The wait for Final Fantasy VII Remake's second part will soon be over.
Final Fantasy series developer Square Enix recently announced that the much-awaited second part of Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, would be coming next winter, per GameRanx.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is the second part of a planned trilogy that covers the entirety of the events in the original 1997 Final Fantasy VII game.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Details
Square Enix didn't reveal much detail about Final Fantasy VII Rebirth since its announcement was the initial reveal. However, the developer did offer a teaser of the game which features areas outside Midgar after the events of Remake Intergrade, per Kotaku.
The teaser also featured a brief snippet of gameplay that shows SHINRA SOLDIERs Cloud Strife and Sephiroth traveling through the wilderness together. This scene is accompanied by a voiceover conversation between Cloud and Aerith regarding the latter's impending death.
Although the fans of the original 1997 game know of Aerith's ultimate fate, the game's remake trilogy has drastically diverged from the original game. And as such, predicting what may happen during Rebirth is difficult without other information. This divergence could mean that the remakes will feature events that contradict the original game's events, such as Aerith living instead of dying.
Another Final Fantasy VII character who is confirmed to have died in the original game's timeline, Zack Fair, is also featured in the teaser, dragging a wounded and injured Cloud to what seems to be Midgar.
This idea is supported by Square Enix's creative director Tetsuya Nomura, with him believing that the journey Cloud and his friends embark on in Rebirth could give players scenes that provide "a fresh new experience."
"Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is being designed so that people can enjoy this game whether they know the original game or not, Nomura said. "In fact, new players might even enjoy starting their Final Fantasy VII journey with [Rebirth]."
Nomura also mentioned that he can't wait to share the intention behind naming the first title, Remake, and the second title, Rebirth.
As for the game's development, Nomura mentioned that Rebirth's development has been "progressing rapidly since Square Enix or his team adopted a new development structure, per GameSpot.
Thanks to the new structure, Nomura revealed that the development of the trilogy's final game is already in progress alongside Rebirth.
Producer Yoshinori Kitase said that Square Enix aims to make Rebirth an "even more gripping and memorable experience" than Remake Intergrade, stating that second installments in trilogies often become fan favorites.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Release Date
Whether we see Zack and Aerith die again in the games or not will remain as mysterious as Schrödinger's cat until the world can play Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, which will be released exclusively for the PlayStation 5 sometime during the winter of 2023.
However, the game could be released much later than that, with GameSpot speculating that the game could be released roughly between December 2023 and March 2024.
