Last week, Square Enix began releasing small development updates for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the anticipated follow-up to Final Fantasy VII Remake and part two of a planned trilogy of remakes that encompass the classic game. So far, we’ve learned that development is progressing smoothly while the studio attempts to nail down a specific release date. A new piece of information has surfaced that states fans won’t need to play Remake before jumping into Rebirth.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth co-director Motomu Toriyama answered the question if fans would need to play Final Fantasy VII Remake first to enjoy the sequel, stating, “We have made preparations so that players who did not get a chance to play the first game can fully enjoy Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.”
READ MORE – Two Diablo 4 Expansions are Already in Development
This is a bit of an odd comment as Remake sets up the initial chapters of the full journey ahead, so it makes sense that players would first need to play the predecessor in order to understand the upcoming sequel. That said, it’s possible that Square Enix could include a recap of the first game much like Santa Monica Studio did with the recap of 2018’s God of War at the beginning of God of War Ragnarok. Alternatively, events from Remake could also be summarised by a flashback in-game.
The wilder theory is that Rebirth will essentially be a clean slate for the story and could recount alternate events of the game from a parallel universe. This isn’t out of the ordinary as the ending of Remake already set up the possibility of there being multiple universes where events play out very differently to the “canon” universe (as seen by Zack Fair seemingly surviving his ordeal outside of Midgar).
As more information becomes available about Rebirth, we’ll surely know more details closer to release (or when the next trailer is expected to drop).
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is currently in development for PS5.
Source: Square Enix
