Unlock the Magic: Insider reveals on Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

The original FINAL FANTASY 7 dealt with themes of life and death and had a very deep and detailed setting that was quite rare for games of that time. As well, it had an emotional story that delighted many fans. On top of that, FINAL FANTASY 7 came out in the era when game visuals were making the transition from 2D to 3D, so I think a big part of why it was so memorable was because it was one of the standard bearers for those new, sensational 3D graphics. There were also many different spin-off titles released after the first game, forming a compilation and these titles helped bring in many fans and cement FINAL FANTASY 7 as a brand that continues to be loved today.

We’re very aware of our long-time fans’ expectations, so with this title we differentiated what we’d call ‘story alterations’ ‘expansions’. Story expansions are opportunities where we can present elements from the original story that couldn’t be depicted at that time due to technological limitations. These add further depth to the world and sometimes result in new

Ultimately, we’re taking what was always there and making it richer and more detailed, rather than changing things completely, so most fans are very open to these kinds of additions.

I didn’t think that the ‘yellow paint’ would be something that came up on social media. For things like camera options, where people have a wide variety of preferences and there’s no one right answer, our basic approach is to offer various accessibility options, so I would like to take on board the valuable feedback we’ve received towards this for future games.

Even though it’s a remake, when looking at FINAL FANTASY 7 REBIRTH as a satisfying piece of entertainment. We felt that if it just followed exactly the same story as the original game, then it would struggle to maintain people’s interest. We thought we needed to make some alterations, so players could enjoy wondering about the direction that events would go in.

Zack’s presence plays a very important part in that and we expect that his appearances will help communicate what’s going on with the world of FINAL FANTASY 7 in REMAKE and REBIRTH. Any further details would be a spoiler, so I hope people can play the game and find out by experiencing it for themselves.

One of our motion designers suggested that having Red XIII sit like a human would look cute and our Creative Director, Mr. Nomura, was positive towards the idea, so it was adopted right away. In addition to the way he rides chocobos, the way Red XIII climbs cliffs is also really nimble and charming, so I hope players notice that.

This game takes the new system that we built for REMAKE by blending action and strategy style gameplay, and further improves on it by adding elements involving multiple characters combining their skills together. The synergy system adds further depth to battles and is also an important element to express the theme of the bonds and relationships between the characters in battle, as well as in the story.

One of my personal favourite synergy abilities is ‘Synchro Cyclone’, which Cloud and Tifa can use from early in the game. After using this ability, it reduces your MP consumption to zero for a set time, so it’s very useful. One I like, because the visuals of the ability are so cute, is Red XIII and Cait Sith’s ‘Feline Fury’ move. The visuals are so cute and it’s a bit humorous, too.

We haven’t added any completely new locations that didn’t feature in the original FINAL FANTASY 7, but we have expanded the Gongaga region, which you only passed through briefly in the original. It’s now an integral part of the main story. It’s the homeland of Zack Fair, who plays a major role in the game, and we wanted players to understand more about the world of FINAL FANTASY VII through a story focused on the village of Gongaga

I definitely want players to try out the Queen’s Blood card game, but I would actually like to take the opportunity to introduce one of the other mini-games. While you’re travelling through the Junon area and helping Chadley with a job involving a protorelic, you’ll be able to play the Fort Condor game. We’ve adjusted and altered the rules from when it was playable in INTERmission and Cloud, and the team can now enter the battlefield as controllable units, so that’s one I really want players to experience and enjoy.

There are 145 cards in total. We haven’t decided anything in terms of future development, but so far, the media who played it have provided very positive feedback on it, so we want to consider further expansions.