FF7 Rebirth Might Be a Completely Different Game Than Most People Expect
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is already the most anticipated game of 2024 for me. At the same time, the biggest unknown is the final shape of this title. Because the story seems to have less and less in common with the original.
The remake of Final Fantasy VII was for many years so unlikely that the announcement of it was one of our favorite April Fool's jokes every year. Several more years had to pass before what was an unattainable dream for a teenage boy became a reality.
The first trailer, which didn’t really show anything, ignited a nostalgic fire in me. When Square showed us a video of the actual game and unveiled a bit of mystery, a big unknown appeared for me – if the direction chosen by the developers was correct. A remake that's not entirely related to the original, introducing significant changes to the well-known story? A bold move, but, as the reviews showed, also a correct one. The release date is still unknown. The game is coming out in 2024, but you won't be able to pre-order Final Fantasy VII Rebirth yet. So, don't make a mistake, because the new FF7 is neither FF16 nor FF7 Remake Rebirth, although you will also see this title.
We also don't know all the information yet. For example, it has not yet been confirmed whether FF7 Rebirth will be released on PC, but looking at the history of FF7 on PC, we can conclude that yes, it will be released, but we will wait longer (e.g. a year or two) for this version. The same goes for Vincent Valentine in FF7 Rebirth, a vampire and a hidden character. Seemingly, it looks like Vincent Valentine will not appear in FF7, but perhaps this is just a smokescreen and Vincent in FF7 will appear. After all, he is a very important and fan-favorite character.
Caution! The following text contains spoilers about the original version of Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VII Remake!
Fan theories and timeline – what's going on in FF7 Rebirth?
Arbiters of Fate, a meta-commentary on the expectations of old fans, doing their best to keep events on track. It might seem quite primitive. However, it worked out exceptionally well in the game, providing the foundation for many fan theories about parallel worlds and intertwining timelines. And when you read into them after seeing the trailer for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth which is the second part of the remake – they become a little more relevant.
The role of the mysterious beings (Whispers), as I mentioned, is to care that the original events will remain unchanged (to satisfy die-hard fans of the PS1 version). So when Sephiroth messes with Cloud's head to prevent him from meeting Aerith, they appear and lead to their meeting. Each successive intervention causes a butterfly effect, and the rectified events are piling up, leading to a completely different solution. They drive the timeline into three paths (or more, we’ll see) – the original one from FFVII, the Remake version, and the one where we see Zack being alive in Midgar.
The latest trailer for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth appears to confirm the theory that we will jump between two versions of the world when playing the game. In one of them, our team survives and is on its way to the town of Kalm, then travels to the Chocobo ranch, through the Mithril mines, to finally reach Junon. In the other version of the world, we will probably play as Zack.
How closely FF7 Rebirth will stick to the original?
The final confrontation with the Arbiters at the end of FFVII Remake is a signal from the developers that they’re no longer limited by the expectations of fans. So in the upcoming game, they can let themselves have a bit more freedom to make significant changes. That's why any deliberations about the content of FFVII Rebirth are pure guesswork, but, it must be said, it is extremely satisfying!
Square Enix will play games with us. Watching the trailers, it's worth keeping in mind that none of the scenes that we see in them are there by accident. Even the smallest, briefest moment has some significance, offers hints, or just wants to perplex us a little more.
So, the answer to the question of how much of the original Final Fantasy VII we will get in FF7 Rebirth is: we have absolutely no idea. We can only guess. As I mentioned earlier, we saw scenes from the village of Kalm, where Cloud tells the team about his past. Later we find ourselves at a Chocobos ranch, and further on, probably making our way through swamps, we reach the Mithril mine. Our destination is Juno, although I expect we will also hook up to Fort Condor, where Yuffi can join us. This would connect to the fact that in the Remake's DLC, Miss Wutai can battle for Fort Condor while she's playing a board game.
From the scenes in the trailer, we also see three important actions and locations – Shinra's ship sailing to Costa del Sol (in the original PS1 version, it's where we first fought Jenova, while in the remake it will be our second battle). Cosmo Canyon, where Bugehagen tells us about the Lifestream and we learn the sad history of Red-XIII.
At what point will FF7 Rebirth end?
And the third location is the North Crater. Those who haven't played the original FF7, might have missed it, because the crater scene lasts only a few seconds. In the original, we visit this location roughly halfway through the second disc. This may, in a sense, suggest that Square plans to finish FFVII Rebirth at this point. This is supported by the fact that the events in Crater have great significance in relation to the rest of the story. Cloud liberates the original Sephiroth frozen in a Mako energy crystal, Weapons are released into the world as a result of Jenova's plots and a reaction to an upcoming meteor. We jump in time and witness the planned executions of our team in Junon.
Something tells me, however, that the scene in the trailer comes not from the world where the main team resides, but from the one where Zack appears. One of the hooded figures strongly resembles Cloud. We can't exclude that he surrendered to Jenova's influence, just like the other hooded, numbered clones. In that case, screenwriters have a complete freedom in creating the story. Seemingly familiar to us, yet completely different from what we remember.
And if I had to guess which approach the creators are takingbe, it would be the second one. The familiar chronology will be disrupted, events from the Northern Crater will appear in a completely different timeline, and the game itself will end with the events from Nibelheim, which will somehow be mixed with flashbacks from five years ago. It is the burning of the city where Cloud and Tifa come from that’s most significant in the context of Sephiroth, who originally died there. Zack and Cloud spend a few years together In Nibelheim before they finally manage to escape.
The last clue could also be the place where Squaresoft originally finished the first disc of Final Fantasy VII. The City of the Ancients, a location where we witness the shocking death of Aerith. A demonstration of the power that Jenova wields over individuals who have been implanted with her cells as part of Shinra's experiments. Although, to be honest, it would be too obvious and expected, which makes overall unlikely.
Breaking the chains of fanbase expectations and openly communicating that the story in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will go its own way, just using familiar locations and themes, does not easily allow us to predict what exactly awaits us. I really appreciate this invention. it will allow me (and I suppose many older players) to avoid the feeling of deja vu and give the opportunity to get excited about new versions despite knowing the original inside out. After FFVII Remake, I have faith and tremendous trust in the scriptwriters. I know that they are capable of balancing between two groups of players who are waiting for FF7 Rebirth. I hope that Square won't make us wait too long and that the next trailers will ignite fire of expectations even more strongly, throwing us off track in the name of post-launch surprises.
