The immensely in style 1997 role-playing recreation Ultimate Fantasy VII has been worshiped in its authentic kind, grafted right into a equally admired 2020 remake, and now, developer Sq. Enix guarantees a magisterial “rebirth” in a PlayStation 5 unique set for February 29, 2024. Just like the 2020 remake, Ultimate Fantasy VII Rebirth will act as each an effigy to the unique—a breakthrough title for Japanese-made RPGs—and a reinvention of it, with improved graphics and new narrative beats that break from established lore, together with a “shock” throughout one of many recreation’s most memorable scenes, builders say.
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After you attain FFVII’s Forgotten Capital as swooshy-haired protagonist Cloud, the sport drenches you in ice water and makes you watch as antagonist Sephiroth kills Cloud’s sweetheart Aerith. Within the ‘90s, FFVII’s first disc ended right here, on this frigid be aware.
At this week’s Thailand Game Show 2023, and whereas chatting with Indonesian gaming site Gamebrott, Rebirth director Naoki Hamaguchi issued a message “to all of the players concerning this ‘you-know-what’ second” within the Forgotten Capital: “we will verify that we will provide you with a ‘huge shock,’” he mentioned, based on a Google translation of the Indonesian textual content. “So you’ll be able to stay up for later within the recreation.”
Hamaguchi, unsurprisingly, didn’t provide up the intricacies or extent of this “shock,” and declined to interact with any fan theories (although he expressed his appreciation for them, saying “we actually settle for it and really feel completely happy concerning the activeness of followers in creating numerous sorts of theories.”) But when it’s something just like the logical however potent plotline modifications Sq. Enix made to its 2020 FFVII remake, it’ll doubtless frustrate these long-time followers who need to see their childhood recollections faithfully recreated, whereas thrilling others with its breaks from the acquainted timeline that recommend daring new narrative prospects, all whereas maybe leaving FF7 newcomers scratching their heads over what it’s all purported to imply.
Instance: within the ‘90s, FFVII’s arcane ending—protagonist Cloud defeats enemy Sephiroth for the final time, the world is overrun by an incorporeal Lifestream of mint-green vitality—was spectacular, and its post-credits scene, through which wolf-beast Crimson XIII runs round a leafy, seemingly uninhabited planet, was mind-blowingly (and, to some folks, annoyingly) obscure. The 2020 remake respects this historical past by blowing minds in an identical approach, preserving ‘90s ambiguity however introducing contemporary particulars to research.
Rebirth—which Hamaguchi tells Gamebrott options much more “intensive exploration” than the unique FFVII, however leaves a few of its charming options alone, just like the minigames at Gold Saucer amusement park—appears set to do the identical.
