Each new revelation about Final Fantasy VII Rebirth intensifies the anticipation for its release on February 29, 2024. Square Enix recently shared a plethora of fresh details, hints, and teasers about the forthcoming “open-area” RPG remake, further deepening my curiosity.
The latest insights stem from the Game Informer cover story, providing additional demo impressions and interviews with the development team. The spotlight was on the environs surrounding the coastal military town of Junon as co-directors Naoki Hamaguchi and Motomu Toriyama underscored the abundance of side-quests embedded in the sequel to the Final Fantasy VII Remake.
According to them, completionists could invest over 100 hours in accomplishing all the game has to offer, with Rebirth prioritizing freedom and exploration over the initial Remake chapter. They assure players that this extensive content isn’t mere filler and creative director Tetsuya Nomura hinted at narrative stakes that are as elevated as ever.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth features entirely new towns.
The additional content in the second remake encompasses entire cities. Crow’s Nest emerges as a companion settlement adjacent to the anti-Shinra slum Under Junon. Here, players can encounter new characters, undertake additional quests, and engage in activities such as playing the piano as part of a mini-game where Cloud collects sheet music. Co-director Hamaguchi explained to Game Informer, “We reach this area after completing a quest, and then this place unlocks. The residents already know Cloud and the party are part of Avalanche.” Notably, the original Final Fantasy VII largely abandoned the Avalanche subplot after the party departs from Midgar, making the remake trilogy’s alternative approach all the more intriguing.
Map regions are big and seamless.
While Final Fantasy VII Rebirth may not adopt a fully open-world structure, indications suggest that some expansive maps within the game will operate similarly. For instance, Hamaguchi mentioned that the Grasslands and Junon are designated as distinct regions on the world map. Despite this distinction, players can traverse between them seamlessly. In contrast to the heavily partitioned design of Final Fantasy VII Remake, which suited the enclosed environment of Midgar, Rebirth appears poised to provide players with significantly more freedom and open space, fostering a greater sense of exploration and immersion in the expansive world.
Side-quests will help Cloud build up his affinity with allies.
Are you prepared for a dash of Persona-style relationship building? In Rebirth, it seems Cloud can enhance his connections with the crew through an affinity meter, which grows as he completes various side-quests tailored to specific party members. This mechanic bears a resemblance to BioWare’s companion missions, and the consequences will extend to determining Cloud’s choice of a date at the Gold Saucer. Whether these outcomes will carry broader story implications or influence combat behavior remains to be revealed.
Cait Sith’s battle system is unique.
In the original game, Cait Sith possessed a slot machine, Limit Break, that unleashed a variety of unpredictable effects. However, in Rebirth, his gameplay mechanics take a distinct turn. He operates independently from the large robotic Moogle he rides, which can be summoned into battle and departs once its own HP meter is depleted. Interestingly, both Cait Sith and the Moogle can execute separate attacks even when united—a quirky dynamic reminiscent of Star Trek’s Enterprise D saucer-section separation. It certainly sounds like an eccentric and intriguing twist to the gameplay.
There’s a card game that looks like The Witcher 3’s Gwent.
No new Final Fantasy game is truly comprehensive without a detailed mini-game (unless you’re Final Fantasy XVI). In Rebirth, the featured mini-game is purportedly a strategy card game named Queen’s Blood. According to Toriyama, it possesses the immediacy of a shooting game, where opponents swiftly lay down cards, prompting instantaneous responses. It appears akin to a fast-paced version of Gwent. Players can engage in matches with NPCs worldwide, gradually enhancing their card collection and striving to master the art of Queen’s Bond.
In fact, The Witcher 3 was a big inspiration for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.
It appears that everyone’s beloved open-world fantasy RPG from CD Projekt Red, The Witcher 3, exerted a significant influence on Rebirth. The Witcher 3 is renowned for its memorable side-quests seamlessly woven into exploration. Interestingly, it happens to be Hamaguchi’s favorite RPG outside of the Final Fantasy realm. Toriyama stated, “We did some extensive research into these types of titles and looked at it as a baseline in which Rebirth should be a type of title that can stand alongside it and have the type of content that would be satisfying to its players,” as conveyed to Game Informer
Whoever dies in Rebirth won’t be coming back.
The death of Aerith in Final Fantasy VII remains one of the most iconic scenes in video game history. Given the remake trilogy’s tinkering with the original game’s timeline and mythology, fans have speculated whether Aerith’s fate might be altered this time around. Tetsuya Nomura, the trilogy’s creative director, added fuel to this speculation in an extensive interview with Game Informer.
“I believe that loss is something that happens unexpectedly, and it’s not something so dramatic or drawn out, but is something in which a person that you have just conversed with is suddenly gone and never to come back,” he said. “I believe that the person who dies should not return in this title, and that is what we did with the original.” Will that person be Aerith? Nomura is certainly keeping the door open to the possibility it won’t be.
