Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Details Revealed During PlayStation State of Play
During today’s PlayStation State of Play, Square Enix gave us new details for what to expect when Final Fantasy VII Rebirth arrives later this month. The game continues to impress with each passing look, earning its spot as the “Most Anticipated Game” at The Game Awards 2023.
Exploring the World of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
The world of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is broken into various regions, which seamlessly blend into one another. After the intro sequence, players enter into the Grasslands, a grassy area south of Midgar. From there, you travel to Junon, a vast open area in the shadow of Shinra’s military; this area also features chocobos that can climb up cliffsides. The game also includes Corel, which features the touristy beach town of Costa del Sol, the massive playground known as Gold Saucer, and the dusty portion of the region to the south. The Gongaga region allows you to explore Zack’s hometown and explore the Mako Reactor. The Cosmo Canyon region lets you learn more about Red XIII’s roots and glide around on special chocobos. The Nibel region lets you relive Cloud and Tifa’s younger days and visit Shinra Manner. Finally, Meridian Ocean allows you to explore the waters.
Side Quests and Odd Jobs
As you explore, you can assist Chadley with side quests to let him develop new Materia. These World Intel quests sometimes require you to wrangle chocobos or play with mooglets. There’s even a protorelic investigation sequence that transports the cast to look closer to their appearances in the original game, though it’s uncertain if each protorelic investigation will include this gimmick, as the stream said each will include different characters and objectives.
Odd jobs are also scattered worldwide, allowing you to learn more about the world and its inhabitants. These odd jobs will also strengthen Cloud’s bond with his party members. If you’re concerned about moving on from a region before finishing all the side content, don’t fret: Square Enix assures players story progression won’t affect your ability to complete side content. As director Naoki Hamaguchi stated in the presentation, “This freedom to experience the story how you want, is one of Rebirth’s greatest strengths.”
Deepening Relationships and Minigames
Completing side quests, fighting alongside your party, and choosing different dialogue options will improve your relationship with your party members, which can influence who you take on a date in Gold Saucer. On top of that, characters can also develop deeper relationships with one another, raising your Party Level. As your Party Level rises, you can unlock more skills in the characters’ folios, Rebirth’s version of the skill tree. You can reset the characters’ folios at any time.
Gold Saucer, a fan-favorite location, has plenty of minigames on offer, including chocobo racing, G-Bike, and 3D Brawler, among others. From the graphical perspective, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth continues to impress with more and higher quality cinematic storytelling content than its predecessor, taking full advantage of the PS5’s capabilities. Rebirth also includes new tracks that accentuate the feeling of the new scenes, adding well over 400 new tracks to the game’s music collection. As you move through the world and progress through the story, you utilize the various abilities of the party members to solve environmental puzzles and further explore the world.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Demo and Release Date
The State of Play ended with news that a demo for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is available now. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth arrives on February 29 on PlayStation 5. For more, check out our latest hands-on preview and interview here.