Final Fantasy VII Remake is one of my favourite games of all time. I loved it back when it came out in 2020, and I still love it to this day. The story was enthralling, the combat was addictive, and those graphics were to die for (especially the particle effects). So, it comes as no surprise that I am very much excited for the upcoming sequel, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. When the game wasn’t showing up during the recent State of Play, I was getting a tad disappointed (but there were some cool announcements, which you can read about here). But then, at the end of the show, something amazing happened. Another State of Play was announced, and it was all about Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, baby! And now, we’ve got that State of Play, and it’s given us some juicy details about the upcoming sequel.
The first thing they showed in this State of Play was a montage of cutscenes, and they looked good. It was confirmed that the story of Rebirth will pick up immediately after the ending of Remake, so no time jumps here. We’ll follow Cloud and the crew across the Planet in their quest to stop Shinra and Sephiroth. But that’s just the end goal; this game is going to have so much more. We got snippets of all the different side-quests, character interactions, and yes, a tease at moments that will make you snot cry. It all just looks so wonderful, and I’m digging how the story is a sequel to Remake, but it has its own style, which a lot of sequels tend to lack (I’m looking at you, Assassin’s Creed). They’ve even added a way to track how each party member feels about Cloud, so you can also spend hours being a people pleaser (art really does imitate life). And if you know how the original Final Fantasy VII plays out, there’s a good chance there will be some heartbreak in Rebirth, but I’m hoping for some destiny-altering shenanigans.
I loved the gameplay of Remake, so much so that I got the platinum trophy. So, I’m very keen to try out and experience all the new combat and gameplay additions in Rebirth. The State of Play gave us first looks at how they’ve upgraded the combat, which looks flashier than ever. This time around, you can perform combo attacks with different party members, allowing for a ton of variety. Maybe you’ll have Aerith create a barrier with Tifa and the enemies inside and have her supersonic punch them into oblivion. Or maybe you’ll give a giant stuffed cat Cloud’s sword and ride it into battle. Every character combination has these unique attacks; I can’t wait to try them all. Aside from the combat, we also got first looks at the new upgrade system and some mini-games. Rebirth is introducing team levels as well as normal character levels. The team level corresponds with the new combo attacks, and these levels will allow you to unlock skills to boost your team’s synergy. There are also mini-games a plenty, such as fan-favourite Chocobo racing, motorbike racing, and even riding a dolphin! There’s sure to be enough game here to last you a while.
OH MY GOD, WHY DOES EVERYTHING LOOK SO BEAUTIFUL! Just like Remake, Rebirth graphics are breathtakingly amazing. The areas they showed in the State of Play looked vibrant, full of life, and varied enough that you’ll never get tired of exploring. There are beaches, forests, and even a neon-infused entertainment destination called the Golden Saucer. And that’s not even getting into the particle effects in combat, which look better than ever. Then there are the cutscenes, which somehow look even better than Remake. They must be using wizard magic over at Square Enix to make this game look so amazing. Alongside this display of visual brilliance, they also announced that Rebirth will have a performance mode that will stay at 60fps and a graphics mode that allows you to experience the game in 4k. Either way, this is going to be a beautiful game.
I was already hyped for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, but this State of Play has me on another plane of hype. The story looks like it will be a roller coaster of emotions, the gameplay looks fun as hell, and it looks absolutely amazing. I can’t wait to play this game, and I don’t have to because a demo was also announced and released for everyone to download right now. This little taste of Rebirth will hopefully scratch the itch for the next few weeks as Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is set to launch on PS5 on February 29th. You can check out the full State of Play below (with even more information that I couldn’t fit here), and keep it locked to Couch Soup for more Final Fantasy VII Rebirth coverage to feed your hungry nerd soul.
Did you watch the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth State of Play? What did you think? What area are you going to explore first? Let us know in the comments where we can argue over who’s better, Tifa or Aerith.
