Sequel to Final Fantasy Remake. Reccomend you play the first game before jumping into this one.There is way more expanded story, characters and lore compared PS1 original (I’ll list some after the of review). Even more than FFVII Remake as it leans into a multiverse scenarioDon’t expect a flashy spectacle throughout. It’s not really a bingeable game for me personally compared to the first game. There are some slow segments with forced immersion via mini-games/side quests that had me put down the game several times. But they do make the lore, story and characters more relatable by the end. It’s the culmination of the events that make it great rather than individual moments of the gamePersonal interactions between characters/traversal dialogue is really good. Especially with Yuffie and BarretYou switch up are party more in this game. A lot of party splitting throughoutGamplay remains relatively the same as the first game, except you get 3 new characters (2 if you count Yuffie in Intergrade DLC) to play with who have their own unique playstyle/move list. The synergize mechanic from the first game’s DLC return in Rebirth where two party members team up to do a strong attack or give buffs to each other. Its like limit break meter but focused on 2 of 3 characters active in battle. Meter fills faster if you switch party members during combatMore open world than the first game. You can ride chocobos after taming wild ones. Disappointed that they are region specific and there’s no one chocobo that follows you through your journey. You do get to ride a 8 wheeler dune buggy in the desert which is niceThere are new traversal mechanics like grapple hooks and climbing sectionsThere’s a relationship dialogue mechanic which have you build up to gain enough affection to ask someone out at the Golden Saucer. There isn’t multiple stages/events to the relationship like in Persona series for example, just an single date end goal like in originalLocations are much larger with more buildings and events going on. For example: Kalm has at least 3x as many buildings, costa del sol is a large vacation destination where you use segways to get around, and Golden Saucers actually feels like an amusement park you can walk around in.Speaking of locations; story beats we won’t be visiting in Part 2/Rebirth will be covered in permanent fog of war on your map, or blocked by debris and roadblocks like Midgar and Fort Condor . Don’t expect to visit every area in entire trilogy in this game, or look at the map mid-game and think you have 100s of more hours to go. Game is only comprised of 15 chaptersMusic is really good. I like how some music tracks transitions into another by fading in instead of skipping making the game more immersive-Final Take:Despite the pacing issues at times; the overall story and gameplay is very good and one of best in the franchise. Can’t wait for the last game in the trilogy-List of Story Changes (spoilers ahead):Has a lot of scenes with Zack (from crisis core) sprinkled throughout the game. Cloud and Zack team up at the end due to multiverse convergence event and fight sephiroth together. Cissnei makes an appearance but she’s basically a plot progression cameo in one of the villages you pass throughRoche is one of the main antagonist in this gameYou meet the Planet Weapons earlierYou fight the snake boss in swamp instead of outrun itInstead of saving Priscillia from fish sea monster, you save YuffieYuffie and Vincent (not playable, most likely in part 3 of series to keep gameplay fresh) is main stay on your team instead of optional. You must face Vincent in a boss battleCloud is disguised as a solider during the parade in original. This time; Cloud, Tifa and Aerith dress up as soldiers and you are the captain in charge of parade marchShrina boat is now a huge cruise ship. There’s a Queens Blood (card game) tournament held on shipBarrett gone missing in this one and you must play chocoboo race first to get into area to find BarettDine dies of Shinra shootout instead of suicideGongaga is a required destination for plot progression (where you meet Cissnei)You meet Cid earlier since you need a plane to reach Cosmo CanonKeystone whereabout location is not a scavenger hunt this time to get info. Cait Sith just tell you where it is. You must fight Don Corno to get keystoneThe on-stage play in original at Golden Saucer is now a theatrical VR experienceAncient Temple is a long series of puzzles and boss battles instead of a mazeTemple contain room of trails where you get tragic backstory for each playable characterAerith doesn’t die (?) or she’s a least a force ghostSephiroth end goal is not to just destroy the earth, but every universe in the multiverse