Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s Platinum Trophy Is Not Worth Sacrificing Your Sanity For

The concept of achievements and trophies in video games was a pretty creative one. It adds a whole new meaning to the word “completionist.” For as long as I remember, I’ve always sought to get every secret and hidden stuff in the game. But I only knew it in my mind if I did that, now I have ample evidence to support my claim that “I’ve achieved 100% completion in a game.”

Getting that sweet Platinum trophy is an insane adrenaline rush. It’s a testament to your dedication and time spent toiling to reach that height; something you can hold on to proudly. The mere existence of trophies sparks the completionist in a lot of people.

However, what happens when the Platinum is so impossibly hard that reaching it makes you start hating the game you once loved? Now that is a real problem, something even Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is suffering from.

The VR Challenges In FF7 Rebirth Drained The Life Out Of Me

A Platinum is great because it serves as proof that you completed a game and went the extra mile, not some extreme gatekeep that makes you wanna kill yourself. 

The first time I felt this during my FF7 Rebirth trophy run was when I was greeted by the Brutal and Legendary challenges in Chadley’s VR mission. I had already done the hard mode, and trust me, that was a ton of fun. It was the perfect amount of challenge for me, and I enjoyed it a lot more than the normal mode.

Leave me ALONE
byu/Tlou2TheGoat inFinalFantasyVII

But, those challenges completely broke me. They have you fighting 5-10 rounds of an insane lineup, and even a single misstep takes you back to the beginning. I’ve just spent the last hour getting to the tenth round, and a tiny mistake out of nervousness takes me out. I’ve successfully lost the entire hour, and my sanity alongside it. 

The Brutal challenge with 5 battles against Summon duos and two superboss has to be the most insane battle in the entire game. It’s downright unfair at points, especially in the last two battles. What’s more, the legendary Gotterdamerung accessory you might remember from the first game is locked behind this quest. FF7 Remake had a much more lenient and enjoyable requirement.

Similarly, the legendary 10-round bout with a guest playable character is equally frustrating and downright rage-inducing. This Platinum was not good for my mental health, that’s for sure.

https://twitter.com/seraph_siden/status/1770417683298975824

A Perfect Score In Every Mini-Game of FF7 Rebirth? Give Me A Break

Next up, we have the second most ridiculous requirement FF7 Rebirth presents you with. And that’s “go and get a perfect score in every mini-game.” Yeah, you heard me right. EVERY mini-game. I’ve previously expressed just how impressive and varied the mini-games were in Rebirth, and they were a breath of fresh air from the combat and action-packed scenarios. 

Don’t get me wrong, I still think so. But since then, my opinion of them has soured a little, simply because I’m forced to perfect every one of them, instead of enjoying. I was playing the mini-games for fun. But no, the game wanted me to do even the ones I hate, and with a high score on top of that.

I feel cloud perfectly expresses how some of you feel about the minigames.
byu/StanTheRebel inff7

If you’ve been playing the game, you’ll know that the Protorelic of every region is tied to a specific mini-game. For these particular games, and many others, perfecting the normal mode is not enough. After you’re done with the story, hard mode and difficult stages for certain games open up, and now you have to clear these with a perfect score, too.

Enjoyment Comes Naturally, Not By Forcing Excessive Requirements

There’s an important lesson to be drawn from this situation. No matter how much you love something, if you’re forced to do it with split-second precision, you’ll grow to despise it. People enjoy stuff as long as they try it naturally. When that thing starts requiring extreme focus and punishing you for even the slightest mistake, the fun factor immediately disappears.

That is what happened with me and FF7 Rebirth as well. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, this hybrid combat has to be one of the best and most creative combat systems around. I both enjoy a strong challenge and this combat, but that doesn’t mean I’ll be okay with an hour-long, tedious battle that starts over with the slightest of mistakes, sometimes because of bad RNG and no fault of my own.

Mini games that require perfection just aren’t fun
byu/thomas2400 inFFVIIRemake

I’ve come to enjoy many of the mini-games in FF7 Rebirth like the piano rhythm game, Queen’s Blood, 3D Brawler, etc. But when I’m forced to get so good in these games that I practically have to get the highest scores with not a single mistake, I’ll start doing it out of obligation only, and not a speck of fun.

And don’t even get me started on the stuff I hate. Fort Condor haunted my dreams when it was in normal mode, Hard was just straight-up unfair and ridiculous.

FFVII Rebirth's Fort Condor quest surely one of the most unpleasant minigames I've ever encountered. Random, slow, and could never be mistaken for fun. At the end you're offered the opportunity to do it all again on a higher difficulty level. Must be some real psychos out there.

— Jack Eason (@realJackEason) March 16, 2024

FF7 Part 3 Needs To Steer Clear Of An Insane Platinum

In the end, what’s done is done, there’s no changing that. Now, we have to look towards the future. Rebirth was the second game in the saga, and one still remains. If there’s one thing I’d like to see improved in the third game right away, it’s the platinum requirement.

As I’ve said earlier, FF7 Remake had a much better and realistically achievable Platinum, one you enjoyed and genuinely struggled to get. Not something insane that cripples your mind and makes you hate the game. Just go and look at how many people have even managed to get the Rebirth Platinum.

The Final Fantasy VII Remake platinum trophy is my absolute favorite! Yes, it was quite challenging, but it was so memorable and rewarding. What's your favourite platinum trophy? @carpoolgaming #FF7R    #FinalFantasyVIIRebirth https://t.co/85iluOjxkE

— Ngachacha (@ngachacha) February 27, 2024

Thus, Part 3 should lean towards the first game in terms of Platinum difficulty and enjoyability, not Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.