Everything We Know About Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

, the in the highly anticipated remake project of the hallmark 1997 PlayStation game is slated to arrive on PS5 on February 29, 2024. Through interviews and trailers, developer Square Enix has shared quite a bit about what folks can expect from Cloud and co.’s . Expect a large game, with open areas, side quests and locations that were never in the original, and much more.

Much remains unknown about this ambitious second chapter of ’s retelling. That said, here’s everything we do know. will feature a 40 hour campaign , will feature a 40 hour main story. When you toss in side activities, Square Enix says players can look forward to a 60 100 hour experience. According to director Naoki Hamaguchi, the game has been designed for players of all styles, those who want “to dedicate themselves solely to the main storyline,” those who want to dive into all the content the game has to offer, and others who wish to strike a balance between the two extremes.

is part two of a three chapter saga The original features a story that spans an entire planet with multiple twists and turns. As we learned back in June 2022, the remake project will span three full games. will make up the second installment, with an unnamed third entry expected to wrap up the saga.

Unfortunately, character progress made in won’t carry over to the second game. , director Naoki Hamaguchi said that “each game’s balancing is done independently and a player’s levels and abilities will not carry over from one game to the next.” Still, Hamaguchi teased “a little something extra” for folks who have completed 2020’s .

The world map is large and invites exploration If you’ve played the original , then you know the game opens up to its large world map once you leave Midgar. This is precisely where begins. While the new game stops short of being fully open world, the map will offer seamless exploration across different regions.

, Square Enix director Naoki Hamaguchi said: If the more open playspace has you worried you’ll get too distracted from ’s main story, rest easy. In a , Hamaguchi also said that it will “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.” is also taking inspiration from another wildly popular open world RPG: 2015’s .

, Hamaguchi described as an influence . As a result, the game is expected to offer a number of sidequests, and even the ability to go out into the wide world and hunt. It’s likely these hunts will be reminiscent of those seen in and , but that remains to be seen. has locations not seen in the original game Hamaguchi also told that will feature “totally new cities that did not exist in the original to go deeper and create this whole worldview of .” These new spaces seem to add to the larger scope of worldbuilding, and will be an opportunity to explore more sidequests and take part in minigames.

’s story changes up the order of the original game If you have the original ’s story beats memorized like the back of your gunarm, prepare for some surprises. is mixing up when certain locations appear in the story. , director Tetsuya Nomura said that “the order in which you can explore the locations is not the same as the original.” One such location is Wutai, the hometown of Yuffie Kisaragi, protagonist of the DLC for .

Unfortunately, this location won’t be featured in and will make its appearance in the third game of the remake trilogy. In the original game, you can visit Wutai fairly early on, but that won’t be the case here. ends where the original game’s first disc concluded The original shipped on three discs to accommodate its massive story and many rendered cutscenes.

These discs, however, aren’t a 1:1 representation of the new trilogy’s story beats. will take players all the way to the end of where the first disc of the original game ends. We’ll leave out where that is exactly in the world and the story to avoid spoilers (and because the remake project might still have some twists and turns of its own), but it’s fair to expect the internet to be on fire by the time players get to the conclusion of .

itself will ship on two discs for PS5, coming in at a 150 GB install. So expect to clear some space on your SSD. features a relationship meter Players could influence Cloud’s relationships with other characters in the original resulting in special scenes with his closest companion. Though that original mechanic was based ondialogue choices throughout the game, will provide more opportunities for Cloud to make meaningful connections with the party.

features an “Affinity” system which you can influence through various side quests. Play your cards right, and who knows, maybe Cloud will even be able to take one of the characters out on a date? Characters who die in will stay dead Though the remake project takes several liberties with the original plot, Nomura has stated that themes of death and loss are still central to the story.

Speaking with , : So while may have toyed around with player expectations about who will and won’t die, it seems like Square Enix is still aiming to achieve similar gut punches to the original. So yeah, maybe buy a box of tissues when you pick up your copy of . A key side character is getting an entire episode Though he plays an important role in the backstory of doesn’t have a major role in the original game.

If you’ve finished , however, then you know Zack might be playing a more important role this time around. , producer Yoshinori Kitase confirmed as much: Zack, notably, was the main character of ’s prequel , which received a full makeover back in 2022 with . has a large cast of playable characters will feature Cloud, Tifa, Barrett, and Aerith–anda few more characters will be joining the group, too.

Red XIII, who joined the party as a non playable character in will be fully playable this time around. That’s in addition to Yuffie Kisaragi from the expansion, and Cait Sith. Fan favorite character Vincent Valentine will be present for ’s story, but like Red XIII in , he won’t be playable. The same is true of Cid Highwind, who we saw in a recent trailer.

Sephiroth, the game’s big bad, however, will be playable during select flashback sequences in . (This was also the case in the original ) ’s thrilling combat returns, but with a twist managed to achieve the impossible: a thrilling combat system that feels as tactical as it does responsive. That system returns in , but expect to have a few more tricks at your disposal.

This time characters can use “Synergy” abilities with each other, allowing for combined attacks. , these abilities charge up overtime and function similarly to Limit Breaks, high powered attacks accessible once a gauge fills up. Yes, the mini games are back Back in 1997, ’s extensive mini games made its world feel memorable and lived in.

This is particularly the case at the Gold Saucer, an enormous amusement park filled with games and rides. Thus far we’ve seen glimpses of boxing, chocobo racing, and an arcadey spin on ’s motorcycle chase scene. will also feature a deck building card game not too dissimilar to ’s Gwent, which allowed players to challenge various NPCs to a game of cards.

will ship with three different editions Launching exclusively on PlayStation 5, will be available in three editions. The standard one retails for $70 and includes the two disc game. If you haven’t played , you can preorder for both games. The Deluxe Edition is $100 and comes with the game, an art book, a mini soundtrack, and a steelbook case.

Finally, the Collector’s Edition, which is currently sold out, sells for a Huge Materia sized $350 and comes with a large statue of Sephiroth, adorned with his signature single wing. The collector’s edition also comes with two unique summoning materia, the Moogle Trio and Magic Pot, as well as two in game items: a Reclaimant Choker accessory and Orchid Bracelet.

ships on February 29 for PS5. What has you most excited about the upcoming game?.