Yoshinori Kitase, director of the original Final Fantasy VII, executive producer of Final Fantasy VII Remake, and the upcoming Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, said that the development cycle of the highly anticipated sequel is going swiftly and smoothly as planned.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is initially releasing for PlayStation 5 on February 29, 2024.
Keep checking this article frequently for news and updates.
Three editions of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth are coming out, including a Deluxe Edition and a premium Collector’s Edition exclusive to the Square Enix Store. You can also invest in a Twin Pack that combines Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth in one package.
Bonuses (all)
Every preorder of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth includes a Midgar Bangle Mk. II armor bracelet. You will also receive bonus content by having saved files from Remake. Having save files from the base version of Remake unlocks Summon Materia: Leviathan, while a save file from the Intergrade DLC unlocks Summon Materia: Ramuh.
Standard Edition
The standard edition is $70 and includes the base game on two discs in physical format (be prepared for a hefty install).
Deluxe Edition
The deluxe edition is $100 and includes the base game, a hardcover art book, a mini soundtrack, and steelbook case.
Collector’s Edition
The collector’s edition includes all the content with the deluxe edition but also a 19″ Sephiroth statue. You also get reversible cover art for the standard edition box as well as Summon Materia: Moogle Trio, Summon Materia: Magic Pot, Orchid Bracelet armor, and a Reclaimant Choker accessory.
News & Updates
Recent
Arbiters of Fate return
In an interview with Geek Culture, Director Naoki Hamaguchi seemingly confirmed the Arbiters of Fate will return in Rebirth, saying “in the previous game, we brought in the Whispers, so for the player, they can expect to see if there are any further developments for the Whispers. Not only will they appear, Zack is showing up as well, so it’s like, ‘What will happen to Zack? This is the exciting point.'”
In Remake, the Arbiters of Fate never come across as defeated, and only seemed to dissipate once AVALANCHE fought them. In spite of the continued efforts to take them down throughout the course of Remake, they emerged in a large, seemingly overwhelming capacity during the final boss fight.
Synergy System
Square Enix has confirmed that Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will include real-time and tactical modes that carry over from Remake. One of the most interesting additions to this system includes synergy moves, which are abilities that can be used after charging up a special gauge. This is comparable to how Limit Breaks and Summons work in Remake.
According to the PlayStation blog post, “this new mechanic allows the player to use synergy commands and abilities freely at any time by using up a gauge charge in a similar manner to Limit Breaks…so through the battles, players will feel the relationships and bonds that have developed between the characters even more so than in the previous game.”
There are also new skill trees being added with Rebirth, which will allow for additional synergy abilities to be purchased. In addition to new Materia equipment, players will have more options than ever before to customize and build character load-outs that suit their specific playstyle.
Vincent Valentine voiced by Matthew Mercer
Matthew Mercer has officially confirmed on Twitter/X he will be voicing Vincent Valentine in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Mercer is an accomplished VA, having worked on major anime and gaming franchises like Fate/Zero (Kiritsugu Emiya), Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Ganondorf), Persona 5 (Yusuke Kitagawa), and Yakuza: Like a Dragon (Goro Majima). He’s also known for his role in the livestream D&D web series, Critical Role.
Mercer first announced his casting for Vincent Valentine at NYCC 2023 where he hosted a panel with actors who are reprising their roles from Remake: Cody Christian (Cloud Strife), John Eric Bentley (Barret Wallace), Britt Baron (Tifa Lockhart), Max Mittelman (Red XIII) and Suzie Yeung (Yuffie Kisaragi).
Sephiroth Gameplay
Sephiroth is confirmed to join the party as a fully playable character in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, as shown off with 5 minutes of exclusive footage on Mt. Nibel. A demo was available at TGS 2023.
New Content Structure
Square Enix published a blog post with Director Naoki Hamaguchi. Final Fantasy VII Remake had the player progressing through the story via Chapters, which could then be accessed again later to finish any outstanding sidequests and mini-games. However, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is being designed to allow players to “freely select what order to play much of its content in.”
This means that side content never gets cut off and you will always have the opportunity to return to it regardless of your progress in the main story.
There are more mini-games in Rebirth than in Remake.
Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Hamaguchi confirmed that there are many details and characters added to Rebirth from the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII that were not seen in Remake.
Development Cycle
According to an interview with Hamaguchi, the development cycle of Rebirth took four years. However, working on Intergrade/Intermission helped the team develop a deeper understanding of the PlayStation 5, which Rebirth is (at least for now) exclusive to.
Why Two Discs?
Square Enix is splitting Rebirth into two discs due to its sheer scope and size. Hamaguchi stated that the game is 150GB in total, with 100GB on one disc and 50GB on the other.
You won’t be swapping discs like fans did with the first game. Rather, the PS5 will let you install the entire game by inserting both of the discs. Then, you’ll only need one of them to play the full game.
The decision to split Rebirth was made to preserve the team’s vision of a highly detailed massive open world that what Remake did with Midgar. Squeezing everything onto a single Blu-Ray would have forced the developers to scale back on many of their ideas.
How Long To Beat?
Despite the game’s larger scope, Rebirth is poised to take the same amount of time to complete as Remake.
No Shared Progression
There is no shared progression between Remake and Rebirth, as each entry that encompasses the entirety of Final Fantasy VII’s Remake is standalone. No gear, materia, or levels will transfer. However, by having a save file of the previous game, you will receive some exclusive rewards.
Vincent and Cid Are Not Playable In Rebirth
Although fan-favorite character Vincent Valentine briefly appeared during the PS State of Play trailer in September and is confirmed to join the group of heroes in Rebirth, he will not be playable. The same is true for Cid Highwind.
Rather, they accompany the party like Red XIII did in Remake. Nomura explains this is the case because Vincent joined the party during the backend of the original Final Fantasy VII. Therefore, we will have to wait until the third game to get a chance to use him, unlike Yuffie, another optional side character who became playable in Intergrade.
PS State of Play Trailer
During the latest PlayStation State of Play, Square Enix debuted a new trailer of Rebirth, revealing the release date of February 29, 2024, and announcing it will be exclusive to PS5 until at least May 29, 2024.
Chocobos, Vehicles, and Cait Sith
New combat scenarios and new story scenarios were shown off, in addition to mini-games with a playable Cait Sith. You will also be able to ride Chocobos and other types of vehicles while exploring the land outside Midgar.
A PlayStation Blog interview with Hamaguchi confirmed several new facts:
- Red XIII will have a special revenge gauge mechanic which charges as he guards against attacks. He can spend this charge to use various abilities.
- Sephiroth is playable during the Nibelheim flashback.
- The dating scene will feature at the Gold Saucer.
- Wutai will not be included as a route in Rebirth but will be visited in part 3.
How Much Story Does Rebirth Cover?
Tetsuya Nomura, the creative director, confirmed that Rebirth will be covering content all the way up to the Forgotten Capital (The City of the Ancients), which could potentially offer at least 100 hours of gameplay. By looking at the original FF7 walkthrough, that means fans can look forward to the following:
- Kalm
- Chocobo Farm
- Mythril Mine
- Junon
- Cargo Ship
- Costa del Sol
- Mount Corel
- Gold Saucer
- Corel Prison
- Gongaga
- Cosmo Canyon
- Nibelheim
- Rocket Town
- Gold Saucer Revisited
- Temple of the Ancients
- Bone Village
- Forgotten Capital
Summer Game Fest 2023 Trailer
Tetsuya Nomura posted a brand new trailer for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth that was shown off at Summer Game Fest.
Despite having access to the open world, it feels as though you are navigating corridors of a large map split into subsections like a game from the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 era.
The combat looked as beautiful as ever, but there are even more significant concerns now surrounding the changes to the story.
By only taking place in Midgar, Remake was easily able to fit on one disc even with brand-new technology. However, expanding beyond to include all of Gaia has seemingly forced Rebirth to come on two discs. In this day and age, the average game hovers anywhere between 20-50 GB, but the capacity of a PlayStation 5 disc extends up to 100 GB.
Even the largest open-world games managed to fit everything on one disc, so what exactly does this mean for Rebirth?
Old
Square Enix started off relatively tight-lipped about the second installment in the planned three-part Final Fantasy VII remake project that began with Remake in 2020. Rebirth, part 2, was first announced a year ago.
Initially, in June 2022, the game was announced to come out on PlayStation 5 by “next winter,” which put a potential release date of late 2023 or early 2024. Square confirmed at Summer Game Fest that Rebirth is coming in early 2024.
Given that Final Fantasy XVI is about to drop on June 22 as a timed exclusive for the PlayStation 5, conjecture would have it that Square Enix could settle on early 2024 in order to give fans sufficient time to play the latest core entry before returning to Final Fantasy VII.
- Read more: Final Fantasy VII Remake: All Story Changes
When asked about the dynamics of the open world, given that Final Fantasy VII Rebirth covers Disc 2 of the original game, director Naoki Hamaguchi ensured players that they will be able to journey across the world “with a high degree of freedom.”
Of all the things to be excited about in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth‘s story, scenario writer Kazushige Nojima stated that players will witness “narrative developments” that lead to the discovery of “each character’s destiny.”
For those that did not take the time or do not want to take the time to play through part 1, Final Fantasy VII Remake, you’ll be happy to know that Square Enix has made it simple for you to jump right into the events of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.
This also suggests that fans will not need to play the recent remaster of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion either.
The action-oriented battle system in Remake that revised the turn-based combat seen in the original Final Fantasy VII will continue in Rebirth, as confirmed by Battle Director Teruki Endo.
Fans can be happy to know that there will be tons of new tracks in Rebirth as well as new arrangements from tracks featured in Remake.