This year, I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to attend numerous video game, movie, and TV show concerts. To close out 2024, we traveled to Denver to see the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Orchestra World Tour. After spending countless hours playing through Rebirth, it only felt right to see a concert that celebrated its incredible soundtrack.
A huge ‘in the round’ symphony hall
Our showing of the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Orchestra World Tour was held at the Boettcher Hall in Denver, Colorado. As an ‘in the round’ symphony hall, all of the seats surround the stage, leading to incredible acoustics. It also essentially guarantees that your seat will be a good one because you will have complete view of the orchestra no matter where you are sitting. Above the stage, four huge screens hung from the ceiling, and thanks to the layout of the venue, you won’t miss anything. and Seating up to 2,700 guests, the Boettcher Concert Hall is also the third largest performing arts complex in the country.
Our showing was not at full capacity, but a second showing for Denver was added after we initially bought our tickets. It’s a bit unusual, but it speaks to the popularity and demand of a Final Fantasy VII Rebirth concert experience. The seats may not have all been full, but it was still a solid turnout. This concert featured the most cosplayers I have seen so far, with audience members dressing up as Cloud, Aerith, Tifa, Rude, and more.
Past Final Fantasy Distant World concerts were often distinguished by the warm and charming personality of the conductor, Arnie Roth, or his brother, Eric Roth. Arnie has a reputation for being incredibly passionate about the series and sharing stories with the audience. Eric may not share the same stories, but he shares the same joy and passion for Final Fantasy, and was the conductor at our showing. At many concerts, the conductors have very limited interactions with the audience, making Eric’s presence lovely and a return to form.
The Setlist
The Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Orchestra World Tour played music exclusively from Rebirth‘s soundtrack, unlike the Distant Worlds concerts that play selections from across the entire series. A similar, exclusive concert was offered for Remake after it was released, but was delayed due to COVID. So far, Remake and Rebirth are the only games in the series to have dedicated concert tours for their music only. It means that you have to be a pretty big fan of these games and their music.
The First Half
The visual element of this concert was quite strong, with the action and melodies perfectly synced up throughout the concert. The videos switched seamlessly between combat and cutscenes, eliminating the gameplay HUD to make it a more cinematic viewing experience.
- “The Unknown Journey Continues”
- “The Main Theme of Final Fantasy VII”
- “Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Opening”
- “Boss Battle Theme/Main Theme (Battle Edit)”
- Overworld Medley (Grasslands Region, Hollow, Junon Region, and Mt. Corel)
- Overworld Medley 2 (Corel Region, Gongaga Region, Cosmo Canyon Region, Nibel Region)
- “Queen’s Blood”
- “Fight for Us Stamp (Bow Wow Wow)”
- “Rufus Welcoming Ceremony”
- “Costa del Sol”
- “Custom Valkyrie”
- “End of the World Medley”
- “Cosmo Canyon”
The song selections in this first half were a pleasant surprise, I wasn’t expecting tracks like Queen’s Blood and Bow Wow, and yet I enjoyed them quite a bit. These tracks are very catchy and capture the wacky humor and charm of Final Fantasy VII that people often forget is a huge part of its identity.
The Second Half
- “Bare Your Soul”
- “Welcome to the Gold Saucer”
- “Loveless Symphonic Suite (Gift of the Goddess)”
- “No Promises to Keep (orchestral version)”
- “Galian Beast”
- “J-E-N-O-V-A Tenacity”
- “Sephiroth Reborn”
- “One Winged Angel”
- “Aerith’s Theme”
Because this is a concert that can only feature songs from Rebirth, some of the song selections feel like they are grasping for entries to fill out the setlist. With the second half of the concert already being shorter than the first half, it makes the odd selection stand out.
In addition, “No Promises to Keep” was not performed by the singer, Loren Allred; instead, the orchestra performed an instrumental version. It was a nice rendition and well-played, but it was missing the emotion and power of Loren’s vocals and felt like a missed opportunity. While I can understand scheduling conflicts, it’s admittedly disappointing considering other concerts, such as NieR and Distant Worlds, have prominently featured their lead singers in the past.
While the second half may not have been as strong overall, it did feature the fantastic “J-E-N-O-V-A Tenacity,” a song that almost single-handedly makes the cost of admission worth it. Both “One Winged Angel” and “Aerith’s Theme” played as the encore and credits theme. Adding the credit scroll modeled after the game’s was a nice touch.
Final Score (4 out of 5 stars)
Ultimately, I had a lot of fun attending this concert. The experience reminded me how much I enjoyed playing through Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. I even considered starting another playthrough as we were listening to the music.
Unlike most concerts, this is an experience meant for die-hards. Casual concert-goers will likely appreciate the music, but they may not be able to follow the story or may be missing context for key emotional scenes or even humorous moments. For example, my friend sitting next to me is new to Final Fantasy. As we were exiting the venue, I was excitedly telling her about the story and the references she may have missed. It was a fun opportunity to share the experience with someone else, though I can’t deny she may have felt overwhelmed.
If you are a fan of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, you will enjoy this concert, and I highly recommend it. But this may not be the best concert for newcomers to attend completely blind or alone.
Featured image: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Orchestra World Tour
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