How long we continue to think about ‘miracle’ ports or mull over day-and-date releases for the Switch 2 remains to be seen, but for now, here’s another one. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is the second of Square Enix’s lavish reimagining of the series most iconic entry, and after appearing on PS5 and PC, it’s now making its way to Xbox Series consoles and Nintendo’s Switch 2. Where Final Fantasy VII Remake was a constrained and contained portion of the world of Midgar, Rebirth opens that world up in any number of ways, from its expansive open world sections through to a cavalcade of side quests, mini-games and optional activities, but how does it hold up on Switch 2?
The big question is whether the Switch 2 can cope with the sheer size and visual fidelity of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. It remains a visual high point for the franchise, including the most recent mainline entry Final Fantasy XIV, and it looks absolutely stunning on PS5 and PS5 Pro. On Switch 2? Things are more subdued, and there’s some obvious visual cutbacks and downsides to playing here compared to the other platforms. That said, this is still a remarkably good-looking game, and for Nintendo owners or those looking for a portable Final Fantasy experience, what Square Enix have managed to squeeze onto the console remains deeply impressive.
Firstly, Rebirth runs at 30fps on Switch 2, as you would expect. It is mostly stable, and while it doesn’t feel as fluid as it does on more powerful hardware, for the type of game it is, there are few reasons to be too upset about it. There will be drops. It can’t stick to 30fps if you’ve got an intense battle going on, or if you’re trying to race through a larger or more detailed area, and there’s the odd hitch going into cutscenes too.
These are wobbles though, compared to the whole thing tanking, and it tends to be feel solid and smooth. Most Switch 2 owners have come to terms with the fact that 60fps is largely beyond the portable’s hardware with these cross-platform releases, especially in challenging 3D open world areas, but the fact that it can pull it off sufficiently is reason to celebrate.
There is, however, a lot of pop-in, especially when you’re in outdoor or open world areas. That was present in the PS5 version, but it’s much more obvious here, perhaps because of the reduced level of detail and foliage. There is a clear delineation around your player character, where shadows, level detail and enemies and NPCs expand and pop into existence. It’s obvious right from the outset during your initial mission with Tifa and Sephiroth, and if you’re sensitive to it, it is going to break your sense of immersion and the world’s solidity.
The Switch 2’s main party trick here is DLSS. The temporal super-sampling tech allows for a much lower base resolution to be juiced up to something much higher than what is actually being rendered, and that means that games like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth look much better than they might on roughly equivalent hardware. It’s still a softer looking image and with those compromises, but it’s far better than without DLSS upscaling.
If we consider the PC version’s minimum specs, they target a GTX 2060, which is slightly higher than the Switch 2’s fundamental power, but with the advantage of a set spec, and more modern architecture, the Switch 2 can output a higher resolution thanks to DLSS. That said, the PC’s low-graphics option bears many of the same hallmarks in terms of pop-in and reduced level detail, aiming for the same 30fps.
The character models still look fantastic, and the cutscenes maintain all of the drama and emotion they did before, with the one remaining caveat: hair. Switch 2 versions of other games simply can’t handle the same level of hair detail and fidelity, and whether it’s Cloud’s trademark spikes or Sephiroth’s luscious grey mane, there’s a big reduction in how they look, DLSS adding frizz and dithering to maintain some of the natural effect. In reality, it’s fine, and thankfully, it’s not all that obvious in moment-to-moment gameplay, only really becoming obvious during cutscenes or interstitial moments.
While the graphics are clearly lower quality, what helps to sell the experience is the fantastic voice acting and music. From an auditory point of view, this is an immensely high-quality production, and those production values are still clear to see in the Switch 2 release. Whether it’s the reimagined tracks or interactions between Cloud, Tifa, and the wider cast, it’s grandiose, cinematic and dramatic, and you’ll find yourself thoroughly wrapped up in the world, characters and story thanks to the audio.
