Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s streamlined progression is a reminder of the joy of cheating
Polygon’s feature on Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth explores how the game’s streamlined progression system evokes the enduring appeal of cheats in gaming history. The article traces cheats from their origins as development tools used in playtesting to widely-recognized cultural phenomena. The most famous early example is the Konami Code, created for the 1986 NES port of Gradius, which provided power-ups and made the notoriously difficult game more accessible. The code achieved mainstream recognition following its inclusion in Contra (1988), where it grants 30 extra lives to players. The article notes that by the 1990s, cheat codes had become so prevalent that an entire industry emerged around them, exemplified by dedicated devices like the Game Genie that allowed players to modify game parameters without entering codes manually.
The piece uses this history to contextualize modern game design choices that prioritize accessibility and player agency, suggesting that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s approach to progression represents a contemporary evolution of the freedom cheats once provided players.