Square Enix hosted a special Final Fantasy VII 25th Anniversary Broadcast today, where it finally revealed our first ever look at Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 2, which is called Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.
Although, calling it the second part of a remake of Final Fantasy VII is seemingly not quite accurate, as the title of Rebirth implies that this is certainly keeping in line with what the first part was inevitably setting up – something of a fresh start for the Final Fantasy VII story. Despite Square Enix officially still calling it the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy, it’s hard to know exactly what to expect going forward.
In the trailer we see what looks like part of a flashback from Cloud and Sephiroth’s history, implying it’s part of Cloud’s retelling of events that occurs further into Final Fantasy VII. We also hear mention of certain… events in the original game that seemingly take a different turn this time around. Take a look for yourself:
Director, Tetsuya Nomura, issued a statement today to go along with the announcement of Rebirth where he alludes more to this fact as well as revealing that work has already begun on a third and final part to this particular saga. You can read the statement in full here, but the important snippets are below:
“Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is being designed so that people can enjoy this game whether they know the original game or not. In fact, new players might even enjoy starting their journey with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Cloud and his friends embark on a new journey in this game and I believe that the scenes they witness after they leave Midgar will give players a fresh, new experience.
I can’t wait to share the intention behind the naming of the first title Remake and the second title Rebirth. In time, I hope to reveal what the third title will be called and where this journey will ultimately lead.”
We're delighted to present messages from Final Fantasy VII Rebirth creative director Tetsuya Nomura, director Naoki Hamaguchi and producer Yoshinori Kitase. #FF7R pic.twitter.com/Cem5VO4HVq
— FINAL FANTASY VII (@finalfantasyvii) June 16, 2022
It’ll be interesting to see what hardcore fans and theorisers make of the scenes shown in the trailer, given that it’s clear things are going to be quite different this time around.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is slated to come to PS5 next Summer (Late 2023/Early 2024).