10 AMAZING Video Games (That Are Too Damn Long)
2. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
In many respects, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is a masterful piece of work - a loving recreation-slash-reimagining of the beloved RPG's middle-portion that ranks among the strongest installments in the entire franchise.
But my god, it's also a colossal endurance trial of a game.
Basically everything you do in Rebirth takes considerably longer than it needs to - even something as simple as restoring your HP and MP at a bench takes a baffling 15-or-so seconds when it should be near-instant.
But far more egregiously, even if you stick to the story's critical path, it's an insanely padded experience, packed to the gills with repetitive dungeons, snooze-inducing busy-work tasks, and an overabundance of mini-games.
By the time you've made it through the never-ending final dungeon and beaten the game, Rebirth is as much exhausting as enthralling. If predecessor Final Fantasy VII Remake felt like a 20-hour game stretched out to 30, Rebirth feels like a 30-hour game elongated to 50 or more.
Why Square-Enix is so aggressively committed to overstuffing an already content-rich game is totally baffling, but it ultimately undermines what's otherwise an extremely impressive title.