Summary
After the resounding success of this year’sFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, expectations are high for the third and final entry in the remake series. ThoughFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthhas some shortcomings, it introduces countless new features, mini-games, and other key tweaks that make it a massive improvement over its predecessor. One can only hope that the same can be said about its eventual follow-up.
Something aboutFF7Rebirththat isn’t a shortcoming is Queen’s Blood. The in-universe card game is essentially Square Enix’s take onThe Witcher 3’s Gwent, serving as a deceptively complex and rewarding side activity tied to its own intriguing quest chain. It would have been perfectly acceptable forFF7 Rebirthto include a shallow or forgettable card-based mini-game, but the fact that Queen’s Blood is so enjoyable in its own right is a testament to Square Enix’s panache, passion, and commitment to theFinal Fantasy 7remake saga—nothing feels phoned-in. Having said that, it’s not perfect, but the yet-to-be-named third game in the remake series could make it so.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 3 Can Improve Queen’s Blood With an Obvious Feature
Queen’s Blood’s Biggest Flaw
Queen’s Blood is arguablyFF7 Rebirth’s best mini-game, but it feels somewhat underutilized. There’s great novelty and satisfaction in climbing the ladder of various competitor NPCs while slowly uncovering the card game’s mysterious past, but when all is said and done, Queen’s Blood doesn’t have a whole lot of replay value. Put another way, there’s a cap on how much Queen’s Blood can be played before it gets repetitive.
Players can always challenge Queen’s Blood competitors to a rematch, but these competitors will always leverage the same strategy. This makes rematches useful for testing out new deck compositions and techniques, but that’s about it. There’s not enough variety for rematches to feel engaging and fresh over time.Potential Queen’s Blood expansionscould add more competitors, but this wouldn’t resolve the core issue of limited content.
Why an Endless Mode Would Improve Queen’s Blood In the Next FF7 Remake
The upper limit on Queen’s Blood matches inRebirthhas detrimental knock-on effects for the mini-game as a whole: there’s little reason to switch up Cloud’s deck or experiment with different strategies, as the mini-game immediately becomes predictable during rematches or repeated playthroughs. ButQueen’s Blood can get longer legswith some sort of endless mode or procedurally generated challenge.
Rebirth’s hard mode cranks up the difficulty on Queen’s Blood matches, which is nice, but still doesn’t solve the problem of repetition—it just delays the point of exhaustion.
Something like an in-game tournament mode that rewards gil or crafting resources would be a great way to keep Queen’s Blood feeling fresh. Players could work their way through ever-increasing Queen’s Blood challenges, just like inRebirth, but there just wouldn’t be an endpoint.
The tournament mode could provide new competitors, each with their own randomized card loadouts and unique tactics, forcing the player to be constantly adapting and engaging with the mini-game on a deeper level. The nextFF7remake could even make Queen’s Blood multiplayer, pitting players against each other to ensure constant variability in matches.
Slay the Spire,Inscryption, andBalatrohave proven how well card games can pair with roguelite elements, so maybe a similar framework could be adopted with the next iteration of Queen’s Blood. Whatever direction Square Enix chooses to take, it’s clear thatplayers want more Queen’s Blood, so the nextFinal Fantasy 7remake game ought to deliver just that, boosting the longevity and unpredictability of the mini-game. If handled well, Queen’s Blood has the potential to compete with the best card-based video games.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
WHERE TO PLAY
Discover a vibrant and vast world in this standalone entry in the Final Fantasy VII remake project. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is the second entry in the Final Fantasy VII remake project, which retells the story of the genre-redefining RPG across three distinct games. Iconic heroes Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Aerith and Red XIII have escaped from the dystopian city Midgar and are now in pursuit of Sephiroth, the vengeful swordsman from Cloud’s past who was thought to be dead. This new adventure can be enjoyed by all players, even those who have yet to play Final Fantasy VII Remake or the PlayStation original. Expect a new standard of cinematic storytelling, fast-paced combat and rich exploration across a vast world.
