Final Fantasy 7 fans, prepare yourselves for the Summer Games Fest 2023! It was an exciting event, filled with lots of surprises, but the announcement of Ever Crisis was one of the biggest highlights of them all. This brand-new mobile game will expand the universe of Final Fantasy 7, but there’s more to it than that. Summer Games Fest also revealed the first gameplay trailer for the upcoming Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, and it did not disappoint.

The Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth Trailer

Let’s break it down. The gameplay trailer showcased the stunning reimagination of Final Fantasy 7, which debuted in Final Fantasy 7 Remake. It also revealed that the game will continue to feature the same action-oriented style of its predecessor, as well as its free-roaming exploration. But what really excited long-term fans of the series were the hints about the story’s new direction.

The producer of the series, Yoshinori Kitase, has always been open about his intention to switch up the story of the classic, and this trailer gives us a glimpse into how he plans to do so. The trailer ends with a brand-new character getting into a fight with Sephiroth, then posing the question: “You know that I killed her, so who is she?”

This is a clear reference to Sephiroth’s killing of Aerith, one of the most infamous plot twists in the game and probably the entire Final Fantasy series. The question “who is she?” is hinting that the key death might be different this time around, and it might take the story in a new and exciting direction.

Last but not least, the trailer revealed that the game will be released early in 2024 and will launch “on two discs.” Whether this nod to the classic game is true or not, only time will tell.

The Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth gameplay trailer was undoubtedly a grand finale for the Summer Games Fest 2023, and it has us all eagerly awaiting its release in 2024.