Sony’s September State of Play had several exciting reveals for fans across the gaming world, with the most surprising being the Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth release date.
The second installment in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy is now expected to drop worldwide on Feb. 29, 2024. This comes as a surprise to Final Fantasy fans due to the game’s massive size and scope.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will feature an all-new story with a returning cast of characters. The original Final Fantasy 7 Remake crew has left Midgar in pursuit of new adventures. Alongside the original cast, characters like Red XIII and Cait Sith will feature prominently in the game. Though Red XIII was merely an accompanying character in the previous title, he will be a fully-fledged playable party member in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.
Newcomers to the franchise can experience Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth as a standalone title, according to a statement from game producer Yoshinori Kitase. He claimed the game “will feature elements of the previous title, as well as greatly enhanced features such as a vast world map.”
Naoki Hamaguchi, director of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, emphasized his excitement for the new battle system, particularly synergy moves. “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.”
He also said “nearly 100 hours of adventure awaits” before adding that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth “embraces the concept of free exploration, with compelling stories, fun mini-games, powerful monsters, and so much more throughout the world map.”
One prominent minigame will be the parade which, according to him, was greatly expanded in the new title.
“In the original, Cloud sneaks into one of the units participating in the parade and joins in on the performance, but in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, he becomes the leader of that unit and can customize the composition of the soldiers participating in the parade.”
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth also took player feedback from the previous title to heart and included many community-oriented features such as an increased cast of characters and other player feedback. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth creative director Tetsuya Nomura praised the team’s diligence and commitment to the game’s development and expressed hopes that the players will “face the ending of this work on their own terms.”
With so much content under its belt, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is quickly shaping up to be a huge blockbuster release once it arrives worldwide on Feb. 29, 2024.
