Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth is one of my favourite games of all time. I reviewed the title on release in 2024 and crowned the grand adventure as my game of the year. Now, the latest hit in the beloved franchise arrives on the Nintendo Switch 2. As my original review covered story, gameplay and all the general aspects of a game review (and can be viewed here) this review focuses on the Switch 2 performance and process. Does it perform well enough in such a fast-paced, open world? It is clear that Final Fantasy is here to stay on the Switch 2, with the recently announced Final Fantasy 7: Revelations sporting a Switch 2 logo in its announcement. After playing through the game a second time exclusively on this hardware, I am confident that Square Enix will continually find a way despite the challenges of such enormous undertakings. First, we focus on Rebirth – is it stable?
If you’re looking for a quick answer, I can’t give that to you as there are many aspects of analysis. Does this version perform better than the base PS5 version? No. The issues faced with this port are environment and NPC pop-in, blurry assets, a cap of 30 FPS and very, very rare (three times in my total playthrough – remember, this is a 60+ hour game on average) moments of the game crashing. Outside of this, you’re playing the same epic that simply makes some sacrifices to allow its presence. The flashy fights move well, cut-scenes still have strong quality and the soaring soundtrack stirs the emotions. As the gameplay is so fast-paced and deep, I preferred playing docked with a controller and then saved side-mission sweeps (and Queen’s Blood!) to the handheld mode. Both looked fairly very similar to me unless really checking out the visuals as you’re always moving through action-packed terrain, though docked is necessary for the extensive fights and has better detail. The title comes in at a cheaper price point than the PS5 version, meaning overall it balances out well for those keen to experience one of the all-time great narratives.
The open world is the true test of the performance. I remember playing on my PS5 and even then the system was pushed to the brink. Here, up close, the terrain can seem a little fuzzy and water does not have the same realism or pop. Yet these graphical outputs do not impact the moment-to-moment joy of the game. Having already seen the game in full previously, I found myself just marvelling at how ambitious and extensive the offerings are here. Countless mini-games, Chadley’s data collection and such diverse biomes mean you’re absorbing it all without always noticing the little graphical sacrifices made to place it on the system. The pace can catch up with the Switch 2’s efforts at times, such as speeding down a straight on a chocobo and running into an invisible wall. But these occurrences are usually few and far between unless really looking for it. When navigating a dungeon section, you’ll rarely feel limited. Watching a boss fight or a summon is when power is tested, and here it succeeded very often.
One aspect I noticed with this game was the greater number of options available to progress if you’re finding it challenging (or you simply want to power through having already played previously). Having unlimited health, money and other ‘cheats’ was a delightful addition even though I didn’t make use of the features. Getting the Rebirth platinum was a journey one would not take unless they enjoyed some form of punishment, and these extras allow the tough Chadley challenges to be ticked off if experiencing hardship. Accessibility is a core feature of the Switch 2, and this is a prime example of it in action. Few Switch 2 games have the depth of options at a level anywhere close to this.
With audio (look, this may be top 3 best video game soundtracks of all time – 400 original tracks and many that only show up in side missions) you may need to play with the sliders as my voices were softer than the soaring scores. Outside of this, playing with earbuds (I used AirPods) was magical. Sitting in bed and bopping along to the OST – which features rap, jazz, pop, EDM, etc. – just added another layer to the ‘play anywhere’ ability. Sure, the PS Portal exists. But the Switch 2 is just a better option for handheld play through the native option. Whether connected to the internet or not, I never noticed my location of choice impacting my play. It’s high praise.
The Nintendo Switch 2 is providing experiences at levels that its predecessor could only dream of. While performance-wise and graphics-wise it is not the definitive version of the game, that same can often be said when playing a game on the base PS5 knowing the pro and PC at full settings exist. The main area to assess is whether the game is immersive, and on the Switch 2 Rebirth continues to pull the player in with its impressive amount of content. At a cheaper price point and packed with accessibility features, I recommend this to anyone that has a Switch 2 and is yet to experience this masterpiece.
