Now that we’re counting days until the beginning of another year, audiences are brimming with anticipation over what the next year holds, and developers are well aware of this. Square Enix, one of the biggest game developers, has already teased fans with not one but two mysterious new projects.
In an interview with 4Gamer (courtesy of SiliconEra), Square Enix producers Yosuke Saito and Mariko Sato claim that the Japanese video game developers are working on two separate, unannounced projects.
Saito is best known for his work on the NieR and Voice of Cards franchises, as well as 2017’s Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age. As for Sato, she produced the remake of 2007’s Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII Reunion. Obviously, we’re all very curious to know what projects the two producers are cooking up, but any information regarding this will most likely come after the release of the highly anticipated Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will be the second title in the Final Fantasy VII Remake project, following the critically acclaimed Final Fantasy VII Remake, a reimagining of the original 1997 classic. It is focused primarily on the Midgar section of the game, with improved graphics, a hybrid real-time and strategic combat system, and a deeper exploration of the game’s universe and its characters.
Rebirth will move beyond Midgar as Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart, Barret Wallace, and Aerith Gainsborough confront the megacorporation Shinra and pursue Sephiroth, Cloud’s vengeful archenemy. Final Fantasy 7 Remake ended with a major cliffhanger after the big reveal that Zack Flair is alive.
As the main protagonist of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion, Zack sacrifices himself to save Cloud, fending off Shinra soldiers and, in the process, getting mortally wounded. Trailers for FF7 Rebirth also feature appearances by Zack, a fact that Mariko Sato also addressed.
As for the NieR series, we shouldn’t expect any new titles anytime soon. Though more installments are in the books as long as its creative director, Yoko Taro, is alive, Saito earlier stated that his and Taro’s involvement in other projects means they are unavailable to work on a NieR project.
Square Enix might have had an impressive year with the spectacular success of Final Fantasy 16, but it wasn’t enough to pull it out of the red. With this in mind, next year will be a crucial year for the company, which will be hoping to turn its fortunes around. Maybe, just maybe, we might get to hear about the two unannounced projects sooner than we think.
