Summary

• FF7 Rebirth's Hard Mode makes the remake of FF7's middle chapter feel more like the original game.
• Hard Mode can streamline story progression, removing distractions for a classic experience.
• Hard Mode makes FF7 Rebirth combat more challenging, requiring strategic mastery without relying on enemy overuse.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is significantly different from the original FF7 in a lot of ways, but it's possible to make it feel a lot closer to the classic experience. It's no surprise that taking a turn-based RPG from the 1990s and expanding it into three huge action titles would result in something largely new, even when overarching reverence to the source material is maintained. For all the upsides to the new approach, however, an average playthrough of FF7 Rebirth tends to reveal some elements that don't feel as tight or as interesting as the classic game.

Where FF7 Rebirth tends to falter most is in its extreme dedication to a bigger-is-better approach, which introduces plenty of fun new material while also bogging things down with some repetitive filler. One thing that made the original FF7 a classic was how consistently exciting it was compared to the average JRPG, packing a huge story and constant shake-ups to both the plot and gameplay into a reasonable runtime. FF7 Rebirth's diversions can be enjoyable in their own right, but participating in them definitely does some damage to the overall momentum.

FF7 Rebirth's Hard Mode Is More Like The Original Game

Streamlining The Story Keeps Up The Momentum

Beating FF7 Rebirth unlocks a new way to experience the game through the addition of a Hard Mode, and this might be the perfect way to recapture some of the original FF7's strengths within FF7 Rebirth's framework. As noted by Reddit postulate4, it's possible to completely remove some of the more distracting elements of FF7 Rebirth in Hard Mode. After completing side quests and world intel on the first playthrough, electing to maintain that progress when starting Hard Mode removes them from the picture. Zack's storyline, the biggest addition to the canon, can also be skipped entirely.

Not all of FF7 Rebirth's flights of fancy are relegated to side material, and changes like the cruise ship adventure or the overhaul of Corel Prison still won't feel much like the original game in Hard Mode. Even so, the change brings things much more in line with the original game's pacing, making it easier to focus on appreciating the peaks of the new presentation. It's still possible to skip side content on a standard playthrough, of course, but Hard Mode removing it from the picture can make even completionists who already tackled the side material enjoy a slimmer experience.

Progression in a standard playthrough is also built around the assumption that players will do at least some side content, so ignoring everything prior to hard mode doesn't tend to feel like the intended experience.

Hard Mode Makes FF7 Rebirth Combat Strategic

Button Mashing Won't Cut It Anymore

The other big way that FF7 Rebirth's hard mode brings the game closer in line to the original lies in the combat, which is obviously hit with an uptick in difficulty. In a standard playthrough, the action combat can often mostly come down to button mashing, with the majority of the main story bosses failing to demand any particular strategic mastery. Although some optional side content significantly raises the level of FF7 Rebirth's challenge, it often does so by simply tossing more tough enemies into an arena, which feels much messier than the original game's turn-based approach.

Making the main story fights harder, on the other hand, puts the focus on the strategy in a manner more reminiscent of the classic FF7 experience. Fully understanding the possibilities of the many menu options becomes a necessity rather than an accessory to spamming attacks, and planning out how to tackle battles in advance can add a more considered aspect to the tactical elements. Rebirth also has a Classic option for combat to automate actions and put the focus on menu commands, but it's an awkward solution that doesn't work quite as well as Hard Mode's challenges.

There's nothing wrong with embracing how different the FF7 Rebirth is from the classic experience, and Hard Mode definitely isn't for everyone. The original FF7 is still great today, and anyone looking to scratch that itch perfectly can always start it up instead of embarking on a FF7 Rebirth playthrough. As far as making Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth feel like the game that started it all, however, there might be no better way to align the strengths of each rendition than taking Hard Mode for a spin.

Source: postulate4/Reddit