The ongoing remake series of Square Enix’s seminal 1997 classic, Final Fantasy VII, still has a lot more ground to cover. The first entry, Final Fantasy VII Remake, set in the smoggy metropolis of Midgar, expands the first several hours of the original game into an epic 40-hour adventure.
In other words, there’s plenty more story to tell. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is going to be the second entry in the trilogy, and based on what we have already seen from the game it looks to be even more ambitious than its predecessor. Here’s everything we know about the second entry.
When Is the FF7 Rebirth Release Date Window?
FF7 Rebirth was originally announced with a nebulous winter release window. This was eventually clarified as winter 2023. However, this was then delayed in a Summer Game Fest trailer that included a new release window of “early 2024”.
During the September 2023 State of Play, we finally got a release date! The latest trailer revealed that FF7 Rebirth will be released on February 29, 2024.
What Are the FF7 Rebirth Platforms?
The only platform that FF7 Rebirth will be coming to at launch is the PlayStation 5. However, it is likely that the game will eventually come to PC at a later date. FF7 Remake launched exclusively on PS4 but after a year-long-exclusivity window, the game was released on PC.
Just like FF7 Remake, it is unlikely that Rebirth will make its way to Xbox.
Is There a FF7 Rebirth Trailer?
Yes! The game was first revealed in June 2022 with a gorgeous trailer. Check it out:
Aerith delivers a convoluted voice-over about how the future may be written but can now be changed. (Spoiler: At the conclusion of the first game, the squad kills the arbiters of fate, rendering them free from the original game’s sequence of events.) We get jittery flashes of Meteor striking the planet, Aerith praying, and a flashback to Zack Fair and Cloud.
The bulk of the trailer, however, is a very chill hike between Cloud and Sephiroth in the past outside of Nibelheim that never actually happened.
A second, longer, trailer for the game was shown during Summer Game Fest 2023. Check it out:
Most recently, FF7 Rebirth was shown off during the September 2023 State of Play in more depth than we have seen before. It gave us a great look at the party members, open-world traversal (including Segways), and hinted at even more alternate-timeline shenanigans.
What Is the FF7 Rebirth Story?
Spoilers follow for the original Final Fantasy VII, so skip this section if you don’t want to know more.
If we compare FF7 Remake to the story of the first game, then the first thing that should happen in Rebirth is that the core cast of characters travel to Kalm village where Cloud tells them a story about the time he and Sephiroth visited Nibelheim. After they crest over the top of a slope, we see the local Mako reactor in all its planet-killing glory.
Rebirth will likely follow the party as they follow after Sephiroth in search of a powerful item called the Black Materia.
Much like FF7 Remake, we can’t expect the sequel to mirror FF7’s original story exactly. In a July 2020 interview, Kitase suggested there will be narrative upheavals ahead: “I’m sure there are people who wish to experience the exact same story and relive memories,” he said. “However, if we were to do that, then all we would be doing is just adding to the original experience, which would cause the Remake to lose its significance.”
Creative director Tetsuya Nomura has revealed in interviews with press that FF7 Rebirth will cover the original story up until the Forgotten Capital, which is the setting for one of the game’s most memorable moments.
Will FF7 Rebirth Have Any New Features?
Trailers for FF7 Rebirth have shown off a massive open world for players to explore. This is a change from the mostly linear world of Remake. Plenty of iconic locations can be seen in trailers, such as Cosmo Canyon, Nibelheim, and Costa del Sol. We also see the party riding around on Chocobos to traverse the open world, and even a Chocobo barn. New vehicles to explore the world are also coming in the form of Segways.
FF7 Rebirth will also take players to the Golden Saucer, which will contain a plethora of minigames including Chocobo Racing. It looks like the Golden Saucer will embrace the goofiness of the Like a Dragon franchise’s minigames and give players a lot of side activities to invest time in.
Combat looks to have gotten a nice face-lift as well. Taking cues from Intergrade, it appears party members will be able to execute synergized attacks. Red XIII will also be joining the party as a full member that you can control, rather than the companion character he was in Remake.
Who Are the FF7 Rebirth Party Members?
It looks like the rest of the original game’s party members will all be making an appearance in Rebirth. In trailers, we have seen Yuffie joining up with the party and gotten our first glimpse at Vincent Valentine. It has been confirmed that Cid Highwind will also be in Rebirth. However, Nomura has revealed that both Vincent and Cid will not be full party members in Rebirth, and instead be companion characters in the same way Red XIII was in Remake. Both will be playable in the third entry in the series.
Will There Be an FF7 Remake Part 3?
Yes! As part of the 25th-anniversary stream, it was confirmed that the remake saga will be comprised of three parts. After Rebirth, there will be a third as-yet-untitled game. The original Final Fantasy VII was released on three discs, so this feels fitting.
Is Zack Alive in FF7 Rebirth?
In FF7 Remake’s closing scenes, Zack Fair is revealed to have survived his previously fatal attack. FF7 Remake Ultimania implies that this Zack is one from an alternate timeline, using the alternate representation of Stamp the dog as proof. Zack’s profile in the book refers to him in both present and past tense, further confusing the situation.
The State of Play trailer for Rebirth also puts a large emphasis on Zack and where his story may be going in this alternate timeline as we see him take Cloud into Midgar to seek help. Producer Yoshinori Kitase revealed to IGN that Rebirth would include an entire “new episode” focused on Zack.
