Square Enix wants to reassure everyone that it designed Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth so gamers can enjoy it without playing the first game.
For the uninitiated, Final Fantasy 7 is one of the most popular and iconic entries in the storied Final Fantasy series. The OG title, which came out on the PSOne in 1997, was the first of Square Enix’s company’s multi-disc adventures. Square spread the entire narrative across three discs due to technological limitations at the time, using it to split the game into three acts.
The first disc ended with us discovering that Jenova wants to summon a meteor to destroy the world. And, well, Aerith dies.
This doesn’t happen in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake (nor in its PS5-exclusive expansion) but we assume that the trilogy will address it later, presumably in Final Fantasy Rebirth. It’s either the sequel will retcon it and let Aerith live this time around or she dies anyway because it’s an event that has to happen.
Given that a lot of things happen in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake even if it’s technically not a total adaptation of the first disc of the original game, fans wondered if you needed to play through it first to move on to the “second disc”, which in this case, is Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. However, according to the game’s co-director, Motomu Toriyama, Square Enix “made preparations so that players who did not get a chance to play the first game can fully enjoy Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Developer comment number 4#FF7R pic.twitter.com/vsmJZvDljw— FINAL FANTASY VII (@finalfantasyvii) June 5, 2023
It’s unclear how the middle outing in the planned trilogy plans to accomplish this but, judging from how well they handled the first game even though it barely scratched the surface of the original’s plot, Square Enix deserves the benefit of the doubt.
Admittedly, it’s odd that Square Enix is trying to clarify that you can skip the first game and enjoy the second entry as a standalone experience.
Hopefully, we’ll get clarification about these uncertainties soon enough.
Square Enix has ramped up the marketing machine for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. This all started with daily updates with the game’s producer, Yoshinori Kitase, affirming that the game’s development is proceeding smoothly and according to plan. Since then, we’ve learned that the game will have an expansive and diverse world while giving players plenty of freedom to explore various storylines. More importantly, the fourth and latest update all but confirms that the seventh one will be released at the Summer Game Fest.
Fingers crossed, this includes a lengthier gameplay or story trailer as well as a more narrowed-down release date for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth outside of just Winter 2023.
