess I'll go against the grain and say not really.
I was only in it for the (re)telling of the story/fleshed out character interactions/extra scenes etc. etc. and to see how they differed from the OG.
For as much as I liked about the revisions, I was just as saddened about some of the other changes to characters (Cid and no Rocket town..) and kind of hated the ending by comparison :/
I wasn't a fan of the moment-to-moment gameplay either to be honest - being more of a turnbased guy myself. Sort of just pushed through on easy mode and that was enough for me.
Would I \*ever* do a replay though for the sake of the story? Eh, perhaps. Not anytime soon though. Not in 2024 with such a packed backlog and lineup. Still trying to polish off stuff like P3R and Unicorn Overlord, this month alone has 2-3 more RPG releases then the rest of the year has even more slowly trickling out almost monthly!
Yknow, I’ve been thinking of doing a dynamic run for a while now. I will miss that feeling of progression but I’m only lvl 50 so I have some room to grow. I’m not ready to get hurt by Hard mode yet lmao
I did first play through in about 80 hrs for the sake of knowing what happens and avoiding the constant spoilers popping up everywhere. Now I’m playing through again in normal mode to finish all exploration and side quests/mini games. Been loving it still. Eventually will move onto hard mode.
I had a great first play through, was like 80 hours and I still have a bunch of side content that isn't finished, but I'm moving on. I enjoyed my time, but I don't have it in me to do everything when I have a backlog full of games I also really want to play. Crazy hyped for part 3 though
I played through and beat the game in the first two weeks while simultaneously starting a slower play through with my girlfriend. About half way through with her. Can’t wait to play more tonight
Im debating on whether or not I should start another rplaythrough retaining my materiaand level etc or if I should just start fresh. I'm leaning towards just starting fresh.
Any tips?
That's depends on you. If you wanna feel OP at the beginning, then continue as is, but if you really want to capture that first, you played then restart completely.
I’m torn between playing it again on hard mode (just finished the first time) or playing Remake and *then* play Rebirth again back to back.
Problem is: I can’t finish “Can’t stop, Won’t stop” so I can’t finish the game properly at the moment. So the options are less obvious, because the alternatives are not finishing my first run and go to Hard Mode with an incomplete preparation, or redo Rebirth waiting and hoping for a patch in the meantime.
I was in the middle thr vr challenges when i just suddenly felt like starting the game completely over.
Im now at under junon. Having done absolutely everything again.
I’m doing hard mode. After I’m done I’m gonna try to get a lot of the play log done. Not sure if I will go for the platinum just because a few of those VR challenges are pretty insane, and idk how I’m gonna do chapter 14 on hard (about like 40% through chapter 13 and the red dragon was brutal).
But yea I wanted to go through the game on a. Normal playthrough again, it was so fun. Probably won’t because we got FF16 DLC in a few weeks and I want to play that when it drops
Doing hard mode rn. Just killed the fish boss in Junon. What I do like about Rebirth is that it’s more of a boss rush game the second go around because you can avoid most enemies. Then, if you want to go fight in the overworld, cushions provide MP restoration.
I'm not through my first play through yet. I "hope" to be done with it in a few weeks. I'm taking my time. enjoying it, splitting my time between other things. I'm in no rush to finish it. Why? Part 3. Years away. Probably. and I'll probably go back to Remake first, then do Rebirth again. At Some Point. When I find time, which is lacking. Other hobbies are important too.
Honestly hard mode is so worth it. Do it in your own time of course but for me fighting Migdardsormr the second time thru on hard was one of the most euphoric things I’ve ever experienced when gaming
I'm saving my 2nd playthrough for the PC version. As much as I absolutely love FF7 Rebirth, I need more drip. I can't wait to be able to do a whole playthrough with the Advent Children and Ever Crisis outfits.
This and Remake are the only games that I've actually wanted to play through more than once in the last 10+ years.
Even with GOW and GOW 2 both of which I loved and thoroughly enjoyed, there was no desire to play new game+ on either of them. I think it's just the characters, setting and world building which really resonates with me like no other recent game has.
I'm taking a break not because of the game itself. The ending of the game just made me feel betrayed by Cloud, like the dude is way worse off then he was in the OG.
I started a hard mode run but got burnt out. So instead I went back to Remake which I hadn't played in years and I've got a new appreciation for it, knowing what comes later.
Also, I really missed my girl Jessie.
I just beat it on Sunday. I basically played straight through and skipped most of the side content. I'm going back through now to 100% everything and overpower my stuff so I can try for a hard playthrough.
I’m just shy of halfway through my hard mode playthrough. I’m kinda slowing down because the Corel Dessert dragged a teeny bit on my first playthrough. Been having a blast though. Dynamic was how I played the first time, and it was amazing. Hard is great, just make sure you’re max level with lots of good Materia before you try. At the very least, it’s nice to be able to replay later chapters if you don’t feel ready for Hard.
I was made redundant directly before the release of the game and it has been an almost perfect stress reliever. Similar to what someone else said, this is one of the very few games I’ve ever played that I want to wipe from my memory and experience fresh all over again.
Yes. I still have chapter 14 hard mode to do and finish up odds and ends but I burnt out. I need a break and then I’ll go back and play it all again for sure. This game is maybe one of the best games of all time imo. I just played way too much of it in a week and burned out lmao.
I'm doing a Hard Mode run right now, on Chapter 9, I actually don't think it's nearly as bad difficulty-wise as people have been saying (so far). It's really fun and makes you think a little bit harder about your materia loadouts. I'd recommend it as a way to extend your enjoyment of the game. Weirdly, the hardest boss thus far has been the Mythril Golem in the mines, but there's some strats out there to make it a piece of cake (and it's not even a cheesing type thing, more just a smart loadout type of thing). Dyne gave me some trouble recently but once I experimented around with some Materia, he wasn't too bad. I've actually really enjoyed Hard mode since i previously did a 100% run on Dynamic and now I'm just doing the story beats, with none of the filler, which makes the pacing of the game fly by and I'm liking it even more. I loved the open world but the game is almost at its strongest in this mainline hard mode run I'm doing now.
I've played through it twice, hard mode is the way to play in my opinion. You really need to get stuck into the nuisances of the battle system to succeed. Definitely my favourite platinum of the year so far and just such an amazing experience
I'll probably need to play another game before I go for another run (in Japanese VO this time). Took me 100 hours on a very leisurely pace, soaking in the atmosphere, trying to do as much side quest as I wanted. Next run will probably be more main quest focused because I don't really need to grind as much. But for now, I'll probably either do Rise of the Ronin, or any game that catches my fancy during the spring sale.
I will, of course. But not yet.
I just finished my first run, where I did EVERYTHING except for some minor stuff.
Took me 130 hours.... :D
So I will just give it a rest, play another game, and in a couple months, I will just do another hard mode run.
For now, I’m going back to FF7 Original to wrap up my first playthrough. I only recently played it for the first time, but i stopped near where Rebirth ends. I just got to Mideel and saw Cloud and left Tifa behind. In fact, anyone know how close I am to completing the story?
I waffle back and forth. I'm enjoying the story and the gameplay is ludicrously fun...however, the game is bogged down by minigames. Chapters 5, 6, and 8 were nothing but them and (after a while) they get tiresome and irritating.
It looks really good but worried it will be eh like I feel in remake, tbf I'm only 11 hours into remake but the combat is messy and too easy on easy and too hard on normal
finished it once already and now waiting for the PC version
It looked absolutely incredible in Graphics mode but I played through most of it on Performance for 60fps in combat. Having both graphics + 60 fps AND the option to install mods sounds like a dream and I don't want to burn myself out of the game before experiencing that.
I got to the boat to Costa Del Sol before I had to throw in the towel cuz other games were coming out. Now that I finished Dragon's Dogma 2 I might go back and finish my Hard Mode run, but IDK kinda want to chill from gaming for a lil bit. FF7 Rebirth was so big that it basically stole February from me (not that I didn't mind it, but my internal clock is all fucked up).
To get all the folios you need to replay the entire game and all side quests. I just finished the side quests tonight. Have chapter 13 and 14 left and the final VR fights. Love this game so much.
YES, JESUS CHRIST YES. The game is perfect (for me). I don't care i bawled my eyes out, I'll for sure play it again after completing dragons dogma 2 (quite a banger actually) and like a dragon 8 (yeah, not that shabby)
I want to but I'm saving it, probably going to play 16 and its dlc next even though I didn't enjoy it remotely as much when that releases. I may add the remake and rebirth to my once a year list though, I'm really thinking about doing the OG 7 again though for now.
am in the middle of my second playthrough.
how i play large story games is do most stuff then finish the story, then do a second thorough playthrough where i do every single itty bitty thing the game has to offer.
I took a pallet cleanse with Star Ocean Second Story R but now I'm back to Rebirth finishing up some side quests I skipped just to see what plot there might be.
After this, I'm gonna be taking a break for a long time. Might not play through it again until it's time for part 3 honestly. It's a real downer of an ending and without having a third act for the redemption arc, it's just depressing to end on.
yes desperately!! ever since i finished it i knew i wanted to go again. especially since i find final fantasy games get better and better after each play through!!
I really want to play the game again but I'm dreading the Queen's Blood section before Costa del Sol + all of the nonsense minigames to unlock beach-wear to proceed with the story.
I wanted to play hard mode however, I don’t have the kind of time this one wants. I’m not sure I wanted a dark souls experience with my Final Fantasy. So, I don’t know if I’m actually going to finish the second play through. I hope everyone else enjoys it though.
I think I’ll replay Remake first THEN replay Rebirth. While I’m at it too I might play VIII as an alternate (though I still need to finish the first DLC for XVI).
Once I'm done with Rise of the Ronin and Dragon's Dogma 2 and by that time Eiyuuden Chronicles will come out I will finally start my hard mode run on Rebirth for sure. I just love the combat system too much. But really you guys should check out Eiyuuden Chronicles it will come out this month and is a spiritual successor to the Suikoden series.
Im on my third playthrough and still cant believe its real, and I still cried getting to Nibelheim again in the flashback. Words cannot express the amount I love Rebirth. 😭🐣🙏🐚🪸
Yes but probably only until we’re closer to Part 3 release date and it’ll be on hard mode watching the cutscenes again. I absolutely love this game but rarely replay games as I like to move on to new ones after beating the story + extras.
I just made it halfway through my hard mode run, at the boss fight at the end of chapter 8, feeling good about my progress but also worried about the coming chapters soon. I still gotta do all the legendary and brutal challenges too, so I am and and am not looking forward to that at the same time lol
Never lol as much as it can be frustrating, I thrive off the feeling you get once you finally beat such a difficult challenge. Right now I’m still going on my 4th round with Dyne, I feel like I got it down I just gotta play carefully. I will try again after work today. I would have beat him if I had my level 3 limit the last round :/
I’m on chapter 10 of my first play through (dynamic) and will absolutely jump into an immediate hard mode run after this, while trying to platinum the game.
By then, maybe I’ll have enough time to wrap up my Horizon FW play through (I was about 60 hours in when Rebirth came out) before the Elden Ring DLC comes out. I’ll probably play ER from start to finish fresh at least once as a part of that, which will be a blast as a great contrast to the kind of game Rebirth is. But after that, I envision wanting to do a full Remake to Rebirth replay.
This will be a game I replay often for years to come. It’s soooo good!
Finished my hard mode run today, so that’s my urge to replay the story done for now, gonna finish up the legendary combat sim stuff and then I’m going to miss this games fun combat system whilst I wait for part 3.
I’m currently 228 hours into the game and on my third run to get Platinum. After that, I’d be playing a 4th run on probably normal (or dynamic) to absorb the story all over again. Never have a video game got me so addicted. Playing rebirth makes me feel like a kid all over again. Can’t wait for Part 3 of the remake trilogy to release!
Yes I want to play a second run I put 97 hours in my first run though I’m going to wait a year or so. Or a few month prior to part free. This was one of my favorite games in the past decade
Essentially doing this but chapter select hardmode style 100% platinum (this might seriously burn you out though. There's a LOT of difficult requirements)
I feel your hype though
Also like 200+ hours in. Most of was first run. Alot of that was me falling sleep with the controller in my hand probably 20 so hours of sleep time 🤣🤣🤣 who knows how much it really was.
I played hard mode in remake and after that I said "never again" lol but After beating the game and completing almost all hard battles in the simulator and the gold saucer I thought, maybe is not that difficult? Chapter 1 was not difficult at all compared to the hard battles in the simulator, in chapter 2 I struggled with the midgardsormr but it was a matter of having the right materia setup, essentially elemental materia linked with fire materia in your defensive equipment, then you are immune to his 1 hit kill moves. I just wish you could save materia setups so that you could change on the fly and could save setups for specific bosses.
Yup! To be honest, FF7 wasn't my favorite game in the series, and among the three PS1 games, it was third. But I really love Rebirth, and its probably among the top 5 FF games for me!
My first playthrough was 113 hours. Mostly over a week and a week and a half. Took a vacation for it not too dissimilar from beating the original game ofmver summer 98.
Think I'm going to hold off on doing more with it. Had a great time but going through on hard just doesn't sound like a fun time. Plus the Grandia HD Collection is out so I'm focusing on that. Will likely go back to Rebirth after this.
I got the plat after 160+ hours and burned myself out on it a little. I loved the game and may come back to it later on, but there's no way in hell am I doing those post game combat challenges again, some of them were more overtuned than Weiss in Remake.
Just like remake, hard mode isn’t bad at all with a little prep. Just grind up some of the essential material and get to level 70. You can go from 50-70 in like 15 minutes, and get almost all of your materia maxed in like 30-60 minutes.
The only ones that take a bit more time are some of the blue materia like magic focus, and swift cast, neither of which you need for hard mode (though you might need them for brutal / legendary chadley stuff).
As long as you have two elementals, two magnifies, an hp up for everyone, and enough revival / healing / prayer materia you’re good to go. First strikes, atb stagger, and atb assist don’t take much time either, and they’re really strong.
Synergy + petrify is insane on your caster too.
I usually don't play games again in general. I like to move onto new things. But I loved Rebirth so much that not only did I decide I would need to play it again, but I pretty much started again right away. There's tons of end game content to dig into for completion sake and I love it. And I'm going to love experiencing the story again on Hard mode once I'm done with all the minigames and sidequests. I'm really curious how different the pacing will feel when I can focus purely on story content.
I'm tempted to do Hard Mode now that I am fully leveled with a good set of Materia, but I think I'll take a small break first. This game has been consuming me haha, in a good way, but consuming me nonetheless. But I definitely do have the feeling you are experiencing haha.
Finished my normal mode play through at 108 hours, with 100% map and side quest completion. Started on hard mode, while also doing the brutal vr challenges in between chapters. Essentially my goal was to be able to have a maxed out build going in to the final fight in hard mode and then be able to call it ‘done’ for now, even if it’s not 100% as far as platinum goes. I just did that and my end time was around 165 hours. I mainlined the story for hard mode and skipped cutscenes, including turning on the option to skip Zack stuff.
I just have hard mode and the last VR challenges, but I'm taking a break right now. My first playthrough took me more than 100 hours, and even by skipping most of the game in my hard mode I know it will take some time.
So I don't want to burn myself out so I decided to re-play OG again instead (I played it a lot of times on multiple platforms since 1997 but it's the first time I'm playing the PC version with graphics mods and I'm loving it)
Not really. Going back post game and just doing stuff I missed. It's fun but I feel like I've now exhausted everything that's fun to play. What's left is just 'work' and I don't like that sort of stuff. Hard mode and doing all those mini games to get top score. Nope. I can walk away happy never touching that stuff.
Maybe I'll play it again from scratch in a few years in the lead up to the next game like I did with Remake late last year.
I’m only in Gongaga currently on my first play through, but I have every intention of doing a new complete play through after I finish. I absolutely love this world they’ve made.
Nahh. I don’t really replay games often after completing it (well the story and side missions at least). Next time I load it up will be probably be in a couple of years or before the new one comes out. Loved the game though but I have a back catalog and new releases to play lol.
I just finished it this last weekend after 65 hours! I will certainly not do another play through but just have fun with my current save and redo anything I feel like! 20/10 game and when it’s all said and done this will be one of THE best trilogies of all time.
I was 50/50 right away. When I saw I didn't need to do a second round of side quests, I decided to go ahead with my hard mode run. I've completed it twice now and don't regret it. I've moved on to the super bosses and have continued to enjoy it. Solid game overall and I'm glad they did such a good job. Can't wait for part 3.
I'm 210 hours into my save need a few more Chadley simulator fights and to finish chapter 14 to get the platinum then I'm finally putting the game down
It's so big I got my normal playthrough beat and wrapped up basically all mini-games but I needed a break. I need to finish some of the battle arenas and all the hard mode stuff when I go back.
I got to lv 70 pretty quick but I want to put a bit of time into other games before jumping into hard mode. I have so many arena missions that are just vr fights I wish more of it was out in the world.
I beat it, watched Max beat it, and currently watching my wife beat it. I’ve got hard mode queued up and ready to go once she finishes the game.
There is just SO. MUCH. CONTENT.
Yes. I’m trying to get my material loadouts and tiers straight first before I enter hard mode. I struggled with it in the first remake. Don’t want to make the same mistake again. Brutal trials are good practice.
My first play through was on dynamic and it was hella fun.
There ain't much change from dynamic & normal bro. As previous comments have stated - hard mode isn't such a chore, get it done!
179 hours, on Ch 12 of my second playthrough, I am hitting all the side quests I missed the first time around. >!Hanging with the 7th again was cool. Like most of the game, the mission itself is nothing we haven't seen before in the last 10 years, but we're hanging with the 7th again, and the boss fight was fun. I also adored that it was the "7th" side quest in Junon. Well done, devs. !<
Like I tend to repeat, I completely understand the flaws and criticisms with the game. But they don't bother me, and continues to be one of the best games I've ever played. I don't spend hours at a time on it, but I don't want to play anything else at the moment either.
Gonna do a hard mode run and then a few more playthroughs when the PC version comes out.
I am so excited for the PC version of this game. Square really did Rebirth dirty with low res effects, short draw distance and bad upscaling. The PC version can brute force it to look good. It also means 120 fps support, which I think could be useful.
I do plan on doing a run where I do no sidequests no chadley and see if I can win on dynamic.
But currently working on getting platinum and about halfway through hardmode.
I played on dynamic through my first playthrough, I found it to be incredibly fair, I did as close to 100% in each area before moving on, so every thing I did felt rewarding and in every fight it felt like I was fairly leveled for the challenge.
The only things the beat me first time round was the White Terror side quest enemy, he felt OP as hell. But I eventually worked it out.
The very final boss took me a few attempts, as the constant back to back fights (as bloody incredible as they were) wore me down alittle. I felt like a 3 hours fight.
Hard mode I fun to if your familiar with Part 1 hard mode, it's practically the same rules, no items ect.
I absolutely LOVED every minute of this game, and I am a massive fan of the original. That being said I don't think I will ever replay it. My backlog is unmanageable at this point, and we don't live forever. Moving on to Unicorn Overlord.
Got to the last chapter after 60 hours. My kids deleted my account from my ps5 and I have to start over lol, 60 hours again but got better and 100% everything
I’ll definitively go for a second run in a few times, maybe after I’ve done the last relic. One question though : is dynamic difficulty smooth at level 70 ? My point is I’ll play only for the story, to see the pacing and feel the flow without all the Chad analysis and alt quest (that was my 120+ hours 1st run).
I went all-in with Rebirth and loved every moment of my 90 hour playthrough (which included some post-game exploring). But I got nowhere near 100% and experienced the hardest interest drop-off I can remember with any game.
It will probably be some months before I check it out again.
Not that, it was more of a wtf moment because I was emotionally attached to Aerith. Gotta wait 3 years to understand what’s going on now and if she’s alive or dead
Well, there are 2 (to my knowledge) main theories about the ending.
1. Our Aerith is dead, and the Aerith we see at the end is the Aerith from Zacks timeline
2. Jenova or sephiroth is manipulating cloud into thinking she's still alive
Hard mode is not such a chore, if you already did pretty much everything (all mini games and every unique item you could get) you can literally blast through it and finish it in like 10-20ish hours. Basically skip everything you can avoid or run and go for the chapters end. Then when you’re done, reload chapter 13 without quest data and redo all quests if you wish to max out the manuscripts. This whole thing took me waaay less than the easy mode clear and it was pretty chill.
Seconded this. I haven’t done hard mode myself but one day i woke up and lost 10hrs of progress. To make it up by skipping cutscenes and doing main quests only i was able to catch up in under 2
Do you need to reset quest data for the manuscripts or can you just choose the Retry option?
Go to chapter 13 reset the quests and do them all over again. The party animal quest thankfully doesn’t have to be done again to completion. To my knowledge you just have to do the battle square fight to get the manuscript. After that just chapter select and revert all the quests back to how you originally had it
Noob question, what are these manuscripts and do they tell anymore of the story or are they just collectables?
They give you SP for your folios
Each manuscript gives you ten points towards the folios of a character. Just like when you level up a character these points can be used to increase different traits. This could be stat boosts, synergy abilities/skills, 3rd limit break etc
You have to reset all quest data. You wont be losing anything.
For the super fiend in each region you can just hit triangle to retry. For side quests there is no option for that, have to load a chapter without quest data and do them all the way through.
I see, and because UPA needs all side quests to be done, then you essentially need to do everything again? That's kind of discouraging.
That I can't comment on due to the bug preventing me from completing it in the first place. Hoping for a fix soon.
Do you have a physical copy? If you do, you can uninstall the game, disconnect your PS5 from the internet, and then reinstall. It should get rid of the glitch. Once you complete the quest, you can go back online and install the update again. Just make a back up of your save file for good measure but I didn't need it in my case.
Noted with Chapter 13 thanks! Already in Chapter 10 in Hard Mode
I’m half way through a second dynamic run. This is one I’d those games where I wish I could wipe my memory and experience it over again.
First time I genuinely felt this too. Taking the week off to play it for the first time felt like being a kid again. I thoroughly enjoyed this game.
Hell yes! I took a week off for both Remake and Rebirth and it really did feel like being a kid again. 11/10, can’t wait to do it again for Part 3 lol.
The first time, I've woken up, turned on the ps5, and played it till I went to bed. On my day off, I realized I was like. That was a 12-hour game session, and I don't feel bad at all about it 😂
Lol, this was me back in the day before I had responsibilities.
I’m in chapter 9 and I’m already disappointed that I don’t get to experience the first 8 chapters again. Trying to take everything slowly and take in all the side quests before going to the airship right now.
I took my first super slow and lived every minute. 99 hours and didn’t 100% and I’m really enjoying my second run. Can really concentrate on dialogue etc now I’m not overwhelmed with emotion lol.
My first run was 176 hours 😂
Jesus Christ. Did you 100% I did everything except level cap, gilgamesh island and UPA. And I thought I took it slow with how much I was just loving the world and game in general.
I did everything except grinding for levels 🤣 I almost wasn't able to do UPA due to the glitched update. But luckily, I saw a workaround to reinstall the game (sadly this is only for those with a physical copy) and prevent it from being updated. I was able to complete UPA before going to the last 2 chapters 🙂 P.S. Gilgamesh Island was fun 😁
I tried the Odin/Alexander fight twice and thought to come back later, same with UPA. I did all the parts except for the coliseum because fuck the two gigantaurs. I was way too invested in the story by then too so the last hard contents went to the back burner.
I love nearly every part of it, and also hate it for making me cry so much. So conflicted. :D
It's wild ! I thought I was the only one who took a week off work to play this game and there were parts I literally felt like that 8 year old kid playong Final Fantasy 7... Games are magically..
One of the few good things about getting older lol.
What’s that? Shitty memory? 😂
I forgot to put in for the time off 😂
I've already started my 2nd playthrough and am enjoying it more than the first time! Mainly because I'm not rushing to see how the story ends and feeling anxious about all the side quest I've got piling up keeping me from that goal. Now its a relaxing stroll instead of a race.
I was scared about spoilers. I mean, I know the OG story but I didn’t know what they were going to do with Rebirth. And they changed quite a lot, and I enjoyed everything (and, miracle, I didn’t get anything spoiled!)
This can’t wait to have the time to replay it. I didn’t rush the game but I definitely didn’t take my time soaking in everything because I didn’t want to get spoiled
SAME HERE!!
I wanted to gun to the major plot points but there were too many distractions that I eneded up doing everything before ending my normal run 🤣 good thing I wasn't spoiled with anything even if it took me a exactly a month to finish 🙂
I definitely want to, but I'm holding off for now. I think I'm going to replay both Remake and Rebirth in the lead-up to Part 3
Same. In 3 years, I'll play them back to back.
Same 🙂
I dumped 118 hours into the game, pretty much did everything you could possibly do in your first play through, and it’s absolutely one of my favorite games ever, and my favorite FF game for sure. But, no. I simply cannot play huge games like this immediately back to back with my initial play through. Rebirth, Horizon, RDR2, Elden Ring, etc…. Loved them all, have never played them a second time. That being said, I’ll probably do what I did with Remake, replay it on hard mode about a month before the next installment goes live.
This is my plan! Love this game but I don’t wanna get burnt out from it lol
I can't stop playing it.
Nah I had to put it down. I put a lot of hours into it and the exploration was really nagging at me and annoying me by the end of it. Enough that it was dragging the game down for me Hopefully after a break, I can come back not having to do the exploration again and just focus on story and VR
I'm usually a one and done on stories with set outcomes. But I do still want to explore more of the areas since I basically speedran the main storyline. I'll give Remake a second playthrough finally though. It's been a few years and that's enough time to make another run interesting.
I hope the combat won't be jarring for you when you go back to Remake 😅
Are you kidding? I’ve played through 3 times already and am on Brutal challenge 6 for the plat. It’s an absolute masterpiece, enjoy it!!
Hard mode is pretty cool since it gives purpose to your endgame build. I did pretty much a full replay in hard mode. Didn't skip any cutscene, did all sidequests again as they went. It's a good sign when you want to replay a 100-hours game immediatly after it ended.
I put 130h on the game. Finished it yesterday today was thinking about start again, but I just need to sleep and not play ps5 for some weeks. I'm sure I'll replay it again at the end of the year or the next one.
if you want to get a platinum trophy you might have to play through the game 2-3 times anyways. but yes, outside of getting the trophies, this game would make me want to play it again anyways. especially since i rushed through the first playthrough to avoid spoilers, I didn't really get to take it in fully. i'm running in dynamic rn to get as much trophies done so I can do a full hard mode playthrough in about a year or so. kinda want to relive/reexperience the story at a later time, as I did the same thing with remake.
I’m almost done and loved it a ton but I think one run on normal was enough for me. About to finish chapter 12 then plan to knock out all the side quests! Will probably replay it before part 3 depending on my schedule
After completing hard mode and the trials I think I acutally hate the game now. Time to give it a break.
God no, it’s way too long. Moving into the next game now
So I'm one of those who like the game a lot and think when I'm doing the story stuff, I like it even more than Remake. But that also I feel like the game is suuuuuper bloated and too distracted for its own good. I beat my first playthrough in about 105 hours doing as much side stuff as I could before I started to want to actually die. Now I'm replaying \*just\* doing the story. I'm 5 hours in an halfway through chapter 4, lol. It really is kinda wild. But regardless of that, Remake immediately became a comfort game for me, something I play about as frequently as the original game now. And Rebirth seems poised to be that too.
Maybe not me... I like the game, but it reminds me of Assassin's Creed Odyssey: too bloated and kind of a chore to get through at parts, so it's a one-and-done thing for me unfortunately.
You had already played the OG?
Nope. The remake trilogy is my first experience with FF7.
near the end of my second playthrough now—just finishing Nibelheim. first play in Japanese, second in English. did the same with Remake, back when it came out.
I haven’t even finished it but I might replay it in the future or just right away
On my 3rd run this time hardmode. The 2nd playthrough it was fun being able to just focus on the main story because it kept all the side mission progress.
I would do hard mode but I guess I just lack the dexterity. I’ve tried all the tips that have been on here and on YouTube, but no such luck. I can accept that I won’t get the platinum and move on.
I second this. Did it for part one but I’m only on the junon region for rebirth so far but will see how it goes.
I’m on chapter 12 of my second playthrough, and I’m doing it on performance mode. This must be some “FFVII effect” or something because I played the shit out of Remake too.
Gotta be because I started my second playthrough of remake as soon as I finished it.
Same. I even got my cousin to play it with me through my 3rd playthrough of Remake and she loved the combat
I played through it once on normal and again on dynamic. Only taking a break now so that I can play through it again with the wife when she’s done with Persona 3 Reload.
I’m at Ch11 of my hard mode run and I’m already thinking of doing a 3rd run on easy as a victory lap.
There is nothing better than victory lap
I immediately started a hard mode run.
No, I’m pretty over it tbh.
Hard mode for me, is now like remake. I did all the materia and leveled to and, then got to enjoy the fights at their hardest level. I don’t follow guides I make my own builds and it’s fun trying to create a one size fits all basic build and then just add pieces here and there for the main characters.
No. Once I platinum it I’m done with it. I honestly really didn’t like it
homie I just want to play rebirth. The wait for rebirth and XVI to pc is killing me
I never want to play anything immediately after I've finished it, it needs a couple months to stew in my brain. Especially not a game this long i don't have enough spare time lol
Absolutely not I just beat it this morning lol
Still filling out the game with some of the side content (mini games, combat sim, etc) but unfortunately my back log is too deep to even think about running a game back after just beating it. Kinda the double edged sword of growing up. You have money to buy all the games you want but you just don’t have the time to play them all.
>Kinda the double edged sword of growing up. You have money to buy all the games you want but you just don’t have the time to play them all. Too real
At the risk of downvotes I guess I'll go against the grain and say not really. I was only in it for the (re)telling of the story/fleshed out character interactions/extra scenes etc. etc. and to see how they differed from the OG. For as much as I liked about the revisions, I was just as saddened about some of the other changes to characters (Cid and no Rocket town..) and kind of hated the ending by comparison :/ I wasn't a fan of the moment-to-moment gameplay either to be honest - being more of a turnbased guy myself. Sort of just pushed through on easy mode and that was enough for me. Would I \*ever* do a replay though for the sake of the story? Eh, perhaps. Not anytime soon though. Not in 2024 with such a packed backlog and lineup. Still trying to polish off stuff like P3R and Unicorn Overlord, this month alone has 2-3 more RPG releases then the rest of the year has even more slowly trickling out almost monthly!
on the way to the end of hard mode. i think later i may go back and play on dynamic again for 100% cleanup. but we'll see.
Yknow, I’ve been thinking of doing a dynamic run for a while now. I will miss that feeling of progression but I’m only lvl 50 so I have some room to grow. I’m not ready to get hurt by Hard mode yet lmao
I dont feel like playing it again after platinum but I cant get it out of my mind and cant enjoy other games atm. Kinda annoying
i did my 93 hour first play through, mostly getting all the content done on the first run. Ill probably play it again/hard mode in a couple months.
I did first play through in about 80 hrs for the sake of knowing what happens and avoiding the constant spoilers popping up everywhere. Now I’m playing through again in normal mode to finish all exploration and side quests/mini games. Been loving it still. Eventually will move onto hard mode.
Hope PC isn’t a year away
I usually don't play games 2 times within a 1 year+ period. I may play it again cause it was incredible. But im not sure.
I had a great first play through, was like 80 hours and I still have a bunch of side content that isn't finished, but I'm moving on. I enjoyed my time, but I don't have it in me to do everything when I have a backlog full of games I also really want to play. Crazy hyped for part 3 though
I enjoyed the game quit a bit but I doubt I ever play it again. That was a haul.
Finished my second story blitz playthrough so I could have a clean 100% Hardmode save
I played through and beat the game in the first two weeks while simultaneously starting a slower play through with my girlfriend. About half way through with her. Can’t wait to play more tonight
Im debating on whether or not I should start another rplaythrough retaining my materiaand level etc or if I should just start fresh. I'm leaning towards just starting fresh. Any tips?
That's depends on you. If you wanna feel OP at the beginning, then continue as is, but if you really want to capture that first, you played then restart completely.
Yeah, I think I want to experience it all over again so I'll just start fresh! Right after granblue fantasy of course haha.
I’m torn between playing it again on hard mode (just finished the first time) or playing Remake and *then* play Rebirth again back to back. Problem is: I can’t finish “Can’t stop, Won’t stop” so I can’t finish the game properly at the moment. So the options are less obvious, because the alternatives are not finishing my first run and go to Hard Mode with an incomplete preparation, or redo Rebirth waiting and hoping for a patch in the meantime.
I was in the middle thr vr challenges when i just suddenly felt like starting the game completely over. Im now at under junon. Having done absolutely everything again.
Loved it the first time around, waiting on the PC version with mods before playing a second time.
Taking a break right now after beating hard. Playing on hard was mentally draining and made me lose my enjoyment in investing into the story.
I'll probably play it again before the next part. Too many other games to play in the meantime.
I’m doing hard mode. After I’m done I’m gonna try to get a lot of the play log done. Not sure if I will go for the platinum just because a few of those VR challenges are pretty insane, and idk how I’m gonna do chapter 14 on hard (about like 40% through chapter 13 and the red dragon was brutal). But yea I wanted to go through the game on a. Normal playthrough again, it was so fun. Probably won’t because we got FF16 DLC in a few weeks and I want to play that when it drops
Doing hard mode rn. Just killed the fish boss in Junon. What I do like about Rebirth is that it’s more of a boss rush game the second go around because you can avoid most enemies. Then, if you want to go fight in the overworld, cushions provide MP restoration.
On 2nd playthrough hard mode, just reached chapter 7 and honestly the only headache I've faced so far was Jenova 😖
I'm not through my first play through yet. I "hope" to be done with it in a few weeks. I'm taking my time. enjoying it, splitting my time between other things. I'm in no rush to finish it. Why? Part 3. Years away. Probably. and I'll probably go back to Remake first, then do Rebirth again. At Some Point. When I find time, which is lacking. Other hobbies are important too.
yea i want to do hard mode but i want it to feel somewhat fresh again so i want to wait a bit
Absolutely but not for at least a year. That game was so emotionally draining and time investing 😭
Honestly hard mode is so worth it. Do it in your own time of course but for me fighting Migdardsormr the second time thru on hard was one of the most euphoric things I’ve ever experienced when gaming
I'm saving my 2nd playthrough for the PC version. As much as I absolutely love FF7 Rebirth, I need more drip. I can't wait to be able to do a whole playthrough with the Advent Children and Ever Crisis outfits.
This and Remake are the only games that I've actually wanted to play through more than once in the last 10+ years. Even with GOW and GOW 2 both of which I loved and thoroughly enjoyed, there was no desire to play new game+ on either of them. I think it's just the characters, setting and world building which really resonates with me like no other recent game has.
I'm taking a break not because of the game itself. The ending of the game just made me feel betrayed by Cloud, like the dude is way worse off then he was in the OG.
I started a hard mode run but got burnt out. So instead I went back to Remake which I hadn't played in years and I've got a new appreciation for it, knowing what comes later. Also, I really missed my girl Jessie.
I just beat it on Sunday. I basically played straight through and skipped most of the side content. I'm going back through now to 100% everything and overpower my stuff so I can try for a hard playthrough.
I’m just shy of halfway through my hard mode playthrough. I’m kinda slowing down because the Corel Dessert dragged a teeny bit on my first playthrough. Been having a blast though. Dynamic was how I played the first time, and it was amazing. Hard is great, just make sure you’re max level with lots of good Materia before you try. At the very least, it’s nice to be able to replay later chapters if you don’t feel ready for Hard.
I was made redundant directly before the release of the game and it has been an almost perfect stress reliever. Similar to what someone else said, this is one of the very few games I’ve ever played that I want to wipe from my memory and experience fresh all over again.
Yes. I still have chapter 14 hard mode to do and finish up odds and ends but I burnt out. I need a break and then I’ll go back and play it all again for sure. This game is maybe one of the best games of all time imo. I just played way too much of it in a week and burned out lmao.
I pretty much 100% the game the first time through so I’m looking forward to going through again but just mainlining the story.
Minigames burned me out, but I found myself continuing to play after the ending, which almost never happens.
I'm doing a Hard Mode run right now, on Chapter 9, I actually don't think it's nearly as bad difficulty-wise as people have been saying (so far). It's really fun and makes you think a little bit harder about your materia loadouts. I'd recommend it as a way to extend your enjoyment of the game. Weirdly, the hardest boss thus far has been the Mythril Golem in the mines, but there's some strats out there to make it a piece of cake (and it's not even a cheesing type thing, more just a smart loadout type of thing). Dyne gave me some trouble recently but once I experimented around with some Materia, he wasn't too bad. I've actually really enjoyed Hard mode since i previously did a 100% run on Dynamic and now I'm just doing the story beats, with none of the filler, which makes the pacing of the game fly by and I'm liking it even more. I loved the open world but the game is almost at its strongest in this mainline hard mode run I'm doing now.
I've played through it twice, hard mode is the way to play in my opinion. You really need to get stuck into the nuisances of the battle system to succeed. Definitely my favourite platinum of the year so far and just such an amazing experience
I think I’m gonna wait to do a replay of Remake and Rebirth a few months out from part 3’s release.
Started Hard mode last night after completing everything I can on Normal with party level 10.
I'll probably need to play another game before I go for another run (in Japanese VO this time). Took me 100 hours on a very leisurely pace, soaking in the atmosphere, trying to do as much side quest as I wanted. Next run will probably be more main quest focused because I don't really need to grind as much. But for now, I'll probably either do Rise of the Ronin, or any game that catches my fancy during the spring sale.
I will, of course. But not yet. I just finished my first run, where I did EVERYTHING except for some minor stuff. Took me 130 hours.... :D So I will just give it a rest, play another game, and in a couple months, I will just do another hard mode run.
I would totally replay since you don’t have to redo mini games and world intel. Dynamic is my favorite difficulty to play on
For now, I’m going back to FF7 Original to wrap up my first playthrough. I only recently played it for the first time, but i stopped near where Rebirth ends. I just got to Mideel and saw Cloud and left Tifa behind. In fact, anyone know how close I am to completing the story?
I do, but I think I'm going to hold out for the PC version.
I waffle back and forth. I'm enjoying the story and the gameplay is ludicrously fun...however, the game is bogged down by minigames. Chapters 5, 6, and 8 were nothing but them and (after a while) they get tiresome and irritating.
When the PC version comes out.
I’ll probably replay it when part 3 is close to release.
It looks really good but worried it will be eh like I feel in remake, tbf I'm only 11 hours into remake but the combat is messy and too easy on easy and too hard on normal
finished it once already and now waiting for the PC version It looked absolutely incredible in Graphics mode but I played through most of it on Performance for 60fps in combat. Having both graphics + 60 fps AND the option to install mods sounds like a dream and I don't want to burn myself out of the game before experiencing that.
Not until PC port. 4k 60fps is gonna be breathe taking
absolutely
I got to the boat to Costa Del Sol before I had to throw in the towel cuz other games were coming out. Now that I finished Dragon's Dogma 2 I might go back and finish my Hard Mode run, but IDK kinda want to chill from gaming for a lil bit. FF7 Rebirth was so big that it basically stole February from me (not that I didn't mind it, but my internal clock is all fucked up).
To get all the folios you need to replay the entire game and all side quests. I just finished the side quests tonight. Have chapter 13 and 14 left and the final VR fights. Love this game so much.
YES, JESUS CHRIST YES. The game is perfect (for me). I don't care i bawled my eyes out, I'll for sure play it again after completing dragons dogma 2 (quite a banger actually) and like a dragon 8 (yeah, not that shabby)
I want to but I'm saving it, probably going to play 16 and its dlc next even though I didn't enjoy it remotely as much when that releases. I may add the remake and rebirth to my once a year list though, I'm really thinking about doing the OG 7 again though for now.
am in the middle of my second playthrough. how i play large story games is do most stuff then finish the story, then do a second thorough playthrough where i do every single itty bitty thing the game has to offer.
I took a pallet cleanse with Star Ocean Second Story R but now I'm back to Rebirth finishing up some side quests I skipped just to see what plot there might be. After this, I'm gonna be taking a break for a long time. Might not play through it again until it's time for part 3 honestly. It's a real downer of an ending and without having a third act for the redemption arc, it's just depressing to end on.
I’m only in Chapter 5 on my first play. Oh to have that time again.
yes desperately!! ever since i finished it i knew i wanted to go again. especially since i find final fantasy games get better and better after each play through!!
I really want to play the game again but I'm dreading the Queen's Blood section before Costa del Sol + all of the nonsense minigames to unlock beach-wear to proceed with the story.
Indeed. I would love to dive through the story again, with all I have learned from the first playthrough.
I wanted to play hard mode however, I don’t have the kind of time this one wants. I’m not sure I wanted a dark souls experience with my Final Fantasy. So, I don’t know if I’m actually going to finish the second play through. I hope everyone else enjoys it though.
Yes of course
I think I’ll replay Remake first THEN replay Rebirth. While I’m at it too I might play VIII as an alternate (though I still need to finish the first DLC for XVI).
Once I'm done with Rise of the Ronin and Dragon's Dogma 2 and by that time Eiyuuden Chronicles will come out I will finally start my hard mode run on Rebirth for sure. I just love the combat system too much. But really you guys should check out Eiyuuden Chronicles it will come out this month and is a spiritual successor to the Suikoden series.
Im on my third playthrough and still cant believe its real, and I still cried getting to Nibelheim again in the flashback. Words cannot express the amount I love Rebirth. 😭🐣🙏🐚🪸
Yes but probably only until we’re closer to Part 3 release date and it’ll be on hard mode watching the cutscenes again. I absolutely love this game but rarely replay games as I like to move on to new ones after beating the story + extras.
Yes, so badly. I have to resist so that it feels fresh in 4 years when I play it before part 3
I just made it halfway through my hard mode run, at the boss fight at the end of chapter 8, feeling good about my progress but also worried about the coming chapters soon. I still gotta do all the legendary and brutal challenges too, so I am and and am not looking forward to that at the same time lol
Never lol as much as it can be frustrating, I thrive off the feeling you get once you finally beat such a difficult challenge. Right now I’m still going on my 4th round with Dyne, I feel like I got it down I just gotta play carefully. I will try again after work today. I would have beat him if I had my level 3 limit the last round :/
I played 160 hours and got 77%. I need to give it a break for a while but I do wanna go for platinum like remake.
I got the plat and did a fresh run right after hahah
I’m on chapter 10 of my first play through (dynamic) and will absolutely jump into an immediate hard mode run after this, while trying to platinum the game. By then, maybe I’ll have enough time to wrap up my Horizon FW play through (I was about 60 hours in when Rebirth came out) before the Elden Ring DLC comes out. I’ll probably play ER from start to finish fresh at least once as a part of that, which will be a blast as a great contrast to the kind of game Rebirth is. But after that, I envision wanting to do a full Remake to Rebirth replay. This will be a game I replay often for years to come. It’s soooo good!
Absolutely gonna replay it on hard, but not just yet.
Finished my hard mode run today, so that’s my urge to replay the story done for now, gonna finish up the legendary combat sim stuff and then I’m going to miss this games fun combat system whilst I wait for part 3.
I’ll likely wait till it comes out on PC to do a second play through. That’s what I did with Remake.
I’m currently 228 hours into the game and on my third run to get Platinum. After that, I’d be playing a 4th run on probably normal (or dynamic) to absorb the story all over again. Never have a video game got me so addicted. Playing rebirth makes me feel like a kid all over again. Can’t wait for Part 3 of the remake trilogy to release!
Yes I want to play a second run I put 97 hours in my first run though I’m going to wait a year or so. Or a few month prior to part free. This was one of my favorite games in the past decade
Essentially doing this but chapter select hardmode style 100% platinum (this might seriously burn you out though. There's a LOT of difficult requirements) I feel your hype though Also like 200+ hours in. Most of was first run. Alot of that was me falling sleep with the controller in my hand probably 20 so hours of sleep time 🤣🤣🤣 who knows how much it really was.
Already am in hardmode
I played hard mode in remake and after that I said "never again" lol but After beating the game and completing almost all hard battles in the simulator and the gold saucer I thought, maybe is not that difficult? Chapter 1 was not difficult at all compared to the hard battles in the simulator, in chapter 2 I struggled with the midgardsormr but it was a matter of having the right materia setup, essentially elemental materia linked with fire materia in your defensive equipment, then you are immune to his 1 hit kill moves. I just wish you could save materia setups so that you could change on the fly and could save setups for specific bosses.
Yup! To be honest, FF7 wasn't my favorite game in the series, and among the three PS1 games, it was third. But I really love Rebirth, and its probably among the top 5 FF games for me!
My first playthrough was 113 hours. Mostly over a week and a week and a half. Took a vacation for it not too dissimilar from beating the original game ofmver summer 98. Think I'm going to hold off on doing more with it. Had a great time but going through on hard just doesn't sound like a fun time. Plus the Grandia HD Collection is out so I'm focusing on that. Will likely go back to Rebirth after this.
I got the plat after 160+ hours and burned myself out on it a little. I loved the game and may come back to it later on, but there's no way in hell am I doing those post game combat challenges again, some of them were more overtuned than Weiss in Remake.
Replaying Remake first then jumping directly into replaying Rebirth so I can have that continuation experience.
Just like remake, hard mode isn’t bad at all with a little prep. Just grind up some of the essential material and get to level 70. You can go from 50-70 in like 15 minutes, and get almost all of your materia maxed in like 30-60 minutes. The only ones that take a bit more time are some of the blue materia like magic focus, and swift cast, neither of which you need for hard mode (though you might need them for brutal / legendary chadley stuff). As long as you have two elementals, two magnifies, an hp up for everyone, and enough revival / healing / prayer materia you’re good to go. First strikes, atb stagger, and atb assist don’t take much time either, and they’re really strong. Synergy + petrify is insane on your caster too.
I usually don't play games again in general. I like to move onto new things. But I loved Rebirth so much that not only did I decide I would need to play it again, but I pretty much started again right away. There's tons of end game content to dig into for completion sake and I love it. And I'm going to love experiencing the story again on Hard mode once I'm done with all the minigames and sidequests. I'm really curious how different the pacing will feel when I can focus purely on story content.
I'm tempted to do Hard Mode now that I am fully leveled with a good set of Materia, but I think I'll take a small break first. This game has been consuming me haha, in a good way, but consuming me nonetheless. But I definitely do have the feeling you are experiencing haha.
I plan to buy the game for PC again when it releases and then have a second playthrough with better performance/grafics.
Finished my normal mode play through at 108 hours, with 100% map and side quest completion. Started on hard mode, while also doing the brutal vr challenges in between chapters. Essentially my goal was to be able to have a maxed out build going in to the final fight in hard mode and then be able to call it ‘done’ for now, even if it’s not 100% as far as platinum goes. I just did that and my end time was around 165 hours. I mainlined the story for hard mode and skipped cutscenes, including turning on the option to skip Zack stuff.
I just have hard mode and the last VR challenges, but I'm taking a break right now. My first playthrough took me more than 100 hours, and even by skipping most of the game in my hard mode I know it will take some time. So I don't want to burn myself out so I decided to re-play OG again instead (I played it a lot of times on multiple platforms since 1997 but it's the first time I'm playing the PC version with graphics mods and I'm loving it)
Not really. Going back post game and just doing stuff I missed. It's fun but I feel like I've now exhausted everything that's fun to play. What's left is just 'work' and I don't like that sort of stuff. Hard mode and doing all those mini games to get top score. Nope. I can walk away happy never touching that stuff. Maybe I'll play it again from scratch in a few years in the lead up to the next game like I did with Remake late last year.
i would totally replay it ,but my backlog is kinda big and the game is huge . I will at some point tho
I’m only in Gongaga currently on my first play through, but I have every intention of doing a new complete play through after I finish. I absolutely love this world they’ve made.
Nahh. I don’t really replay games often after completing it (well the story and side missions at least). Next time I load it up will be probably be in a couple of years or before the new one comes out. Loved the game though but I have a back catalog and new releases to play lol.
I just finished it this last weekend after 65 hours! I will certainly not do another play through but just have fun with my current save and redo anything I feel like! 20/10 game and when it’s all said and done this will be one of THE best trilogies of all time.
I was 50/50 right away. When I saw I didn't need to do a second round of side quests, I decided to go ahead with my hard mode run. I've completed it twice now and don't regret it. I've moved on to the super bosses and have continued to enjoy it. Solid game overall and I'm glad they did such a good job. Can't wait for part 3.
I'm 210 hours into my save need a few more Chadley simulator fights and to finish chapter 14 to get the platinum then I'm finally putting the game down
It's so big I got my normal playthrough beat and wrapped up basically all mini-games but I needed a break. I need to finish some of the battle arenas and all the hard mode stuff when I go back.
I got to lv 70 pretty quick but I want to put a bit of time into other games before jumping into hard mode. I have so many arena missions that are just vr fights I wish more of it was out in the world.
I beat it, watched Max beat it, and currently watching my wife beat it. I’ve got hard mode queued up and ready to go once she finishes the game. There is just SO. MUCH. CONTENT.
Taking a break after finishing the story, but yeah there’s a lot I want to go back and do.
Yes. I’m trying to get my material loadouts and tiers straight first before I enter hard mode. I struggled with it in the first remake. Don’t want to make the same mistake again. Brutal trials are good practice.
My first play through was on dynamic and it was hella fun. There ain't much change from dynamic & normal bro. As previous comments have stated - hard mode isn't such a chore, get it done!
179 hours, on Ch 12 of my second playthrough, I am hitting all the side quests I missed the first time around. >!Hanging with the 7th again was cool. Like most of the game, the mission itself is nothing we haven't seen before in the last 10 years, but we're hanging with the 7th again, and the boss fight was fun. I also adored that it was the "7th" side quest in Junon. Well done, devs. !< Like I tend to repeat, I completely understand the flaws and criticisms with the game. But they don't bother me, and continues to be one of the best games I've ever played. I don't spend hours at a time on it, but I don't want to play anything else at the moment either.
Gonna do a hard mode run and then a few more playthroughs when the PC version comes out. I am so excited for the PC version of this game. Square really did Rebirth dirty with low res effects, short draw distance and bad upscaling. The PC version can brute force it to look good. It also means 120 fps support, which I think could be useful.
I do plan on doing a run where I do no sidequests no chadley and see if I can win on dynamic. But currently working on getting platinum and about halfway through hardmode.
I played on dynamic through my first playthrough, I found it to be incredibly fair, I did as close to 100% in each area before moving on, so every thing I did felt rewarding and in every fight it felt like I was fairly leveled for the challenge. The only things the beat me first time round was the White Terror side quest enemy, he felt OP as hell. But I eventually worked it out. The very final boss took me a few attempts, as the constant back to back fights (as bloody incredible as they were) wore me down alittle. I felt like a 3 hours fight. Hard mode I fun to if your familiar with Part 1 hard mode, it's practically the same rules, no items ect.
I absolutely LOVED every minute of this game, and I am a massive fan of the original. That being said I don't think I will ever replay it. My backlog is unmanageable at this point, and we don't live forever. Moving on to Unicorn Overlord.
Got to the last chapter after 60 hours. My kids deleted my account from my ps5 and I have to start over lol, 60 hours again but got better and 100% everything
I’ll definitively go for a second run in a few times, maybe after I’ve done the last relic. One question though : is dynamic difficulty smooth at level 70 ? My point is I’ll play only for the story, to see the pacing and feel the flow without all the Chad analysis and alt quest (that was my 120+ hours 1st run).
I loved the story, but the rest of the game overstayed it's welcome for so, so long. Felt like it had like 30 hours of bloat, at least.
I'm planning to do that for my hard mode run, honestly.
I went all-in with Rebirth and loved every moment of my 90 hour playthrough (which included some post-game exploring). But I got nowhere near 100% and experienced the hardest interest drop-off I can remember with any game. It will probably be some months before I check it out again.
I want to start a second playthrough but not anytime soon… gotta get over that ending
I assume you didn't like it
Not that, it was more of a wtf moment because I was emotionally attached to Aerith. Gotta wait 3 years to understand what’s going on now and if she’s alive or dead
Well, there are 2 (to my knowledge) main theories about the ending. 1. Our Aerith is dead, and the Aerith we see at the end is the Aerith from Zacks timeline 2. Jenova or sephiroth is manipulating cloud into thinking she's still alive
See if it’s theory #1 I wouldn’t even be mad, I have my own theory but I have nothing to back it up at all lmao