We all knew Final Fantasy 7 Remake was just the beginning, but I had no idea how long we would have to wait for the next game, or even how many games this incredibly ambitious project would end up covering. Given that fans have been begging Square Enix to remake what is probably the most popular and important JRPG of all time for years, there was obviously a lot of pressure on them to get it right. Although there was a lot of skepticism for the first part, changing the basic formula so much, once we had it in our hands, it became almost universally praised.
After Remake, there was virtually no news on when Cloud and his motley crew’s adventure would continue. That is, not until the 25th anniversary of the original PlayStation 1 game, when Square Enix dropped a ton of information about all of us at once. The biggest news was obviously the official reveal of Final Fantasy 7 Revival, the second part of what we now know to be a trilogy of titles. After beating the first part, you should know that your knowledge of the original title will only serve you so well in the future, so here’s everything we know about Final Fantasy 7 Revival.
Note: There will be spoilers throughout both Final Fantasy 7 Remake and the original Final Fantasy 7.
Further reading
Release date
Final Fantasy 7 Revival was revealed with just a release window for now. As of this writing, it’s scheduled for release “next winter”, meaning winter 2023 through early 2024. Considering Final Fantasy 16 is slated for release sometime in the summer of next year, we imagine Square Enix would want to give a fair amount of space between these titles, so our bet is that it either arrives very late in 2023 or, more likely , January or February 2024.
Platforms
This is another interesting aspect of the whole Final Fantasy 7 narrated trilogy. We all remember the first part, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, being a PS4 exclusive at launch, then later getting a PS5 upgrade as well as a PC version. However, this game has not yet arrived on other platforms. Final Fantasy 7 Revival, at least as far as the reveal trailer suggests, will follow the same formula, skipping the PS4. When released, you can only play this game on the PS5.
We suspect, again, Final Fantasy 7 Revival will be coming to PC within a year of the PS5 release, if the same sort of deal between Sony and Square Enix exists for that game as the first. As for Xbox gamers, while we knew that Final Fantasy 7 Remake was only a timed exclusive, the fact that she still has yet to show up on this platform indicates that the deal keeps the games exclusive to Sony consoles until the next game in the series is released or even possibly until the entire trilogy is released. It’s pure speculation, but it’s the only thing that makes sense when it’s been over two years since it hit Xbox.
Trailers
Our first look at Final Fantasy 7 Revival was in a quick teaser trailer that revealed the game during Final Fantasy 7’s 25th anniversary event in 2022. It opens with Aerith stating that if the past can be set in stone, the future can be changed, even if it has been “written”. This clearly references the last game where notable changes to the story were not only made, but were actually a plot point that we’ll get to a bit later.
We get a shot of the iconic meteor crashing into the planet with the simple question posed, “What will happen to the planet?” From there, we see Cloud for the first time walking with Sephiroth towards a wooded area as he states that “he wants to finish what he started – reclaim his birthright and rule the planet with Jenova at his helm. sides”. This scene is almost certainly from the flashback that occurs right after Cloud and his team leave Midgar and he explains his past with the villain in his hometown.
As the two continue walking, we hear more conversations, with Cloud most likely talking about how he thought Tifa was already dead after Sephiroth went crazy, burned down their hometown, and tried to steal Jenova from the reactor. Tifa stops him and asks what he means and if he thinks she is an impostor. This strongly foreshadows the twist that Cloud’s memories of this event are not accurate, neatly leading into the next block of text asking, “What is fact and what is fiction?”
Next, we see the change that could have the biggest implications for this new timeline going forward: Zack. We see Zack carrying Cloud to Midgar instead of Cloud heading alone after Zack’s death to protect him. Cloud says, “You were here with me…five years ago. Where are you? What happened to you?” This raises a lot of questions about when this line is delivered since the original Cloud didn’t realize he and Zack were different people until after he fell into the lifestream much later in the game. Aerith stating “I’m trying so hard to find you” makes a lot more sense since she never knew Zack was dead at this point and that the two were in a relationship before meeting Cloud. Zack’s only response, which could very well be to Cloud or Aerith, is, “Sorry…I feel like I let you down.” And then we moved on to the new title of Final Fantasy 7 Revival.
We don’t want to delve into what happened in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, especially no theories here, but there are a few things to note that will be important for Final Fantasy 7 Revival. First off, the only gameplay we see is Cloud and Spehiroth seemingly on their way to the city or the reactor in the Nibelheim Mountains. This implies that the events of this flashback won’t change – not because Sephiroth, or some other force, can’t or won’t interfere with what happened there, but because it’s the memory incorrect Cloud of these events. This story is told in the first town you visit after leaving Midgar, Kalm.
Zack is the other major player to consider. His survival could be the biggest story change yet and have a serious impact not only on the narrative, but also on the relationships between the characters. We’re very curious to see what happened to him after he reached Midgar and how, or why, he got separated from Cloud and never reunited with Aerith.
Of course, there’s the big question: will Aerith survive this time around? It’s impossible to answer right now and it could easily go either way, which in itself is exciting not knowing what’s to come. Since we know this series will have three parts – based on storytelling techniques, anyway – the second part is usually where our heroes are at their lowest point, so even if it doesn’t happen to the same person , or similarly, the odds are that Something will arrive at the end of this game which puts Cloud and the others at their lowest.
As for the direction of the story, we can only guess based on the original game, but because they basically broke free from the limitations of that game, who knows how much things will change. For fans of the original, this is perhaps the most important part of this new retelling of events.
Gameplay
OK, while we saw the gameplay in the initial trailer, it was nothing more than walking around. This leaves a lot of questions in mind, the biggest one being how they are going to handle the open world aspect. Now that we’re out of Midgar, things will open up considerably if the game feels like the original. In the original, moving around the outside world was represented by a large model of Cloud walking across the terrain, which would stylistically not match the hyperrealistic models and environments we have in Final Fantasy 7 Revival. This could be fixed once you start traveling with vehicles, so maybe traveling early will be more truncated or automatic until you get your first Chocobo to ride.
In terms of combat, again, nothing has been shown, but depending on how well the new hybrid action and turn-based system is received in Final Fantasy 7 Remake was, it would be silly to think they would walk away from that. Obviously, they will expand it, not only with new materials, but also with new party members. Red XIII, for example, should finally be a playable character, along with Yuffie, Cait Sith, and hopefully Cid and Vincent as well. Everyone will probably have their own systems. In this regard, we are planning minor changes to the core, but more variety via new characters, gear, and materials.
Outside of the main story, we’re a little curious how much side content to expect. Final Fantasy 7 Remake added in a ton of side quests and filled in a ton of gaps to make the Midgar section last a full game, but now that we’re out there’s already plenty of main storylines, open world areas, and dozens of great locations pass in just two titles which, if they put as much secondary content as the first game, Final Fantasy 7 Revival could easily swell up to a 100+ hour game. Although some may like it, it may not be realistic.
Multiplayer
Even though it hasn’t been said technically, we’re confident assuming that Final Fantasy 7 RevivalAs Remake before him and the OG title before that, will be solo only. There are ways we could see a few weird multiplayer-like things added here and there, like leaderboards or games in the Golden Saucer, but we’re pretty confident Square Enix wants to keep this a pure single-player experience.
Pre-order
Final Fantasy 7 Revival has just been revealed and is still a long way off. Once the “winter” release window zeroes in on a date, we expect pre-orders to start showing up. When they do, we’ll provide you with all the edits and details you need.
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