Following a series of teases, Square Enix has finally announced the release window for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. The sequel to the remake of the beloved 1997 RPG will be hitting PS5 in early 2024, with the trailer offering a look at some very dramatic and unexpected curveballs in this second outing.
Revealed at Summer Game Fest, the reel shows Cloud and gang outside the walls of Midgar, riding chocobos, and expanded areas for exploration. There are some familiar story beats from the original and a callback to the ending of the first game, as well as a handful of old faces, including Yuffie, Red XIII (who has been confirmed as a playable character), the Turks, and of course, Sephiroth.
The villain’s appearance, in particular, is the greatest clue-in to the what-ifs and alternate timelines that Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will toy with. In the 1997 title, Tifa is struck down by Sephiroth in the Mako Reactor but she survives, and here, it seems to suggest that she might actually die. The Masamune wielder’s extremely cryptic line of ‘Do you know I killed her? So, who is she?” is not helping matters, and only serves to emphasise his gaslighting tendencies. Sephiroth, king of manipulating, mansplaining, and manslaughter-ing, indeed.
It also looks like Cloud will be able to collaborate with his party members to increase his damage, similar to the mechanics in FFVII Remake’s DLC with Yuffie and her ally Sonan. Another throwback to the past: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is being split into two discs, following in its PS1 roots, where the original came on three discs.
The Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy are different from mere remasters in the sense that they will feature new story elements that expand on the original plot, as seen from the first game. Rebirth is the second entry in the series, with the third game currently in development.
In other Final Fantasy VII news, Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis is getting a closed beta from today till 28 June, limited only to Android users. The mobile title was announced back in 2021 and is a compilation of all the games and stories set in the FFVII universe, including Crisis Core and Dirge of Cerberus.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
