There’s One Reason Why FF7 Rebirth Travel Is Better Than Other Open-World Games

Summary

Chocobo riding in
FF7 Rebirth
allows for seamless interactions with the environment, saving time on key activities.
The game takes advantage of Chocobo mechanics, such as pecking items from the ground, adding depth to their utility.
Region-specific Chocobo abilities in
FF7 Rebirth
make them essential for navigating certain areas.

Like in any open-world game, travel is one of the most important aspects of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and there’s one key element that the game does better than just about any competitor. The world of Gaia presented in FF7 Rebirth is a huge one, translating what was originally an overworld map into a series of large open-world zones filled with activities and decorated in detailed terrain. Not every corner of the map is as exciting as the more bespoke content in the game, but it does manage to smooth over some potential annoyances in a smart way.

As was the case in the original Final Fantasy 7, FF7 Rebirth offers a suite of options for travel that crop up at different points in the game. Simply running from point A to point B is usually an option, but there’s also a fast travel system, the situational availability of vehicles, and the series staple of Chocobos to mount and ride. Although they’re always endearing, Chocobos are more useful in some games than in others, and FF7 Rebirth might make the best case for them yet.

Cody Christian on the right next to Cloud Strife in FF7 and a fiery, explosive background behind them.

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FF7 Rebirth Chocobos Make Travel Way Better

It doesn’t take long to notice a huge quality of life feature when it comes to Chocobo riding in FF7 Rebirth — it’s possible to do a lot of key activities without dismounting. From picking up crafting materials littered throughout the world to chatting with random NPCs, pressing the triangle button on the back of a Chocobo takes care of most interactions. It’s a significant improvement to the way that most video game mounts work, and it ends up saving a lot of time over the course of the adventure.

A big part of this advantage is simply a fortunate result of the long-standing Chocobo design, as a beaked creature bending over to peck at something makes a lot more sense than expecting a horse to manage a similar task. All the same, it isn’t something that Final Fantasy games have consistently taken advantage of. While FF10 let Chocobos open chests way back in 2001, the feature was absent in FF15 and FF16. It’s nice to see it make a return in FF7 Rebirth, and it shows that the game isn’t just coasting off the approach of its direct predecessors.

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Chocobos also get some mechanical involvement in questing through the use of their strangely effective olfactory senses. Sniffing out secrets isn’t always one of the game’s most engaging tasks, but it once again benefits from the same strong principle — when the location of a buried object is found, Chocobos can peck it out of the ground rather than requiring a dismount. Although their utility in this regard might elicit a bit of jealousy from Red XIII, it helps make summoning a Chocobo have a lot more allure than the basic appeal of picking up the pace in travel.

Other Good Uses For Chocobos In FF7 Rebirth

A screenshot of the Chocoboutique screen from Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, with Piko the yellow Chocobo standing in a barn stall.

The inclusion of region-specific Chocobo abilities is the last major addition to their utility, actively necessitating their use in navigating certain areas. Chocobos in Junon are capable of climbing sheer cliff faces, for example, which proves instrumental in the area’s side content. Those found in Gongaga can hop on bouncy mushrooms to quickly ping-pong across varying elevations, a tactic that the women of the party have to take advantage of in a time-sensitive story sequence.

Making a beeline for a Chocobo ranch or town can be worth it, as some exploration won’t be possible until a region’s Chocobos are acquired.

It’s also worth noting that there’s some straightforward fun to be had with Chocobos, an area where FF7 Rebirth benefits from its frequently lighter tone than FF16. There’s no shortage of silly costumes to dress up a Chocobo in, including a particularly endearing option cooked up by returning FF7 Remake side character Kyrie. Chocobo gear offers unique stat boosts in the races, which are unsurprisingly one of the great delights of the amusements at the Gold Saucer.

Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, looking toward a yellow Chocobo with a pink bridle. On the other side of Clive is another Chocobo, wearing a goofy blue hat.

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There are definitely areas where FF7 Rebirth‘s open world could still use improvement, but the care put into the main method of travel definitely isn’t one of them. Although oversized birds might not make the perfect mounts for every game, they’re just right for the world of Gaia. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has a long checklist of things to do, and doing many of them on the back of a Chocobo elevates the whole experience.