For anyone who’s finished Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and is looking for something to play before FF7 Remake Part 3, there’s an obvious choice to ease the wait. The first two installments in the FF7 Remake trilogy have been widely praised by both longtime fans of the franchise and first-time Final Fantasy players. It comes as no surprise: a pitch-perfect remake of one of the greatest and most influential RPGs of all time was always bound to be a hit, even if it can sometimes be a little long-winded.

But it could be a very long wait for FF7 Remake Part 3, and, for those who got their first exposure to Final Fantasy through it, it’s hard to know where to look next. Some may not want to play the original FF7 for fear of spoiling the remake. Others may have already played it, but now find themselves overwhelmed at the sheer number of FF games and how different each one is from the last. While it’s hard to go wrong with any game in the series, one in particular has a lot that’ll appeal to newer FF7 fans.

FF10 Is The Perfect FF7 Rebirth Follow-Up

FF10’s Story Matches Up Well

Final Fantasy X is the perfect follow-up to FF7 Rebirth, especially for newcomers to the Final Fantasy franchise. It has a similarly well-realized world, an equally epic story, and comparably unique gameplay. It’s set in a world called Spira, which visually resembles a futuristic South Pacific: people mainly travel by boat across its scattered archipelagos, live in domed, circular buildings, and watch a sport called blitzball on glass-paned screens. Spira is a beautiful place, rich with culture, but it’s haunted by Sin, an impossibly massive monster who keeps rising out of the ocean to swallow people whole.

Other party members include the brotherly blitzball player Wakka, who lost his brother to Sin; the black mage Lulu, whose hard exterior conceals a soft heart; Kimahri, an outcast of the leonine Ronso tribe; Auron, a fellow resident of Zanarkand and friend to Tidus’ abusive father Jecht; and Rikku, a spunky engineer and member of the Al Bhed ethnic minority, subject to discrimination by adherents of Yuna’s religion, Yevon. There’s nothing quite like them anywhere else in the series, but each of them is as strongly written and memorable as any FF7 party member.

FF10 is also the first fully voice acted Final Fantasy game, which lends a lot to its storytelling.

Tidus and Yuna’s relationship rivals even the Cloud-Aerith-Tifa triangle in emotional heft – it’s eventually threatened by Yuna’s religion, Tidus’ past, and the very nature of Sin itself. This is where the main themes of FF10 come in, and they’re big enough to match FF7‘s any day: life, death, grief, religion, tyranny, history, propaganda, language, love, hate, and blitzball are all carefully dissected by FF10‘s intricate story. The player discovers the secrets of Spira through Tidus’ eyes, which makes for excellent pacing; you never quite know what’s coming next, but whatever it is, it’s always exhilarating.

But despite all the drama, FF10 isn’t afraid to get a little goofy at times, just like FF7 before it. Wakka is a pretty consistent comic relief character, even if he does have a tragic backstory. Lulu fights with the help of sentient stuffed animals; collecting new ones is always a joy. Laughter – forced or not – is a big part of FF10, and it thoughtfully explores the ways in which people find joy and comfort, even in a time of tragedy.

23 Years Later, FF10 Is Still Fantastic

Even All These Years Later, FF10 Is Worth Playing

Now, the gameplay of FF10 is very different from that of FF7 Rebirth, but it’s excellent in its own right, and fully holds up today. FF10 leaves the Active Time Battle system of previous Final Fantasy games behind in exchange for a totally new system, Conditional Turn-Based combat. So yes, it is still turn-based, but players can swap out any of their party members on demand for immense flexibility. Through its board game-inspired system of character development, called the Sphere Grid, some characters learn skills that can move their allies up and their enemies down in the upcoming turn order.

Graphically, FF10 is visibly a PS2 game, but it doesn’t look bad by any means. It’s the first game in the series to use complete 3D environments, not just 3D characters moving around on a 2D plane. However, FF10 still makes use of pre-rendered backgrounds, which allows it to render lush, richly detailed environments beyond the PS2’s usual capabilities.

As always with Final Fantasy, though, the star of the show is the music. Even among such storied soundtracks as the rest of the series, FF10‘s music stands out. It makes use of bubbly, poppy synths to create calming, environmental music that washes over the player, fully immersing them in Spira’s beauty. The title theme, “To Zanarkand,” is a heart-rending piano piece; once you’ve beaten the game, you’ll never again be able to hear its opening notes without tearing up.

FF10‘s main mini-game is blitzball, a sort of strategic water polo played in a spherical water bubble. They can also recruit additional blitzball players throughout the game. Chocobo racing and butterfly hunting are also on offer. It’s not quite as expansive or varied as FF7 Rebirth‘s mini-game collection, but each of these is a worthy distraction from the main story.

Final Fantasy 10 is available on all modern platforms (PC, Switch, PS4/5, Xbox One/X/S) via its remastered version, often bundled with its (divisive, but also worthwhile) direct sequel, Final Fantasy X-2. The remaster has been criticized for its lackluster character models, but it is the easiest way to access the game without a PS2.

Final Fantasy 10 is generally considered one of the best in the series, and it’s certainly a worthwhile new obsession during the wait for FF7 Remake Part 3. It’s admittedly very different, but that’s one of its strengths. There’s nothing quite like FF7, so players will want to find something that balances familiarity and distinction. FF10 fits the bill. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea – but thankfully, there are 14 other mainline Final Fantasy games that can stand on their own merits. And any one of them makes an excellent next game for anyone whose first FF was Rebirth.

For those who love Final Fantasy 7‘s story, check out Final Fantasy 6 for its similarly delightful ensemble cast and dastardly villain. If it’s the characters, Final Fantasy 9 has an equally memorable cast. Those who insist on real-time combat will find a lot to love in FF15 and 16. And those who loved Rebirth‘s expansive world and mini-game variety will be staggered by the sheer amount of content in FFXIV – even just in its free trial. And that’s not to mention the many spinoffs.

The Final Fantasy series has lasted this long for a reason: no one game is perfect, but every single one of its mainline entries offers something excellent, and entirely different from whatever came before and after it. No other FF game will scratch the FF7 itch exactly, but each of them will offer something unique in terms of characters, story, and gameplay – and FF10 delivers on all those fronts. But truthfully, for anyone whose first FF game was Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, it’s impossible to go wrong anywhere else in the series.