If there’s one area where the Final Fantasy series almost never fails to stick the landing, especially where its mainline instalments are concerned, it’s combat- and that’s been doubly true for the series’ more recent entries. Last year, we got the first Final Fantasy game with a fully real-time, action-based combat system in the form of Final Fantasy 16, which, it’s fair to say, has some of the best combat the series has ever delivered. And now, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has come along to improve upon 7 Remake’s already incredible combat mechanics to deliver an even more engaging, deep, and exhilarating combat system.
Naturally, comparisons are going to be made between Rebirth and a lot of other games, which, of course, includes its own predecessors as well, including the most recent one, Final Fantasy 16. That, in fact, is exactly what we’re doing here- because given how good both Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Final Fantasy 16 are at doing what they set out to do with their radically different approaches, it’s hard not to pit them against each other to try and see if one of the behemoths can come out on top.
And they really are behemoths in their own ways. Take Final Fantasy 16, for instance, which delivers a very different kind of combat experience from what Square Enix’s franchise is usually known for- and given the fact that what Final Fantasy is usually known for is having completely new and different combat systems with every new mainline entry, that speaks volumes about 16’s uniqueness within the confines of the franchise and what it has traditionally done in the past.
Much more of a character action game than an action RPG, Final Fantasy 16 puts extreme emphasis on stylish, adrenaline-fueled, aggressive action. It does so at the cost of a lot of things you wouldn’t expect to be missing in a Final Fantasy game – for instance, Clive is the only character you control in the entire game, while progression mechanics and build variety are also de-emphasized significantly – but the package that it delivers in the end is unlike anything we’ve seen from this series before.
There is an argument to be made that, given how much more straightforward the game’s combat system is compared to other Final Fantasy games, it does tend to get repetitive as you get further into the experience, an issue exacerbated further still by the game’s general lack of difficulty (at least on default settings), but if what you’re looking for is a slick, stylish game that makes you feel like an unstoppable force of nature, there aren’t many out there that are better at delivering that sort of a power fantasy than Final Fantasy 16.
And then, of course, there are the Eikon battles, the big set-piece boss battles that serve as the centerpieces of the entire experience. No amount of praise is enough for these sections, and from Clive’s clash with Titan to his mind-bogglingly epic duel with Bahamut, the Eikon battles serve as not only some of the best sequences in the entire game, but flat-out among the best boss battles you’re ever going to experience, period. Regardless of where you stand on Final Fantasy 16 as a whole, there can be no doubting that these highs of the game are ridiculously high in a way that’s hard to describe.
When it comes to scale, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth obviously isn’t on the same footing as Final Fantasy 16 (hell, it probably even isn’t in the same plane of existent), but the newest entry in Square Enix’s flagship series impressive in a multitude of other ways where its combat is concerned, to the extent that not only is it able to stand toe-to-toe with Final Fantasy 16, it even surpasses it, and does so in quite convincing fashion- which, given how excellent 16’s combat is, speaks volumes about just how staggeringly good Rebirth is on that front.
One of Rebirth’s combat’s biggest strengths is its variety. It helps massively that there are so many characters to play as – you start with five, and add more as you get deeper into the story – and that each one of them is so fun to play as and has so much depth and polish and thought poured into their unique mechanics that every single one could legitimately carry an entire game’s combat by themselves. From Barret’s long-ranged attacks to Cloud and Tifa’s frontline damage-dealing style, from Aerith’s focus on magic, healing, and support to Yuffie’s devastating ninjutsu moves, every character feels drastically different from each other, while each of them comes with unique mechanics that are exclusive to them, like Barret’s Overcharge, or Tifa’s Unbridled Strength, or Red XIII’s Vengeance mode, or Cait Sith being able to ride around on his moogle companion. Having this level of depth and enjoyment is rare to see even in games that have just one character- seeing it exhibited this consistently across such a vast and varied cast, even more so.
Beyond different party members and constantly swapping between them, there’s plenty else that demands your attention in the heat of battle in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. You constantly have to manage your ATB bar, you have to pay attention to enemies’ weaknesses as you look to pressurize and stagger them (not that staggering is unique to Rebirth or Remake– even 16 has a stagger mechanic), you have to make use of your Summons, you have to block and parry and dodge and use heavy attacks- it’s the perfect blend of the action gameplay of modern experiences, and the turn-based mechanics of the original Final Fantasy 7.
And then there are the new Synergy Abilities, which add so much to the combat in so many ways. Each character can team up with every other character for unique, special attacks that you build up to by building synergies between them during combat, and having that additional layer to manage during combat makes things even more dynamic and intense. On top of that, you have a number of other smaller improvements that polish up FF7 Remake’s excellent combat even more- like having elemental attacks that don’t use MP, having more options for aerial and ranged attacks across the entire party, and more. Add to that the fact that the game can also be genuinely challenging at times (something that 16 sorely lacked), and the combat mechanics end up feeling even more rewarding, especially when you’re able to exploit them to their fullest to trounce a particularly difficult foe. Even in the form that it was in in FF7 Remake, this combat system would probably have come out on top in a match-up against most other games out there, but with all of its improvements in Rebirth, it casts an even more imposing shadow over its competitors.
Given how significantly Final Fantasy 16 and 7 Rebirth differ from each other in the combat department, there really isn’t one, indisputable right answer when trying to pick a winner between the two, especially because both are legitimately spectacular at what they do. Subjectivity is going to come into play here, and when I say Rebirth has the better combat system, that, too, is obviously subjective. But as far as I am concerned, I would say Rebirth’s combat is better than most games, period, so for Final Fantasy 16, there’s no shame in losing to a game like that in a match-up such as this one- especially since its combat is incredible in its own right.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
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