Final Fantasy VII Remake has set the bar for what players can expect from a remake of the beloved JRPG. Square Enix. Innovations in the combat system, expansion of the relationships between characters… all show how serious the company was when remaking its most iconic game. However, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth It seems that it will also elevate the fan experience to a new level, especially a series of unique side missions that will be added to the game’s open world.
Impressive open world demonstration of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth at Tokyo Game Show 2023
After the events in Midgar, the party will enter a large area. In the original game, the land was depicted through an overworld map, but in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the player retains the same perspective as the rest of the game while moving. Compared to the seemingly linear experience of the previous part, this game will be much more “open” and free.
“Because Remake is set in Midgar, which players can only explore in a limited area, we relied heavily on story elements and focused on a more narrative game for Remake,” said director Naoki Hamaguchi. “Now that we are entering the outside world and in that direction, I aim to portray more of a sense of free exploration and I am confident that Rebirth has achieved this.”
While exploring the expansive world of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, you should plan for the opportunity to enjoy plenty of side content. Hamaguchi estimates that about 80% of Rebirth’s content is side content, while the main story makes up the remaining 20%. If that makes you worried that Rebirth lacks content in terms of story, Hamaguchi says you can rest assured; even if it only focuses on the main story, he estimates it will still give players about 40 hours. experience. On the contrary, if you are “distracted” by a moderate amount of side quests, the game can easily last up to 60 hours. In case you want to complete all the side content, the duration of FF VII Rebirth can be up to 100 hours.
But it is not a pointlessly long period of time. The developer also wants to ensure that it provides a diverse and meaningful experience for players. “When looking at some of the larger titles, which have a large world with a large amount of side content, some players may feel like these games have a large amount of repetitive content but not a real experience. not diverse,” said co-director Motomu Toriyama. “For Rebirth, we were interested in sifting through this amount of side content and developing it in depth. This was a big consideration for us, allowing players to experience many different forms of gameplay through side content. That way, I believe we can differentiate ourselves from similar titles.“
When asked about his favorite role-playing game outside of the Final Fantasy series, Hamaguchi did not hesitate to name The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, CD Projekt Red’s 2015 masterpiece that many consider one of the best games of all time. . The game is known for its meaningful side content that fits well with the main plot.
“We did some extensive research on open-world role-playing games like The Witcher 3, and we determined that Rebirth was a game that could compete with it. and has enough content to satisfy players,” Toriyama said.
Those who have played Final Fantasy VII Remake will be reunited with Chadley, an NPC who gives quite prominent side quests. The young researcher will once again want your help learning about Materia and reward you with additional Summons. As you move around the world, Chadley will ask the player to review certain developments through events called World Intel.
The reward sounds worthy, but the content of the side quests will also become the motivation for players to explore them. To make side content more meaningful, Square Enix has expanded the relationship system. This hidden mechanism will record the player’s actions towards a character, thereby creating certain scenes, such as a date on the famous Gondola. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s side content is an important driving force for this mechanic. When the player in the role Cloud Completing a side quest with the support of another character (Tifa/Aerith/…) the relationship between the two will become even closer.
“We want to give players freedom of choice in deciding whether they want to devote themselves to the main story, such as not doing any side quests at all.,” Hamaguchi said. “Or maybe there are people who want to go deeper into side content to advance character relationships as well as a deeper understanding of the plot, or a balance between the two. We want to provide that freedom.”.”
The original Final Fantasy VII had a lot of mini-games, and so does Rebirth. One of the most engaging and persistent minigames is Queen’s Blood, a competitive card minigame you can play with NPCs in Rebirth.
While the team remains tight-lipped about the exact mechanics, this appears to be a strategic card game with collectible and deck-building elements. “The number of cards is huge – enough to almost become a game on its own,” Toriyama said. “Part of the fun will be collecting these cards. Queen’s Blood is a very strategic and thinking type of card game, but I looked at some of the gameplay as you get closer to the end of the game and have collected all the cards, then it has potential becomes a very flashy, fast-paced card game; it has the almost instantaneous nature of a shooting game in that your opponent can put down a card, you can immediately put down a card, and then another. It’s very fast. Of course, this is the maximum difficulty level of the card game, so I believe that only a few players will play at this level.”
Another mini game introduced is playing the piano. Through exploring the map, Cloud can find tracks. Players can then sit in front of the piano and play them using two analog sticks and some buttons. This minigame also has a freeplay mode, allowing you to perform any song you want. For players with musical talent, they can completely perform real-life classics on their own using the in-game piano.
Another famous minigame of the Final Fantasy series is Chocobo Racing. The development team has introduced improvements to make it more relevant for today’s players. Gamers can equip their Chocobos with stat-boosting equipment, and different types of Chocobos will work differently. Toriyama said that the team even considered collaborating with the Chocobo GP 2022 developers for the minigame but ultimately decided to go their own way. Gold Saucer and Fort Condor, two locations filled with minigames from the original game, have not yet been revealed by the developers.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will officially be released on PlayStation 5 on February 29 next year.
