Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Cover art, featuring left to right,
Cloud Strife, Sephiroth and Zack Fair
Developer(s)Square Enix Creative Business Unit I
Publisher(s)Square Enix
Director(s)
Producer(s)Yoshinori Kitase
Designer(s)Teruki Endo
Programmer(s)Satoru Koyama
Artist(s)Tetsuya Nomura
Roberto Ferrari
Writer(s)Kazushige Nojima
SeriesFinal Fantasy
EngineUnreal Engine 4
Platform(s)PlayStation 5
ReleaseFebruary 29, 2024
Genre(s)Action role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is an upcoming action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix, scheduled to release for PlayStation 5 on February 29, 2024. It is a sequel to Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020), and the second in a planned trilogy of games remaking the 1997 PlayStation game Final Fantasy VII.

As with its predecessor, the gameplay will combine real-time action with strategic and role-playing elements. Set immediately after Remake's events, players will control the mercenary Cloud Strife and a party of characters principally comprising the eco-terrorist group AVALANCHE, who band together and embark on a journey across the Planet to prevent the megacorporation Shinra from exploiting its life essence, the Lifestream, as an energy source, and defeat former elite SOLDIER Sephiroth, who intends on uniting with the Planet to achieve greater power.

The game entered production in November 2019 prior to Remake's release, and was announced in June 2022. All of the lead staff returned from the previous game in the same positions, but with Tetsuya Nomura returning as creative director instead of director, and Naoki Hamaguchi returning as director instead of co-director.

Gameplay

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is the second in a planned trilogy of games remaking the 1997 PlayStation game Final Fantasy VII. It begins after the events of Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020), following the party's escape from the metropolis of Midgar.[1][2]

Players will primarily control Cloud Strife, a former Shinra soldier who joined the eco-terrorist group AVALANCHE to fight the Shinra Corporation, who had been draining the planet's life energy, and is drawn into a conflict with the legendary SOLDIER Sephiroth, who was presumed dead.[3][4] Like Remake before it, Rebirth reimagines multiple elements of the original game as well as significant expansions to character development and overall narrative structure.[5][6]

The game features real-time exploration and combat, with the game's overworld expanding into a more open-ended environment compared to the linear progression of Remake's Midgar. Objective markers appear in the heads-up display at all times, highlighting main story quests and ongoing sidequests to complete along with their respective distances from the party in the overworld. In addition to walking on foot, the party are able to hitch rides on Chocobos as a means of faster traversal by equipping the specialized Chocobo Lure Materia. Rebirth builds on the hybrid of action-focused melee combat and the Active-Time Battle (ATB) system introduced in Final Fantasy VII Remake, involving players assuming control of a party composed of characters that can be freely switched between at any point in gameplay. During combat, characters use a mix of conventional physical attacks and casting magic and consuming dedicated items for offensive, defensive and resuscitative purposes, from a dedicated menu while gameplay is suspended around them. The "Synergized" mechanic first featured in the downloadable content (DLC) "Episode InterMISSION" campaign for Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade (2021) is integrated into Rebirth's battle system, enabling party members to sync up their attacks at the expense of the speed at which an ATB bar fills.[7]

Plot

Setting and characters

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is a direct continuation of the overarching narrative first introduced in Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020), and reimagines the plot, world and cast of the original Final Fantasy VII (1997). The game takes place on a non-descript world simply known as "The Planet", and centers on the journey of the principal characters as they seek to both end the tyranny of the Shinra Electric Power Company, who control the megalopolis of Midgar by weaponizing the ethereal power source known as the Lifestream, and defeat Sephiroth (Tyler Hoechlin), a legendary veteran of Shinra's elite SOLDIER unit of enforcers, who was presumed dead and is now attempting to summon the destructive magic Meteor to wound the Planet, which will enable him to unite with the Lifestream and attain godhood. Rebirth will span the events from leaving Midgar to the Forgotten Capital from the original game, though the order in which locations are explored is not the same as the original game. For example, the visit to Wutai will be saved for the third installment.[8]

The central protagonist and leader of the game's main party of characters, is Cloud Strife (Cody Christian), a former member of SOLDIER's 1st Class platoon who now works as a mercenary assisting the eco-terrorist group AVALANCHE, who oppose Shinra's immoral exploitation of the Planet and its resources. Accompanying him are two members of the group: Barret Wallace (John Eric Bentley), its brazen and loudmouthed, yet empathetic leader; and Tifa Lockhart (Britt Baron), Cloud's childhood friend and a bartender of the 7th Heaven bar in Midgar who is a compassionate, yet shy practicing martial artist. Joining them on their journey are Aerith Gainsborough (Briana White), a flower merchant previously residing in Midgar's Sector 5 Slums, and the sole survivor of the ancient Cetra; Red XIII (Max Mittelman), an intelligent quadruped from Cosmo Canyon who was previously held captive by Shinra as an unwitting lab rat; and Yuffie Kisaragi (Suzie Yeung), an expert Materia thief and ninja from Wutai who resolves to join the team out of a desire to fully realize Shinra's downfall after losing her partner Sonon Kusakabe in a failed attempt to extract the "Ultimate Materia" from Shinra's headquarters.[9] Throughout the story, supporting characters will play a role at different intervals. Chief among these are Zack Fair (Caleb Pierce), a friend from Cloud's past who helped both of them escape Shinra's ranks after they were experimented on with the cells of the extraterrestrial life-form JENOVA, who was also Aerith's boyfriend and the previous wielder of the Buster Sword; Cait Sith (Paul Tinto), a robotic cat controlled by Shinra's Head of Urban Development Reeve Tuesti; Vincent Valentine, a former member of the Turks who was experimented on by Professor Hojo; and Cid Highwind (J. Michael Tatum), a grizzled pilot and ex-Shinra rocket scientist dedicated to one day achieving spaceflight.[10][11][12] Also appearing in the game are Bugenhagen, the elder of Cosmo Canyon, Biggs, a surviving member of Barret's AVALANCHE cell, and Elena, a new recruit of the Turks seeking to apprehend Cloud and his allies.[13]

Development

During the promotion of Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020), Square Enix confirmed that the game would not cover the original's complete story, but rather act as a standalone first game in "a multi-part series, with each entry providing its own unique experience".[14] Game director Tetsuya Nomura cited a "massive undertaking to reconstruct Final Fantasy VII from the ground up with the current technology", in regards to why a remake was not possible for some time. He went on to elaborate, that fully remaking FFVII's content in a single installment would necessitate cutting various elements of the original game to suit the target hardware and gameplay design, by which point a remake of the game would be considered pointless. He additionally expressed a desire to expand on the original game's depiction of Midgar for one game, wanting for players to explore various areas of the city that were previously inaccessible in the original, and with heightened detail due to the increased power of newer generation hardware. While Nomura understood the nostalgia behind the original game's story, he envisioned the game as a reimagining that would in turn, "get the fans of the original version excited".[15]

Producer Yoshinori Kitase likened the remake's "multi-part" structure to Final Fantasy XIII (2009) being followed by Final Fantasy XIII-2 (2011) and Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII (2013), stating that Final Fantasy VII Remake's structure would differ from that of XIII's due to the game's nature as a remake of a pre-existing narrative centered on a central protagonist like Cloud Strife, as opposed to the multiple perspectives focused on across the XIII trilogy. He also anticipated each game in the Remake series to be approximately as long as one of the Final Fantasy XIII games.[16] The Final Fantasy VII Remake project would subsequently be revealed by Kitase to encompass a trilogy, between Remake, its sequel and a third, final entry.[17][18] The development team had initially entertained the idea of remaking FFVII across two games as opposed to three, citing the indecision on direction as being a primary reason for their lack of clarification on how many parts the remake would be. Kitase explained that this was due to the difficulties in determining development scheduling due to the lack of understanding regarding the project's overall scope.[19] The follow-up to Remake had begun active development by November 2019 prior to the game's initial release on PlayStation 4.[20] According to Nomura, the game was designed with newcomers in mind.[21]

Nomura later stated in July 2020 that the intent was to produce a higher quality game than its predecessor, while also ensuring it was released "as quickly as possible".[22] In regards to the technical improvements made in Remake's enhanced 2021 port, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, Nomura noted that while environmental effects such as fog were added to the port in order to, "further enhance the sense of realism and immersion in the world", he advised fans to wait for future entries that would take proper advantage of the PS5's hardware and features in both gameplay and graphics.[23][24] Game director Naoki Hamaguchi separately expressed a desire to leverage the new gameplay and battle mechanics introduced in the downloadable content (DLC) episode INTERmission, such as team-up attacks performed by Yuffie Kisaragi and Sonon Kusakabe, in the next game, as he felt they made for a "different feel in battle strategy".[25]

Rebirth was revealed alongside Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion, a remaster of the PlayStation Portable game for modern platforms rebuilt in Unreal Engine 4, and implemented numerous quality-of-life improvements to gameplay and presentation to bring the game in parity with Final Fantasy VII Remake, notably sharing the English voice cast from the aforementioned game, who replaced the original actors from other media in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII metaseries.[26][27] Reunion was part of the Final Fantasy VII Remake project and acted as a prequel to the main trilogy, with the remaster designed to familiarize players with the story of Zack Fair ahead of his appearance in Rebirth where he would play a more significant role.[28][29] In April 2023, lead battle programmer Satoru Koyama spoke on the potential of incorporating improved party A.I. in the battle system for Rebirth and its sequel, remarking on its potential to multitask between physical attack techniques and magic casting, while expressing a desire to surpass the 'gambit' system used for the non-controlled party members in Final Fantasy XII (2006).[30]

Marketing and release

Rebirth was announced by Square Enix as the second installment of the Final Fantasy VII Remake project, alongside Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion and the Steam version of Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, in June 2022 during the publisher's Final Fantasy VII 25th Anniversary Celebration livestream.[31][32][33]

In June 2023, the official social media handles for the game began posting a series of developer messages. Game director Naoki Hamaguchi promised that Rebirth would feature a "wide and multifaceted world with a high degree of freedom" with multiple story routes, in comparison to the more structured, linear progression throughout Midgar in Final Fantasy VII Remake.[34] A gameplay trailer was presented on June 9 during that year's Summer Game Fest live show hosted by Geoff Keighley, unveiling the game's exploration and combat mechanics, teasing various story elements, as well as detailing characters set to appear in the game.[35][36] On September 14, 2023, a trailer premiered during PlayStation's State of Play presentation revealing the game's release date of February 29, 2024. A new trailer was revealed at The Game Awards 2023, which showcased the song "No Promises To Keep" by Loren Allred, as well as new gameplay footage, including Vincent Valentine and Cid Highwind.[37][38] Also revealed at The Game Awards was a collaboration with Apex Legends.[39]

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is scheduled to release for PlayStation 5 on February 29, 2024, as a timed console exclusive for 3 months.[40][41][42] Alongside the standard edition, a physical Deluxe Edition will be available to purchase from participating retailers, while a Collector's Edition will be distributed in limited quantities exclusively through the Square Enix Store. Both editions bundle the game with a special steelbook case for the game discs, a mini-soundtrack CD and an artbook. The Collector's Edition includes the aforementioned content alongside a collectible statue of Sephiroth and downloadable content (DLC) keys for additional in-game items.[43] The game's release is notable in the fact that it is releasing on Leap Day, making it one of the first major video game releases to do so.[44]

Downloadable content

The Collector's Edition of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will include access keys for downloadable content (DLC) items that can be equipped on the party earlier in the game. These include a Summon Materia DLC pack unlocking the Moogle Trio and Magic Pot Summons for use in battle, and various accessories and equipment for the characters such as a Reclaimant Choker and Orchid Bracelet armor set.[45] Additional Summon Materia are available as early unlocks to players who have save data from either Final Fantasy VII Remake on PlayStation 4 or Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade on their PS5 console when launching Rebirth. Players with save data from the aforementioned games will unlock the Leviathan Summon Materia from the start of the game, while players on PS5 with save data from the Episode: interMISSION story DLC for Intergrade will also have access to the Ramuh Summon Materia.[46]

Reception

Accolades

Awards and nominations
Year Ceremony Category Result Ref.
2023 Golden Joystick Awards Most Wanted Game Won [47]
The Game Awards 2023 Most Anticipated Game Won [48]

References

  1. ↑ Cryer, Hirun (June 10, 2021). "Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade ending adds a new scene to the original finale". gamesradar. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Final Fantasy 7 Remake director suggests future instalments could focus on 'smaller sections'". VGC. April 28, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  3. ↑ Webster, Andrew (April 9, 2020). "Redesigning Midgar, Final Fantasy VII Remake's gritty cyberpunk metropolis". The Verge. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  4. ↑ Shanley, Patrick (April 21, 2020). "'Final Fantasy VII' Remake Sells 3.5M Copies Over Launch Weekend". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  5. ↑ "FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH announced | Square Enix Blog". square-enix-games.com. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Continues Retelling The RPG Classic In Winter 2023". Kotaku. June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Launches In Early 2024 On Two Discs; New Trailer Debuts". GameSpot. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  8. ↑ McAllister, Gillen (September 14, 2023). "Final Fantasy VII Rebirth: developer interview reveals fresh gameplay details as new trailer debuts at State of Play". PlayStation Blog. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Teases Wild Twist In New Deep-Dive". Kotaku. June 8, 2023. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  10. ↑ Stedman, Alex (September 16, 2023). "Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth New Trailer Reveals Cait Sith, Vincent, and Release Date". IGN. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  11. ↑ Stewart, Marcus (September 20, 2023). "Square Enix Answers 6 Burning Questions About Final Fantasy VII Rebirth". Game Informer. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  12. ↑ Romano, Sal (December 7, 2023). "Final Fantasy VII Rebirth 'Theme Song' trailer, Gold Saucer, Corel Prison, Vincent Valentine, Cid Highwind, and more detailed". Gematsu. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  13. ↑ FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH - Theme Song Announcement Trailer, retrieved December 8, 2023
  14. ↑ Goldfarb, Andrew (December 7, 2015). "PSX 2015: Final Fantasy 7 Remake Will Be a Multi-Part Series". IGN. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  15. ↑ Blake, Vikki (December 7, 2015). "This Is Why the Final Fantasy 7 Remake Is In Multiple Parts". IGN. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Final Fantasy 7 Remake Still Releasing In Multiple Parts". GameSpot. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  17. ↑ "Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Revealed As Name Of Remake Part 2, Part Of A Trilogy". GameSpot. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Final Fantasy VII Remake Will Be A Trilogy". Kotaku. June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  19. ↑ Ramsey, Robert (July 9, 2022). "Final Fantasy 7 Remake Devs Considered a Two-Game Series Instead of a Trilogy". Push Square. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  20. ↑ "The FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE development team | Square Enix Blog". square-enix-games.com. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  21. ↑ VII, FINAL FANTASY (June 16, 2022). "We're delighted to present messages from Final Fantasy VII Rebirth creative director Tetsuya Nomura, director Naoki Hamaguchi and producer Yoshinori Kitase. #FF7R". Twitter. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  22. ↑ Ramsey, Robert (July 21, 2020). "Final Fantasy VII Remake 2 Now In Development, 'You'll Be Waiting a Little While', Says Square Enix". Push Square. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  23. ↑ "PS5『FF7 リメイク』＆スマホ『FF7』関連作を野村哲也氏にインタビュー。ユフィを使ったバトルやヴァイス登場の由来、PS5の機能の活用に迫る | ゲーム・エンタメ最新情報のファミ通.com". ファミ通.com (in Japanese). Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Final Fantasy 7 Remake 2 to flex PS5's power, UE5 upgrades possible". TweakTown. March 2, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  25. ↑ "'Final Fantasy VII Remake' directors say 'Intermission' points directly to the sequel". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  26. ↑ "'Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion' is the perfect holiday gaming binge". Mashable. December 8, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  27. ↑ Friscia, John (December 13, 2022). "Who Are the Voice Actors in Crisis Core Reunion Remaster?". The Escapist. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  28. ↑ Gilliam, Ryan (July 18, 2022). "The Crisis Core remaster may add a new wrinkle to the FF7 Remake trilogy". Polygon. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  29. ↑ "Crisis Core Reunion can be considered part of the FF7 Remake project, producer says". Destructoid. July 18, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  30. ↑ Adam, Khayl (April 10, 2023). "Final Fantasy 7 Remake Battle Lead Wants to 'Surpass Final Fantasy 12's Gambit System'". Push Square. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  31. ↑ Wilde, Tyler; Litchfield, Ted (June 16, 2022). "Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion coming to Steam this winter". PC Gamer. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  32. ↑ Faulkner, Cameron (June 16, 2022). "Final Fantasy VII Remake is coming to Steam on June 17th". The Verge. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  33. ↑ "Everything revealed in the FINAL FANTASY VII 25th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION stream | Square Enix Blog". square-enix-games.com. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  34. ↑ Barker, Sammy (June 3, 2023). "Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Will Offer a 'High Degree of Freedom' on PS5". Push Square. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  35. ↑ "Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Makes Debut at Summer Game Fest". CNET. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  36. ↑ Bailey, Kat (June 8, 2023). "Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Revealed in Summer Game Fest Trailer Alongside Release Window". IGN. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
  37. ↑ "Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth has a new theme song by Nobuo Uematsu". Eurogamer.net. December 8, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  38. ↑ "Final Fantasy VII Rebirth 'Theme Song' trailer; Gold Saucer, Corel Prison, Vincent Valentine, Cid Highwind, and more detailed". Gematsu. December 8, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  39. ↑ Apex Legends x Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth Reveal Trailer | Game Awards 2023 - IGN, December 8, 2023, retrieved December 8, 2023
  40. ↑ Peters, Jay (June 16, 2022). "Final Fantasy VII Remake's sequel is called Rebirth, and it's out next year". The Verge. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  41. ↑ ""DISCOVER A VIBRANT AND VAST WORLD IN FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH, COMING IN EARLY 2024 TO PLAYSTATION 5" - Square Enix Press Hub". press.uk.square-enix.com. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  42. ↑ Ramsey, Robert (September 14, 2023). "Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Is a PS5 Exclusive for 'At Least' Three Months". Push Square. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  43. ↑ ""SQUARE ENIX ANNOUNCES FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH WILL LAUNCH ON FEBRUARY 29 FOR THE PLAYSTATION ® 5 CONSOLE" - Square Enix North America Press Hub". Square Enix Press. September 14, 2023. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  44. ↑ King, Jade (September 15, 2023). "Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's Leap Day Release Date Is Deeper Than You Think". TheGamer. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  45. ↑ "FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH launch date and preorder information | Square Enix Blog". square-enix-games.com. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  46. ↑ Croft, Liam (September 15, 2023). "Final Fantasy 7 Remake PS5, PS4 Save Data Gets You Bonus Rebirth Items". Push Square. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  47. ↑ Donnelly, Joe (November 11, 2023). "Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is your Most Wanted Game at the Golden Joystick Awards 2023". GamesRadar+. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  48. ↑ Fanelli, Jason (November 13, 2023). "The Game Awards 2023 Nominees Announced, See Them All Now". GameSpot. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
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