Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will feature an ambiguous ending that will keep players wondering about the third and final part of the trilogy, according to the game's producer.
14.01.2024 - 16:11 / gameinformer.com / Brian Shea / Yoshinori Kitase / Naoki Hamaguchi
Back in 1997, Final Fantasy VII established Sephiroth as one of the most iconic antagonists in gaming history. In 2020, Final Fantasy VII Remake greatly expanded his role in the first act of the beloved RPG, and in 2024, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth hopes to give us even more context for the One-Winged Angel. We played a portion of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and spoke with several members of the development team to learn how Sephiroth is depicted in the upcoming second act of the Remake trilogy.
While Sephiroth's role in this middle portion of the original Final Fantasy VII is more understated, often simply being described by NPCs rather than actually seen, the team behind Final Fantasy VII Rebirth wanted to change that. «Remake covers your encounter with Sephiroth, and now within Rebirth, we wanted to make Sephiroth this very clear antagonist and target for the characters to go and pursue through their journey in Rebirth,» producer Yoshinori Kitase says. «Within the original game, Sephiroth was not seen very much in the world map, but in this title, we put this element forward.»
In my hands-on, the first thing I do is join forces with Sephiroth in the fated flashback mission from the original game. Players of Final Fantasy VII remember this expedition to Mt. Nibel to find the mako reactor. At this point in the story, Sephiroth is still a heroic figure, and Cloud is a naive and inexperienced Soldier, so the two team up to complete this mission. Meanwhile, a young Tifa serves as a guide but not a party member.
Just like in the original version of this sequence, Sephiroth is a powerful force, slicing through foes with his Masamune. However, he's not quite as overpowered as he was in the 1997 sequence. He's still a blast to play, and even though he's only playable in a tiny part of the game, Square Enix invested in developing his gameplay, even giving him a Synergy Ability with Cloud.
«When developing Sephiroth as a character who players are able to control in a limited area, we're still considering that you're able to play as this very iconic character,» battle director Teruki Endo says. «Taking this into mind, I really took care into providing the sort of resources and cost as equal to those of other playable characters into developing Sephiroth in a battle sense.»
But the team was cautious in its approach to handling Sephiroth. After all, he's one of gaming's most iconic and influential antagonists, so naturally, fans will be touchy about any substantial changes. «We felt it was necessary to have this very clear depiction of how he came to be the person that he is now in Rebirth,» director Naoki Hamaguchi says. «Even as a developer creating this game, seeing Sephiroth discover the truth and fall further
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will feature an ambiguous ending that will keep players wondering about the third and final part of the trilogy, according to the game's producer.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is right around the corner on February 29, so Square Enix is capitalizing on the thirst for more Cloud and Sephiroth with special screenings of the CG-animated Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children film a week ahead of launch.
When Square Enix announced the “remake saga” for their all-time classic RPG and then noted that the game would be “cut into sections” to ensure quality throughout, gamers were a bit concerned. The game was in “full form” back on the PS1 and obtained legendary status, so why wouldn’t it be “In full” here? Well, their gambit paid off, and the first title featuring the “Midgar Saga” was a hit, not just because of the graphical upgrade but also because of the new elements fleshed out that part of the story. So, with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, gamers are expecting more of the same.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is little over a month away from release, and, in addition to the game's highly anticipated continuation of Remake’s story, players can also look forward to a whole host of lighthearted side content.
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Following the events of 2020's Final Fantasy VII Remake, Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, Barret, and Red XIII have escaped the confines of Midgar and gotten rid of the Whispers, meaning the possibilities as they step out into the vast world depicted in the middle portion of the original Final Fantasy VII are endless. In contrast to the corridor-heavy structure of Remake, the openness of Rebirth is immediately refreshing, but as I found out during both my hands-on and hands-off demos, the improvements don't even come close to stopping there.
Final Fantasy VII Remake set the tone for what players could expect from this three-part retelling of the beloved 1997 Square RPG. The excellent updates to the combat system, the fantastic expansions on character relationships, and the stellar production values told us Square Enix is not taking the responsibility of remaking one of its most iconic games lightly. However, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth looks to take several components of the experience to the next level, largely thanks to its emphasis on side content.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s latest trailer is here, and although it’s a relatively short one, it’s a minute of story-packed goodness that’s sure to get fans excited.
In Final Fantasy VII Remake, players had the chance to thoroughly explore the movesets of Cloud, Barret, Tifa, and Aerith through an extended stay in Midgar. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth adds several new playable party members. While we already covered how one of those new playable characters, Red XIII, controls (read more here), this time, we're talking about another playable party member: Cait Sith.