Square Enix has revealed more details about the middle chapter of the remake trilogy, while the first installment is enjoying good sales.

Final Fantasy VII Remake will be available to purchase on disc and digitally. It comes on two Blu-ray discs, has a reversible cover, and pre-orders get the Midgar Bangle Mk.2 armor. There will be a standard edition ($70), a deluxe version ($100; mini soundtrack CD, art book, steelbook), and a collector’s edition ($350; Sephiroth statue, deluxe version content, Moogle Trio and Magic Pot Summoning Materia; Reclaimant Choker and Orchid Bracelet gear; limited pre-orders available from the Square Enix Store).

The digital version comes with the Moogle Trio Summoning Materia. There’s also the standard edition ($70), the digital deluxe version ($90; digital mini soundtrack and art book, Magic Pot Summoning Materia, Reclaimant Choker, Orchid Bracelet), and you can upgrade from the basic version ($20); during the pre-order period, you can buy Final Fantasy VII Intergrade and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth at a special price ($100), and the digital edition of the latter ($120).

Then, there are messages from three prominent developers. “Final Fantasy VII Rebirth has been set for release on February 29, 2024. This second installment of the Final Fantasy VII remake project will feature elements from the previous game and greatly enhanced features such as the vast world map to explore and synergy abilities with party members. The story will unfold more dramatically than ever, with a rapid pace of major twists and turns. We know fans are dying to see one scene in particular. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth can be enjoyed as a standalone adventure, with the party leaving Midgar to explore the wide world beyond. But a recap of the previous game will also be provided for those wishing to deepen their understanding of the story. We hope that both fans and those who have never played Final Fantasy before will enjoy this game,” Yoshinori Kitase, the producer, said.

“We are finally able to announce the release date to all of you! We have been working tirelessly on Final Fantasy VII Rebirth since the release of Final Fantasy VII Remake, and we can’t wait for you to experience our labor of love. In this title, Cloud and his friends, who have fled Midgar, will set out on an adventure across an expansive world of untold adventure in pursuit of Sephiroth. While the main storyline is bigger and more ambitious than the previous game’s narrative, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth also embraces the concept of ‘free exploration,’ with compelling stories, fun mini-games, powerful monsters, and so much more to find throughout the world map. We hope you will explore this world in great detail as nearly 100 hours of adventure await. We hope you will take this new Final Fantasy game experience in your own hands to enjoy,” Naoki Hamaguchi, the director, added.

“This is the second title of a trilogy and covers between the start of the journey outside Midgar to the midpoint of the original Final Fantasy VII. Suppose Final Fantasy VII Remake was an introduction to the world and a preparation for this journey. In that case, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth illustrates the incidents that started the journey, an exploration of the people tied to it, and the journey itself, heading toward its climax. Many elements were carefully selected for this title. Because this is a series, we have the unique opportunity to review and incorporate feedback from the previous title by increasing the number of characters. I am sure that the bar for the next work will be raised even higher now that we have included so many spectacular elements in this work. Still, even so, the entire team continues to work diligently and without compromising its development. There is also the looming question of what fate awaits. Whether you have experienced the original title or will embark on this adventure with fresh eyes, we hope you will face the ending of this work on your terms,” Tetsuya Nomura, the creative director, wrote.

There’s also an interview on the PlayStation Blog. “I want to highlight the new synergy moves most from the battle system. This new mechanic allows the player to use synergy commands and abilities freely at any time using a gauge charge similar 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. We’ve also added skill trees as a new element of character growth. You can unlock synergy abilities through the skill trees, too. Many new Materia with new abilities not seen in the first game is also available, so players will have even more options to customize and build character load-outs to their taste. The development team challenged themselves to give Red XIII a new play style that felt different from the other characters. Red XIII has an ATB gauge and uses his own unique ‘revenge gauge’ mechanic. His revenge gauge charges when he guards against enemy attacks, and he can spend that charge to use various abilities once the gauge is filled. We’ve designed Red XIII as a new type of character that requires the player to strike a balance between offensive strategy using the ATB gauge and defensive strategy using the revenge gauge,” Hamaguchi said.

“The original party members are all present in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. In the previous title, Final Fantasy VII Remake, Red XIII became an accompanying member in the second half of the game. Still, he will become an official, playable party member starting from Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Similarly, some characters are accompanying members in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, that will become official party members in the next title,” Nomura said.

“There will be many other summons in the game, in addition to those that have already been revealed in our previous videos, with some also returning from Final Fantasy VII Remake. The lineup of summons has been fleshed out over and above the previous game, with new, extended side content based on a summon who did not feature in the original Final Fantasy VII and even more besides. The same mini-game will be playable in Junon, but we’ve significantly increased its scope compared to what was in the original Final Fantasy VII. In the original, Cloud sneaks into one of the units participating in the parade and joins in on the performance. Still, in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, he becomes the leader of that unit and can customize the composition of the soldiers participating in the parade. The chosen unit composition will alter the performance, affecting how the mini-game is played. The parade to celebrate the inauguration of Rufus as the new president of Shinra is the climax of the first half of the original game, so the development team was enthused about making all the details for it. It’s one of the moments I hope players enjoy the most.

I think many fans point to the number and variety of mini-games as one of the draws of the original Final Fantasy VII. Still, for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, we have created many mini-games on a scale surpassing even the original! Many of these mini-games can be experienced in the main story, but we also have many unique games and challenges that appear as part of the side stories you can find as you explore the world map. Some players might get so caught up in all the fun mini-games that they find they aren’t making progress in the main story. Players will first visit the Gold Saucer in the middle section of the game but are free to return to it any time they like. To create that motivation to make them want to come back, we designed the park to provide a changing and ever more wonderful experience with each visit, so new mini-games are added, and harder difficulty modes are unlocked as the main story progresses, giving you, even more, to do there. It is not just the mini-games either, and the parts of the Gold Saucer seen in the main story have also been entirely remade and upgraded so that you can expect great things from it.

Once the team leaves Midgar, Cloud’s and his team’s primary objective is to follow and track down Sephiroth across the expansive world they find themselves in. We’ve put a lot of emphasis on exploration-focused game design with this title as we wanted to create that feeling of going on a journey while traveling around the world in pursuit of evidence of Sephiroth’s movements. As Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will take players to various locations worldwide, we needed to re-create the massive Final Fantasy VII world map that would also incorporate places such as towns and dungeons within itself. To do this, we dug deeply into the feeling of each different region and reflected that in the graphics, creating areas that look and feel pretty diverse. On top of that, we designed chocobos unique to each region that have their abilities (e.g., mountain chocobos that can climb sheer cliffs and sky chocobos that can fly, etc.), so players will need to utilize their chocobos to explore each area thoroughly. I hope players have a lot of fun with this exploration aspect!” Hamaguchi added.

“As with the previous game, we have strived for the right balance between old and new scenes in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, but we also tried to take on more new challenges than we did in Final Fantasy VII Remake with some of the new scenes. I am confident these new scenes will be wildly enjoyable for fans and newcomers alike,” Kitase said. “The world map is vast and expansive, so not all its locations will be used in the main story alone. Volume-wise, the amount of side content in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is nearly double that of the main quest content. Players who want to enjoy Final Fantasy VII setting on an even deeper level can explore all the corners of the world, discovering many different and exciting experiences such as new stories, battles, and mini-games to play. It will also be possible to return to any of the regions in the world even after the main quest moves on from that area, so you don’t have to worry about leaving things behind or unfinished. We have announced that the Final Fantasy VII remake project will be a trilogy and that each entry will be a standalone game in its own right. Because of this, each game’s balancing is done independently, and a player’s levels and abilities will not carry over from one game to the next. However, we have created some special bonuses for fans who played the previous game, allowing them to start with a little something extra,” Hamaguchi added.

“The world of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is much larger than Final Fantasy VII Remake. Because of this, the team has created various new music to go alongside that. We’ve also expanded the variety of musical genres this time, so I think there will be plenty to enjoy. Of course, we also have many re-arrangements of classic tracks from the original Final Fantasy VII, so I hope fans will enjoy comparing both iterations of the same song to see what has changed. For example, the music in the newly released trailer is a re-arrangement of Final Fantasy VII’s main theme as a battle music track and gives you a taste of the direction the team has decided to take in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth,” Keiji Kawamori, the music supervisor said.

“Every trailer has a specific purpose. Since this is the second installment in the Final Fantasy VII remake project, some people have played the previous game or enthusiastic fans who follow the built-in mysteries. Still, for newcomers or those simply interested in the Final Fantasy VII series, we wanted to include a full overview of what kind of experience they will have with this remake project. So, there is less of a mysterious pretense to the story this time, but you can look forward to the next trailer. If you played the original Final Fantasy VII, I’m sure you can guess which scene I’m talking about: you can control Sephiroth in the same scene in this title as you did in the original. We have mentioned this a few times before, but the order in which you can explore the locations is not the same as the original Final Fantasy VII, and there are some shifts in the order. For example, Wutai, one of the major locations, is not part of the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth route and will be visited in the next one. Although there are some changes in the order of the locations, the locations depicted in this title extend up to ‘The Forgotten Capital,’ where the greatest fate of Final Fantasy VII awaits you,” Nomura said.

For years, the Shinra Electric Power Company has provided the world with energy at the expense of the lifestream, the “river” when all life flows and when it returns. After storming the company’s headquarters and engaging in battles for the ages, Cloud and his companions leave Midgar behind and set out for the wider world. Once in the grasslands, they hop aboard chocobos and embark on a journey with an unknown destination. Meanwhile, Zack—beaten and battered from his fight against an army of troopers—hobbles across the wastelands into Midgar with a mako-poisoned Cloud on his shoulder. Though he has escaped death for now, the ominous rift in the sky gives him little reason to rejoice. That is hardly the only threat facing the world, however. The Shinra Resistance Committee, backed by Wutai’s interim government, declares war on the company; figures shrouded in black robes carry with them the corpse of Jenova, a veritable calamity from another world; and the Weapons—fierce and monstrous guardians of the planet—have recently awakened. Amid this chaos, Sephiroth has set his plan in motion, thus ensuring myriad fates intertwine and are birthed anew.

And a quick overview of the characters: Cloud Strife (voiced by Cody Christian in English, Takahiro Sakurai in Japanese), an ex-SOLDIER: first class, came to Midgar to start a new chapter of his life as a mercenary. At the invitation of his childhood friend, Tifa, he accepts a job with Avalanche. Together, they confront Shinra, ultimately leaving Midgar behind in pursuit of Sephiroth and the truth─a quest that will lead them to defy destiny itself. He fights using the sword by switching between modes specializing in mobility and offense. A single swipe of his giant sword can simultaneously knock several foes off their feet. Some of his abilities also allow him to take the fight to the air.

Barret Wallace (John Eric Bentley/Masato Funaki) is the leader of an independent Avalanche cell. Barret spearheads an operation to take down Shinra’s mako reactors. However, he pays a hefty price for this when the company retaliates, and his comrades die in the crossfire. Armed with the memories of his lost friends and the newfound knowledge of Sephiroth’s plans, he departs Midgar to save the planet and safeguard a future for his daughter, Marlene. He fights with the Gunarm. He makes up for what he lacks in speed in both sturdiness and strength, converting his anger toward Shinra into raw firepower. He employs a variety of ranged attacks, from rapid-fire salvos to powerful explosions, which allow him to strike foes high in the air or across the battlefield.

Tifa Lockhart (Britt Baron/Ayumi Ito), though a loyal member of Avalanche, an underground organization that opposes Shinra, nevertheless questions the group’s extremist tactics, struggling to reconcile her cause with her conscience. This internal conflict reaches a fever pitch when her group’s actions effectively lead to the fall of the Sector 7 plate. Racked with guilt, she leaves Midgar searching for a new path. She strings together swift combos using gloves while utilizing various martial arts techniques. Her ATB fills quickly, allowing for multiple abilities in rapid succession. She also boasts several skills that damage airborne or staggered foes more. Aerith Gainsborough (Briana White/Maaya Sakamoto) is a flower seller who lives in the Sector 5 undercity and is the last remaining descendant of the Cetra, a people known for communing with the planet. Shinra takes her prisoner in their efforts to reach the Cetra’s foretold “promised land,” but Cloud and company come to her rescue. She escapes Midgar and embarks on a journey into the outside world of which she has long dreamed. Utilizing the power of magic, she casts spells from a safe distance and launches attacks that home in on her foes with a staff. She can also conjure beneficial wards and warp between them and restore the party’s HP with her limit break.

Red XIII (Max Mittelman/Kappei Yamaguchi) is a beast with a flaming tail, crimson fur, deadly claws, and the ability to speak. Cloud and company help him escape Professor Hojo’s clutches, and he joins them on their journey. His species is known for its long life spans, and he is no exception. As this Cosmo Canyon native is the eldest party member, he occasionally offers its members words of wisdom. He sets upon foes with an unrelenting assault, laying into them with a beastly ferocity with a collar. Guarding against incoming attacks will feed his Vengeance gauge. Once it is complete, he can unleash his inner beast, but sufficient skill is required to maximize its potential. Yuffie Kisaragi (Suzie Yeung/Yumi Kakazu) is a member of Wutai’s elite corps of ninja operatives. Yuffie infiltrates Midgar on a mission to steal the “ultimate material” from Shinra. Her plan ends in disaster, as she fails to claim the material and loses her partner, Sonon, in the struggle. Just as working alone takes its toll on her, Cloud’s group comes into the picture. She excels at both long- and close-range combat using her throwing star and ninja skills. Elemental ninjutsu allows her to exploit enemies’ weaknesses without relying on spells. She also keeps opponents on their toes with various aerial attacks and tricky techniques.

Cait Sith (Paul Tinto/Hideo Ishikawa) is a wisecracking, feline-shaped robot often seen poised atop his big moogle pal. One of the Gold Saucer’s most famous mascots, he is well-loved for his fortune telling—a service he also offers to Cloud and friends. His adorable appearance also belies access to a surprising amount of insider intel on Shinra. Sephiroth (Tyler Hoechlin/Toshiyuki Morikawa) is a former SOLDIER: 1st class of legendary renown. He is said to have died in the line of duty in Nibelheim five years ago. This is proven untrue when he appears at the Shinra Building and absconds with a research specimen known as “Jenova.” He now toys with Cloud at every opportunity, seeking to change the course of destiny and rule the planet. Zack Fair (Caleb Piece/Kenichi Suzumura) may have worked with Sephiroth as a SOLDIER: 1st class. Still, he trained under a different operator, and it is from this man that he both learned to take pride in his work and received his iconic buster sword. After a grueling battle in which he overcomes the odds and cheats death, Zack returns to Midgar, hoping to see his love Aerith, with a mako-poisoned Cloud in tow.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will be released for PlayStation 5 on February 29. Meanwhile, Final Fantasy VII Remake is on track to sell 7 million copies.

Source: Gematsu, Gematsu