Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will arrive early next year, continuing the three-part reimagining of the original 1997 game. The Square Enix project began in 2020 with the release of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, which offered a modernized and expanded take on the first part of the overall storyline. Rebirth picks up where its predecessor left off, with Cloud and his party leaving Midgar for the Forgotten City.
The scope of Rebirth is much larger than that of Remake, with a huge open world filled with side content for players to explore. Changes include new playable FF7 characters like Sephiroth, a deepening of the Synergy system, and significantly larger map. Though the retelling of the original story still won’t be complete after Rebirth, it’s clear that there will be a lot more for fans to do this time around even more than in the already-expanded Remake that will provide a greater depth to the characters and narrative that have been beloved for decades.
Screen Rant sat down with Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth director Naoki Hamaguchi and translator Hinano Akiyama to discuss the biggest changes to the game, taking creative leeway with the series, and keeping the heart of the game intact.
Screen Rant: First I would love to hear what you think the most important things are that have changed in this new version of the game.
Naoki Hamaguchi: Thank you for this question. So regarding Rebirth, I do believe that one of the key aspects that a lot of the users are wondering about is the world map experience. What is it going to be like when we go out into this bigger world? And so that’s an aspect that we really focused on considering. With the original title, we had this world map in which by acquiring a Chocobo or various different vehicles, you were then able to venture on and seek out more areas to explore throughout your journey, and so we wanted to provide a very similar experience within Rebirth. We feel that that’s something that players would feel very excited about, and for us as devs and creators, that’s a very fun challenge to take on.
And a core, central thought within me regarding the world map as well is: considering that this remake series is a trilogy and is made up of three separate parts, we really wanted to provide sort of a new and continuously enhanced experience going from Remake and Rebirth, just so that there’s this trajectory of users continuously feeling excitement at the new features that are presented and just this different gaming experience that one can have by playing each game.
And in that way, going from Remake to Rebirth or the first to second title and then second to third, then now players are excited about, “Well what’s coming next? What’s coming in the second title? Then what’s coming after that? Is it going to be an entirely new experience?” And so by continuing to change and evolve in that sense, we wanted to provide that and that was a big theme for me going into this as well.
How creative have you been able to get when it comes to challenging expectations or conventions from the original game? Has there been any extra leeway after the success of Remake?
Naoki Hamaguchi: So with FF7 Remake, I do believe this was more of a story-focused piece where we really focused on this cinematic, deep, immersive story. And I believe this matches the expectations of FF7 fans as well who love the original for its very compelling storyline and its characters. Of course we wanted to preserve this and maintain this for Rebirth as well and further develop it, which we feel that we were able to accomplish. On top of that, we now are opening up this world where players now have the freedom of having more options of locations to explore, deciding where and how they’re going to go explore and journey on. This then creates another layer of immersion and a sense that you are getting to choose your own adventure.
And from that, this is an experience that we really felt would be wonderful to have from our success from Remake and everything that we’ve learned up to that point, and then seeing, “Well, what more can we provide?” And so on that note, I wanted to also mention that in the first, something that we’ve heard from players is from Remake when Cloud and his party are walking through the slums of Midgar, you’re able to look up and sort of see the ceiling of that environment and really see the details of how that looks.
And that’s an interesting experience, because that kind of view of the ceiling is what the original creators had already had in mind and intended when they were first creating this environment and the game back in the day, but were perhaps not able to fully express it just due to the limitations of the graphics and technology at the time. Where now we are able to and provide this visual detail that then creates an alternate or new discovery for users.
And so when we hear this kind of feedback of like, “It’s nice to see how Midgar really looks now and really see it in its full glory,” I feel very proud of our work in that we were able to have users experience this. And likewise, in the demo there is a flashback with Cloud in which he acts a bit unlike himself and is reminiscent of Zack, and this too is an aspect that wasn’t perhaps fully represented in the original version of the title that we were now able to. And I believe this draws a lot of interest within users and media, and we’ve had a lot of positive reception and people noticing this as well.
And so I do believe that a large goal of ours in creating Rebirth was to use the available technology of this time very thoroughly to create something that can be received by the audience in the modern age so that we can truly and fully express what we intended. And so for me to hear that this is being well received and the parts that we really put effort into are noticed in this way really gives me a very positive feeling.
What would you say have been the biggest challenges in this second part of the remake series and what lessons did you take away from the first that have helped you this time around?
Naoki Hamaguchi: So regarding the biggest challenge with Rebirth – to be frank, number one is creating the seamless world map that Cloud and his party will be exploring, and creating a type of world that people will be eager to explore. But regarding the world map and this type of exploration, I have already touched on this quite a bit already, so I also want to talk about the battle system. So for Remake, it was a combination of the classic turn-based ATB system with the more contemporary action-based battle system, and it was sort of a fusion of those two that was implemented in Remake.
So with Rebirth, I believe players are then looking forward to perhaps a new experience. You’re thinking like, “Well what else is there, battle-wise?” And of course we could make some sort of deep just changes here and there, but I really looked at the scenario overall when considering the battle system. And for Rebirth, the players will be leaving Midgar and then continuing their journey to finally end in the Forgotten City area.
So a lot of players will be thinking about Aerith’s fate and how will that play out? And that’s a big topic of discussion and question at this point. And so throughout this journey, of course a large theme is going to be the bond and the relationships between the characters. And so from there I believe that the battle system should also be aligned with that as well. So in that way the scenario was what informed the battle system, and when thinking about a system that would enhance this relationship, that’s where the idea of the Synergy system had come up.
Naoki Hamaguchi: So this answer does echo a bit of what’s been previously stated, but with Rebirth covering the journey of the party from Midgar to ultimately finding out Aerith’s fate, there are those that may also be wondering also about other events that were present in the original. For example, the gondola date event and just knowing everything that occurs in the original as well. There’s just so many occurrences regarding the relationships and character development.
And so in that sense the Synergy attacks were implemented based on this very overarching theme of the bond between the characters. And likewise with the side quests and side content that are present in Rebirth, it’s not merely that one does the side quest and that’s it. It’s more like when you take on a side quest, you then also explore a relationship between characters as well too, where perhaps Cloud and an alternate character like Aerith or Red XIII would work together to complete the side quest, and then that again adds another layer to the story and the meaningfulness of the characters. So the game is really designed with that theme in mind, and also keeping in mind their journey to the Forgotten City. And so in that way I believe it’s going to be a very immersive experience.
I have a question for you, if you don’t mind: so seeing that there’s a lot of fans of the original title and that’s why it’s been loved for so long, is there something that you feel is important to keep or to see in the remake?
At the heart of it really it’s the characters that everyone is there for I think, so as long as their essence is there. And the Synergy, too, and how these new mechanics are playing into those characters I think is a really interesting new way to learn about them through doing. I think the character is at the heart of it really.
Naoki Hamaguchi: Thank you so much for your answer; we too feel that that’s a really important theme of preserving the essence of the character. And then your point about the Synergies and have that being a new way is really great too to hear. I also wanted to talk about the side contents that are going to be added and how in terms of gameplay hours it is actually even more voluminous than the main storyline. So there’s just a ton of very rewarding side contents that are offered here.
A fun little tidbit that I wanted to share about that is in the original, you may remember that Red XIII, if you go to Cosmo Canyon, once you go there, his personality changes a bit. And considering that his personality changes, we have it designed so that all quests in the game kind of has a Red XIII and a Nanaki version. So for people it has all options available for that.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will release February 29, 2024, for PS5.
