After the exciting trailer reveal for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth during yesterday’s State of Play in September 2023, Sony released a roundtable discussion with some of the game’s biggest staff members.
After the stunning conclusion of the September 2023 State of Play, Sony wasted no time in getting more info about Final Fantasy VII Rebirth out into the wild. There is no better way to get more info about a new title than speaking to the makers themselves, and Sony had Producer Yoshinori Kitase, Creative Director Tetsuya Nomura, Director Naoki Hamaguchi and Music Supervisor Keiji Kawamori on board to talk about the sequel in the FFVII remake trilogy.
The battle system, while completely updated from the 1997 original, received even more upgrades. Director Naoki Hamaguchi said, “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” regarding changes surrounding Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s battle system. He continued with, “Many new Materia with new abilities not seen in the first game are available as well, so players will have even more options to customize and build character load-outs to their own taste.”
Now that Red XIII is a playable character, Hamaguchi explained, “Red XIII doesn’t just have an ATB gauge but also 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” adding more of a strategic approach to combat where Red XIII is concerned.
Director Nomura stated, “The original party members are all present in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth,” including “Similarly, there are characters who are accompanying members in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, that will become official party members in the next title,” leading to the possibility the third remake title can feature new party members never seen in FFVII before.
While the team wraps up development on the sequel, many other features have been confirmed, such as many summons to cast besides Odin and Alexander (as shown in the State of Play trailer), mini-games such as Rufus’s inauguration speech parade and the Gold Saucer (which can be visited at any point after first discovering it), and even breeding coloured Chocobos.
Fans who need more information now regarding the sequel can read the entire roundtable on the official PlayStation Blog. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth launches on February 29, 2024.
