Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has been met with critical acclaim across many sites. Taking one look at the reviews, it is obvious that the game very well could be a potential game-of-the-year pick. What is the key to the game’s success? Could it be the packed world? What about the fun, lively towns and with many NPCs? If you are Producer Yoshinori Kitase, then you believe it is all thanks to “console exclusivity.”
The series producer stated that the success of the game ‘would not have been possible as a multiplatform release.’ In an interview with the Washington Post, Kitase stated “Had it not been on a single platform, the world map would not be seamless, and game design may have had to regress significantly.” This shows that the world of the game is full of activities to take part in from world intel missions to in-depth combat with fiends requiring the use of pressure mechanics and staggering to come out on top.
Rebirth’s predecessor, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, also released to overwhelming positive remarks back in 2020. To us, this shows that the hard work and dedication of the creators paid off for both titles. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth had a very speedy development. Part of this is due to the game’s PlayStation 5 exclusivity while the other part is due to “employee retention.” Kitase stated, “Nearly eighty percent of the development team from Remake stayed on.” This helped them speed up development by sharing assets that were used for Rebirth. This also limited “time-wasting” tasks like retraining employees.
Previous titles definitely felt the strain of a multiplatform release such as Final Fantasy XV. While enjoyed by many, this title suffered greatly thanks to its release on PlayStation and Xbox. Many stated that the world felt empty and lacked character. Playing that title, we remember it having large open areas with nothing to do. The online mode also suffered greatly. It is great that FF7 Rebirth didn’t suffer the same fate and if console exclusivity allows for games like Rebirth to exist, it seems worth it.
