Summary
Though it rocked the boat by not technically being a true “remake” of the original 1997 game,Final Fantasy 7 Remakereceived some incredible praise upon its April 2020 launch. While its story may not have been a one-for-one recreation of the original,Final Fantasy 7 Remakestill went above and beyond in recreating some of the original game’smost iconic Midgar locations, including the Sector 7 Slums and Shinra Headquarters. And now, four years later,Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthsucceeds in continuing that legacy.
Covering the original 1997 game’s second act,Final Fantasy 7 Rebirthtakes players out of Midgar and throws them into the outside world. Following a nearly identical structure to the 1997Final Fantasy 7,Rebirthtakes players to Kalm, Junon, Costa del Sol, Corel, and Gongaga, all of which have been lovingly modernized and expanded upon. Of course,Final Fantasy 7’s Cosmo Canyon also appears inRebirth, featuring some impressive changes that definitely change the overall vibe of the classic setting.
Comparing Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s Cosmo Canyon to the 1997 Original
One of the last locations players will visit in bothFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthand the second act of the originalFinal Fantasy 7, Cosmo Canyon isthe hometown of Red XIII, the birthplace of Avalanche, and a pilgrimage hotspot for the in-universe Planetology religion, making it one of the most subtly important locations in the entire game. Generally speaking,Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s version of Cosmo Canyon absolutely nails the aesthetic of the 1997 original, but there are some major changes that give the area a bit of a different atmosphere in the remake.
By far the biggest change inFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s version of Cosmo Canyonis its size. In the original 1997 game, Cosmo Canyon is a fairly small village that looks deceptively large due to its buildings being wrapped around a tall mountain. In actuality, the original version of Cosmo Canyon only consists of a handful of explorable buildings, including an inn, a shop, and Bugenhagen’s observatory. The lack of buildings and the lack of NPCs walking around gives the original Cosmo Canyon a rather empty feeling, but one that matches the area’s more ethereal themes quite well.
InFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, however, Cosmo Canyon has become a bustling area filled with people and various buildings. No longer a simple settlement built around a small mountain,Rebirth’s Cosmo Canyon stretches across the entire canyon, with large bridges containing shops now appearing above the canyon, and the city winding up a much larger mountain.Rebirth’s Cosmo Canyon is a city filled with people, most of whom are there to practice Planetology. While this gives Cosmo Canyon a much grander feeling, and places a much greater importance onthe Planetology religion, it does mean that the original area’s mystique has been lost.
Cosmo Canyon Now Features Open-World Exploration
Another major difference between the original Cosmo Canyon andRebirth’s is that the remake’s version stretches into a fairly vast open-world area. Inthe original 1997Final Fantasy 7, players accessed Cosmo Canyon from the world map, simply walking up to the settlement and appearing on its front steps. InFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Cloud and the rest of the gang have to manually make their way through the surrounding canyon area on foot before they reach the city. This canyon area is surprisingly large, featuring plenty of side content that, obviously, wasn’t there in the original game.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
WHERE TO PLAY
Discover a vibrant and vast world in this standalone entry in the Final Fantasy VII remake project. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is the second entry in the Final Fantasy VII remake project, which retells the story of the genre-redefining RPG across three distinct games. Iconic heroes Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Aerith and Red XIII have escaped from the dystopian city Midgar and are now in pursuit of Sephiroth, the vengeful swordsman from Cloud’s past who was thought to be dead. This new adventure can be enjoyed by all players, even those who have yet to play Final Fantasy VII Remake or the PlayStation original. Expect a new standard of cinematic storytelling, fast-paced combat and rich exploration across a vast world.
