Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's Metacritic rating is the series' highest in 23 years

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Metacritic doesn't paint the full picture, but this is still mighty impressive

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
(Image credit: Square Enix)

The review embargo for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth lifted today, and although it's still very early, the Remake sequel is currently the highest rated game in the series' since 2000's Final Fantasy 9 on Metacritic, the video game industry's foremost review aggregation site.

As Benji-Sales points out on Twitter, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is sitting at 119 reviews on Metacritic with a 93 rating, besting Final Fantasy 16's 87 score, Final Fantasy Remake's 87, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion's 78, Final Fantasy 15's 81, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin's 72, and holy hell there are a lot of Final Fantasy games. I'll stop listing their respective Metacritic ratings, but I have personally verified each one and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is the highest since Final Fantasy 9, which sits at 94 currently, just a point higher.

Of course, Metacritic doesn't paint the entire picture, especially since there are plenty of beloved Final Fantasy games that pre-date the website. You'll find them all on Metacritic, but there are a bunch of dead links to expired reviews, and going back that far the data generally just isn't clean enough to compare to a new release from today. Regardless, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth being the highest rated in 23 years is an accomplishment worth noting.

Our own Iain Harris wrote in his Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth review: "Among its many highs, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is the beloved RPG series at its best. Chemistry between characters continues to shine, improvements to side-content ensure that the original's step-out moment is one worth taking, and combat remains Square Enix's most compelling blend of modern action and active time battle heritage."

Meanwhile, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's biggest competition as the best-reviewed game of 2024 is the roguelike deck builder darling of Steam Next Fest.

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick
Staff Writer

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.