Even if part three of theFinal Fantasy 7remake trilogy doesn’t change much fromFF7 Rebirth, it will still likely be an incredible game. I have no major criticisms ofFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and simply getting fresh content made in the same style would not be a bad thing. With that said, there are definitely some minor improvements that could be made in the final part of the trilogy to create an absolutely flawless experience immune to even the nitpickiest of critiques.
I am also open to the possibility thatFinal Fantasy 7part three could surprise me. After all, I thoughtFinal Fantasy 7 Remakewas as good as the series could get until I playedFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthand saw improvements like Cloud’s new ranged attack or the beautiful new environments. Although I don’t think anything that happens in part three will change myinitial impressions ofFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth,it at least has the possibility to iron out the game’s few flaws.
10Final Fantasy 7 Part 3 Needs Better Reasons To Explore
FF7 Rebirth Didn’t Do Much To Encourage Exploring Outside Of Quests
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthhas a massive, beautiful world to explore, butit doesn’t always give you the best reasons to actually look around. Even after tracking down all of Chadley’s tasks and completing other side quests, there were a few parts of the map I didn’t have filled in. However,Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthalso didn’t provide me with much reason to go poking around every corner of the map.
I’m not arguing thatFinal Fantasy 7part three should have some sort of arbitrary collectibles, especially if it’s already going to have as much side content asFF7 Rebirth. That said, it would be nice if there were some powerful Materia, or hidden weapons sprinkled around the map that would encourage players to venture off the beaten path. This would force us to look at and appreciate the game’s environments instead of just following quest trackers and points of interest.
9FF7 Part 3 Should Bring Back Missing Summons From The Original
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthdidn’t get all the way to the end ofFinal Fantasy 7, so it makes sense that certain weapons and Summon Materia wouldn’t appear just yet. Hopefully,the final installment of theFinal Fantasy 7trilogy will include all the Summons from the originalthat were missing from the previous two games. This includes things like the upgraded forms of Bahamut and the Knights of the Round.
One Summon Materia I would really like to see adapted for the new game trilogy isthe Master Summon from the originalFinal Fantasy 7. This was a special Materia that would allow you to use any of the 16 Summons from the original game. It would be nice to have the flexibility to choose between a Summon like Bahamut for just doing damage, and something like Phoenix if your party desperately needs its healing and revival abilities.
8Everyone Wants Vincent Valentine As A Playable Party Member
FF7 Rebirth Introduced Vincent But He Wasn’t Playable
I was excited when I reached Nibelheim inFinal Fantasy 7 RebirthandVincent Valentine seemingly joined my party. I was still enjoyingFF7 Rebirth’s combat, but after so many hours into the game, the idea of getting a new party member to try out was something I was looking forward to. Unfortunately, while Vincent does join up with Cloud and the rest of the party, he isn’t actually usable during combat inFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth.
I’m certain that Vincent will be playable in part three of theFinal Fantasy 7remake trilogy. Hopefully, he’s a character the game gives us access to right away, or at least as soon as we rejoin Cloud and the main party. I wouldn’t be too surprised to see another prologue section involving Zack or another side character, but hopefully once we’re playing the main crew, Vincent is also an option.
7FF7 Part 3 Would Benefit From More Meaningful Side Quests
Don’t get me wrong,Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthdoes have some meaningful side quests. Any quest tagged on the map with a green shield icon focuses on Cloud accomplishing a task with another party member, giving more depth to that character individually and fleshing out their relationship with Cloud. Some of these side quests weremy favorite parts ofFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Unfortunately, not all side content in the game was equally meaningful.
Aside from the more narrative-focused side quests, there were also quests from Chadley that simply had you fighting a certain enemy or scanning crystals for research. Now, I didn’t hate these quests, sinceFF7 Rebirth’s gameplay is fun and any excuse to play longer was fine by me. That said, I would have preferred it if the game had included more story behind these quests. I don’t think they need to disappear in part three, butI think they should include more dialogue and character moments to make them feel less like busy workand more worth doing.
6The Final FF7 Game Needs To Explain The Other World
FF7 Remake And Rebirth Take Place In Two Different Timelines
Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and to a greater extentFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth,feature scenes in two distinct parallel timelines. In one of these timelines, we see characters like Zack Fair and Biggs have survived past the point where they died in the original timeline. At the end ofFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, we also saw Zack from the alternate timeline cross over into the main continuity to team up with Cloud against Sephiroth. We haven’t yet gotten a good explanation for this parallel timeline, or any indication of how it might impact the events of the main one.
While I don’t exactly have a specific wish for what the other world’s significance is,I do hope that we at least get a solid explanation for it by the end ofFinal Fantasy 7part three. This doesn’t necessarily have to be a massive literal lore dump, so long as there is some thematic relevance and a justification for why this extra story was tacked onto the originalFF7narrative. Ideally, it will offer something more substantial than just an excuse to have Zack around for more of the story.
5FF7 Rebirth Didn’t Have Many Interesting Secrets Like The Original
FF7 Part 3 Could Introduce Meaningful Hidden Content
One aspect of the originalFinal Fantasy 7that still stands out from the remakes is the game’s secrets.Final Fantasy 7had several secrets that players could discover to make the game more interesting, none more significant than its extra party members. Originally, both Yuffie and Vincent were secret optional party members that players could completely miss if they didn’t find them and recruit them.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthmade the decision to have Yuffie and Vincent join the party no matter what. This was likely a practical decision, so the developers wouldn’t have to render several different versions of the game’s cutscenes both with and without these characters. It also allows them to have a more meaningful part in the story, which has so far been demonstrated by Yuffie’s elevated role.
While I understand why secret party members may not have been possible,it would still be nice to get some new secrets in their place. Hidden content can be rewarding for players who take the extra time to explore, and finding it can often be some of the most memorable parts of playing a game. It would be nice ifFinal Fantasy 7part three could recreate the same feeling of discovering Vincent and Yuffie with some new hidden content.
4FF7 Part 3 Should Acknowledge The Previous Game’s Choices
FF7 Rebirth Offered Players Choices Regarding Cloud’s Relationships
AlthoughFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthis a direct continuation ofFinal Fantasy 7 Remake, it doesn’t actually take into account anything that happened in your playthrough of the previous. You can ignore all the side quests that build up the relationships between Cloud and his party members or do them all, and, either way,you’ll end up with the same group dynamic at the beginning ofFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth.FF7 Rebirthput even more emphasis on relationship building, culminating inCloud’s Gold Saucer datewith the character he has the highest approval rating with.
The only acknowledgment thatFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthmakes of yourFF7 Remakesave file is giving you a few extra Summon Materia if you played the first game.I would like to seeFinal Fantasy 7part three take your choices into account more in the next game. Even if it doesn’t fully import your save file, it would be nice for the game to allow you to input your Gold Saucer date and approval levels from the previous game so Cloud’s relationships with his party members feel consistent.
3A Reason For Chadley’s Research Would Justify FF7 Rebirth’s Side Content
Chadley’s research, and Chadley himself, were one of the biggest criticisms most players had aboutFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth.Pretty much all the side content that was devoid of story moments and largely seen as busy work had to do with Chadley and his research. While it won’t get us any of our hours back fromFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, it would be nice ifFinal Fantasy 7part three pays off this time investment in a meaningful way.
Having Chadley do something meaningful in the final game would be a good way to makeFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s most boring side quests retroactively feel more meaningful. Maybe Chadley develops the Ultima weapon, or provides Cloud’s party with something like the Master Summon Materia. However it’s handled, the payoff of Chadley’s research inFinal Fantasy 7part three needs to be good enough to make it worth putting up with him.
2FF7 Part 3 Should Have Free Exploration From The Start
FF7 Rebirth Started Its Exploration More Linearly
Although each individual region inFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthcould be explored somewhat non-linearly, progressing between them does require you to advance the main story quest.This gives progression between the regions a more linear feeleven if you are free to explore their internal missions in different orders. This isn’t necessarily a flaw, but now that the party has full use of the Tiny Bronco, it would make more sense if we had a bit more agency over where to go and when.
This would also giveFinal Fantasy 7part three more of a retroFinal Fantasyfeel to it. In games likeFinal Fantasy 6, you start off being restricted to where you can go, but by the end of the game the world is yours to explore however you like. By giving players free rein of the Tiny Bronco earlier in the game,Final Fantasy 7part three would feel more like the end of one long game than starting a completely new one.
1FF7 Part 3 Needs Fewer Midgar Cameos
FF7 Rebirth’s Midgar NPCs Made The World Feel Small
I’ll admit from the start that this is a much more nitpicky criticism, butI did find that some of the cameos inFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthstarted to cheapen its sense of adventure. When NPCs from Midgar’s slums, like Kyrie, the Wall Market Trio, and even Jules and the body builders started popping up all over the place, it made the world feel much smaller. While I wasn’t sad to see more of these characters, it also made it feel less like I was on a grand adventure, and more like I was visiting a nearby town.
Too many cameos also hurts the potential forFinal Fantasy 7part three to introduce exciting new NPCs. It wouldn’t just help make the world feel larger, but it could also introduce some interesting new dynamics between these NPCs and our core cast of characters. Hopefully, the next game uses some restraint when deciding how many characters from the last game to bring back.
